When Harry pulled an idea from my blog stockpile, he went general: Would anyone care if blogs disappeared? My question is whether anyone would care if this blog disappeared.
I’d like to think that yes, someone out there would be disappointed if he or she came to have a read and the blog was gone. I would, personally. I enjoy blogging here. And we’ve tried to make the blog as reader-friendly as possible. There isn’t any Adsense to block up the screen and waste space. We don’t have advertising splattered about. We’re not trying to make money off visitors.
What we do hope to achieve with this blog is a place where readers can come to enjoy our thoughts and advice. I’d like to think those who read my posts come away with ideas they can apply to their own situation. A little help, a suggestion, maybe even some entertainment from the personality we try to incorporate in our writing.
We don’t write here for us alone or to make money. We write for our readers. That’s important; we’re remembering our audience. While we may not always offer new tips or hints, we do try to discuss topics in a way that opens up the mind a little. We try to cover some general thoughts for everyone, and we offer some thoughts that are oriented towards either freelancers or entrepreneurs.
Hopefully, we’re doing something right. It’s hard to tell, because our blog is a fairly new one in the virtual world. We lack masses of followers and thousands of readers. We do have a small chunk of loyal visitors, and if you’re one of those, thank you for your support. It’s appreciated, more than you realize.
But we lack commentary, often the situation for new blogs. I recently read a post on ProBlogger where a commentator mentioned the same problem: New blogs lack activity from readers.
Why? Are people afraid to be the first person to post? Are they worried they’re treading on our toes or interrupting us? Is anyone worried about saying the wrong thing or feel they don’t have anything to say of value?
If that’s the case, rest easy. We’d welcome anyone’s thoughts or opinions here (except spammers. I could do without those) and everyone’s comments are valuable to us. Feedback is important and without it, we can’t improve.
So, in the name of improvement, we’d like to ask for your comments. Would you care if this blog disappeared? Are there aspects you’d like to see on this blog? Would you change anything, and if so, what? Are there topics you’d like us to cover, areas you want to know more about? Are we hitting the mark, as far as an interesting blog goes, or are we missing the target completely?
Let us know. We’ll listen and take each comment into consideration. Have at it, and enjoy!
Up until six months ago, I wasn’t a huge fan of blogs – perhaps because my impression is that they’re generally unstructured rambling sentences. Yours is perhaps the only blog I visit every day, because I feel a strong connection with people who deal with freelance writers. I don’t read any other blogs, as I still have to find one that can hold my interest long enough.
Today, I have a different but still tentative view of blogs. I didn’t know they could be tremendous traffic movers to one’s web site. So here’s a suggestion of what you could talk about: how specifically do blogs attract traffic? I think this would generate a lot of interest because many people now add a blogging section on their web sites and they’re probably thinking the same thoughts as you – why is no one leaving a comment, are people just shy, or is it sheer lack of time? Here’s another question: would forums be a better alternative to blogs?
Cheers,
sharon
Congratulations on your new blog. I need some congratulations as well – this is the very first time I am visiting a blog site. I think you are doing something worthwhile disseminating and encouraging the exchange of information, commentary, and other opinions. However, I also think the Internet, while a great tool for finding information at your fingertips, is becoming overpopulated with unnecessary web sites. Blogs are one of those web sites, in my opinion. This is not to say that you and other bloggers should quit. It is merely an opinion of one person who has never found the time or interest to get involved in blogging, but accepts the fact that there are people out there (evidently) who find blogs quite useful. Indeed, the burden or the challenge to sort through the maze of information (or misinformation) and the personal choice to visit a blog site or not lies with the “surfer.” Such is the reality of over-technology. It’s a jungle out there. All the best for a successful and oft-visited blog site. – SHeila
Hey, I like your writing and advice, but white text on a black background is tough to read. Looks cool, but it’s hard to read some of your lengthier posts. Just my thoughts. Best wishes.
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