The Reader Appreciation Project » Questions http://www.raproject.com The First and Only Website On The Planet Dedicated to Customer & Reader Appreciation Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:00:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 How Fast Do You Process Refunds? http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-fast-do-you-process-refunds/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-fast-do-you-process-refunds/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:00:35 +0000 Bes http://www.raproject.com/?p=2228
How fast do you process refunds?

Are you giving refunds enough attention?

In addition to satisfied customers and new customers, you also have to deal with existing customers who decide that your product or service is not for them. Your product may be great, though the customer may have needs that do not get resolved by your product. Regardless of the reason, anytime a customer asks you for a refund, the only usual way of making that customer happy is to give them back their money.

In such cases, while you may be losing money, you try to focus and make sure the customer in question leaves you or your product at least a bit satisfied. In addition to making sure you get new customers, you have to make sure that one of the most popular trends among customers, the trend of getting a refund, gets sorted out and planned well by you. Without working out a plan or focusing on how you can make your business or blog offer refunds faster or easier, you may never be able to get people to try out your products or services on an effective scale.

How are customers viewing your refund policy? What kind of refund policies do you offer?

How Easy is Your Refund Process?

The easier your entire refund process is, the better. Many businesses simply require customers to present a receipt or an authenticated online request to immediately give those customers the requested refund. Your online blog or business can do the same. You can make sure your customers realize they only have to take one step to get a refund: ask you. When your customers realize that, they would be willing to go through the biggest hassle of giving you their money. Telling customers your exact refund policy helps avoid any confusions. Remember the most important rule: the businesses which confuse customers the least get the most customers.

Ajax Edit Comments is an example of such service that offers a great 7-day no questions asked refund policy. A fast and no-question asked refund policy does not mean you would be losing money. A fast and no-question asked refund policy means you get more customers who want to try your product or service without much worries. And if your service is great, people would be more willing to remain your customers.

How Fast Do You Offer Refunds?

Based on the above info, what kind of a refund policy do you offer?

Please share your opinions, questions or any tips in your comment below. Thank you for reading.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

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]]>
How fast do you process refunds?

Are you giving refunds enough attention?

In addition to satisfied customers and new customers, you also have to deal with existing customers who decide that your product or service is not for them. Your product may be great, though the customer may have needs that do not get resolved by your product. Regardless of the reason, anytime a customer asks you for a refund, the only usual way of making that customer happy is to give them back their money.

In such cases, while you may be losing money, you try to focus and make sure the customer in question leaves you or your product at least a bit satisfied. In addition to making sure you get new customers, you have to make sure that one of the most popular trends among customers, the trend of getting a refund, gets sorted out and planned well by you. Without working out a plan or focusing on how you can make your business or blog offer refunds faster or easier, you may never be able to get people to try out your products or services on an effective scale.

How are customers viewing your refund policy? What kind of refund policies do you offer?

How Easy is Your Refund Process?

The easier your entire refund process is, the better. Many businesses simply require customers to present a receipt or an authenticated online request to immediately give those customers the requested refund. Your online blog or business can do the same. You can make sure your customers realize they only have to take one step to get a refund: ask you. When your customers realize that, they would be willing to go through the biggest hassle of giving you their money. Telling customers your exact refund policy helps avoid any confusions. Remember the most important rule: the businesses which confuse customers the least get the most customers.

Ajax Edit Comments is an example of such service that offers a great 7-day no questions asked refund policy. A fast and no-question asked refund policy does not mean you would be losing money. A fast and no-question asked refund policy means you get more customers who want to try your product or service without much worries. And if your service is great, people would be more willing to remain your customers.

How Fast Do You Offer Refunds?

Based on the above info, what kind of a refund policy do you offer?

Please share your opinions, questions or any tips in your comment below. Thank you for reading.

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-fast-do-you-process-refunds/feed/ 2 Should You Contact Customers Through Personal Channels? http://www.raproject.com/questions/should-you-contact-customers-through-personal-channels/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/should-you-contact-customers-through-personal-channels/#comments Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:00:20 +0000 Bes http://www.raproject.com/?p=2070
Contacting customers through personal channels

Do you contact customers through personal channels?

