Sugarbeat's Books

The Home of the Romance Novel

Book Bloggers Survey & Giveaway

By

Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books!

Thanks for dropping by today!

  I recently got into a conversation about book blogging with a fellow blogger.  I realized that although I’ve been blogging for a while now, I don’t spend enough time getting to know my fellow book bloggers.

Most book bloggers, from my experience, start a blog because of their love of books.  We may differ in the genre of books we read, but we all love books.

I’ve decided to write a paper on book blogging.  For those of you who don’t know, I’m of a scientific background and LOVE doing research.  I’m hoping to get as many book bloggers as possible to fill out this survey.  I’m currently following about 800 on twitter, so I know that there are lots of us out there!

I want to offer giveaway prizes for filling out this survey and I want the prizes to be worthwhile.

I’ve thought long and hard about this.  At one point I thought I’d offer up a Kindle as a prize.  That creates problems with the bloggers that live overseas I understand – also the shipping is outrageous!  I thought about books or Amazon/BN gift cards.  Many of us have more books that we can ever read….and they keep coming 🙂

So….what I’ve decided is that the giveaway prizes will be cash.  If you want to put the cash towards the purchase of an e-reader or books, that’s fine.  If you just want to pay off a bill, that’s fine as well.  I’m hoping that this provides flexibility for everyone!

Prize #1 – $50.00

Prize #2 – $40.00

Prize #3 – $30.00

Prize #4 – $20.00

So…the survey is going to stay in place until after the Book Bloggers and Publisher’s Conference which takes place in March.  I hope you can all attend!! Once I take it down, I’ll announce the winners on this blog.

Thanks for filling out the survey and good luck on the giveaway!

 

About Barb Drozdowich

Social Media and Wordpress Consultant Barb Drozdowich has taught at University, trained technical personnel in the banking industry and, most recently, used her expertise to help dozens of authors develop the social media platform needed to succeed in today’s fast evolving publishing world. She owns Bakerview Consulting and is the only reviewer on this blog.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Chrystal @ Snowdrop Dreams of Books

    Great questions. If you need more just let me know.

    The one thing I noted was about paid advertising… I offer it, but have yet to have anyone other than my best friend use it. LOL So it’s something I’m trying to do, but I think with an eclectic mixed blog like mine it might be harder to get advertising. Something like an all ROMANCE blog might receive more ad requests because they know that the person visiting that blog is looking for more romance books to read. *sigh* This is where I have been torn about making my blog all one genre or not. It’s just that my taste is books varies so much, that I hate to limit myself.

    Good luck with your paper! I’ll spread the word to my fellow bloggers for you so that you can get some more feedback. 🙂

    • Sugarbeat

      Morning Chrystal,
      Thanks so much for dropping by and humoring me 🙂 I firmly believe that each blog should be individual and representative of your personality and for book bloggers, your taste in reading. I don’t think that you should change your blog to something just to suit advertising!

      Thanks for the support!
      Barb

  3. CYP @ A Bookalicious Story

    Wow, I’ve never liked doing surveys, but that was fun! Haha. Maybe it’s book related that’s why I liked it XP

    I’ve never really got to know other bloggers too, but I think this is a great idea and event.:)

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Liz!
      Thanks so much for dropping by! I appreciate your time! I hope to put together a paper when I’m done – should be interesting!

      Thanks again!
      Barb

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Anastasia!
      Thanks for the suggestion! I do tons of interviews so it didn’t occur to me to have a smaller number 🙂 Always learning…..always learning 🙂

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Lynn!
      Good point! As the survey progresses, I’m finding that some questions should have been better worded, and some other questions should have been added. I hoped that it was a good starting point and that I can ask further questions in the future! Thanks for answering!

  10. Sarah

    Hope my answers help! I want to clarify something though – I have never had a GP, etc so I answered the lowest possible number.

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Sarah!
      Thanks for dropping me a note! I have realized after I put the survey up that there should be some more questions and some questions need more answers or at least the ability to answer in words! Hindsight is 20/20 I guess! Thanks so much for taking the time to help! Much appreciated!

  11. margie c {the bumble girl}

    I hope my answers are helpful! I’ve only been book blogging for a month now, lol! but it’s been so much fun and I’ve learned so much already, I thought I could help 🙂 LMK if there is anything else I can do! Thanks!

