EYB Survey Results

August 28, 2019 by
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We recently ran a survey to get a better idea of what is important to our members – both in their cooking at home and on Eat Your Books. We had a fantastic response and we thought you may be interested to know the key takeaways.

What is most important to EYB members?

Trying new recipes and experimenting with different cuisines was very important with 85% of respondents ranking that highly. This was followed by reducing food waste, collecting cookbooks and keeping a food shopping list.

How many cookbooks do our members own?

Of course, we know how many cookbooks our Premium members own, or at least we know how many they have added to their Bookshelves. So it wasn’t a big surprise that 75% of our Premium members own more than 70 cookbooks, with most (57%) being in the 50-300 range. What was a surprise though was that 75% of Free members own 40 or more cookbooks, with 32% owning more than 100.

What are the most important features on EYB?

Given what is most important to EYB members it should not be surprising that the highest-rated features are searching by ingredients and creating a catalog of your cookbook collections. Searching by ingredient helps you find new, interesting recipes and reduce food waste. Having a catalog helps you organize your collection (and stop you from buying a book again by mistake!).

Other important features are adding online recipes, using bookmarks, and adding and reading notes for books and recipes.

Other interesting facts we discovered:

  • Most EYB members never buy eBook versions of cookbooks.
  • Most EYB members have never used online grocery shopping.
  • People who have a CSA, farm box, etc are very likely to need a Premium membership.

Summary

The survey has given us some good ideas on how to improve our messaging to people who come to the site for the first time. And also our introductory emails to new members.

The open feedback comments at the end gave us plenty of food for thought. The vast majority of comments were positive but there were complaints and suggestions that we are open to resolving. I am posting some of the main categories in a Forum post as we would welcome feedback.

Finally, many congratulations to the 10 survey takers who received a free one-year Premium membership. They have all been emailed and their memberships have been upgraded/extended but in case they missed both of those, they are heather358, dbf123, sandygin, Melanie, Chantalmorton16, Renman, kdupree68, lmdaab, RNocked1 and Lora724.

Category: What's New on EYB

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7 Comments

  • MarciK  on  August 30, 2019

    I don’t remember seeing the survey, but it sounds like good feedback.

  • nzxnick  on  September 1, 2019

    “Most EYB members have never used online grocery shopping.” – Wow that surprised me.

    Any demographic information on respondents?

  • Hungry_Bek  on  September 2, 2019

    I have tried e-books. The fact that I can have them cheaply ‘should’ thrill me. Alas it leaves me cold. I am a tactile person. I love the feel and smell of paper. I love looking at my books. I run my eye up and down my shelves and it sparks much joy 🙂

  • camtncook  on  September 6, 2019

    The results about e-books surprised me. I am a cookbook collector with way too many books. I have purchased quite a number of e-books. I like having that option for books that are on sale if I want to look at a title but not spend the hardcover/paperback price or take up precious bookshelf space.
    I should probably say that I am a reader of cookbooks as much as I am a cook. I have been known to buy an e-book and then order the hardback/paperback copy. I have also done that in reverse for a very few large books like Ad Hoc at Home, The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and one of Jacques Pepin’s books.
    Unless the recipe is very short, I do like having the recipe on paper.
    These are just my thoughts and not a reflection on anyone else’s preferences.

  • AndieG52  on  September 7, 2019

    I mainly buy hardcover/paperback versions of cookbooks. I also buy e-books oƒ some of them to have on hand when traveling/away from home.

  • pokarekare  on  September 11, 2019

    I love my cook books, but since I have been traveling around Australia in a caravan for the last 3 years, I bought some of my favourites and most useful as ebooks to save weight and bulk. And sometimes just to have the pleasure of reading them again!

  • RSW  on  September 14, 2019

    Did not think of before during the survey but a Wish list function would be great.

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