I am a blogger and at the same time also a reader. Yes, a reader. Some people think that bloggers only write. We also do read, right? And as for me, a lot. Long ago I used to just remember the URLs of blogs that interest me most. When the list came overflowing a bit, I made use of bookmarks. Then the list of blogs-to-read just got longer so I have to start using Google Reader. Up to now.
Using Google Reader made me say, so this is how it feels like not to be just a reader but to be a subscriber (I don't subscribe through e-mail as I hate cleaning my inbox). Apart from that, I also experienced how it feels like to unsubscribe to the blog that disinterests me.
Why do feed subscribers unsubscribe? I made a post not long ago that tells the Top Reasons Why Subscribers Unsubscribe. I'll be doing a fresher comeback of the topic with some slight out-of-the-box personal "unsubscribing" experiences too.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/slackline/
So on my previous post I held out 5 points. In this post, let's talk about 4. Note: Don't assume these points are applicable to all. Know that personal taste rules.
- Too many lengthy posts - In my personal opinion, too many lengthy posts can be a turn-off. As a reader subscribing on almost 50 blogs (that's even just a few for some), time is of the essence and over-long posts can really just be time-killing. Most readers may prefer medium-length posts and photos can really be an attention-catcher. Suggestion for blogger: Around 300 words is fine.
- Poor content - 'Poor content' is really ambiguous. Let's break it down to: boring, nonsense and uninteresting. But who are we to judge if a post is boring, nonsense and uninteresting? Well certainly we are the reader and as I've said on the note above, personal taste rules. I don't need to explain this one. This is really of personal bias. I myself unsubscribe to a blog that may be interesting to you but dull for me. Suggestion for blogger: Uhm, be yourself? I know not all will find your post boring, nonsense and uninteresting. Get it?
- Irrelevant - Again, this is a case to case basis. An aspiring cook may be subscribing on blogs that talks about the latest Italian cuisine but suddenly that blog started talking about race cars. Here, irrelevance comes in. Irrelevance has a keen eye on personal blogs. *wink wink on my personal blog* Suggestion for blogger: Consistency is the key. TRY not to confuse your avid readers especially when you are a niche blog.
- Wrong grammar, spelling - Err, I'm quite biased here. But really, the biggest turn off is when a blogger murders the English language. I'm not saying I'm a perfect English writer/speaker but at least I'm able to set out my English right. But hey, a warning, don't go on storming on other people's blogs and yell at them how their English sucks. Or go announcing on a social network that Blogger-da-who's grammar is like dog poo. That's bad, mind you. Suggestion for blogger: Proofread and read. Reading itself enhances one's grammar and spelling (based on experience).
Those are the 4 main reasons why a feed subscriber like me will go and click 'Unsubscribe' on a certain blog's feed. Where all this boils down is if you really want to do good in blogging (and not just blogging to air out your emotional stress), then be open for ideas and learning. We cannot please everybody, oh yes. But let's just even try not to displease anyone, especially not our readers.
We blog for ourselves, yes. But know that readers exist too. And it is a happy feeling knowing you made a reader happy. Happy blogging!
Topmost photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sansbury/
Continue Reading...
Because I was thinking of not letting the prize go to waste, I bought a cheap domain so I could use it. I thought of making it a blog to post some pictures that I took (err, feeling amateur photographer with no tools). So it goes, I bought my domain from GoDaddy and claimed my free hosting. I got my account details and logged into CPanel. I then tried to install WordPress. Then there goes an error saying:
