Recent blogiversary survey netted intriguing results about YOU
Earlier this month, I announced my 4th Annual Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Blogiversary Giveaway Contest where you could win all sorts of fun low-carb prizes and I’ll be sharing the winners of those special freebies sometime at my blog on Thursday. It’ll be well worth the wait for over 100 of you who entered my contest, but part of your requirement to participate in the contest was to answer a few simple questions about yourself:
- Which low-carb plan are you on and how long have you been on it?
- Are you diabetic? If so, then is it Type 1 or Type 2?
- What is your favorite part of the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog?
Now that all the entries are in and the data from that simple reader survey has been tabulated, I’d like to share the results and my analysis of it with you so you can see some of the curious demographics of your fellow “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog readers. Some things may surprise you, but other statistics will very likely be what you would expect from a blog focused on diet, health, and fitness. Let’s take a closer look at what the survey results were.
First, let’s talk about where people who entered the contest were from. It was opened up to anyone and everyone from around the world and yet only six foreign countries were represented, including The Netherlands, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, and, of course, our neighbors to the north in Canada. I was surprised to not have any entries from the UK, Germany, Australia, or Sweden where low-carb living seems to be a hotbed right now. However, here in the United States, a whopping 40 out of the 50 states were represented which is the most I’ve ever had in the four-year history of doing these blogiversary contests (only 37 states were represented in the 2008 contest).
Here are the top 12 states represented in order of percentage of entries:
1. Texas–8%
2. Michigan–7.5%
3. California–7.5%
4. North Carolina–4%
5. New York–4%
6. Florida–4%
7. Wisconsin–3%
8. Illinois–3%
9. Tennessee–3%
10. Minnesota–3%
11. Oklahoma–3%
12. Missouri–3%
I’m always very surprised that my own home state of South Carolina (1.5%) isn’t better represented in these contests, but it just goes to show you that where I live doesn’t have a real bearing on the actual people who read my blog. Everyone thinks I must be some kind of celebrity in South Carolina, but I’m just a bum like the next guy here. But I should really move to Michigan which ranked second behind that big Southern powerhouse state Texas and tied with California. As a percentage of total population, Michigan was hands down the most represented amongst the readership here at the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog.
Second, how about the specific low-carb plan of the people who read this blog? There are a wide range of carbohydrate-restricted diets out there for people to follow and thirteen of them were represented in this survey. Some people listed multiple plans they are following, so that’s why the statistics exceeded 100 percent. But here is what people said they were doing on their own low-carb journey to better health:
1. Atkins–56%
2. My own low-carb plan–19%
3. Protein Power–12.5%
4. Paleo–4%
5. Bernstein–3%
6. South Beach–2.5%
7. Somercizing–2.5%
8. Barry Groves–2.5%
9. Low-GI–1.5%
10. Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint–1.5%
11. Glycemic Load Diet–1%
12. Mercola Diet–1%
13. Dr. Jonny Bowden’s Boot Camp–1%
As has happened every year since I’ve tabulated what low-carb diet my readers are following, the Atkins diet seems to be the low-carb diet of choice for well over half of the people who read my blog. That could have something to do with the fact that I personally lost my weight in 2004 after reading Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution and people are wanting to try it out for themselves. Or they could be calling their diet “Atkins” when in fact they’re just eating low-carb. It’s hard to tell just from the raw answers provided for this contest. Even with following the basic Atkins diet, one reader said she is “keeping an open mind to all new research as I believe there are some things that are not yet fully understood yet.” I would assume quite a few of my readers share that same belief.
But nearly one out of every five respondents didn’t mind sharing that they are following general low-carb principles (one wrote, “trying to find a mix that works for me”), with many more stating that Gary Taubes’ 2007 release Good Calories, Bad Calories gave them the basic groundwork for developing such an individualized plan and beginning a low-carb nutritional approach in earnest. Here’s how one reader succinctly described her dietary philosophy:
“I’ve crafted my diet out of my cumulative knowledge after 12 years of reading metabolic-related materials (including books by Atkins, Protein Power, and most recently and importantly, Good Calories, Bad Calories).”
