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Site Improvement Survey - Results Recap and Important Announcements!

Hi, all, as you may or may not know, to mark the site's two-year anniversary, I recently conducted a survey to collect feedback about how to improve your overall experience on Cookie Connection. At the same time, I also gathered input on the desire to add a "global tool glossary" that would allow people to better understand the similarities and differences in cookie ingredients and decorating tools used across the world. (See that survey here.) I am happy to say that, at long last, I've collected and reviewed the results of both surveys!

Today, I'm providing a quick report back to you on the major themes I heard and announcing some new site features that resulted from your feedback. I'll also be taking the opportunity to remind you of some existing site functionality that should answer questions that surfaced more than once in these surveys.

Heads up: this post is a little long, so I've broken it into the following three sections to make it easier to navigate: I. Survey Recap - Likes, Dislikes, and Wishes, II. New Features and Actions Taken, and III. Existing Feature Reminders. Here goes . . .

I. Survey Recap - Likes, Dislikes, and Wishes

To start, though the site feedback survey was open for close to a month, only 40 members of our 7,000 (less than 1%) answered it. While survey response rates for a group of this size are typically very low, this is lower than the norm. It's hard to know what to make of this - so, I'm choosing to look on the bright side ! If you didn't speak up, I'm assuming it's because you're very satisfied with the site.

This assumption is certainly consistent with the 40 results I did receive: 68% of respondents gave the site an overall rating of 5, the highest one (meaning, in their opinion, the site is serving its mission statement "extremely well"). On a scale of 1 to 5, the average site rating was 4.4, with only two people giving the site an average (3) rating, which is great by any survey standard!

But . . . there's always room for improvement, which is where your comments about likes, dislikes, and wishes (for new features) come in!

Likes

By a landslide, the most commonly mentioned like was the wealth and diversity of cookie images and ideas displayed on the site by members. The vast majority of people (with two exceptions) love the photo feeds! The good news is: the feeds will stay on the site, unaltered!

Dislikes

Many people said they couldn't think of anything they didn't like, but there were four topics that came up more than once, and so are worth pointing out here:

1. Member Search -  People would like it to be easier to find members in certain areas of the country or world. In short, they'd like a more powerful member search based on geography. See more about how we're addressing this issue in Sections II and III below.

2. Too Many Clip Notifications (and Not Enough New Blog Post Notifications) - This could very well be certain people's experience on the site if they have not adjusted their email notifications upon joining the site. But notifications of every kind (about clips, blog posts, and every other area of the site) can be independently controlled by each member, and scaled up or down to receive as much, or as little, as desired. Again, I strongly urge members to read all links in their sign-up letters, as the one about email notifications explains exactly how to adjust them. This information can also be found at the top of every forum, in this post, if you no longer have your site sign-up letter.

3. The Same People Get Featured Over and Over - This comment seems to relate mostly to who gets top billing in the home page photo feeds and Saturday Spotlights, as I have yet to repeat an interview with any cookier. As a reminder, who gets featured in the feeds (and thus in the Saturday Spotlights) is not something over which I or any site administrator has much control. Rankings in the feeds are determined solely by what members choose to view, like, and comment on, and are automatically determined by the gathering of these statistics by site software. The more you view, like, and comment on a particular photo, the higher it will advance in the photo feeds, period.

I do draw Saturday Spotlight honorees from the photo feed results (this is done purposely, so as to remove any possible personal bias). But, that said, I exercise judgment week to week in choosing which clip set(s) to feature, and I typically choose those where the automatic site rankings show new or different people in the top ten spots. However, truth be told, it's often hard to spread the wealth - some people post wonderful work quite regularly, and so, naturally, they have greater odds of grabbing a top spot no matter what clip set I choose to feature.

So . . . if you're tired of seeing the same people in these spots, my best suggestion is for you to take action - either by posting more of your own cookie images or by responding more to the images of newcomers to the site, by commenting, viewing, and liking what they post. Rankings won't change unless you help to spread the wealth in this way.

4. The Home Page Photo Feed - Again, only two people mentioned they did not like it (the vast majority love the diversity of images shared on the site). When I probed a bit further to understand the issue here, one member explained that she felt people were paying too much attention to the feed and not fully utilizing other features of the site, like the chat rooms, forums, and surveys, which are great areas for fostering learning and sharing. While this is just one member's point of view, I happen to share it - and site stats confirm it: most people spend the majority of their time on the site viewing images. That said, I will be addressing some ways to encourage broader involvement (and greater learning) on the site in Section II below.

