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Curse of the Top Blogger/Writer
(January 14, 2010)

Some of you may not agree with this, some of you may even be offended by it. You don’t have to read any further. But if so, you probably fall into the above category of being a top blogger. And frankly then, this is for you. And please understand that this is in no way me trying to be mean spirited, rude, or otherwise disrespectful. I am simply stating the obvious. Whether you are offended or not is up to you. I mean no offense and I place all the respect in the world to you. This is, in a way, supposed to not only be a statement/rant, but also slightly humorous.

Well what do I say?

Get over yourself.

Harsh isn’t it? Learn that you’re only human. As am I. I know that’s tough, but yes, we all bleed red. Yes, you share everything that happens to you publicly because you are being “open” with your readers, but come on. You’re just that. You’re one of us. You’re no better than the next person that writes. Me writing this blog doesn’t make me any better than you, or any worse. But yes, I am going there. I am not writing as a scorned commenter. So please, don’t take it that way.

I am writing as a person that cares when so many have begun to stop. When I write, I know I will get people to comment. When I write and post it publicly, I am essentially saying to the world, this is me and you’re welcome to love me or hate me because personally at the end of the day it is I that decides whether I will approve or not of something I do. But if I so decide that I will post something publicly, then I know for sure, I am opening myself up to you as the reader. You are the person I am writing for. I am creating art for you. Why would I neglect you? Like a plant, I need to water you, otherwise you’d wilt and die off. You’d disappear because I didn’t care enough to take the time out of my day to say… thank you.

You are a blogger. You haven’t discovered how to make the wheel, or how to invent electricity. Get over yourself. Without comments/fans, you would not be where you are. I don’t care if it’s million of responses—show that you care. You want the attention or you’d disable to comments. You want know what people think, or you’d not write for it publicly and again, you’d disable comments.

When someone takes the time to read your blogs, and your written word, that is their time they have spent to do so. And if they comment as well? Doubly important time they’ve spent. Time is important and most of us simply don’t have enough. I make it clear all the time that I am extremely busy so that my friends understand that I am not trying to be rude to them, but I simply sometimes don’t even have time for myself, let alone others. However, and that is a big however, I will take time to thank someone else for reading and commenting on something that I write. If for some reason by goodness I can’t, then I post it at the beginning and apologize if I miss someone’s comment, or if I were to have millions of comments, then I would say straight out that I apologize as every comment is important, but I can’t respond to anyone personally. The biggest thing that I would do to honor the reader then is to post the comment I love the most in my next blog. How on earth do you believe that you’d even have the place you have without the reader?

Without the reader, you have no audience. Don’t be offended if someone says something completely different than what you want them to say. You don’t need to attack someone for their beliefs or for what they say. It’s their opinion. I personally love a good debate. Who on earth wants a carbon copy society? I most certainly do not. I love people arguing the opposite side. I personally believe that you can’t even argue the opposite beliefs if you don’t first seek to understand their point before you stick with yours. You can’t rightly believe in something unless you’ve truly begun to understand the other points of view. You have to see both sides of that coin to truly know that their “are” two and that your choice is the best for you. People have rights to their opinions and voices. People have a right to be respected even if they don’t deserve it. It’s a simple matter of humanity.

We are all only human and it’s about time that you understand that; you, as the reader, or you, as the writer. I’m not perfect. I am the first person to tell you that. I misspell words here and there. My grammar isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly not horrific. But so what? Are the grammar police going to shut me down because I’ve misspelled a word? [gasp!] Nobody is perfect and we all know this so why as a top blogger would you dare to act it? You act it simply by showing no caring for your fellow humans (read: readers).

I am horribly forgetful of the small everyday things, but not of the important things. I always try to remember to say thank you. Thank you is a word that people take for granted. You hear it and you say… well alright then. But to say thank you to a person still affects you and them. Makes the day brighter. Did it take you long to say thank you? Nope. It doesn’t matter if you have millions of readers and you’re a famous writer, or if you’ve only a couple comments and you’re a beginning writer/blogger. You need to always remember to show your appreciation. Just a quick thanks for coming by wouldn’t kill you. I promise. Merely takes but a moment of your time.

Make a give and take out of your writings/blogs. One of my favorite things are bloggers that actually ask questions of me. I say yes! I can help you with that! Other bloggers have learned to add something that says simply, if you don’t know what to say, or have anything to say, just let me know you stopped by. One of my great friends happens to give a great idea by asking the reader/commenter to simply say write on! and I think that spurs people on to want to come back and read. Other bloggers/writers showcase their favorite commenter of that time, that day, or link to that person’s latest blog; or something they’ve written to showcase their talent period. I think that is a wonderful idea. I try to mix it up for my own and incorporate all those ideas at one time or another. Still others will make a complete list and showcase only the people they read and why. Another wonderful idea. There is a reason why people come back to read those posts and they have loyal followers. Develop those ideas, and ones of your own, to keep the people coming back.

Respect your readers

Show that you care

Give them a reason to respond

Encourage them to come back

And

Remember that word: thank you


What are some of your favorite ways to encourage readers to come back?


What are some of your issues with writers/bloggers that won’t respond and do you do anything about it?


Let’s have your thoughts…

Now carry on.

Copyright 2010 by AHBrowne All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of AHBrowne.