Optimizing Surveys

It can be agreed that surveys are a great way to find out what your readers like or dislike about your magazine.

By Chandra Johnson-Greene
Monday, November 10, 2008

It can be agreed that surveys are a great way to find out what your readers like or dislike about your magazine. Their answers could help determine your title’s editorial direction, ad sales and audience development.

But out of the questions you could ask, which answers are most valuable? According to Linda Ruth, president, Publisher Total Sales Service, a factor called RUM can give you the information needed to determine if your magazine hits its mark.

RUM (Reader Usage Measure) can be used to reveal how much time your audience spends reading your title and how often they read. “The higher your RUM is,” Ruth told 2008 Folio: Show attendees, “the more likely your reader will respond to advertising in the magazine.”

RUM can be measured using 39 descriptors that Northwestern University created, Ruth said, during its study of magazine reader experience four years ago. The top two drivers of RUM are “I get value for time and money” and “It makes me smarter.” The inhibitor was “It disappoints me.”

According to the study, RUM is driven by generation (baby boomers tend to be the most disappointed with the titles they read); gender (women view magazines as their “personal timeout”); and ethnicity (African-Americans express a deep connection with the titles they read).

RUM does not seem to be driven by lifestyle, personality traits or media usage. More surprisingly, it’s not driven by the source, price or size of the publication either.