Wishes

Despite spending the vast majority of their time viewing photos, members most often cited the desire for more information content on the site! Respondents want more tutorials, more equipment and tool reviews, more posts on the business of cookies, and possibly even live video chats, like on Periscope!

Enhanced member search capability - in particular, the ability to generate a list of members in a specified geographic area - surfaced again on a few members' wish lists.

And, lastly, over 90% of the 157 members who responded to the "global tool glossary" survey said they would be interested in seeing this tool or a related feature on the site in the future.

II. New Features and Actions Taken

So, how is Cookie Connection responding to the above information?! In many ways, some of which have already started! 

First, we've added and will be adding more information content, in the form of tutorials, business posts, and a variation of the global tool glossary idea. As you may know, Michelle Green of The Business of Baking has been guest-blogging for a few months on the business of cookies. Her six-post series concludes with another post in September, and I hope she will continue in her guest capacity with more posts in coming months. Later in August, Aixa Zunino of Dolce Sentire, who you may recognize from the two handpainting lessons she recently posted to the site, will be joining Cookie Connection as a regular contributor, taking the place of the recently departed Pamoda Vanderwert of Sugar Pearls Cakes and Bakes. In her column, Get Inspired with Dolce Sentire, Aixa will provide photo-rich, step-by-step tutorials that will prove: if you can dream it, you can cookie it! And, fortunately for us, Liesbet Schietecatte has volunteered to lead the charge on the global tool glossary idea. But rather than doing all of the primary research herself, she'll be kicking off a series of blog discussions (tentatively entitled Tool School) designed to get us all talking on a global level about the products available in our own backyards. Her first such discussion is slated for mid-September and will be on the topic of similarities and differences in baking paper across the world! Stay tuned! 

While I have submitted a suggestion to Hoop.la, Cookie Connection's host platform, to develop video chat functionality (I can think of few better ways to enhance online connections), it is not in their development plans for the foreseeable future. And, unfortunately, Cookie Connection is not generating any surplus funds that could pay for its independent development.

However, we will be piloting a new form of chat, which will be called Sweet Sharing and is the brainchild of Tina Deluca Tsourtsoulas of Sugar Wishes. Unlike our existing moderated monthly chats that last one hour and cover a wide gamut of topics in one sitting, the Sweet Sharing chats will be open for several hours on a given day to engage as many site visitors as possible, with a featured cookier available the entire time to answer questions about a single topic, like handpainting or working with fondant. The hope is that these conversations will be very fluid and spontaneous, and info-packed – as if we were all sitting in a room with our cookie besties swapping tips and having fun. As with our tutorial and blog additions, the primary goal of this chat is to increase information-sharing on the site! The first Sweet Sharing is being planned for either September or October; I should have more details about the speaker, topic, and time very soon!

As for enhanced member search functionality by geography, I have also submitted a suggestion to Hoop.la to develop stronger capability here. While they agree that the idea has merit, they simply do not have enough interested customers to justify adding it to their immediate development plan. And, as with the video chat idea, the site does not generate enough money to fund this idea independently. That said, there are currently ways - albeit not elegant ways - to find members in your area on this site, and I'll be reminding you of those ways shortly, in Section III below.

But before that reminder, some important words about site funding and a related program that will be implemented in early 2016. As I alluded to earlier, Cookie Connection currently generates no surplus funds to fuel new and cool ideas; as such, any idea we choose to undertake, including all those just mentioned, must be done by volunteers. The site also continues to grow by leaps and bounds, which is awesome by most counts! But as activity on the site increases so do my out-of-pocket hosting (Hoopl.la) costs, and so does my time involved in managing the site, which is also done on a volunteer basis. Over the last six months, I've thought long and hard about how to create a more sustainable business model for the site, and life model for me - one that generates surplus funds to fuel more of your many great suggestions, and one that allows me more freedom to do other things I love. I've also done a lot of research into crowd-sourcing and other funding options, and carefully weighed the various pros and cons.

Long story short, I've decided to introduce a premium Cookie Connection membership early next year. It will start as a voluntary opt-in membership, which for some nominal monthly or annual fee yet to be determined, will allow premium members access to certain features or benefits not available to non-paying members. No existing privileges will be denied to any members; rather a new "benefit" package will be structured as incentive for members to sign-up and, in turn, help fund the site. Depending on the success of this campaign, I plan to first fund: (1) the promised new benefits to this membership group, (2) the soon-to-increase site hosting costs, and (3) a full-time editor/moderator/online advertising guru to take over what has become a full-time job for me. Any additional funds would be icing on the cake (or cookie, as in this case! ), and site priorities at the time will dictate how, or if, they're spent.

