UUCCSM Electronic Communications Survey

As our church continues to expand its electronic communications offerings, we need to find out more about how our congregation uses the online information and publications we provide...and how we can create stronger relationships among our traditional newsletter, our website, and our very newest vehicles such as the Faith in Action Bulletin.

An ad hoc committee is studying these issues but needs more input from both newsletter readers and website users to find the best solutions for our church. Please take a few moments to answer the following questions...even if you are NOT currently a regular newsletter reader or website user.

(NOTE: The survey contains 22 questions, divided into three sections dealing with Newsletter, Website and Faith in Action Bulletin issues. It should take 5-10 minutes to answer all the questions. If there are any questions you cannot or prefer not to answer, you are welcome to skip over them, and it will not affect the tabulation of your responses.)

Newsletter
1. Are you currently aware that our church newsletter is available on our website?
	Yes (please answer questions 2-6)
	No (please skip to question 7)

2. If you are aware that our newsletter is posted online, how often have you looked at it on our website?
	Every month
	Most months
	Every few months
	Rarely
	Never

3. If you are aware the newsletter is posted online, but have rarely or never looked at it there, is it because (check as many as apply)...
	I always forget or just never get around to it.
	I don't like reading publications on a monitor screen.
	I can't or don't want to print out a hard copy.
	I have trouble opening or downloading the .pdf files (my connection is too slow, I don't have Acrobat Reader, it just never works for me, etc.)
	Other - Please specify:


4. If you do look at the newsletter online, do you most often:
	Just glance at it, then wait for the paper copy to arrive in the mail
	Read all or most of it online
	Print out a hard copy to read before your paper copy comes in the mail

5. If you do read the newsletter online each month, and/or are comfortable printing out your own hard copy from the website, would you be willing to give up your subscription to the paper version of the newsletter to help the church save money on paper, copying and mailing?
	Yes, I am willing to give up my paper/mail subscription.
	No, I still want to receive a paper copy of the newsletter in the mail.

6. To protect the privacy of individuals mentioned in our newsletter, we currently do not post a public link to the document on our website, and we send the web address each month to registered subscribers only. If we continue to publish the newsletter online, would you prefer that we:
	Continue to post full versions of the newsletter, and have no public link to the material in the website's main navigation area (though we would continue to send the URL each month, as we do now, to registered subscribers).
	Post an abbreviated version of the newsletter, which would contain no personal information about individual church members, but which would have a visible public link in the website's navigation area.

7. Do you currently receive e-mail notifications when new newsletters are posted online?
	Yes (skip to question 9)
	No

8. If you do not currently receive e-mail reminders when new newsletters are posted online, would you like to receive them?
	Yes. Here's my e-mail address:
	No

9. If we publish an abbreviated newsletter online, with a public link to the document in the website's navigation area, would you still want to receive an e-mail reminder each time a new newsletter is posted?
	Yes, I appreciate this courtesy and would probably forget to check for new newsletters if you didn't remind me.
	No, I don't need e-mail reminders and would still remember to check the website for new newsletters.

10. We currently publish some church information, such as the calendar, sermon listings and activity group information both in the newsletter and on independent pages within our website. If we publish our newsletter online, would you prefer that it contain:
	Everything the print version now contains, within the body of the newsletter, even if some of the information is also published elsewhere on the site.
	Only information that is not contained elsewhere on the website.

11. One alternative to posting the newsletter on our website would be e-mailing a copy of the document (as a .pdf file attachment) directly to all church members and contributors who wish to receive it. (The advantages of getting it by email are that you get it in color and about a week before the mailed version arrives. The disadvantage could be a slow download of the pdf for people with dialup service.) Distributing the newsletter as a file attachment would help us avoid the privacy issues associated with online posting, but would still make an electronic version of the newsletter available to our congregation. Does this idea appeal to you?
	Yes, I understand the privacy issues involved and would be happy to have the newsletter file e-mailed to me each month (instead of posted on the website).
	No, I don't want to receive e-mailed newsletters, but I would like to have them available on the website.
	I'd prefer both: a full copy of the newsletter e-mailed to members each month, and a privacy-abbreviated version posted on the website.

12. Any further questions or comments about our church newsletter and/or its publication and distribution?


Website
13. How often do you visit or have you visited the church website (http://www.uusm.org)?
	Daily
	Weekly
	Monthly
	Every few months
	Once or twice ever
	I've never visited the site (skip to question 17)

14. When you visit the site, which kinds of information do you usually look for? (Check as many as apply.)
	Weekly sermon information and/or service times
	Sermon texts
	Special events information
	Church calendar
	Activity group information
	Religious education and/or ARGL class information
	Newsletters
	Church contact information (address, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc.)
	Other - Please specify:


15. Is there any information you have looked for on the church website which you have not been able to find? If so, what was it?


16. Is there any information we've never included on the site which you would like to see included? If so, what is it?


17. Any further questions or comments about our church website?


Faith in Action Bulletin
In March, the Faith in Action Commision launched a new quarterly publication dedicated to information about our Faith in Action programs (the Peace Comittee, Hunger Task Force and Civil Liberties Study Group) and topics of interest to people involved with those groups. We mailed a paper version of the inaugural issue to all church members, but we are currently studying alternate distribution methods for future issues. Primarily, we are trying to decide whether to distribute this publication in print, via our website or in some combination of print and electronic media. 18. If we decide to publish the Faith in Action Bulletin primarily online, it could be either a quarterly publication, or a page on our website that can be updated at any time, as new material comes in. Would you prefer a Faith in Action Bulletin that is:
	Published fresh each quarter, exclusively in print, with all new material.
	Published fresh each quarter, both in print and online, with all new material.
	An exclusively online publication, but one which is ongoing and updated continuously as new material is obtained.

19. If we continue to publish the Faith in Action Bulletin quarterly, would you prefer to:
	Receive paper copies of the Bulletin in the regular mail?
	Read the publication online, most likely as a .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) document?

20. Are you currently a member of one or more of the Faith in Action groups (Peace Committee, Hunger Task Force, Civil Liberties Study Group)?
	Yes (skip to question 22)
	No

21. Members of the various Faith in Action groups will automatically continue to receive copies of any paper publications we create, or e-mail notifications of our online publications. If you are not currently a member of a Faith in Action group, however, would you still be interested in subscribing to Faith in Action publications, either in print or online? (Check as many as apply.)
	Yes, even though I'm not currently a member of any of the Faith in Action groups, I would like to subscribe to Faith in Action print publications.
	Yes, even though I'm not currently a member of any of the Faith in Action groups, I would like to receive e-mail notices of Faith in Action online publications. Here's my e-mail address:
	No, I don't wish to subscribe to any Faith in Action publications at this time.

22. Any other questions or comments about our Faith in Action Bulletin?