Wedding Planner Magazine’s new look was driven by reader feedbackFor the past five years, Wedding Planner Magazine has been your go-to source for wedding industry news that inspires creativity and helps you brush up on business know-how. And we want to continue to be that resource, which is why we asked readers to complete a survey in January. Overall, we were thrilled with the results. Ninety percent of readers rated us as excellent or good. While seven percent said we were fair, not one said, “poor.” Your comments were positive. One reader said what he or she liked most is “the fact that it [the magazine] exists at all, because not enough importance is placed on the role and need of wedding planners when looking at other publications.” Another said, “It’s unlike other magazines. It is specific to the industry and very informative. I look forward to receiving it.”Here are the highlights: • In comparison to magazines of similar content, readers rated Wedding Planner Magazine as excellent or good (83%).• Our design was rated excellent or good by 84% of readers.• For the most part, readers have been around as long as we have been, 3+ years (46%); subscribed for 1-2 years (24%), or for less than one year (30%).• Most readers, 57%, spend 16-45 minutes with the magazine; 29% spend 46+ minutes, and 14% spend less than 15 minutes.• Of readers, half read it cover-to-cover, with 48% skimming it for relevant articles.• The pass along value of Wedding Planner Magazine is significant, with 45% sharing copies with one to three people, 6% sharing with 10 or more readers, and 4% sharing it with four to seven people. The rest of you, 46%, keep it all to yourselves.• Some readers share the magazine with clients, 32%.• Our magazine does not expire, 41% of readers keep copies indefinitely, 18% keep them for one or more years, 21% keep them for four to 11 months, and 19% keep them for one to three months.• Readers use the information within the magazine for inspiration (72%), design ideas (69%), business strategy (56%), enjoyment (56%), business growth (54%), and teaching/mentoring (27%).• Favorite cover features were: Design Trends (November/December) at 77%; Color Trends (March/April) at 73%; and ABC Annual Conference (January/February) at 58%.• Favorite departments and columns that readers “very much enjoy; read every issue” include: Real Weddings (79%), Industry Best Practices (75%), and Ask the Experts (63%).We hear you!Our new look and updated content reflect your opinions. We asked; you answered. What’s different? • Design: We updated the layout and fonts and freshened our look for a more modern, chic feel. We increased the font and changed its color for readability.• International: As our least popular feature, this was eliminated, though we will make an effort to retain global insight in our articles.• ABC News: We eliminated the calendar since it was often out-of-date by print time. Find it online at www.BridalAssn.com. Look for our new ABC monthly column instead.• Master Profile: New questions mean new insight on masters.• Ask the Experts: A different font size and color enhance readability, while photos of our pros let you see who is giving you tips.• Member Insight: We’ve widened the scope to allow a variety of industry pros the chance to share their expertise.• Seasoned Pros: Each issue, we’ll include information written by and tailored to senior-level professionals (asked for by 68% of readers).• Real Weddings: We added even more planner-specific information to help you get the full scope of the job. We’re adding more per issue and including a variety of details about the scope of the project.Watch future issues as we continue to include articles and ideas based on your input. And thank you for being a Wedding Planner Magazine reader! __Beth Erickson, Wedding Planner Magazine Editor, La Crosse, Wis.WEDDING PLANNER MAGAZINE Reader ProfileWedding Planner Magazine average reader:• Is a wedding planner (88%).• Is a full-time business owner (59%).• Has been reading it for more than three years.• Has been in the industry 1-10 years (62%).• Is 30-49 years old (48%).• Resides in the United States (81%).Tidbit: Businesses you would most like to see advertise in Wedding Planner Magazine include industry conferences/education, business books, apps/cloud-based business products, venues, software, destination locales, florists, and rentals.