The most important thing that many customers prefer is communication from and with the companies that they do business with. You can communicate with your clients through practically hundreds of ways. You can realize beforehand, however, that the channels through which you communicate with your clients can be divided into a few categories, including the personal category.

Contacting customers through personal channels shows initiative and actual interest in the success of the customer. It lets the customer know that you are interested in being proactive with your customers. The same way you can communicate effectively or poorly, communicating through different channels could be good or bad depending on what the customer actually prefers.

Should you contact your customers through personal channels? Would you be appreciating clients more if you approached them through personal channels? There are a few ways to figure out the answer that would be best suited for your clients and your business.

Contacting Customers Through Personal Channels

A personal channel through which you could contact your customers may fall outside the direct reach of something like your website or blog. The same way you could run into a client on the street accidentally and ask them if the problem they were having before has been solved, your customers may actually feel either very favorable to you or very uncomfortable solely because of your interaction with them through personal channels that the clients usually reserve for friends and non-business contacts.

Contacting customers through their personal Facebook accounts can show that you keep in touch with customers on a personal level, but would that intrude on the privacy and safety of people who want to keep their business and personal contacts separate? Contacting clients through their blog can show that you are trying to appreciate and support your clients, but would that mean your clients may feel they have to treat you differently in their responses to you on their blog in order to get good service from you? Calling customers on the phone to follow-up or to offer discounts to their existing services and subscriptions with you can make customers appreciate your efforts to save them money, but would your customers not appreciate you because of you bothering them over the phone instead of through e-mail? All of these and other questions should be kept in mind when contacting your customers through any unofficial channel that is not openly explained to customers prior to them paying you for any service or product.

Do you contact customers through personal channels?

Based on the above info, do you think it would be appropriate to contact your customers through personal channels?

Please share your answers, opinions, experiences or any questions in your comments below. Thank you for reading.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

Related Articles

]]>
Contacting customers through personal channels

Do you contact customers through personal channels?

The most important thing that many customers prefer is communication from and with the companies that they do business with. You can communicate with your clients through practically hundreds of ways. You can realize beforehand, however, that the channels through which you communicate with your clients can be divided into a few categories, including the personal category.

Contacting customers through personal channels shows initiative and actual interest in the success of the customer. It lets the customer know that you are interested in being proactive with your customers. The same way you can communicate effectively or poorly, communicating through different channels could be good or bad depending on what the customer actually prefers.

Should you contact your customers through personal channels? Would you be appreciating clients more if you approached them through personal channels? There are a few ways to figure out the answer that would be best suited for your clients and your business.

Contacting Customers Through Personal Channels

A personal channel through which you could contact your customers may fall outside the direct reach of something like your website or blog. The same way you could run into a client on the street accidentally and ask them if the problem they were having before has been solved, your customers may actually feel either very favorable to you or very uncomfortable solely because of your interaction with them through personal channels that the clients usually reserve for friends and non-business contacts.

Contacting customers through their personal Facebook accounts can show that you keep in touch with customers on a personal level, but would that intrude on the privacy and safety of people who want to keep their business and personal contacts separate? Contacting clients through their blog can show that you are trying to appreciate and support your clients, but would that mean your clients may feel they have to treat you differently in their responses to you on their blog in order to get good service from you? Calling customers on the phone to follow-up or to offer discounts to their existing services and subscriptions with you can make customers appreciate your efforts to save them money, but would your customers not appreciate you because of you bothering them over the phone instead of through e-mail? All of these and other questions should be kept in mind when contacting your customers through any unofficial channel that is not openly explained to customers prior to them paying you for any service or product.

Do you contact customers through personal channels?

Based on the above info, do you think it would be appropriate to contact your customers through personal channels?

