Sneak Peek into What’s Coming Next for our Community
As you know, the community on this site is essential to MSA, and in 2020, our goal is to make sure the voices of our community come through everywhere on the site. I wanted to give you an early heads up on some upcoming MSA projects that involve you!
Here’s a sneak peek of what we’re working on:
1. We’re relaunching MSA Insiders with one big exciting change: we want to give you the opportunity to get free boxes/products to review and share with the MSA community. (Keep an eye out for a post on how you can participate in the next few days.)
2. We’re going to be testing out new ways to interact with posts, like voting on spoilers. (We know not everyone is a commenter, and that’s OK! We want to give you additional ways to share your thoughts on boxes and products.)
3. We’re thinking about user-profiles and how we can make better recommendations for you… early stages. More info soon!
I also wanted to introduce our newest MSA team member, Simran! She’ll be focusing on these community initiatives and is excited to hear any and all ideas from you on how we can make the experience on the site even better! Post a comment below with what else you’d love to see on the site, we can’t wait to hear from you!
Special note: We started on this initiative months ago to keep building new experiences for the community to connect. It’s something we’ve been excited to introduce you, but with the timing, I want to recognize that the tone of this post may be a little more cheerful than some of you may be feeling right now. On the flip side, I’ve personally found it to be a lovely distraction sometimes to read/watch content that has nothing to do with the current news, so if you’re feeling the same way, I hope you enjoy the spirit of this project.
Written by Liz Cadman
I understand why swap site is temporarily suspended but I have to say how much I miss the swap & pleasant surprises. Sometimes a thoughtfulness of a “bonus” or personal note makes me smile all day & give thanks for MSA community. We only have 40 cases of COVID for the entire county of 400K+ people and yet we all are ordered to stay home so I stare at the laptop screen in my dining room instead of 2 giant monitors at the office. I feel for “hourly” folks getting their hours & pay cut, I am IT data analyst on “salary” so I have to work double hours now but don’t get paid overtime. I wasn’t swapping much because between work & kids sports I was home just to sleep, so I was hoping to swap more now that I’m at home during the day and all I do is work, work, work & no pleasant distraction. MSA got me addicted to subscriptions and Swap became my “retail therapy” without breaking my bank (thanks to Obamacare, local psychologists no longer take my insurance) . I can print a PayPal label at home and the mailman would pick it up from the porch so it’s no personal contact or trip to the post office. The subscription boxes are still being delivered & stuff I don’t/can’t use accumulates. I’d so much rather swap it for something I will use! People’s paranoia is crazy! If you are getting ANY mail you risk contamination with something! I have asthma & considered “high risk” & yet my doctor just said- Let your mail sit for a few hours in the metal mail box in the sun (it is in the 90s already here) & any living thing will die! So be strong! Stay sane! Let’s swap if not beauty than hand-made reusable masks. LOL. Thats what my family is doing sending each other care packages across the country. My mother served as an army nurse since 18 and after retiring from service continued to work part-time as a nurse practitioner till she broke her foot last month at 75. So she is sitting at home and going crazy cutting new 100% cotton (=to be boiled & ironed) sheets to make genuine M*A*S*H masks. She is not scared of COVID, she’s seen worse, this too shall pass. Have faith! The churches may be empty this Easter but so is the tomb! God bless America!
I logon to your website several times throughout the day. I also started with Birchbox after reading the reviews on your website and I was hooked.
I currently have 14 sub boxes and I’m constantly looking to add more.
Thank you for creating this, it truly brings alot of joy to my life. I’m 52 and disabled so I’m home all the time and these sub boxes give me something to look forward to and your website allows me to choose the ones I will enjoy.
I think it would be nice to have a type of spreadsheet that you view all of your subs in one place with different columns to include;
The cost
Monthly vs quarterly
Billing date
When they ship (approximate)
Choice dates if applicable
Add Ons/PopUps if applicable
Just my thoughts.
Hi Tina! Thanks so much for the feedback. We really appreciate it and will keep it in mind as we create new experiences. Stay tuned!
I don’t login a whole lot but check the website..everyday. I love this site!
I look for MSA emails every day and enjoy all the content. MSA offers a welcome distraction to whatever is going on. The new additions sound exciting! I love the reviews and all the comments by readers. I’ve often wished we had multiple reviews of the same box to get differing opinions. I also wished there was a place the readers could “vote” on best product of the month. And…I’d love to know everyone’s holy grail products.
