One of the PR guys from Vizu sent me a PDF copy of their recent survey for Ad Age on blog readership for this year.
Key findings from the Vizu Answers/Ad Age blog readership study include:
How many and how often do people read blogs?
– 30.8% of blog readers read more than three blogs regularly – and of the blogs they read most often, 68.3% of respondents said they read them daily.
Community is a primary driver of readership within the blogosphere
– When asked how they find the blogs they read, 67.3% follow links from other blogs.
– Recommendations on blogs (22.9%) is ranked higher than finding links on search engines (19.6%) when selecting which blogs to read.
What makes a good blog?
– 43.9% of respondents said the quality of writing determines which blogs they will read regularly, and 43.6% said that topical focus is a key determinant of regular readership.
– 51.5% said quality of writing helps them asses which blogs are credible and high-quality, and 38% said it was the author’s reputation that drives perceived credibility.
– Post frequency and site design are also drivers of perceived blog quality.
What makes a blog a blog?
– 38.4% replied that expressing personal opinions is the key element in separating blogs from other online media.
– Other factors include: writing style (28.2%), editorial freedom (26.3%) and layout (25.8%).
Why people read blogs…
– 65.7% read for entertainment, and 42.5% read about Personal Interests/Hobbies.
– 32.5% read for education and information.
– 1 in 8 (12.3%) reported reading blogs for work or business.
Why blogs are read for work?
– The majority of those who read blogs for work use them as a tracking tool as opposed to a research tool.
– 27.3% use blogs to track specific trends or issues, while 49% of respondents said they don’t read blogs for work.
I’m actually interested in doing a similar survey for the local blogosphere. However, several factors need to be considered especially when taking a large enough sample size (in the thousands) and the effective randomness of methodology. I have some ideas in the works but I think it needs some pretty concerted effort to get enough data.
to c5:
I think people who filled out the survey are still sane – I doubt they represent the blog readers as a whole.