  12. MichelleKCanada (@AnotherLookBook)

    Great questions. I’d love to read your results. I like the question about when “If I feature a guest post, do they advertise as well” THAT really annoyes me when they don’t. They go to all the work to arrange the guest post and then leave it totally up to me to get word out. I figure it is a two way street.

    Thanks!
    MichelleKCanada
    another_look_book_reviews at hotmail dot ca

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Michelle!
      I hear you about the promo. One of my pet peeves also. Why go to the trouble ow writing up a GP or interview and then no promote it or visit the blog to say hi. I don’t understand…..
      Thanks so much for dropping by and contributing! I’ll put out a notice when I’m done and info will be available!

      Barb

  14. Janiera

    Hi! thanks for offering this survey and a prize to go with it? You rock. The questions were really well written and clear! I’m on a super tight budget but that book conference looks so interesting. If there is anyway I could participate in it I would love to. If you could email some information about it at prettyhaydengurl at yahoo dot com, I’d really appreciate it. I’d also post a link on my blog to your survey to say thanks. 🙂

  15. Diana @ Offbeat Vagabond

    This was a great survey. It actually helped in me re-evaluating some things. I may have been blogging for almost 2 years, but I still feel like a novice. It has taken me a while to really get into the swing of things. I didn’t go into it with the intention of making it a book blog, but I love my books and I like talking about them, so it was bound to happen. So with Michelle, if you do an interview or guest post, it is great to spread the word. I try to as much as I can because sometimes it doesn’t always work out that way. Crap, I hope I chose Sometimes. I was always bad with multiple choice LMAO! Awesome post hon and good luck with that paper. I think you will do great 🙂

    drharleyquinn87 (at) gmail (dot) com

  16. Scott

    My daughter submitted a survey that wasn’t complete (toddlers love to button smash lol). Sorry about that I got a fully completed one submitted. Very nice survey interesting to see that other people may have similar issues to me.

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Scott!
      I understand toddlers and their attraction to keyboards 🙂 Not to worry! I’m hoping to put together some sort of paper so that we can see what issues are in common…..Thanks for filling out the form! Much appreciated!

  17. Vidster

    Well done! Just a note: due to the nature of my blog (focus on cold case analysis) I post less book reviews than the others here but I do get the requests. Also, I email with the authors and remind them of the things I need (eg short bio, head shot, links, etc) and remind the to send me the link after they mentioned my review on their blog. So far good experiences but yes, I cannot keep up with all request, am backlogged! Terribly!

    • Sugarbeat

      Hey Vidster!
      Thanks so much for leaving your thoughts with me! I appreciate it! I don’t think any of us can keep up with the review requests! I’ll let you know when I’m done with the survey and make sure you get a copy of what I’ve found out.
      Barb

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Mandee!
      Thanks so much for stopping by! I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me 🙂 You’ll know when I’ve gathered all the thoughts together!

  21. Marti @ A little bit of Everything

    I don’t usually do surveys but that was fun! 🙂 I wish there were a bit more options for some of the questions though. I didn’t answer some of the questions because of the answer options. Maybe next time you could put a box for an open answer… 🙂
    Good luck with your paper.

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Marti!
      Thanks for filling out the survey! I agree with your comments! When I first posted the questions they seemed very well thought out. Through comments, however, I have realized that several of my questions were not well worded, or the answer choices not detailed enough. Live and learn 🙂

      Thanks again!

  23. Laurie

    I completed your survey but as a new blogger I had to leave a bunch of them blank. I haven’t had any guest posts nor have I participated in any blog tours yet. But I hope to add some of these in the future.

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Laurie!
      Thanks so much for answering what you can! What seemed like good questions when I was putting them together, I now know have problems! Not to worry, I’ll work with what I have!

      Thanks alot!
      Barb

  24. Nicci

    My Review blog is less than a year old but I just started posting consistently this year. I have never participated in a blog tour (although asked,) and I posted my first guest posts last month. I feel like a newbie.

    The Bookblogger conference is great. I’m getting great ideas.

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Nicci!
      Thanks for dropping by and saying hi! We all started somewhere and attending the conference is a huge step up in help! I learned so much last year and I’m excited about participating this year. Blog tours are fun if you choose the right one and can add so much more information for your readers. Look around carefully and ask questions of other bloggers and you find the right tour company for your blog!

