apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

As one of the many who wrote to express frustration with the new format, I'm still unenthusiastic. I prefer the old look. I'm not reading the posts in detail any more (after many years of being a loyal reader). I still look at the site superficially, but the clutter of the new format usually motivates me to move on quickly.

Last time when we were invited to weigh in on this question (the day of the roll out) many of our posts were deleted from the thread. Perhaps it was just the confusion of debugging, but it's quite discouraging and it's a second way of discouraging readers from participating.

1.) Weekly
2.) National
3.) Lots of writing

What's the purpose of the daily email? Is it worth signing up for it if I already visit the site each day?

weekly, national, and a moderate amount of writing with lots of links and fun stuff so even the person who visits daily has something to read about.

I have no idea what the email is about.

Weekly, local, and at least a moderate amount of writing. I enjoy the editorial content. I have to say, I like seeing the posts combined here on the site, but I don't need an email telling me what's going on in other cities.

I don't understand Question 4...

I will not send an email to further burden the system, but wanted to state that I hope the "Small Family" NYC house tour will continue. The space has so much potential and the selections made thus far, IMO, are oustanding! I look for an update daily as, early on, it was stated it was a "quick" project, however, I've seen no more updates. I so wanted to follow the progress, anticipating an outstanding finished apartment.

I don't see the point of the email, daily, weekly, or otherwise.

1. Weekly... daily would make it junk.
2. I think National would be great, especially some features where AT doesn't have site (like Florida!!)
3. Personally, I like short and sweet. Too much info is overwhelming for readers because you have to take time out to read it. Sorry, but that's marketing for you. Lots of links, that way if you find something you like, you can go on and read it at the website.
4. I would definitely include lots of pictures, especially for those of us that are very visuals. Currently, I am using Vertical Response, which is a email marketing website. It's great because it allows you to track your readership, see which links people are using, etc. Plus you can put in graphics. Check it out.

1. Weekly (if it just a recap of "hot posts", etc) that many of us may have already read). Daily emails get burdensome and backed up and, therefore, often deleted before they are read.

2. I guess national, but my interest would depend on the content of the email more than the location(s) it covered.

3. Short and enticing enough to click on a link.

4. Daily Candy (which I always thought there should be a "Daily Candy Home" edition of)

E-Mail to whom?
About what?
and why?

Boy, thanks for your comments and let's see what I can say in response. The idea of the email hinges on two things: one is that many folks are not blog readers yet and *like* emails (obviously, if you're reading the blog, you're probably not one of these, so apologies) and two, that we can highlight what is going on on the blog, feature stuff early, and try to provide much more of an overview as to what is going on with trends, tips and buzz.

This week I'm writing and sending out the email each day - experimenting with format - and I urge you to sign up and check it out and tell me what you think. It's really different to write than posts, and my hope is that it evolves into an inside track, back channel and highlight zone for the blog.

As to you , Bronxmaria, my apologies on the redesign, but don't give up on AT yet. There's more in store for the next 6 months and we're definitely working on the visual clutter thing.

I'm with Bronxmaria - I'm just not getting sucked in now like I used to. It used to be highly addictive. Maybe it's a good thing for the rest of my life...!

No apostrophe: "It is its own animal."

"It is it's own ..." actually means "It is it is own..."!

(Free proofreading service from an editor avoiding her own work today!)

:)

If we are already on your email list for other things are we automatically signed up for this?

perhaps not the right place, but a couple of small new site design comments:
* think scavenger and other such area-specific posts should immediately make clear which city it's from. san fran, for example, is already doing that in their scavenger headline.
* think vote boxes should be above the jump as before cos sometimes i just wanna vote without reading any further.

in general, not fully sucked into the new design yet, but gonna hang on until i am :)

My favorite e-mails are from RISD e-news. It looks and reads like a newsletter, with names and places in bold. It is like a conversation, written in paragraph form. Three sections usually. And a vertical strip off to the right showcasing a few images and links to exhibitions.

It's not cluttered, feels personal, is very focused, and provides just a little eye candy to getyou to click if you want.

when signing up up for the email, you basically have to enter yer address twice (once on the blog, once on the popup...and then thrice if you want to subscribe to kitchn, too)

I'm still a little confused about the point of the email, but I think I'd like it to be:

National
Weekly
Moderate text

Plus, I agree with juliaL, some of the content could include local features from places not covered in the big city headings.

Not sure I'd sign up for e-mail since I check site religiously. Sorry, but is this just a way to add ad content?

But if need be:
1. weekly
2. national
3. short
4. Daily Candy

In regards to the new site design, my favorite part is the ability to scroll to back pages and see visuals of previous postings. Least favorite, the cluttered look of all the text on top (do you need those tabs if links to the sister sites are already below?).

Finally while I love seeing national content, I don't want to see national scavenger listing. Is there a way to separate those out? Being in NY I don't want to see all the great $30 LA bargains I'm missing.

1. Doesn't matter
2. Local
3. More writing
4. MUG is excellent, a great balance of writing, graphics, and links. Love their content and tone.

I'm not signing up for emails because frankly, I get SO many I don't read already. Even the ones I read I only do so occasionally.

I actually like the new design--it took a little getting used to, but I like not having to click over to all the different sites...but I could still do that if I wanted to. I have no reason to limit myself to one city, unless maybe there's finally a DC AT!

The new format works for me. It has made visiting each individual site a bit redundant, but that doesn't seem to stop me from visiting each city in turn.

As for Azure, yeah, I really resent that all the stuff I'd like to buy always seems to be on the West Coast.

But the answer the actual questions asked:

Weekly.

My inbox is on a strict diet.

National

But only given the extreme choice. I think half the posts should be local; one third, the rest of the country (a.k.a., national); and the balance from green, kitchen, and home-tech.

and the copy shouldn't repeat the blog, but be a snappy summary to hook us into linking onto the site.

short

see above. But also, no more than one or two sentences.

Dojang Digest

though I'm not sure it really applies.

Weekly would be great. Any chance of a focus on cities not covered on the site?
Second on the visual clutter, though the ability to see all posts under the main site is very cool.

Maxwell,

Glad to hear that you are indeed working on the clutter issue for the new design for the website. I am with bronxmaria, the new design still is not visually pleasing to me. In fact, I actually find it stressful to look at the website now. I'd like to reiterate some suggestions that others have made on how to possibly make the site more peaceful looking:

-Removing the tabs at the top
-Moving all of the ads to the right side (or at least not
having so many intermixed in the central column)
-Reducing the number of fonts. When I opened up the new site for the first time, my immediate reaction was "how many fonts are on this page!!??" and my eyes hurt.
-Using subtle colors for the background such as a lighter grey and a darker grey to help the central column stand out and make the space more peaceful and less jarring. I don't think the white is working anymore.