Greetings, everyone! It’s time for the June edition of the Smart Bitches Business Update, a monthly feature wherein I fling myself with nerdy glee in to the workings of this here website, ask nosy questions, take requests, and share some information about how the site and the community function.
I skipped May, which I just realized (OOPS) most likely because it was RT and I was so tired I probably had no idea what year it was by that point. Sorry about that!
In our last update, we had another survey, this one full of questions suggested by all of your brilliant selves – thank you! The survey is still available if you’d like to join in on the fun, and today I’m going to share some of the results!
The first question asked, Do you comment on the site?
HELLO, LURKERS! WELCOME!
This doesn’t surprise me at all, really. The comments on any site are always much smaller in number than the total visits or page views. This is why I tell bloggers not to worry about comment counts. The number of comments is not the sole gauge of blog quality, nor is it an accurate gauge of popularity.
To those who do comment – HEY THERE! I love the conversations we have here, and I know that given the amount of time spent on the site on average (more than three minutes each day, which is a long ass time on the world wide web) (I haven’t typed those three words in forever) the comments are always being read. Plus, the “like” button (above, right) next to each comment allows participation without leaving a comment – which is why that is one of my favorite features.
And speaking of comments, one of the questions left room for you to specify other features that you liked, and one response read:
The comments!!! Seriously, who gets to say that? Once I started reading romance, this site & the commenters have guided 90% of my reading, and the other 10% is stuff I found on my library while browsing and liked the cover.
And another:
I read everything, including the comments. When I can’t read for awhile…I go back to where I stopped and catch up. I love this community!!
Thank you!!!
This makes me so happy, I can’t even describe it. I’ve said before that I don’t take myself seriously most of the time, but I do take the safety and security of our community very seriously, especially the comments section. It can be a rare thing to have safe spaces in a comments section, so I’m honored and thankful that you are all so welcoming and supportive.
The next question, also by reader request, was How many books are on your TBR?
This answer surprises me…not at all. I’m kind of relieved, and also terribly amused that the top two answers are “100+” and “0-10.” YES. ME TOO.
Next up: What sub-genres do you read?
And when I asked which ones I forgot, the top two answers: “Westerns!” and “Steampunk!” Steampunk and Western fans, I’m very sorry.
(As an aside, my favorite answer to the ‘Ok, what sub-genre did I forget’ question was, “Wait, there are more sub-genres?! Tell me more about this!” Well, lovely person, we are never going to run out of books, or of sub-genre combinations. Yay, us!)
Finally, I asked about your favorite SBTB features:
And the top answers are all books – SURPRISE SURPRISE! Books to read, books to buy, books to wonder what exactly is happening on the cover, books to track down, and books we’re reading. We do a lot of things about, for, and around books.
Thank you for taking the survey, but most of all, thank you for being here, and hanging out with us each day. I’m so glad you’re part of our community.
Advertising news!
By request, we have opportunities to purchase advertisement spaces on a weekly basis. Instead of buying a cycle of four weeks, interested advertisers can book a one- or two-week spot in many of our spaces.
This option is ideal for a limited-time discount, a boxed set promotion, or a focused campaign for a new book.
Next month, I’ll have information about new opportunities on some of the most-visited pages on the site, pages that currently don’t have any advertising options. If you have any questions or would like to book a space, please email me for available options and our rate schedule!
And finally, as always, Fun With Geography and Traffic!
The two locations that spent the most time on SBTB in the past 60 days were:
- St. Helena, which is in the South Atlantic.
- The Faroe Islands, which are north of Scotland between Norway and Iceland, and part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
I hope y’all found excellent things to read!
And our top ten for the past two months:
- US
- Canada (eh?)
- UK
- Australia
- India
- Germany
- Philippines
- New Zealand
- Sweden
- South Africa
- Finland
- Ireland
Thank you again for hanging out with us each day, and for making Smart Bitches so much fun. It wouldn’t be the same without you!
Thanks for sharing all this information- I find it very interesting that I am pretty much with the majority of others who visit. I’m mostly a lurker who has posted once or twice (now three times) and my TBR pile is that big because of this site.
Thanks for making this such a wonderful and inclusive site!
This is fabulous, Sarah! I’m delighted and thrilled that the top subgenre was Historical! The Faroe Islands would make a fabulous site for a podcast sometime, don’t you think? Maybe a Skype session. I’d love to know more about the SBTB community from that part of the world and what they like to read. Thank you for sharing!
I’m with Janna. I am everlastingly tired of hearing historicals are dead and very happy to see that they the top category for your readers!
