Listening to feedback.does this make sense for my blog.

byWallacejo

104 followers

Updated 6 years ago

It can be hard to listen to other peoples feedback sometimes, You spend a few hours trying to write that post, select the perfect images, add the perfect links. You do a few feedback's yourself try really hard, get some credits, and then submit yours. Maybe at first you don't understand why someone said something, maybe you don't like it, it's okay growth is always uncomfortable.

The First time........What did I just do?

The first time I submitted for feedback I was reluctant at first. Was it the fear of what others might think, or the ego telling me that maybe I didn't do as good as I thought? None the less it was rather intimidating.

Let me just say, I am glad that I did it. Now I look forward to feedback from others, I gladly do my feedback, and then submit mine and let me tell you, this feature alone has helped me tremendously. One prime example that I can give is editing.

Omg editing is the worst, And if you are anything like me, I can edit someone else's blog post with the proficiency of an English major, but when it comes to my own, It's like a rough draft my little sister wrote.

The feedback system here at WA has helped me catch things that I miss, or little structures within a sentence that maybe made sense to me when I wrote it, but was maybe slightly confusing to an outside reader. This has allowed me to change the content, and of course re-submit it for additional feedback.

Finding your sense of style.........with a purpose

People's writing styles are unique in a way that peoples lingo or language patterns are unique. Everyone writes different using the same words. There is a sense of conversation throughout an individuals writing that stands out, you can tell when something was written by a different person that the usual author.

Getting feedback on your content helps you find your writing style, I have different types of posts on my WA blog, and each one may have a different meaning, layout, or purpose, but they are all written in the same style.

The feedback from WA feedback system allowed me personally to find a particular style of writing that people seemed to really enjoy. Really it was just me being myself. I didn't try to write for anyone, but took the approach of explain something to a friend with the intent to help them understand something. I also do it from the perspective that the person doesn't know anything at all about what I am talking about, or who I am.

Having style doesn't have to be what everyone else is doing, it just has to be unique. In my opinion, that content is more effective the more unique it is, and the best way I have found to be unique is to just start typing. Forget about what it looks like, until the end, forget about if it's too long, or not long enough, or if someone is going to understand something, or if something sounds this way or that way. That is what the feedback system (and editing) is for.

You can't be intimidated........ Go forth

One thing as a beginner that I found intimidating as well, is when I come across a blog in the feedback system that is obviously further along that I am. It becomes hard to asses the blog, and give feedback based on the knowledge that I have. I am talking about blogs that are fully functional, with ads, capture and lead pages, tons of comments, and archives that go back farther than the internet's existence.

It would be like me calling the president and telling him my opinion on foreign policy, or at least it seems that way at first. It's not really that way, It gives the owner of that site, feedback based on your first impressions of their blog. Sure, you can't tell them to put more images, or add more content here, but you can tell them what your perspective of their content was, and learn from that content as well, Like a reader, instead of a blogger that has thier own opinons.

You can tell them that a certain link in a certain place, just doesn't look right, or that a sentence sounds funny, or that a picture really doesn't match what they are talking about on page x. See, despite the overwhelming amount of content, simply because we are new, the value is still the same to the owner. It may come in a different form, and may not be as informative as someone with tons of experience, but look at it this way.

Your direct supervisor at your new job, just asked you what you thought about his new tie that he just bought because he has a meeting later with the same boss that interviewed you a week ago and he hasn't talked to this guy in over a year. This guy wants your opinion because it is valuable to them in some way or another. Sure, not all feedback is going to be the most valuable thing ever, but there is some value in everything, even if it's just letting you know that your on the right track.

It is hard to have confidence in yourself when something is so new, but reading a few blogs here on WA (more feedback, just not direct feedback), I have come to the conclusion that there is no one right way of doing things. There are several ways that people have done things in the past, and they are sharing with you what worked for them.

Taking this information as feedback also, allows to find what works for you.

Taking it all in, not just the immediate stuff

Growth happens from day one, the first step in any business is always implementation. You did that when you created your first blog site @siterubrix.com, or maybe even before. That growth in uncomfortable because it is unfamiliar. If there was a for sure, easy way to do it then everyone would be poor, and their would be virtually no economy. That's a different discussion for a different time I guess.

Sometimes, it is what someone else says that triggers what you need next. This past week I have been reading a lot of blog posts from @onmyownterms, and I must say, It has provided me with some feedback that is valuable to me. I have found that maybe not everything there, maybe even some of it I may not understand, or it doesn't apply to me today, but will, or maybe even I am not aware that it applies yet, whatever the case.

Someone else's knowledge or perspective gives me feedback to grow. I know that I need P&I insurance, I have no idea where to get it, or if I need it today, But because of these persons indirect feedback, I know what I am looking for in the future.

It gives me a sense of direction I guess is what I am trying to say outside of the training, and direct feedback system. It gives their experience with something, so that I know what to expect or what may seem odd or out of place.

Looking at other people blogs, gives me a sense of what they are doing, I can take in what I like, what I don't like, and even times a product that would actually really help me, That I would have never found on my own.

Reading comments, and providing comments, gives me a sense of what people like, what problems people are facing, and where to start looking for additional content. I wrote a review on puppy teething toys, and an article on the basic items needed for a new puppy into your home. I received two comments on the separate post, both discussing getting a puppy for an older dog, from two different people.

This feedback gives me the idea, that this is a thought my audience has, and I can maybe find a way to address this need in the future as well. Just with this data (which is not nearly enough to make a conclusion, but enough to hypothesis with), I can see that 1/4 people with some type of interest in animals, would consider getting a young puppy for an older dog. This is not a valid statistic because of the population skew, but it is still valuable feedback. This tells me that this is an area in which I should investigate the needs of this particular audience, even if it turns out to be something completely different in the end. The original feedback came from comments.

Feedback comes in all sorts of shapes sizes, colors, directions, it comes with every interaction that you have with a potential user of your site. If a person passes, that is feedback, if a person clicks through, that is feedback, if a person says "hey you could really use a background" that is feedback. If you read an article that applies to something that you are currently involved with, that is feedback. Take it all in, and learn. If a person clicks an affilliate link that is feedback, mostly the kind we want here too.

Have a good day, thanks for reading, I love to hear your thoughts comments below.