One last word on the premium membership plan: all I've said about it is subject to change, of course, but I did want to give you this heads-up. The site has grown well beyond my wildest dreams, and it's simply not realistic for it to continue to run on a break-even basis, with everything being given away for free. My hope is that if members value the site as much as the survey suggests, they'll want to contribute to its continued success. 

III. Existing Feature Reminders

First, if you've stuck with me to this point, congrats!

Second, since enhanced member search functionality is not in the cards for now, some final reminders about how you can currently find members in various areas on the site: 

1. Find on Member Map - The map feature is located under "Members" in the main navigation line. Simply click on that button and then select "View As Map" in the drop-down menu that will appear in the upper right of the page. You should see something like this:

MemberMap

Then use the "zoom bar" to the left of the map to see the number of members in a certain area. You won't get a list of members in the area from this feature, but it's a start! For a member list by area, read on to point 2 below.

2. Search Members Using a Geographical Keyword - To do this, go to "Search" in the main navigation line and then select "Members" in the list of items appearing on the left of the page. (This will confine the search to member profiles only, rather than all areas of the site.) Then place the geographical area you want to find in the search box at the top of the page. For example, the following is what I entered to find members located in France:

France

What's important to note is that this search feature will pull up any member who has entered that keyword anywhere in his/her profile, not just as his/her location. That said, you may end up with some extra members who do not actually live in the area, like the various Francesca's who came up in this search. But this feature will allow you to home in on a member list pretty fast - it just takes a quick click on each name in the list to see if the location that's listed in the profile is indeed a match.

And, on that note, I conclude the survey recap - finally! Phew! I hope you're as excited as I am about the new tutorials, blogs, and other features being planned for the site! If you have any questions about anything here, just give me a holler. Last but certainly not least, thank you to all who took the time to provide feedback; the site can only ever be as good as you tell me you want it to be! And thanks to those members who have stepped up to contribute to our new features! They all deserve a huge round of applause!

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  • Member Map: Screen Shot from Cookie Connection
  • Search for Members in France: Screen Shot from Cookie Connection

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Comments (16)

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Julia

Thanks so much for the great info on the survey feedback.  As a new'ish member still finding their way around (cookie decorating and the site)! I look forward to the changes. I for one would be willing to pay a small amount on a regular basis.  If everyone did this then funds would be generated and everyone will benefit.

I am based in Spain and if I can be of any help then do contact me.

Now going to sign off and roll, cut and bake. decorating on Saturday!

Regards

Sheila

Hi Julia, thanks for all your regular effort to make this site enjoyable! I will say maybe I'm not the only one, but the reason I did not do the servey is because there were so many pop-ups on the site, I thought it was a scam. I've put up a pop-up blocker, but alas, they still come. It looks like you got a great and verried response anyway, but sorry for my personal lack of input, it's not for lack of loving this venue! I have been very blessed to be a part of it and enjoy it's content very much. Also, the improvements you have planned seem wonderful. Keep up the good work! ~Kim

Like the others, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for the effort that goes into providing such a comprehensive venue for all of us cookie bakers! It is a huge time hog-- please let me first say I am very thankful this is available to us.  That said, I, too, would be willing to pay a small fee to be a "preferred" member.  

I cliche as it sounds, I did not see the survey (I was not doing much cookie making over the summer and did not visit the site as often as usual).  Maybe there was a low response rate because it was conducted during summertime when many are out and about? If you were to repost it (perhaps sent directly to registered emails?) I would certainly provide feedback.  As a researcher I know the importance of audience input--that is what drives the site. Without it there would be no site perhaps.  I also know it is time consuming and there are costs associated.  Just thought I would share that thought.

I just wanted to personally thank you for this opportunity to converse with fellow cookie bakers across the globe.  We are lucky to have YOUR time, talent, and expertise, as well as those of other members!     

Thank you for building such a robust community of creative people and for dedicating so much energy to making the site work for everyone. I know how hard it can be to manage something like this since I do it in my "day job" world.

Thanks for providing such a thorough analysis of the survey results! --  I found it interesting and learned a few things.  I love the Sweet Share idea - it sounds almost like being able to take a mini class on a particular topic.  I think the membership idea is good too - I'm certainly willing to help support the site if I can, and I'm sure many others will too.

