The Loop tops reader survey with best content and design

19 December 2006

In October we ran a survey for Loop readers, to find out what they think about the Alliance’s monthly electronic newsletter – and to ensure we develop The Loop as a way of sharing the news of the Alliance in the most useful and engaging way possible.

Thanks to all of you who took part in the survey – we had over 330 responses, which were generally very positive about The Loop. In terms of all the electronic newsletters that respondents subscribe to, The Loop came out best in terms of content and design.

The survey also gave us some valuable information that will help us in our quest to continue to develop both The Loop and the Alliance website to meet the needs of those who use them. The comments about the information people want from the Alliance was especially interesting, and in 2007 we’re going to be looking at how we can best deliver on some of these – keep an eye out for some thematic issues of The Loop next year.

A large number (just over 60%) of respondents to the survey were not aware of, or didn’t subscribe to, The Loop, but when asked if they wanted to, 90% chose to sign up. So we’re also going to be looking at how we can publicise The Loop more to people who would be interested. If you know of anyone who would be interested in signing up, please feel free to forward your issue on – and they can then go about subscribing for themselves.

We have highlighted some of the key findings from the survey below, or you can link through directly to the survey results here. In addition, as always, if you have any comments or suggestions about The Loop, you don’t need to wait for next year’s survey – you can email us directly.

The Loop survey – key findings

About the respondents

  • 337 respondents
  • 39.5% of them subscribe to The Loop
  • Of those that don’t subscribe, 90% chose to sign up for the newsletter
  • English was the first language of 65% of the respondents. After English, the five languages most spoken were:
    • French
    • Spanish
    • Kiswahili
    • Dutch
    • Hindi
  • People from 57 different countries responded to the survey, with 13% responding from India (the most of any country)
  • A large percentage of respondents worked for international and national non-governmental organisations (just under 50%), with others coming from community and faith-based organisations, AIDS service organisations and governments.

About The Loop

  • Respondents subscribe to a wide range of electronic newsletters and updates and those judged the best overall in terms of content and design were:
  • Just under 40% of respondents found out about The Loop from the Alliance website, followed by 25% from an online search engine
  • 45% of respondents link through to the articles in The Loop that most interest them, while 33% read most of the articles in full
  • 83% of respondents said that The Loop helps them with their work and 54% use The Loop to find out about new Alliance publications and resources
  • As a result of reading The Loop, just over 50% of readers of The Loop have ordered or downloaded a publication on the Alliance website and 46% have forwarded or recommended the article to a friend
  • On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is least and 5 is most effective, inspiring, innovative and dynamic), 92% of the respondents rated the content of The Loop a 3 or above
  • On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is least and 5 is most accessible, inspiring, engaging and relevant), 90% rated the content of The Loop a 3 or above
  • 70% of respondents thought the frequency of The Loop (every month) was about right, with 14% feeling it wasn’t often enough
  • 85% felt the length of The Loop was about right.

What readers want from the Alliance

  • Information and communication that respondents would like to receive from the Alliance is hugely varied, but includes:
    • New publications and training materials
    • Case studies, best practice, success stories
    • News and developments
    • Information in different languages
    • Research, statistics, and evidence
    • Information about conferences and events
    • A lot around funding – how to access funds, information about donors
    • How to partner with the Alliance
    • Country and regional information – updates, policies and strategies
    • Specific information around prevention and treatment
    • Alliance jobs and volunteering opportunities
    • How to help the Alliance.