Glad we can be a welcomed distraction! And yes, we absolutely want readers to learn more about what other folks on the site love. More to come. 🙂
I would love to have the opportunity to review boxes. I have a lot of interests and love so many of the subs you guys review but unfortunately monetary concerns limit the amount of things I can actually have at a given time. I’ve had about 4 since I started following you guys but now I only have 1.
I agree with the previous posters about pictures next to names. Also the new format of posting the pictures of reviewed items in a scroll style doesn’t always work on my phone, but that might be my phone.
Hi Anna – Sending you a quick e-mail about the scroll style images. Thanks!
Thank you, Liz! This is such awesome news. I love MSA and the MSA community.
Love it! This is one of my favourite sites that I check at least 2-3x a day ☺️
I think it’s great that you guys are adding more interaction and facets to the site…ESPECIALLY right now.
The only thing I’ll add? PLS don’t limit a lot of content to boxes/contests/content to only USA based subs. I can’t tell you the amount of times I read/get excited for boxes or contests and they’re USA only.
Yay!! How exciting! I am one of those who doesn’t much comment, but reads the site voraciously!! I’m so glad to hear of all of the wonderful things you have planned. I truly DO depend on your reviews!! ( As my very own subscription addiction attests to!). Thank you for the bright spot! Your April fools joke made my day too!! So funny! Especially since my husband calls this “ fool April day”!!
Super excited!!! Thank you for your sensitivity to how the cheerful tone may not go over with everyone. I personally love it and always go to MSA first for reviews, promos, giveaways and information on subscription boxes ! I read reviews and comments and find them very helpful! I am a subscription box lover and always try new boxes, and have a few that I am totally devoted to!
Welcome to the team, Simran!
Thanks so much! I’m thrilled to be here!
I love all the comments about who gets what boxes and coupon codes.. keep up the good work liz and everyone…really love this site so much…love all the comments about the products..can’t wait for more fun stuff here..
Thanks Liz and all the MSA staff for being the bright star in our lives. I have been addicted to this site for 4 years. It has grown so much since then and I’m excited for all the new changes. This is the first site I check every morning and at least 5 other times a day. I love reading reviews and comments. I currently subscribe to 10 boxes because of you guys. There’s nothing like receiving a box a couple times a week. My dog now thinks they are all his because he loves his subscription box and gets so excited when it comes. Sending everyone much love during these crazy times.
Your emails have been a bright spot, always including options that are free to explore, plus encouraging and uplifting words.
All sounds very exciting and it is obvious that a lot of thought has gone into possible directions and features. It would be extremely nice to review items, since I have certainly acquired much experience and have experience reviewing subscriptions and products.
All at MSA have provided a safe zone to discuss all sorts of topics in a generally positive manner. The MSA community fosters lifting up each other and having fun along the way.
Looking forward to what lies ahead. Thank you for keeping MSA positive, helpful, and fun. This is a real community.
This was so wonderful to read! Thank you!! ❤️
I’d love to find out how to be an insider. I write blogs for my job about exciting things like commercial roofing. I’d love to write about something I love! I’ll even do the SEO!
I second the need for positivity, not just now but always. I’ve felt sad after reading a bunch of posts with petty, hateful complaints. One poster didn’t like the color of a box, another didn’t like the font on the lid, another compared a piece of jewelry to a woman’s genitals. If you don’t like something, there’s no need to be mean about it.
Nice! I have a few subs it’d be great to not pay for a couple ;P always thoroughly enjoy the letters. Thank you!
Here is my two cents:
1. Ability to edit comment that already been posted.
2. Email notification when someone reply to my comment only. I don’t want to receive all comments notification for entire post, just reply to my comment only.
3. Ideally to add pictures to the comment.
4. Commenter profile with picture (any picture). Many girls have same names and I get lost who is who.
5. Search function for any word. For example if I search for “Ahava” it show list all the posts that mention this product.
Your 1st, 3rd and 5th points were exactly what I was going to say..
Yes, all of this
Can you elaborate on the user profiles? So are you planning on sending emails to those with particular interests, or is this something people can click on if we post a comment, or what exactly? Thanks.