Originally Posted by Kim Damon:

Hi Julia, thanks for all your regular effort to make this site enjoyable! I will say maybe I'm not the only one, but the reason I did not do the servey is because there were so many pop-ups on the site, I thought it was a scam. I've put up a pop-up blocker, but alas, they still come. It looks like you got a great and verried response anyway, but sorry for my personal lack of input, it's not for lack of loving this venue! I have been very blessed to be a part of it and enjoy it's content very much. Also, the improvements you have planned seem wonderful. Keep up the good work! ~Kim

Hi, Kim, Sorry you find the news flashes distracting, but the ones that I create on the site are designed to alert people to the most important new information that's posted, to be sure everyone sees key deadlines and offers and has the opportunity to participate. Once you mark them as read, they will not pop up any more. I typically only post one news flash every two weeks, so I think the frequency isn't excessive; it may be that you're just not marking them as read (there's a check box to do this) and so the same one continues to pop up.

 

But, you could be having a pop-up issue of your own too. Site news flashes are easy to distinguish from others that I don't generate, as they are entitled "News Flash", usually contain the word Cookie Connection, and are also formatted in the same fonts as elsewhere on the site. They look something like this:

 

Site Survey Flash

 

I can't help you fix any pop-up issue not related to Cookie Connection; you may need a stronger pop-up blocker if that's the issue. But, rest assured, there are no other site-generated pop-ups than the ones that look like what's posted above. No pop-up ads, nothing.

 

I also feel like they're important for me to continue (at a weekly or every other week frequency), for the reasons noted. So please just mark them as read, and the latest one will disappear.

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Images (1)
  • Site Survey Flash
Last edited by Julia M. Usher

Julia - Thank you so much for all you do with this site!  This is one of the first groups I joined when I started decorating cookies, and have learned so much for the information posted here.  I also credit this page for helping to meet many other "cookiers" that I am now happy to call my friends.

 

I will be one of the first in line to sign up for the premium membership once it is available!! <3 

Thanks Julia for this great website and all the time you put into it. I really enjoy it! You (and all the others in the group!) help me become a greater cookier. I know it involves a lot of effort, time and imagination and it will be with pleasure I'll subscribe to premium membership! It's a very good idea1

Thank you so much for all your hard work. I have learned so much from some of the most talented artist that I would never had been able to connect with. And it hasn't cost me a dime!  Yea, I would be proud to give back for the teaching I have received and the amazing cookies art we have yet to see!! Much Love
Originally Posted by Julia M. Usher:
Originally Posted by Kim Damon:

Hi Julia, thanks for all your regular effort to make this site enjoyable! I will say maybe I'm not the only one, but the reason I did not do the servey is because there were so many pop-ups on the site, I thought it was a scam. I've put up a pop-up blocker, but alas, they still come. It looks like you got a great and verried response anyway, but sorry for my personal lack of input, it's not for lack of loving this venue! I have been very blessed to be a part of it and enjoy it's content very much. Also, the improvements you have planned seem wonderful. Keep up the good work! ~Kim

Hi, Kim, Sorry you find the news flashes distracting, but the ones that I create on the site are designed to alert people to the most important new information that's posted, to be sure everyone sees key deadlines and offers and has the opportunity to participate. Once you mark them as read, they will not pop up any more. I typically only post one news flash every two weeks, so I think the frequency isn't excessive; it may be that you're just not marking them as read (there's a check box to do this) and so the same one continues to pop up.

 

But, you could be having a pop-up issue of your own too. Site news flashes are easy to distinguish from others that I don't generate, as they are entitled "News Flash", usually contain the word Cookie Connection, and are also formatted in the same fonts as elsewhere on the site. They look something like this:

 

Site Survey Flash

 

I can't help you fix any pop-up issue not related to Cookie Connection; you may need a stronger pop-up blocker if that's the issue. But, rest assured, there are no other site-generated pop-ups than the ones that look like what's posted above. No pop-up ads, nothing.

 

I also feel like they're important for me to continue (at a weekly or every other week frequency), for the reasons noted. So please just mark them as read, and the latest one will disappear.

Julia, I DO have problems with pop ups and it's not you! I'm so sorry if that was the implication. I totally don't mind the things you put up there, it's your site and it's run very well. I have a pop up issue and it only happens on certain sites. For some reason Amazon and your site are two of it's favorites. So I just have gotten used to immediately closing with out reading everything that pops up. Sorry again, I meant that. Sorry. I would have done it. My bad. Keep up the good work. 

Some great feedback, thanks for the summary! It looks like there will be some exciting developments in the contributions to the blog posts etc. I really enjoy reading the installments about cookie business, and I'm looking forward to seeing much more from Dolce Sentire! Also, really curious about how the premium membership is going to pan out - can't wait to see what benefits there will be! I wasn't here from the beginning, but it's been really great to see how the site has developed and grown since I joined!

Well, you know I love you.  lol  hahahaaaaaaaa  I saw the notice about the survey and then I couldn't find it again.  I have been wondering about it; so glad to see your post.

