I like to ask questions. When I meet new people I want to know what they are all about. I might ask what they do for a living, where they live, what they drive, what kind of modifications they've made to their truck, if they're married, how many kids they have, and so on
I guess it's the journalism degree that instilled this in me. I just want to know. Sometimes you can use that information in a positive and constructive way that helps both of you. You know, say I meet you and find out you're looking for a good used truck and I just happen to know someone who is selling exactly what you need. Bingo! The ability to connect people is always fun. Everyone walks away better off.
Now, I can take the same type of attitude toward this magazine. I often ask people I meet if they're getting what they want out of it. Are there enough features? Is there enough tech? Do you want some celebrity interviews (diesel-related celebrities, of course)? What about departments? Do you want a Q&A column? I ask the questions and try to figure out trends from the answers I get
Lately, I've been thinking that it would be good if I posed a bunch of these types of questions to the thousands of 8-Lug readers to see if I can identify any areas where we can improve. So I've come up with this oversimplified questionnaire. It's definitely not produced by the Neilson family, or carefully crafted by marketing professionals. It's just a bunch of questions from me, as if we met at a truck show somewhere and had some time to kill. In the end, though, I hope that a lot of people will take the time to answer these questions and I will be able to see some areas where we can do things better.
Generally people tell me they love 8-Lug Diesel Truck magazine, and that's great. But I'm always trying to make things better and I have to believe that there are some tweaks that can be made to improve the magazine. So, let's give it a whirl and see what you're thinking. You can tear this page out of the magazine, or better yet, make a copy of it first, and mark up your answers. Send it to Bob Carpenter, Editor, 8-Lug Diesel Truck, 2400 E. Katella Ave, 11th Floor, Anaheim, CA 92806. If you want to email your answers that's fine too, send them to bob.carpenter@sourceinterlink.com. And while you're at this, maybe you can include a photo of your truck with some information about it so we can include you in Braggin' Rights, our Readers' Rides section. Make sure you include your name and where you're from. You can circle the answer you want, highlight it, or (especially if you're emailing it to me) simply say "1: more, 2: about even", and so on.
I'll tally up the responses and report back to you with what the readers of 8-Lug collectively think about their magazine. And maybe we'll identify a trend that needs to be addressed so we can make the magazine even better.