I have been wanting to post a comment somewhere just to say THANK YOU to MSA and Liz, and this seems like a good place to do it. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have the the MSA site and the reviews and comments from my fellow posters as a distraction through everything going on these days. I won’t lie, I probably check the MSA site for new content WAY too many times during the day…
Within the last year or so, I have gotten much more into subscription boxes (probably too much more, but hey, that’s most of us, amirite?) and MSA has been a huge part of that. The guidance I’ve gotten here has been invaluable in helping me decide yay or nay on boxes, etc. Then there’s the swap so, so awesome. I am truly looking forward to these new developments. Thank you MSA!
This is so wonderful to read, Sherri! Thank you so much for being a part of MSA, too! ❤️
OMG apparently I can’t type today – maybe an edit feature in the future so I’m not so embarrassed, lol?
– the the MSA site = the MSA site
– the swap so = the swap site
–
You literally said everything I was thinking perfectly! Thank you for this comment and thank you to MSA. I need y’all more now than ever.
Also to add my 2 cents, I’m with the other commenter above regarding the pictures with our profiles. I’m one of like 50 Joys on here and I would love people to be able to tell who is who.
I wish there was more of a way to ask the community for advice and recommendations. There have been times where I commented on a review or spoiler post askinG people to chime in with their opinions or comparisons between products or boxes, but the comment was lost in the traffic, and I didn’t receive the feedback I was after. I know there used to be a forum, and it doesn’t seem like that’ll be revived, but maybe as part of the profiles, we can post, like, status updates with questions/micro reviews, so we can interact with each other that way and have discussions outside the spoiler/review posts.
This is great feedback, Lauren! Thank you! I agree I think it would be great to find ways to elevate questions/asks from readers to the community at large.
I am 100% with you on that!
Also I can see that if changes like this ( being able to interact with one another ) are made in the near future that the MSA community will more than likely grow into so much more than what it is now, what you are striving for it to be in the near future with the new changes and maybe with time so much more than what anyone could ever except or have hoped for. I love MSA and have for some time. I have been a part of MSA long enough to have a “routine” in the process of finding and signing up for new subscriptions. It hasn’t failed me yet!
This is my process …
If I hear of a new sub in my favorite categories I do not go directly to their website and or social media until I check to see what MSA can tell me about the brand / company and to look at any reviews that may be available. After I have gotten what I need to know from MSA I then go to their social media account ( s ) and their websites to look over everything and again look at ( read ) whatever reviews may be found there! Last I go to YouTube and watch several different types of videos on the item of interest as well as reviews. Then I make my choice based on how the info I just looked up makes me feel. I do not purchase any type of subscription until I have done any of that! If the ratings on MSA are really bad or low for a subscription box or I don’t check the sub in question on MSA I don’t even waste my time! So far this little routine has worked out great!
I’m what you call a late bloomer. I don’t know how I stumbled upon your site in 2019, but I did and soon thereafter, I signed up for my first ever box subscription. 4 subscriptions later…(ahem).
Positivity in our lives (now and forever) is always needed. As one of the non-regular commenters of the site, I appreciate the reviewers as well as those who weigh in with feedback on boxes and spoilers.
Thanks for this update and also, your emails (to my non-work account) are just about the only ones I actually read.
Glad you found us, Kristina! 🙂 And so great to hear you enjoy the emails, too!
I may not always comment, but I read EVERY REVIEW! I read the reviews for subs I would normally not care even a little bit about. I have now come to view the reviewers as distant friends that are explaining their experience with a new product ( miss Marne, you’re my girl and I share the same appreciation for an all black wardrobe with Savannah). So being able to add my two cents would be amazing, especially now that a more than a few of us are going stir crazy.
yay! I have to admit really missing the social aspect of the swap site, so this sounds like a very fun distraction (without having to coat myself in purell 😛 )
As always, Liz, you and the rest of the MSA team are amazing! Looking forward eagerly to these updates!
Thanks so much! 🙂 We’re excited!
I truly need swapping, subscriptions and MSA as distraction! It really relaxes and calms me and gets my mind off everything. Especially with home schooling my special needs son which has not worked out so well the MSA site gives me a sense of normalcy! The new ideas will be so fun and I think that’s needed so much right now! Thank you MSA for everything you do!
I’m an avid reviewer with other programs so I’m looking forward to this new version of insiders very much. I’ve been a part since it’s inception so this is a great upgrade and a much-needed distraction.
