The Readers First award is awarded to bloggers and/or website owners who show exceptional selflessness and devotion to their readers. For more details on the ‘Readers First’ award, please check out the ‘Readers First’ page.

Sites which are awarded this award have no obligation to display the badge and/or link to the Reader Appreciation Project. The sites below currently show an exceptional dedication to their readers and have proved that it is indeed possible to put the readers first and grow a wonderful site atmosphere.

Be Inspired with Inspiration Bit

Vivien from Inspiration Bit was the one who inspired Ajax Edit Comments and also the text for the very award she is now being awarded. She’s been a big supporter of the Reader Appreciation Project from the beginning and is an invaluable friend. She also introduced Simonne to the project, who is a superb RA Project contributor.

With all of Vivien’s contributions, how could we not give her this award? If you head over to her site (inspirationbit.com), you’ll find a plethora of inspiration posts, and the warm and friendly conversations of the hostess. Vivien is an exceptional blogger and is truly a great example of someone placing her readers first.

Liz Strauss, the Queen of Reader Appreciation

I don’t know how Liz does it, but somehow she finds the time to respond to virtually every comment and e-mail received from her readers. She builds reader confidence by handing out awards such as the SOB and B.A.D. awards.

She provides sound relationship-building advice to her readers, organizes blog conferences, and provides real-life experiences that are sure to benefit just about anyone.

Liz Strauss is the queen of Reader Appreciation. With her hectic schedule, she still finds time to place her readers first.

Fight Back at The Fight Spot

Shawn Blanc is a full-time intercessory missionary, on top of being a husband, blogger, musician, and a host of other talents. He helped found Reader Appreciation Week and inspired the formation of the Reader Appreciation Project.

The Fight Spot is a good example of a blog where the readers have banded together to form a community and driven the blog in a certain direction. The topicality is primarily Christian-focused and the readers provide terrific commentary to the many great articles Shawn churns out.

Shawn has nurtured his community on The Fight Spot and put the readers first by giving them a great voice. He routinely spotlights a reader or reader’s comment and is very approachable in the comment and e-mail section.

Just Thinkin’… About Readers

I first had contact with Kirk from a bug report on Ajax Edit Comments. I’ve since subscribed and dig how personable he is and how much he interacts with the readers on his site. He describes himself as an ex-Cold War submariner in his late forties who spent most of his life in computers, peripherals, R&D and anything else technical.

He’s not afraid to try new things on his blog (in a gutsy move, he upgraded to WordPress 2.3 on Beta 1), and admit his mistakes. And he is excellent at responding to reader’s concerns in the comments. He’s also not afraid of spotlighting his readers.

What’s Life Like in the Country?

Snoskred describes herself as a 32 year-young female who lives in NSW with The Other Half and two kitties. She has also been a big supporter of the project since the beginning and is very generous with her weekly link posts (example).

Snoskred is a good example of a blogger who blogs on a hard-to-comment platform (Blogger), but still can build a good community and respond directly to the readers (example post on losing feed subscribers). With her weekly link posts, she spotlights her other readers and is very loyal to the blogs she enjoys.

She makes contacting her easy, and from my observations, addresses each reader individually as needed.

Reader Appreciation Technology with Jeffro 2.0

Jeff is a good example of a blogger who can blog technology-related topics, yet still show a great deal of reader appreciation. He periodically runs polls asking for his readers’ opinions, and takes a look at his site from a reader’s perspective (and follows up with action).

Jeff responds to almost every reader comment (as necessary), makes himself easily contactable, and provides a balanced view on providing full feeds for his readers.

Jeff’s site is all community, with recent comments displayed prominently, and the MyBlogLog widget placed high on the sidebar. He also has a neat little widget that shows who all is online. He also is trying to promote and give back to his readers through a photography contest.

Jeff is a big supporter of the Reader Appreciation Project, and has left some very supportive comments on A-Lister’s sites trying to promote the project and the concept. Jeff is a shining example of someone placing his readers first.

The Badges

The winners of the ‘Readers First’ awards are under no obligation to display the badge and/or link to the Reader Appreciation Project. The ‘Readers First’ award is our way of spotlighting other blogs and/or readers who show exceptional reader appreciation.

Please Check out the ‘Readers First’ page for badges for multiple background colors.

Know of Someone Who Places Their Readers First?

Let us know about the site through our contact form. It’s always encouraging to see other sites out there who have embraced the concept of reader appreciation.

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