SARN Reader Survey Results 2024

Hello friends,

Can I get a drumroll, please? It's time to reveal the data from the SARN 2024 reader survey. Thanks to the 97 people who took the time to respond - you've provided some useful information about who's reading the newsletter, and what you're getting out of it. Without any further ado, here's what you said, with the insights I took away...

1. How long have you been subscribed to SARN?

While 40% of respondents have been subscribers for 1-2 years (the biggest chunk), 10% of respondents have been subscribed for more than three years and almost 20% for almost three years. I salute and appreciate all those who've made SARN a pillar of their anti-racism work. And I'm delighted that so many of the people who supported the newsletter within the first month of launch are still reading today!

2. What is your subscription level?

Some 69% of respondents read for free. That's less than the actual number of free subscribers which is about 90%. Among the respondents, of those who support the newsletter financially - thank you; I couldn't do it without you - 26% have annual subscriptions and 5% subscribe monthly. Again, this is a little different from the overall figures. One thing I realised as a result of this survey is that plan names mean very little. Although several Super Supporters responded, they didn't recognise the plan name, probably because it changed when I moved to beehiiv.

3. Who’s reading SARN?

SARN readers fall into a number of categories, with the top three being:

• Committed anti-racist

• Beginner anti-racist

• DEI, JEDI, IDEAS professional

This matches the data from the last reader survey a couple of years ago, so no surprises there, and it tells me that the content mix is about right to serve those different audiences Also, many people checked more than one category. I enjoyed seeing the answers from those who checked the "other" box. Some of those included:

• Person who is FED UP with racism and committed to stopping it in its tracks when I see it.

• Anti-racist for ever, but with limited knowledge of anti-black racism

• White mother of black children- one of your articles last year was my introduction to your newsletter

• Wanting to observe, learn and understand more about other perspectives whilst considering what my own biases might be

• Neurodivergent advocate and activist who is working to understand many perspectives and experiences of humans and show up, stand up, amplify and support where I can.

4. How much of the newsletter content do you typically read?

I pay attention to open rates, so this wasn't a surprise - and my data from beehiiv tells me that the open rate and engagement rate are highest among those who support the newsletter financially. I'm happy that 28% of respondents read all the emails, and 39% read 75% of emails - I know your time is valuable and I appreciate you.

5. Which section of SARN do you find most valuable in your personal or professional anti-racist practice?

The most cited sections were:

• Perspectives on racism (essays)

• Interviews with founders and activists

• Curated monthly reading list

I missed a trick here, because I should have included a question allowing people to rate their second most valuable resource. Because I didn't, nobody mentioned the podcast though I get feedback all the time that people find it valuable.

On another note, when I look at my email data, it suggests that the order listed above is reversed: the reading lists are the most engaging, with essays second and interviews third - interesting, isn't it?

6. What ONE thing would you change about SARN to make it even more valuable to you?

The vast majority of people were happy with SARN as it is - words like “helpful”, “exciting”, “needed”, and “bold” cropped up regularly. I'll just drop these two here as an example:

• SARN is the most consistently wide-ranging, thought-provoking, and insightful antiracism publication that I’ve been reading over the past four years.

• People who have never experienced being the other, experienced racism or other -isms are likely fo brush off your concerns and experiences. SARN reminds us that we are not alone and offers resources to help you keep going.

The feedback tells me that I'm still achieving my goal of providing insight and support to the various audiences this newsletter serves.

Having said that, there were a couple areas identified that I'll pay more attention to:

• More content from Black trans femmes (I agree)

• More global content (I think SARN has more global perspectives than most just because of my identity but increasing the non-US mix is something that's on my radar)

• A SARN community (well, I'm creating a community not specifically for SARN but for anti-racism)

• Add a couple more writers (there are a couple of people on my radar once the newsletter income allows me to pay them)

I have considered the idea of themes, which one respondent suggested. I'm not sure whether I want to tie myself to that but I'm not ruling it out completely, either.

7. How likely are you to recommend Sharon’s Anti-Racism Newsletter to a friend or family member?

With 10 being “most likely”, this came out at a solid 9/10 overall, for which I'm very grateful.

8. If you enjoy SARN, please leave a short testimonial.

Honestly, this was such a feel-good thing for me - it's nice to have my efforts appreciated. Some 53 people left testimonials, and I'll be sharing those in the coming weeks and months. Here are a few to be going on with.

• I love Sharon's bold, direct writing style. She doesn't body-slam you with the truth, but she blows it up nice and big and puts it right in front of you so you can see it clearly.

• SARN is a great way to ensure that you are regularly engaging with antiracist content. Sharon provides a variety of content: short and longform, text and audio, etc. SARN includes personal testimonies, essays, historical context, and actionable advice on antiracist practice. I highly recommend for anyone on an antiracism journey as a reliable source for information and inspiration.

• SARN is an informative, empathic and excellent resource for people dedicated to antiracism and to learning how to be truly antiracist in all spheres of their lives.

9. Are you racialised as or do you identify as:

I had mixed feelings about even asking this question, since "race" is such a fiction (though a harmful one), but I was curious. Around 30% of readers are people of the Global Majority (Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, Latine, Asian, Brown) though nobody picked that category, opting for specificity, instead. Just over 60% of the respondents identify as white, with 7.2% picking other. Most of those who selected “other” either identified as multiracial or rejected the concept of “race” altogether.

Looking at the data, the percentages haven't changed much since the last reader survey.

10. Please state your gender

This was an optional question and about 17% of respondents elected not to answer. Among those who did, well, all I can say is that SARN readers cover the full spectrum of gender identities (trans folx, femmes, nonbinary folx, gender expansive folx, queer folx, cis folx and more). I'm delighted by that.

11. Please select your age group:

I was also delighted that there are SARN readers in every age group with people between 35 and 54 accounting for almost half of all readers. That makes sense to me as it's a time when we decide what we stand for in perhaps a different way from in our 20s. Whatever your age, I'm happy you're here.

Finally, a question I didn't ask, because I already had the data, was where my readers were located. My beehiiv dashboard tells me that, similar to all the years SARN has been running, about 75% of my readers are in North America, with the vast majority of those in the USA, and about 20% in the UK and Europe, with most of those in the UK. There are also plenty of readers dotted around the globe.

So that's the data. I'm grateful for the insights and will be taking them into account as I plan for 2025.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon

Note: poll feedback is private - if you’re happy to share your thoughts in public, then please also leave a comment.

I am an anti-racism educator and activist, the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2024. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).