      Thanks again!
      Barb

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Tabby!
      Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Much appreciated! I’ll let everyone know when I’m done!

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Lisa!
      Nice to meet another researcher! I was in science research for years and years! Once in research always in research I guess! I’ll keep you up to date with how the work is progressing.

  29. Yamina Collins

    Can’t wait to see the results of the survey! It was an interesting survey for me, though, because I don’t actually do book reviews. My blog is all about authors writing about the “making-of” of their books.

    Looking forward to hearing how others answer.

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Yamina!
      Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing. One of the important points is how different we all are. I’m hoping to publish this when I’m done, but when I’ll find the time to write it up….not a clue 🙂

  30. Poison Rose

    Interesting topic for a paper! Sheer brilliant idea. I definitely try not to limit my genres on mine, but find that with my blog and my own taste I tend toward the darker side of things, but am always willing to try other things that suit my tastes. I like to be able to be flexible, but still be me.

    Thanks for opening this up to us bloggers. Happy to be supporting your research!

    Sincerely,
    Poison Rose

  31. Dea S.

    That was an interesting survey! It made me reflect on how I blog. Btw, I have a feeling I’ve answered before (way back when I was on and off blogging in February due to school) but I can’t remember. So I’m sorry if I happen to fill it out twice. Right now school is already out (yaaay!) and I’m posting as often as possible. 🙂 Anyway, thank you!

  32. Karen Scott

    Can I suggest that you have ‘none’ as an option for more of the questions. Questions like the meme one, just didn’t apply to me at all. Memes are like swear words to me, I personally think they’re a massive waste of time.

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Karen!
      I agree! When I set up the questionnaire it seemed that the questions were absolutely perfect, but as more and more people fill the out, I realize that quite a few of the questions should have been done different. I guess hindsight really is 20/20! I appreciate your answers and your input – and truly thankful that so many people are dropping by to answer my survey!

      Barb

    • Rosario

      Ditto here. I started answering, but there were too many questions that didn’t have the answer I need. Reviews from requests: needed a 0 option, number who follow review policy instructions: needed a n/a option if you answer you don’t have a review policy, Memes and guest posts: needed a 0 option, and then all the questions about “when you do a guest post” also needed a N/a option. Sorry, I ended up not submitting a response, as any answers would have misrepresented reality.

      • Sugarbeat

        Hi Rosario!
        Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing some information! I realize that some of the questions should have either been worded differently, or had more options in the answers. Learn by doing! I look forward to seeing how different we all are!

        Thanks again!
        Barb

  33. Heather Brewer

    This was a good. I agree though that there should’ve been a couple more options on the interviews section. I do author interviews from Breathless press and some other’s I just don’t do them very often.

    I get a lot of my books from NetGalley and Edelweiss through review requests/approvals. I also get books from local authors, Breathless press and email requests.

    I started my blog as an overflow to the other blog I review for Everybody Needs a Little Romance because I read more books than I have review dates for so I post them on my blog. I’ve started another blog that I now review toddler books with my 3 year old granddaughter and its been a lot of fun.

    • Sugarbeat

      Hi Heather!
      Wow….I thought I was busy! You post way more than I do! Thank so much for taking the time to answer my questions! I really appreciate your input!

  34. Donna Brown

    Hi Barb – this was really interesting! I’ve been thinking a lot about how I blog and how authors use (or in some cases don’t use!) my review policy so this was a great tie in!
    Thanks
    Donna

  35. Sheila Ruth

    I started answering the “Check the following if you have accounts:” question, then accidentally skipped ahead and forgot to finish it. If you want to correct mine, I have all of those except GFC (I think — I don’t know what GFC is). Thanks.

  36. Stephanie Green

    This is a great idea! I would love to answer any more questions needed, and to see the paper once you’re finished! I would LOVE to attend in March, but I doubt I can. Where is it?

  37. Iris

    Hey there, I filled in the survey, but some of the questions could do with a “not applicable” option, such as the ones about memes, or about guest posts/interviews. Furthermore, the GP question was a little confusing as I had never heard of that before (but then, as a blogger in Europe, I hardly receive giveaway stuff nor physical review copies).