Please share your answers, opinions, experiences or any questions in your comments below. Thank you for reading.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/should-you-contact-customers-through-personal-channels/feed/ 1 Where Does Your Blog Fit in Your Business? http://www.raproject.com/questions/where-does-your-blog-fit-in-your-business/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/where-does-your-blog-fit-in-your-business/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:00:40 +0000 Bes http://www.raproject.com/?p=2046
What role does your blog play in your business?

Do you know the role your blog plays in your business?

Every business should try to regularly review the different components it depends on and uses to figure out their place within the business. From different departments to actual products and services, a business can figure out the importance or shortage of different elements needed for both survival and prosperity. Your exact focus on anything in life in order to make money makes it the equivalent of a business for you. You should try to figure out the roles different elements play in any business for you.

Your blog should go under the same kind of review. Your blog, whether personal or business or both, probably exists to serve some kind of a need. Your blog can either make or break your business. By seeing the wrong tools or articles on your blog, people may avoid taking you seriously and may actually not do any business with you. With the good tools and content, your blog can help you and your business become better and generate more clients and readers. Therefore, you have to figure out the role your blog plays in your business if you want to improve both your business and your blog.

In order to figure out the role your blog may play in your business so that you can appreciate clients and your blog more, regardless of the size or type of business, you may start figuring out the types of roles a blog can play in any business.

5 Different Roles Blogs Can Play in Your Business

Here are 5 different places or values that a blog can bring to your business:

  1. Your blog is your business.

    Your blog is your main business. It is the main venue through which you communicate with clients and readers. It is also the one of the sources or the main sources of your income. Your blog may include all of the points below.

  2. Your blog complements the help desk.

    Your blog aims to educate people on how to use certain things or how to figure out some concepts. Thus, you want people to come to your blog to get answers.

  3. Your blog complements the marketing news announcements.

    Your blog is where you announce all your products and services. Your blog is like a brochure, where people come to find out what you and your services and products are all about. Your blog is also where your existing customers go to find out about the latest updates and news for services and products they have purchased from you.

  4. Your blog points to other resources.

    Your blog may serve the same purpose as a link and information directory. You point and refer people to interesting things elsewhere. Thus, people come to your blog to find out what interesting things on other websites you have found for them.

  5. Your blog tries to help people in the related industries and fields.

    Your blog may focus solely on topics and situations related to the industry your actual money making services or products focus on. Thus, your blog focuses on talking about things in the computer industry in general if you sell computers, or the blog world if you sell blog hosting.

Do you know what function your blog has in your business?

Based on the above points, can you pinpoint the exact function of your blog in your business? What does your blog try to achieve?

Please share your opinions, experiences, tips or any questions by commenting below. Thank you for reading.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

Related Articles

]]>
What role does your blog play in your business?

Do you know the role your blog plays in your business?

Every business should try to regularly review the different components it depends on and uses to figure out their place within the business. From different departments to actual products and services, a business can figure out the importance or shortage of different elements needed for both survival and prosperity. Your exact focus on anything in life in order to make money makes it the equivalent of a business for you. You should try to figure out the roles different elements play in any business for you.

Your blog should go under the same kind of review. Your blog, whether personal or business or both, probably exists to serve some kind of a need. Your blog can either make or break your business. By seeing the wrong tools or articles on your blog, people may avoid taking you seriously and may actually not do any business with you. With the good tools and content, your blog can help you and your business become better and generate more clients and readers. Therefore, you have to figure out the role your blog plays in your business if you want to improve both your business and your blog.

In order to figure out the role your blog may play in your business so that you can appreciate clients and your blog more, regardless of the size or type of business, you may start figuring out the types of roles a blog can play in any business.

5 Different Roles Blogs Can Play in Your Business

Here are 5 different places or values that a blog can bring to your business:

  1. Your blog is your business.

    Your blog is your main business. It is the main venue through which you communicate with clients and readers. It is also the one of the sources or the main sources of your income. Your blog may include all of the points below.

  2. Your blog complements the help desk.

    Your blog aims to educate people on how to use certain things or how to figure out some concepts. Thus, you want people to come to your blog to get answers.

