5 Ways to Disrespect Online Readers & Clients

  

The concept of appreciating your blog readers has been covered in the past in the form of “5 Ways to Appreciate Readers.” There are many things you can do to thank your clients and blog readers. There are also several mistakes you can make daily, unknowingly, that may throw your clients and blog readers off the hook and land you in trouble.

Because of the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook, more people than ever before are now accustomed to the idea of comments and how they can be related to. By knowing some things that tend to result in your blog readers and commentors being disrespected by you, you can focus on making your blog and your communication methods better in ways that result in your readers being appreciated more, or at least not disrespected.

How can you figure out whether or not your clients and readers feel disrespected? What may you be doing that can disrespect clients and readers? RA Project will introduce you to the 5 ways you can disrespect your blog readers unconsciously. By realizing the trends in the list in order to avoid them, you can take steps to ensure your clients and readers love your blogging brand in the long run.

5 Ways to Disrespect Blog Readers and Clients

1. Respond to most commentors, but not all.

   Many bloggers tend to respond to commentors who leave flattering comments or commentors who run popular websites. If you ignore a commentor because they are not important to you or if a commentor feels left out of a conversation, the comment is probably feeling disrespected and ignored. You can read a bit more about it in Ronald’s excellent article, “Being Lost in the Conversation?” You may not have to reply to all comments, though you can focus on making sure no one feels left out.

2. Acting friendly only with certain readers.

   This trend is noticeable on many blogs where commentors politely disagree on a large level with a blogger about something. Usually, the blogger, instead of discussing the issue with the commentor, responds to the commentor rudely or in a very serious tone. At the same time and usually for the same post, the same blogger responds in a cheerful and friendly manner to other commentors who agree with the blogger.

3. Take sides when commentors attack each other.

   This is a tricky one, and probably requires a book of its own. If two of your commentors are attacking or arguing with each over something related to your article, you may feel inclined to take the side of the person who is your friend, or someone who usually takes the side of your article. This is a big mistake; try not to take sides unless absolutely necessary. It is perfectly normal and possible to try to solve heated disputes among your commentors by having a neutral stand while also proving your point.

4. Not crediting readers who give you ideas for your articles.

   Many prominent companies and bloggers these days ask their users ideas for posts. This is a great trend of actually finding out what clients and readers want. However, many companies and bloggers make the mistake of taking such ideas and turning them into articles or guides without giving any credit. It is perfectly fine and legal to take any idea from anywhere on your site and to turn it into a great idea. Giving credit, however, should be a necessary step in any great idea if possible. This can help you avoid upset commentors or even lawsuits down the road.

5. Treat commentors with less respect and friendliness when you meet them

   This may sound strange to many people who never meet physically meet the online people they interact with, but if you treat a commentor with respect online, you should also treat them with respect offline in person. Many companies and bloggers miss the great opportunity of connecting with their clients and readers at seminars, offices and other events. If you respect someone online or if your articles and websites create an atmosphere of friendliness online, maintain the same respect and courtesy in person so that your level of branding and transparency can remain consistent everywhere.

   The opposite of this is also true: if you respect people offline, you should try to show them respect online too.

Implement tools checkpoints that help you have happier clients & readers daily

The above are 5 extremely important ways you and your blogging business can disrespect a commentor or a reader online. Respecting someone everyday and doing the above things at the same time may cancel out the positive things you do for others. You can implement 5 tools or practices to address each of the 5 things above for your daily blogging and client communication experience. Your entire goal for any month can actually be to incorporate safety checks or tools to ensure that the above 5 trends of disrespecting clients and readers are avoided in your online and offline habits.

If your business or blogging habits result in a lot of commentors that may be upsetting you, you may want to figure out whether or not you want to actually reply to all commentors who comment on your articles.

Are you disrespecting your clients? Do your blog readers feel left out?

What do you think of this list? Do you have any other points that you can think of? Do any of the above points apply specifically to your company or blog? Have you accidentally made any of the mistakes above? What has your experience been with companies and blogs in terms of appreciation or disrespect?

Please share your thoughts, comments or questions below. Thank you for reading!

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Related Articles

• Do you know why your clients get upset? (5)
• Deliver Your Blog Content in Multiple Ways (2)
• Readers Don’t Know What You Want Unless You Tell Them (3)
• Appreciate Your Ex-Readers & Ex-Clients (3)
• Where Does Your Blog Fit in Your Business? (1)

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