I love these updates. I’ve been lurking around here since the beginning of time and just recently got up the nerve to comment here and there. But I visit almost daily and I always read everything even Elyse’ s Bachelor updates and I don’t even watch reality TV.
I’m chuckling about the Faroe Islands being one of the top viewers. They first came to my attention in a WIRED story about using their sheep to map the islands when Google Maps had forsaken them. A shepherd devised a plan to strap cameras on a few sheep, and then she uploaded the Sheep View photos to Google Street View. Clever Faroese. No wonder they love romance. <3
As a mostly-lurker, I have to say, I find your community so vibrant, intelligent, and often hysterical–especially on the Cover Snark posts, where I'm usually laughing too hard to read in one sitting. Considering the socio-political climate in the States these days, I doubly appreciate the respectful tone here, especially when it comes to the more challenging posts (ie: the recent review of a RITA finalist). It truly is a pleasure to stop by and spend time with SBTB.
Sooo, perhaps MORE reviews of historicals? Authors whose work has not previously been reviewed here?
@Elaine A – that is the most amazing thing!!! I wish more places had animal view 🙂
Glad to see I’m in good company with massive TBR lists, love of historicals, and occasional comments. And yay for the 304 other SFR fans!
Oh, oh, oh the comments. When I first stumbled across SBTB, what hooked me wasn’t the reviews. It was the unfailingly civil, informative and entertaining comment threads. I can’t think of another site that offers all three.
I am a sometime commenter and love this site. I have always considered myself an intelligent person with an inexplicable love for the romance genre. This site has normalized my experience and I cannot thank you enough for that! I have discovered lots of new authors and have been able to get a better handle on my particular tastes, likes and dislikes. I prefer humor and imperfect characters to major angst. Thanks for doing this and I am happy that my purchases off of this site help pay the bills.
What an enlightening post! I’ll try not to lurk so much in the future. 🙂
Welcome lurkers! I’m so happy to hear from you all – I’m glad you’re here and that you hang out with us each day. You absolutely do not have to comment if you don’t want to. But please know we are very, very glad you’re part of the site. 🙂
The Faroe Islands exist outside of SatW? Loved the sheep-view story.
And that’s why I always try to read the comments. I never know what lovely thing I’ll learn.
I have trouble knowing how to estimate my TBR pile. Do I include all the books on my Kindle, even the ones I’ll probably never read? What about the document listing hundreds of books I’d like to get from the library some day? Or is it only the books I actually have queued up with specific plans to read in the near future? It would be interesting to hear how other people define this.
I enjoy so much about this site, but I especially appreciate the reviewers and commenters who call out books and movies for slut-shaming, fat-shaming, lack of representation, and so forth. It’s helped me to be more aware of those things in the media. That’s made me a better feminist, a better humanist, and a better person. Thank you!
@Kris Bock – that’s a really interesting question. I guess I define it this way
TBR = books currently in my possession that I plan to read
Wishlist = books not in my possession that I want to read (this includes wishlists on Kobo and Amazon, plus misc sticky notes full of books to buy or check out from the library)
As for ebooks – I have them in two folders – those I know I will never read and those that I would like to read someday.
@Kris Bock, I count TBR as every book that I’ve read about in a review and wish to read. In the case of series, I include the first in the series that I haven’t read. I have a separate list of authors whose work I’ve read and wish to read their complete oeuvre. I’m thinking about consolidating the two lists since there is some overlap. I love lists…
Aww. I forgot a lot things in May too! (At least your reason were much more fun than mine. sigh.) One day when my life calms down I will figure out how to make an ad at Smartbitches. It would be my first, but it would also be a great skill to have. Though I could probably use Canva.. hm…
Lurking happily; commenting for posterity.
Glorious, glorious data! I always get excited by surveys and the business updates, thank you for sharing everyone!
@cleo your method sounds quite good.
The first thing I do when I sit down after clearing up after supper each night is read all the posts since the previous day. I see links to posts pop up on my Twitter feed during the day and it makes me happy to think of reading them later. I’m mostly a lurker, but I read and love pretty much all the posts. Thanks for sharing the survey results!
Even if I do not comment too often – I LOVE to read all your comments Ladies 🙂
Keep the spirit!
I’m with @cleo. My TBR pile is comprised of books I actually own/have in my possession and intend to read. My wish list is comprised of books I’d like to get my hands on to add to the TBR pile.
I’ve given away the majority of my physical books, so I’m largely talking about digital and audio books at this point. That’s both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because no one else is witness to my hoarding, a curse because no one else can benefit from my stash.