  3. Your blog complements the marketing news announcements.

    Your blog is where you announce all your products and services. Your blog is like a brochure, where people come to find out what you and your services and products are all about. Your blog is also where your existing customers go to find out about the latest updates and news for services and products they have purchased from you.

  4. Your blog points to other resources.

    Your blog may serve the same purpose as a link and information directory. You point and refer people to interesting things elsewhere. Thus, people come to your blog to find out what interesting things on other websites you have found for them.

  5. Your blog tries to help people in the related industries and fields.

    Your blog may focus solely on topics and situations related to the industry your actual money making services or products focus on. Thus, your blog focuses on talking about things in the computer industry in general if you sell computers, or the blog world if you sell blog hosting.

Do you know what function your blog has in your business?

Based on the above points, can you pinpoint the exact function of your blog in your business? What does your blog try to achieve?

Please share your opinions, experiences, tips or any questions by commenting below. Thank you for reading.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

Related Articles

]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/where-does-your-blog-fit-in-your-business/feed/ 1 Are Customers Making U-turns On Your Blog? http://www.raproject.com/articles/tips/are-customers-making-uturns-on-your-blog/ http://www.raproject.com/articles/tips/are-customers-making-uturns-on-your-blog/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 09:35:18 +0000 Bes http://www.raproject.com/?p=1888
Are customers making u turns on your blog?

Are you making customers make u-turns on your blog?

U-turns are usually the least liked signs some drivers want to see on a road. And there is a good reason for that. Many drivers prefer driving straight or making left and right turns. A u-turn usually tells a driver that they have come too far, and that they have to turn around their entire car. This kind of an experience exists in the online world too. U-turns are everywhere online, and your blog may be making your customers make unwanted u-turns.

In addition to making sure that your customers have a great time on your blog, you have to make sure that the different blog features you offer do not result in your customers wanting to literally back off simply because of feeling stuck. From bad blog design to inconsistent ways of incorporating new features into your blog, you may actually be forcing your customers into making u-turns on your blog. And you may thus be losing readers, customers and money because of such u-turns.

RA Project shows you 3 ways your customers may be making u-turns on your blog, and not liking you because of that.

3 Examples How Customers Make U-turns on Your Blog

  1. Sending them to other websites in order to do tasks on your website.

    The most popular example of this mistake is the trend of sending your readers onto another website to have them sign up for your newsletter, and then to have them press the back button or close windows to get back to your website. A better alternative is to allow your readers to subscribe to your newsletter on your website, like the RA Project Subscribe page.

  2. Making users click the “Back” button on the browser.

    Hootsuite BlogMany websites do not have a flexible and consistent navigation throughout their website. The Hootsuite Blog is an example of this, where the top navigation of the blog is not consistent with the rest of the website and thus does not give users any links to reach the homepage or their dashboard accounts.

  3. Sending customers onto unclear sales pages.

    While you may be able to bring in thousands of customers to a page titled “FREE iPad! No strings attached!“, those customers may immediately make a u-turn once they realize that in order to get the “FREE iPad“, they have to buy your $100 product. A page with a title “FREE iPad for Product A customers!” is a better title that will make your customers want to actually buy “Product A” from you in order to get the free Apple iPad.

Are your customers making U-turns on your blog?

In the end, your customers will feel at ease if your blog gives them a safer environment to browse within. The more clear and straightforward you make your blog, the less u-turns your customers will have to endure.

Have you noticed any such u-turns on your blog? Are your customers directly or indirectly making u-turns on your blog? Do they have a smooth access to float around your website, or are they stumbling around?

Please share your opinions, experiences or tips in the comments below. Thank you for reading.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

Related Articles

]]>
Are customers making u turns on your blog?

Are you making customers make u-turns on your blog?

U-turns are usually the least liked signs some drivers want to see on a road. And there is a good reason for that. Many drivers prefer driving straight or making left and right turns. A u-turn usually tells a driver that they have come too far, and that they have to turn around their entire car. This kind of an experience exists in the online world too. U-turns are everywhere online, and your blog may be making your customers make unwanted u-turns.