Originally Posted by My Cookie Clinic:

Hi Julia, Thank you for the endless hours you spend on this site to keep it new and fresh. I did not notice the survey pop-up and would have liked to provide feedback ... next time! As far as generating revenue for this site, have you considered selling sidebar advertising space for cookie blogs at one week, two week and one month subscriptions? As a cookie blogger, I'm always looking to attract visitors and subscribers to my blog. Since visitors to this site are interested in decorated cookies, it may be a good way to get added exposure.

Advertising options are available to anyone who inquires and whose business fits the interests of members. Just email me if you are interested, and I will send the rate sheet. We have many site advertisers already, and also are involved with at least three affiliate programs. However, this money just covers the costs of hosting the site, which are about to increase again very soon. Also, managing the advertising smartly is nothing I'm experienced doing and it takes a lot of time, so this is one function for which I'd be hiring if I can raise enough funds through premium memberships. My feeling, after considering many funding options, is that if the site is valuable to people, they should have no trouble paying a small fee to support it. If they don't sign up for the membership, then that's the truest test of the site's value that I could ever design. If it's not generating enough value to justify the hours invested, then I'll definitely find out with this plan!

Last edited by Julia M. Usher
Hi Julia,
 
I think it would be a good idea to introduce two levels of premium membership, one general and a little pricier "business" or "sponsor" membership that would include some advertising on the site. If I could afford it I would probably buy this option and I am sure many other businesses would. It would also make part of the advertising more controllable and predictable.
 
Originally Posted by Julia M. Usher:
Originally Posted by My Cookie Clinic:

Hi Julia, Thank you for the endless hours you spend on this site to keep it new and fresh. I did not notice the survey pop-up and would have liked to provide feedback ... next time! As far as generating revenue for this site, have you considered selling sidebar advertising space for cookie blogs at one week, two week and one month subscriptions? As a cookie blogger, I'm always looking to attract visitors and subscribers to my blog. Since visitors to this site are interested in decorated cookies, it may be a good way to get added exposure.

Advertising options are available to anyone who inquires and whose business fits the interests of members. Just email me if you are interested, and I will send the rate sheet. We have many site advertisers already, and also are involved with at least three affiliate programs. However, this money just covers the costs of hosting the site, which are about to increase again very soon. Also, managing the advertising smartly is nothing I'm experienced doing and it takes a lot of time, so this is one function for which I'd be hiring if I can raise enough funds through premium memberships. My feeling, after considering many funding options, is that if the site is valuable to people, they should have no trouble paying a small fee to support it. If they don't sign up for the membership, then that's the truest test of the site's value that I could ever design. If it's not generating enough value to justify the hours invested, then I'll definitely find out with this plan!

 

Originally Posted by Tunde:
Hi Julia,
 
I think it would be a good idea to introduce two levels of premium membership, one general and a little pricier "business" or "sponsor" membership that would include some advertising on the site. If I could afford it I would probably buy this option and I am sure many other businesses would. It would also make part of the advertising more controllable and predictable.
 
Originally Posted by Julia M. Usher:
Originally Posted by My Cookie Clinic:

Hi Julia, Thank you for the endless hours you spend on this site to keep it new and fresh. I did not notice the survey pop-up and would have liked to provide feedback ... next time! As far as generating revenue for this site, have you considered selling sidebar advertising space for cookie blogs at one week, two week and one month subscriptions? As a cookie blogger, I'm always looking to attract visitors and subscribers to my blog. Since visitors to this site are interested in decorated cookies, it may be a good way to get added exposure.

Advertising options are available to anyone who inquires and whose business fits the interests of members. Just email me if you are interested, and I will send the rate sheet. We have many site advertisers already, and also are involved with at least three affiliate programs. However, this money just covers the costs of hosting the site, which are about to increase again very soon. Also, managing the advertising smartly is nothing I'm experienced doing and it takes a lot of time, so this is one function for which I'd be hiring if I can raise enough funds through premium memberships. My feeling, after considering many funding options, is that if the site is valuable to people, they should have no trouble paying a small fee to support it. If they don't sign up for the membership, then that's the truest test of the site's value that I could ever design. If it's not generating enough value to justify the hours invested, then I'll definitely find out with this plan!

 

That's an interesting idea, though I don't think tiered memberships are possible on this site. I'll look into it though. Plus, I already book advertising in 3-month to annual blocks, so that part is actually pretty predictable. And any member can already advertise if they just ask for the rate sheet and agree to the terms. If you're interested, please email me and I'll send the rate sheet.

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