👍 Wow! More than 6,000 Mouth by Southwest newsletter subscribers took time to share their thoughts in last week’s reader survey, and I can’t thank you enough. Your feedback offered clear direction on what’s working, what could be sharper, and where MXSW should head next. Here is what you said:
On a scale of 0-10, how satisfied are you with the MXSW newsletter overall?
- 10 (47%)
- 9 (20%)
- 8 (18%)
- 7 (10%)
- 6 (3%)
- 5 (1%)
- 4 (1%)
- 3
- 2
- 1
- 0
- Average rating: 8.9
Reaction: Pleasantly surprised. No newsletter can be all things to all readers, so getting an 8, 9, or 10 from 85% of subscribers seems pretty good.
On a scale of 0-10, how reliable do you consider MXSW’s information?
- 10 (63%)
- 9 (23%)
- 8 (10%)
- 7 (2%)
- 6
- 5 (1%)
- 4
- 3
- 2
- 1
- 0
- Average rating: 9.4
Reaction: Again, pleasantly surprised by getting an 8, 9, or 10 from 96% of subscribers.
What write-up length works best for you when reading the newsletter?
- Just give me the highlights (2-3 quick sentences) because I’m busy (66.2%)
- Give me deeper dives, even if it means fewer write-ups per week (33.8%)
Reaction: MXSW historically has been a quick read, but I’ve been second-guessing that strategy and experimenting in recent months with some longer write-ups. Based on the survey results, though, I think the newsletter will go back to its original brevity and save the occasional deep dive for the website.
What style of write-up feels most “right” to you?
- Friendly, approachable, like a neighbor giving recommendations (64.1%)
- Straight to the facts with minimal flair (24.0%)
- Bold takes, strong point of view, and a little attitude (11.9%)
Reaction: Again, MXSW historically has been ‘‘straight to the facts.’’ I’ve been playing with more ‘‘bold takes’’ with ‘‘attitude’’ lately, but many readers say they dislike that tone because it seems ‘‘like A.I.’’ or ‘‘like an influencer.’’ Their preference is for sounding, as one reader described it, ‘‘like a journalist.’’
How interested are you in short videos featuring Valley restaurants and bars?
- 10 (20%)
- 9 (5%)
- 8 (14%)
- 7 (10%)
- 6 (7%)
- 5 (16%)
- 4 (3%)
- 3 (5%)
- 2 (6%)
- 1 (3%)
- 0 (11%)
- Average rating: 5.9
Reaction: Based on the popularity of TV shows like ‘‘Check Please, Arizona’’’ and the ever-increasing number of ‘‘food influencers’’ on social media, I expected higher interest in videos.
What kinds of MXSW content do you enjoy most?
- Restaurants & bars that just opened (95.5%)
- Profiles of the Valley’s best restaurants & bars (64.0%)
- Neighborhood-focused dining guides (60.6%)
- Budget-friendly eats, happy hours & affordable favorites (55.6%)
- Weekly “Food & Drink Events” picks (49.5%)
- Top 10 lists for different types of food or drink (47.0%)
- Restaurants & bars under construction (43.7%)
- Health inspection reports (35.3%)
- Weekly “What to Eat This Weekend” picks (33.3%)
- Interviews/profiles of restaurateurs, chefs & others (22.6%)
Reaction: Not surprising to me that new restaurant openings, neighborhood guides, and affordable options are popular, but I’m shocked that Top 10 lists, interviews/profiles, health inspections – three mainstays of most food media – rank so low.
What kinds of content are least useful or interesting to you?
- Interviews/profiles of restaurateurs, chefs & others (45.5%)
- Health inspection reports (31.2%)
- Weekly “What to Eat This Weekend” picks (29.4%)
- Restaurants & bars under construction (25.7%)
- Weekly “Food & Drink Events” picks (18.8%)
- Top 10 lists for different types of food or drink (17.5%)
- Budget-friendly eats, happy hours & affordable favorites (15.0%)
- Neighborhood-focused dining guides (10.7%)
- Profiles of the Valley’s best restaurants & bars (9.6%)
- Restaurants & bars that just opened (4.6%)
Reaction: Two major things I was planning to add to MXSW in 2026 were interviews and health reports. I guess I’ll be rethinking that strategy!
What’s one thing you’d change about the newsletter?
Reaction: As you would expect, answers to this open-ended question ran the gamut. The most popular response, by far, was ‘‘don’t change anything.’’ The next most common, understandably, was to get rid of (or lower the price of) the paywall for premium content, although it was mentioned by less than 5% of respondents. (And, I should point out, without paid subscribers there would be no MXSW at all.)
Many readers asked for some version of ‘‘more Phoenix coverage, less East Valley,‘‘ or ‘‘more East Valley, less Phoenix,’’ or ‘‘more West Valley,’’ and so on. Several suggested I do different newsletters for various areas of the Valley. (Honestly, there’s not enough news and, even if there was, I wouldn’t have the time.)
Still, there were a lot of random suggestions that I liked and easily can implement. For example, a couple people mentioned linking directly to menus when I write about new restaurants. I’m going to go back through all the suggestions and see what else in doable. Look for those improvements soon.
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