In addition to making sure that your customers have a great time on your blog, you have to make sure that the different blog features you offer do not result in your customers wanting to literally back off simply because of feeling stuck. From bad blog design to inconsistent ways of incorporating new features into your blog, you may actually be forcing your customers into making u-turns on your blog. And you may thus be losing readers, customers and money because of such u-turns.

RA Project shows you 3 ways your customers may be making u-turns on your blog, and not liking you because of that.

3 Examples How Customers Make U-turns on Your Blog

  1. Sending them to other websites in order to do tasks on your website.

    The most popular example of this mistake is the trend of sending your readers onto another website to have them sign up for your newsletter, and then to have them press the back button or close windows to get back to your website. A better alternative is to allow your readers to subscribe to your newsletter on your website, like the RA Project Subscribe page.

  2. Making users click the “Back” button on the browser.

    Hootsuite BlogMany websites do not have a flexible and consistent navigation throughout their website. The Hootsuite Blog is an example of this, where the top navigation of the blog is not consistent with the rest of the website and thus does not give users any links to reach the homepage or their dashboard accounts.

  3. Sending customers onto unclear sales pages.

    While you may be able to bring in thousands of customers to a page titled “FREE iPad! No strings attached!“, those customers may immediately make a u-turn once they realize that in order to get the “FREE iPad“, they have to buy your $100 product. A page with a title “FREE iPad for Product A customers!” is a better title that will make your customers want to actually buy “Product A” from you in order to get the free Apple iPad.

Are your customers making U-turns on your blog?

In the end, your customers will feel at ease if your blog gives them a safer environment to browse within. The more clear and straightforward you make your blog, the less u-turns your customers will have to endure.

Have you noticed any such u-turns on your blog? Are your customers directly or indirectly making u-turns on your blog? Do they have a smooth access to float around your website, or are they stumbling around?

Please share your opinions, experiences or tips in the comments below. Thank you for reading.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

Related Articles

]]> http://www.raproject.com/articles/tips/are-customers-making-uturns-on-your-blog/feed/ 1 Should you reply to every commentor on your blog? http://www.raproject.com/reader-appreciation/surveys/do-you-reply-to-every-commentor-on-your-blog/ http://www.raproject.com/reader-appreciation/surveys/do-you-reply-to-every-commentor-on-your-blog/#comments Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:00:12 +0000 Bes http://www.raproject.com/?p=1547 Should you reply to all your commentors?

Commentors are commenting on your blog. Will you reply to all of them?

The entire age and popularity of guestbooks from the late 1990′s led us to the idea of having comments from other people everywhere, specially on our blogs. Guestbooks were very long, often single-page listings of comments that anonymous people from all over the world left for you. The comments would usually focus on the coolness of your guestbook design, instead of the topic at hand. Because of the number of entries left on such guestbooks, majority of the guestbook owners would never reply to any, or all, of such entries or people in the form of leaving an entry themselves in their guestbook. Today, however, the situation of replying to the entries, or comments, that you get today on your blog is different.

Many business and personal blogs focus on the concept of writing an article and letting commentors comment on them. Many other blogs focus on writing short articles and replying to each and every comment. In the end, the idea of replying to comments gets separated into a few different categories, with the most coveted or time-consuming option for many people being the task of replying to every comment. There are several benefits to replying to each and every commentor on your blog. There are also, however, several downsides to replying to every commentor who comments on your blog.

RA Project would like to discuss this idea with you and share a poll to ask what you think about the important question: Do you reply to every commentor on your blog?

5 reasons to reply to every blog comment

  1. You get to know all of your commentors.
  2. Your commentors realize that you appreciate the time they spent commenting on your blog.
  3. You show everyone that you enabled comments in order to read them, and not just to increase comment count.
  4. More people will interact with you and your blog if they see that you value comments as much as your articles.
  5. Every commentor you reply to means another interaction after a commentor has left your blog. The biggest hurdle to the success of many blogs is the trend of majority of commentors never coming back to a blog.

