The Numbers You Need to Justify Your Blog Marketing

Marketers love numbers. So if you're a marketer, you may just love this post.

Tobi Elkin of Online Media Daily reports on some interesting numbers regarding blog readership, as found in a study conducted by online market research service Vizu Answers and Advertising Age.

• 65.7% of readers polled said they read blogs for entertainment, while 42.5% read for personal interests and hobbies, 32.5% for education and information, and 12.3% for work.

• 30.8% of blog readers read more than three blogs regularly, and of the blogs they read most often, 68.3% of respondents said they read them daily.

• 67.3% follow links from other blogs to find the ones that they read. Recommendations on blogs (22.9%) are ranked higher than finding links on search engines (19.6%)

• 43.9% of respondents said the quality of writing determines which blogs they will read regularly, and 43.6% said that topical focus is a key determinant of regular readership.

• 51.5% said the quality of blog writing helps them determine which blogs are credible and high-quality, and 38% noted that an author's reputation drives perceived credibility.

• 38.4% of poll respondents indicated that expressing personal opinions is key in separating blogs from other online media, along with writing style (28.2%), editorial freedom (26.3%), and layout (25.8%).

• The majority of people who read blogs for professional purposes use them as tools to track information, while 27.3% use blogs to track trends.

• 43.3% of Spanish-speaking respondents claim to read 10 or more blogs regularly (as opposed to the 16.7% of English-speaking respondents who read more than 10).

• English and Spanish-speaking readers find blogs in similar ways using links from other blogs (59.6% for Spanish and 67.3% for English).

Source.