Almost 2500 of you took my 2010 Reader Survey in January, and I figured I'd say thank you by sharing some of the results.
First, the nitty gritty:
- Unsurprisingly, 98% of you are women, with 1% each identifying as male or transgender (Aside: big thanks to the reader who suggested I add "Neither/Both" as a gender option. I'd let the survey software autopopulate the gender question with Male and Female as the only options, which was dumb. Sarah Dopp of Genderfork recently wrote a great post on this)
- The majority of you are in your mid- to late-20s
- 85% of you are white and 7% of you are multi-racial
- 13% of you identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, or otherwise queer
Now, let's dive into some more nuanced data...
It's interesting to me that really only half of you are currently engaged. Offbeat Bride is of course primarily about wedding planning, but a third of our readers are either not yet engaged (18%) or recently married (14%). Y'all show up for the party early, and stay late to help us wash the dishes — I love that about you!
When I last did a reader survey just over a year ago, the most shocking thing I learned was how few offbeatbride.com readers read my book. In December 2008, 65% of you hadn't read my book, prompting me to write a post titled 10 reasons you need to read Offbeat Bride the book, and not just offbeatbride.com. Clearly, my efforts were fruitless because this year 72% of you haven't read the book. I'm trying to convince myself that it's because some of you are waiting for the second edition to be released in a couple weeks. If you've been waiting, ladies: NOW IS THE TIME!
In terms of what y'all want to see on the site, you told us loud and clear that you want more DIY content, more advice, and more budgeting tips. Well, I've already got Offbeat Shrie bumping up her DIY efforts, and I've recommitted myself to answering more advice questions. As far as budgeting, I'll see what I can do to bring in a few guest-posters.
The write-in comments for what you want more of on the site were super interesting. One of the challenges of running a site dedicated to nontraditional brides is that ALL of you wants to see more people like yourself on the site — and you're a diverse lot! More Native American brides, more plus size brides, more international content, more Jewish weddings, more stuff in the Midwest, more interfaith weddings, more black wedding gowns, more information about elopements, more men.
Of course we try to provide ALL these things, but the sad truth is this: Offbeat Bride will never be everything for everyone. We do the best we can to keep the site varied and diverse, but ultimately there are a few things we just aren't:
- Offbeat Bride is written for women. Offbeat Grooms get coverage here and everyone is welcome to read, but ultimately I wrote my book and founded this website to cater to women, and that focus will remain. In having this focus, I'm certainly not saying men shouldn't love weddings and be actively involved in planning them. I'm just saying I do my best writing and community building for women, and so that's what I choose to do. I recommend the Offbeat Groom Gang for the menfolks!
- Offbeat Bride is based in the United States. We LOVE international weddings and featured tons of weddings in the UK and Australia/New Zealand, but ultimately we're American and it would be disingenuous to claim we're experts on wedding traditions or trends in other countries.
- Offbeat Bride is focused on weddings. This means that we're not especially interested in engagement stories and photos, and we don't dedicate a ton of time to talking about marriage. I'm trying to integrate a bit more of this "offbeat wife" post-wedding writings for y'all, but for the most part I chose to keep this site focused on weddings.
All this is to say: YES! We're always aiming to get a wider diversity of brides and weddings on this site. But, NO! There's just no way we'll be able to be absolutely everything to every single one of you. There's only one person who can make the perfect website for, say, an Inuit rockabilly planning a queer interfaith Jewish ceremony in a cave — and that's you. So while you might not always relate to every single thing you see on Offbeat Bride, hopefully you can enjoy most of it.
Coming in Part 2: What subcultures do most Offbeat Brides identify with? What's coming next for Offbeat Bride? And what Offbeat website will we be launching next?
About Ariel Meadow Stallings
Author of Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides, Ariel acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives, loves, and dorks out hard in Seattle, WA.
Anna said
Just wanted to say thank you for the site in general Ariel. I do have a ton of support in my life for my…um…uniqueness, but having OBB to come to everyday has helped me immensely in sticking to my authentic self – in wedding plans AND in life. The support radiates out to all of your readers – you can see it in the way people treat each other in the comments section and on OBT. That comes not only from your vision but also your leadership and example.
Survey results are extremely interesting (I am a data/graph/stats geek) so please keep it coming!
Marie said
I'm a non-engaged reader (hopefully to be engaged this year) but like others haven't gone anywhere near the book as it would be a concrete symbol of "this wedding is happening!!!" causing a whole avalance of wedding related stuff that would just freak the boyfriend out. As long as I keep my wedding related searches on the web, it's just fantasy and no one has to go crazy or get worried.
I like some of the international posts as there are plenty similarities between us and the Canadians, Brits, Aussies, and Kiwis. However, sometimes some cultural diffs have to be spelled out.
And good for stating that you can't be all things to all people and being okay with it, because that's why we are here, to escape the pressure of being all things. Yes, there are some adjustments that can be tweaked but we need to understand and be tolerant when too many adjustments just ruins the soup, I meant site. I celebrate your statement that you write for women and that is where your talent is.
So when my guy drops knee I will be on Half.com or Amazon.com or one of those book websites buying your book.
brandee said
Offbeat Bride the book is a fantastic read! It is well written and insightful. I ordered it soon after I stumbled upon this website, and found reading it to be a major highlight of my early engagement and wedding planning/envisioning. This website is wonderful, with so much to offer- but reading a book is much more comforting, in my opinion, than the internet. They both have value… Maybe the statistic reflects the fact that less people read books these days, and in general are more apt to get their info from the internet than books… Anyway… if you have any inclination to read a really good book, and have been pondering buying Offbeat Bride, you should go for it.
yellowbird said
I found the book on amazon- then stumbled onto the blog when I was trying to find a used copy. I've been reading both at the same time which has been interesting. Personally, I find the book reads almost more like a really good novel then a wedding planning guide. I tend to read it in the bath- cliche but so needed as a way to destress. Unlike other wedding books which explain the basic "questions to ask a photographer" and "how to be martha stewart" concepts- I find yours much more comforting. It makes me feel less like a crazy person and more like someone who's in love and wants to just get married. Thanks Ariel
mary lou said
I am a 22 year old white female farm girl from Iowa. I have never read your book, and never will. 1st- I am too busy with school to read leisurely books. 2nd- I'm not too big on reading.