Third, so everyone has their own specific low-carb plan, but how long have they been following their particular plan? You’d think with all the negative publicity livin’ la vida low-carb has received in the media and from so-called health “experts” in recent years that NOBODY would be left following this diet, let alone trying it for the first time. But that’s not what my survey results showed! Nearly one-fourth (23%) of respondents have been on a low-carb program for less than a year and 39 percent have been on it for the past two years. That means nearly two-thirds (62%) of my readers have only been livin’ la vida low-carb since 2007. Another one-fourth of respondents to my survey (27%) have been long-term low-carbers of more than 3 years with a sizable number (4%) who have been low-carbing for more than a decade. Anyone who thinks low-carb is some dead fad diet that nobody is doing anymore is detached from the reality that people’s lives are STILL being changed by the healthy low-carb lifestyle in 2009.
Fourth, I suppose it should come as no surprise that the overwhelming majority of my readers (75%) are women since the subject of weight loss tends to appeal to females more than males. But my blog is about so much more than simple weight loss–it’s about living healthy, being fit, and making the necessary improvements in your lifestyle to attain the most amazing health you can possibly find eating in a way that is natural and delicious. Plus, I incorporate the most cutting-edge information and research about carbohydrate-restriction into the content of the blog which may explain why one-fourth of my readers are men–a level that is probably higher than most other “diet”-focused blogs.
Fifth, I wanted to know what people like the best the whole “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” concept? Almost one-third (32.5%) responded that my podcast interviews with the experts is what you enjoy the most followed by the blog posts with the latest low-carb news, scientific studies, and health headlines (23%). Another 21 percent said they like everything about the work I do while 16.5 percent like the fact that I am a real person sharing my real low-carb experiences on a daily basis. The daily menus blog was the favorite for 11.5 percent of respondents while low-carb product reviews and low-carb recipe blog posts each received the thumbs up from 7.5 percent of the survey takers respectively.
Surprisingly, another 6 percent said they enjoyed my new “Fun-Filled Friday” posts which is hilarious to me since they’re just a whimsical afterthought for this blog and very rarely have anything to do with low-carb living. Perhaps I should do more of it. I was surprised that the YouTube videos, new low-carb book reviews, new low-carb blog listings, and even my low-carb forum all received less than 5 percent of the vote from the readers about what they are most engaged in. Interesting. Of course, one out of every five readers who come to the blog told me they like EVERYTHING, so maybe it’s all good what I do.
Finally, I asked the blogiversary contestants about the subject of diabetes. The question was, “Are you diabetic? If so, then is it Type 1 or Type 2?” Of course, I expected people to answer “yes and I’m this kind of diabetic” or “no I don’t have diabetes.” But something rather peculiar happened with this question. Exactly two-thirds of respondents said a flat-out “no” to the question about diabetes. But another 10 percent gave me some extra information that while they don’t have diabetes, a family member or spouse does. This tells me that they are livin’ la vida low-carb with a purpose in mind to avoid becoming diabetic inspired by that family member. Outstanding!
Fifteen percent identified themselves as Type 2 diabetics while just one percent noted they had Type 1 diabetes. These statistics are about double the national demographics for diabetes, although I was fully expecting to see this higher percentage than the average amongst my readership since low-carb diets are gaining more and more attention for controlling this disease. Interestingly, while I didn’t ask about this condition, another 6.5 percent told me that they have been diagnosed as “pre-diabetic” with insulin resistance or other blood sugar problems that have them on the pathway to full-blown diabetes. I think this is indicative of the higher intelligence of those who frequent this blog because they recognize there’s more to the question than a black and white answer to whether you are diabetic or not.
All in all, I was very pleased with the information gathered from the blogiversary contest because it will be useful to me moving forward with the work I am doing. I definitely have a firmer grasp on who my audience is now than I did before, so THANK YOU to everyone who shared so willingly the answers to my questions. Now you have a little better understanding of your fellow readers here at the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog and what appeals to them. Be looking for the blogiversary winners coming sometime on Thursday and GOOD LUCK to everyone who entered.
