As readers, you are and rightfully should be my number one priority when it comes to everything I put out here. No one else. In the words of Jareth the Gobling King in Labyrinth, "I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you".
That's the dream, but sadly it doesn't work like that in reality.
I work in marketing during the day, and I sometimes still have my marketing head on when I blog here. I think about page views and stats and search engine optimization when what I should be focusing on is "what do the readers want?". I sometimes feel that I fail to manage the expectations that I put in place and that I effectively break promises to you guys:
- I frequently promise to post three times a week, and then disappear for days on end
- This is a fantasy book review blog, yet I review a very small number of books (my reading speed has slowed considerably, but am I just making excuses?)
- I don't engage with a wider selection of bloggers, and I frequently go off the radar, letting a backlog of unread posts build up
I want to make this blog the best that it can be, but it's not about what I think is best, it's about what you think is best. That should be the single focus that drives me on each time I post, and there's a worry that I'll lose the way. I could blame a lack of time because of commitments elsewhere, but that's just me making excuses. I need to make sure I never lose focus on what's the most important thing about this blog.
You.
How do you manage the expectations of your readers? Do you worry that you'll lose sight of what you initially set out to do?
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This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, a monthly blog hop set up by the Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a place where writers and bloggers can share their anxieties and insecurities with one another, offer advice and support one another. You can find full details and a list of participants on the Insecure Writer's Support Group page, and you can also follow it on Twitter at #IWSG.
I can understand your concerns. I frequently wonder what readers want from my blog, but I also have to consider what I want to share. Finding a good balance between the two is the part I find difficult, but I'm working on it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou and me both :) There are things that I think are good to talk about that my readers have no interest in, then comes the dilemma of "do I want to appeal to new readers and a wider audience, or stay completely loyal to those I already have?"
DeleteJamie
Jamie, I enjoy what you post here, especially this past year. You haven't disappointed me. And with your attitude, that this is about us not you, you won't ever disappoint.
ReplyDeleteWhat I set out to do and what I'm doing are two different things now, but that's because I do focus on my readers. I've never worried about hits or key words - I know some people focus on it, but it seems shallow. My blogger buddies are who matter.
Thanks Alex :) I feel a little shallow when I start looking at traffic stats etc. I suppose I just need to make sure that I use those kinds of things to find out what people enjoy reading best and keep making similar things :)
DeleteAnd I wanted to add thanks for the reminder on three years of blogging - I hit that this Friday!
ReplyDeleteCongrats for Friday! I think 'meteoric' best describes your rise to Ninja Captain :)
DeleteHey, man. I'm with Alex and I enjoy your posts. I should comment more, but lately time has been a precious commodity with nothing to trade for more. Keep up what you're doing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Josh :) I know what you mean about time being precious. I think if I started scheduling posts a little more often it'd help.
DeleteAw, Jaims. Blogging is so funny because when it's working it's one of those most amazing feelings of interconnectedness and when that's not there, it's almost impossible to pinpoint 'the issue' because there are so many variables that go into that perfect swing they may as well be infinite.
ReplyDeleteI wrote to a friend in an email the other day, what makes people tick and informs their decisions is largely a mystery -- even to themselves. Which must be pretty frustrating for someone whose career is in marketing!
Anyway, you're such an ace guy and I think all you have to do is keep doing your best and being yourself. Your blog will always reflect your warmth and your spirit and nothing can ever mitigate that. Well, unless the zombies finally get you. ;)
Thanks Suze, it's good to know that I'm doing things right :)
DeleteAnd don't worry, I'm one step ahead of the zoms :)
I enjoy your posts, but that might be because I am a geek. I have been off the radar for a while now, and I don't have a good reason. I have just been lazy. I need to post soon. I think I may do a blogfest to make myself more active. Luckily Ninja Captain Alex posted about how to do one.
ReplyDeleteThanks Charles; good luck creating your blogfest! I've been thinking of doing one for a while but I've been worried that no one would enter :S
DeleteJamie, that is my problem. I don't know if enough people will join. I need to get started on planning it, but I just worry about the participation factor.
DeleteHere from Roland's blog. Blogging keeps us writer's aware that we're not weathering the storm alone. We've chosen a solitary, sedentary and sometimes frustrating profession. It's good to know there are like minded people to vent to whenever we're feeling down.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I really like your blog am following now. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Hi Andrea, well met :)
DeleteVery true; I would have given up long ago if it wasn't for the support of you guys :)
Do what I did. Take a poll. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://melissamaygrove.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-customer-is-always-right.html
Not a bad idea, Melissa, I may just do that :)
DeleteWell your blog is one of my favourites to stop by, Jamie. I immensely enjoy your posts, book reviews or others. I haven't noticed anything lacking, and I love how you always respond to comments and visit my blog in return. Do keep in mind that there is such a thing as focusing on pleasing people too much! If I think about what everyone else wants all the time, sometimes that takes my personality out of my posts.
ReplyDeleteAllison (Geek Banter)
Thanks Allison; much appreciated :) Very true, if I started worrying about trying to please every single person I'd lost a lot of sleep and a lot of hair for not much gain :)
DeleteI really enjoy stopping by your blog. You always entertain. I don't hold against blogger friends when they 'disappear' for a while. I'm not always steady on a schedule either.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan :) I do feel bad about not posting for a while, or even worse not commenting/reading other's blogs for a while. It's hard to keep the balance.