Thanks for being part of MSA Insiders since the beginning! If there’s anything you love or don’t love about other programs that you think would be helpful guidance, feel free to email us with suggestions!
I agree, Bee! I am also a member of several other product review communities, so this sounds like an awesome opportunity! Looking forward to learning more about it. 🙂
Very cool! Looking forward to seeing what is coming!
I would love to get free beauty boxes to review!
That sounds awesome!!!!!
I’m sure the spoiler voting will be a great feature too as companies look at how customers are reacting so hopefully it’ll help our favorite brands continue to get better!!
Your timing is perfect, thanks!!!
Thanks, Amy! Glad to hear you’re excited about spoiler voting, too! 🙂
Thank you for everything you have put into building this community and everything you continue to build MSA for us. I found life in MSA some four years ago and I find inspiration daily here still.
I cannot wait to dive into all the new features.
Thanks so much, Katy! It means so much to me that you’ve been a part of the MSA community for years! ❤️
This sounds truly exciting! Thank you for all that you do to make this the best website for all of us that enjoy subscription boxes, swapping and each other 😁👏🏻🎉🥳
Thanks so much! ❤️So glad to hear you’re excited, too!
Awesome! Looking forward to these!
Omgosh yesssss!!! I’d love an opportunity to review a box how cool is that? I’m always slightly envious it seems soo fun!!
And sometimes MSA Insiders may get boxes to review in advance (before they are shipping to subscribers), too!
This does sound great! Subscription Addiction has become my fav diversion from the reality of what is going on today! Thank you so much!
A user profile is a much welcomed and needed addition. Thank you!
Agreed!
This is great! I can’t wait to see what the new community content is like, and I agree it is a welcome distraction 🙂
I’m not always a commenter, but I wanted to say that I think this is amazing! I always love reading your positivity Liz 😁
This sounds awesome. I can’t thank y’all enough for the wonderful distraction this site gives me. Good luck with all the new changes and congratulations to Simram! Seem like an awesome group to work with. ❤️
This is awesome! I can’t wait to see what is to come!!
Sounds really exciting! I love how inclusive you are! Would also love to see a few older reviewers especially for testing skin products.
I second this. Im interested in reviews from the 60+ generation, of which I am part.
Me too!
Always glad to have cheerful content. I have been wondering about my insider status and thinking I wasn’t needed anymore. Glad to hear it is coming back. I look forward to helping and answering questions.
I would like a post of boxes that are no longer in business. When I see a swap item from a box I am not familiar with I click on it only to find out it is no longer around.
This is great! I look forward to being able to actively contribute. It’s a much better format than scrolling through posts to find the comment you want to reply to and hope someone sees it.
I still miss the f-o-r-u-m, it was a nice community before it blew up. 🙁
I miss the forum as well. I took a break from boxes for a while, and when I came back, the forum was gone. To this day, I don’t know why. Maybe someone will fill me in.
I also miss the forum!
Same. Bring back the forum! 🙂
I was just thinking that, I really miss the forum. I loved the interaction of fellow subscribers. I always looked on there before subscribing to a box, it sure saved me from wasting money on bad subscription and getting out of subs that were getting ready to go under. Oh wait, it probably caused me money – trying subs others recommended 😆
I rarely comment on here but I sure enjoy reading others comments. I would enjoy interacting more by voting on spoilers, etc
This is one of the posts I wish there was a LIKE button for! Looking forward to what’s to come!
I’m excited about this! Subscription boxes are a good diversion for me right now, one of the few things that’s still there (for now, at least!)
Excited for this! Also, I COMPLETELY AGREE that MSA is a much-needed and much-loved distraction for me. If I want to focus on the news, there are plenty of other places to do that. I’m so grateful for MSA and this community! Keep up the great work!
Oooooh love this!! I hope this would be open to Canadian members, as well….we are some of the biggest fans and often get forgotten!
We need more cheerful right now so I am happy to hear the news. 🙂
Sounds super. Keep up the good work:)
I’m excited to see these new changes. This website is still one of my favorite distractions that I can use now more than ever. Thank you!
That sounds great!
@Liz and Co…this is all so exciting! And for me personally, I like the cheery tone and the anticipation for new things to come, even during this trying time. Gives everyone something to look forward to!