DeleteYou always have great posts, first of all. Second, to answer your questions, I've been struggling with reader expectations and keeping in mind the reason I started blogging, too. I mainly wanted an outlet where I could think when I started out, and once I found writing blogs, to connect with people who were doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea - the reason I started blogging was to whittle down my TBR pile by forcing me to review them .... only my TBR pile has grown quite large since then!
DeleteI don't know... hm. I always try to make a statement about my blogging intentions, when they change, and explain why they're changing. I've stopped worrying too much about a schedule. For me, it doesn't seem to make a difference, and I'm not terribly concerned about traffic, I just enjoy interacting with people in the comments (And I get a lot more interaction when I share the post on Facebook; a lot of my friends leave the comment on the FB share rather than the site :/ )
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your posts, and I haven't noticed any significant bouts of absence. Maybe I'm not paying enough attention? Anyway, your header now says "fantasy reviews and geek culture" which I think is pretty accurate. Sometimes you review fantasy books, sometimes it's movies or music. Sometimes it's about zombies. I don't know, I think you're fine.
Although, as an aside, my mom commented on one of my blog posts once. That was pretty awesome. I had to call her and ask if it was her. My extended family sometimes emails or tells me about one they read over the phone. I find it pretty funny they don't seem to think it's fine to just leave a comment.
DeleteThanks Callie, it's good to know :) I get barely a sniff on Facebook, so I think I'm doing something wrong.
DeleteI share it directly on my personal page. I don't have an "author profile" -- seems like other friends who have public profiles for various reasons have difficulty driving traffic to them. I do have my personal page set to allow subscriptions though. My friends don't seem to mind my sharing the occasional blog post (I don't share every one).
DeleteIncidentally, you may be suffering the recent problem of not having your content pushed out to people who have "liked" your page. I can't remember the last time I saw your content on FB.
I've only been blogging as a writer for a year or so, before that I held blogs for over a decade, some widely read in a particular niche. I blogged and wrote for myself, because only over the years did I realise that there are so many different readers out there, and so many different expectations. I don't play by the rules of watching google analytics or referrers, but I do notice and build relationships with people who read my blog and seem to get me. When it comes to blogging for a different audience - my future fiction readers, It will be a different type of blog altogether.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing and letting me think around this a little, and learn from the commenters also.
Well met, Hunter :) You're right that it's the relationships that make it more than how many hits you get - I just need to make time to nurture those relationships :)
Deleteyep, I'm always worried about this. The only thing I can do is make sure I keep an eye on things, assess and reassess what I'm doing, and hope for the best ;)
ReplyDeleteI think I should do the same; take some time out and look at where I want the blog to go in the next x months and what you guys would like best :)
DeleteI worry about the focus of my blog. Do I need to define the parameters more? Do I need to blog more? I am a random person and love to talk about anything and everything. I know I am a writer and I should be building my online platform, but I feel like I can't give up on talking about a variety of subjects because now my regular readers and lurkers have come to expect the randomness of my posts. I love being able to fire off a piece about what upsets me, makes me laugh, makes me happy, etc. I hope that makes sense. :)
ReplyDeleteI think that's great, though I understand the conflict between writing about writing and writing about you. If people get a kick out of knowing the real you (and it seems like that's the case) then stay the course :)
DeleteIn truth, I don't think I do manage the expectations of my readers, and that's why my blog has a smaller readership than I'd like. I try to review two books a week, but don't always manage it. I frequently want to take a break and not worry about reviewing for a while, and that burnout shows on my blog. I don't interact with the blogging community as much as I ought to, either.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I manage the expectations of my readers by ensuring that they don't have any. I don't know. I worry often that there's just no point to me blogging anymore, that nobody's reading what I write, that I don't write enough stuff to draw people to my blog.
And it's funny, whenever I see other bloggers worry about the same stuff, my first reaction is always, "I love reading what you write, and don't worry if you can't keep up a steady stream of posts all the time because life happens and blogging isn't and shouldn't be a person's first priority." And I mean it. But I can never apply it to myself.
So in conclusion, I love readig what you write, and don't worry. What I want is exactly what you give, and I don't want more than that.
Thanks Ria, much appreciated :) I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thinks this :)
DeleteJamie, I totally know what you mean about trying to turn off your day-job marketing brain. ;) Managing expectations can be tough - for blogging or readers. I'd say you're definitely on the right track here though!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicole :) The marketing brain is a powerful to overcome :)
DeleteMy blog is very different now than it was in its original form. I think we meander through different paths as we go along. As for expectations, I hesitate to make promises to my readers (e.g., a certain # of posts per week). Even if I do make and break promises, it's such a wonderfully caring and forgiving community, it's really okay.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your almost three year bloggiversary!
xoRobyn
Very true; I suppose more fool me for making promises I can't keep :) you're right too, this is a very forgiving community and really supportive so I shouldn't worry too much.
DeleteI sometimes worry that my posts might become repetitive in that I check in often for things like NaNo and ROW80. I always try to have at least one image, to break up the flow a little. Keeping to a schedule of blogging (for me it's Sundays and Wednesdays) has really helped me stay organized.
ReplyDeleteLike your new layout!
Thanks Deniz, much appreciated :) I think a solid schedule would be good, even if it's a "here's something cool i found" post :)
DeleteI know--I think of the same things, although I do manage to post with regularity. It's funny I was just preparing my #IWSG post for this week and Zemanta pulled up your post as an article related to the one I had just written. Kind of, but not exactly. Still I'm linking to it since it's a good one.
ReplyDeleteLee
Wrote By Rote
Thanks Lee, much appreciated :)
Delete