5 reasons NOT to reply to every blog comment

  1. Your articles may suffer because of you spending more time commenting than writing great articles.
  2. You may end up focusing on spamming your comment counts by replying with useless comments in order to show either that your blog is popular or that you reply to everyone.
  3. You may feel obligated and forced to comment, even in situations where a comment reply is not necessary.
  4. Your habit of replying to every comment may result in an increase in spammers who would like you to repeatedly bring their comment and any related links or messages to the spotlight of the discussion for specific articles.
  5. You may end up changing the focus of your articles solely to keep the number of comments at a minimum, resulting in you losing the original interest you had in your blog and probably enduring point # 3 above too. You may also end up turning off all comments on your blog if you do not know how to deal with comments. This is one of the biggest reasons many people simply abandon their blog or end up having a blog that loses its momentum.

Should you expect a reply from every blog you comment on?

Let’s turn the tables around. Should you expect a response to every blog comment that you make on other blogs? RA Project has covered the idea of specifically asking for a response for every blog comment you make on other blogs. In your view, should you expect every comment of yours on other blogs to get a response from the blog owners?

Should you reply to every comment on your blog?

Hopefully by now you realize how some of the benefits or pitfalls listed above will apply specifically to your blog and any possible trend of you replying to all of your commentors. In the end, do you think you should reply to every comment on your blog? Can such a habit be beneficial to your blog or business? Would such a habit instead result in problems?

Please vote in the below poll and see what others have been voting.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Please share your thoughts or any questions in the comments below. Thank you.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

Related Articles

]]> Should you reply to all your commentors?

Commentors are commenting on your blog. Will you reply to all of them?

The entire age and popularity of guestbooks from the late 1990′s led us to the idea of having comments from other people everywhere, specially on our blogs. Guestbooks were very long, often single-page listings of comments that anonymous people from all over the world left for you. The comments would usually focus on the coolness of your guestbook design, instead of the topic at hand. Because of the number of entries left on such guestbooks, majority of the guestbook owners would never reply to any, or all, of such entries or people in the form of leaving an entry themselves in their guestbook. Today, however, the situation of replying to the entries, or comments, that you get today on your blog is different.

Many business and personal blogs focus on the concept of writing an article and letting commentors comment on them. Many other blogs focus on writing short articles and replying to each and every comment. In the end, the idea of replying to comments gets separated into a few different categories, with the most coveted or time-consuming option for many people being the task of replying to every comment. There are several benefits to replying to each and every commentor on your blog. There are also, however, several downsides to replying to every commentor who comments on your blog.

RA Project would like to discuss this idea with you and share a poll to ask what you think about the important question: Do you reply to every commentor on your blog?

5 reasons to reply to every blog comment

  1. You get to know all of your commentors.
  2. Your commentors realize that you appreciate the time they spent commenting on your blog.
  3. You show everyone that you enabled comments in order to read them, and not just to increase comment count.
  4. More people will interact with you and your blog if they see that you value comments as much as your articles.
  5. Every commentor you reply to means another interaction after a commentor has left your blog. The biggest hurdle to the success of many blogs is the trend of majority of commentors never coming back to a blog.

5 reasons NOT to reply to every blog comment

  1. Your articles may suffer because of you spending more time commenting than writing great articles.
  2. You may end up focusing on spamming your comment counts by replying with useless comments in order to show either that your blog is popular or that you reply to everyone.
  3. You may feel obligated and forced to comment, even in situations where a comment reply is not necessary.
  4. Your habit of replying to every comment may result in an increase in spammers who would like you to repeatedly bring their comment and any related links or messages to the spotlight of the discussion for specific articles.
  5. You may end up changing the focus of your articles solely to keep the number of comments at a minimum, resulting in you losing the original interest you had in your blog and probably enduring point # 3 above too. You may also end up turning off all comments on your blog if you do not know how to deal with comments. This is one of the biggest reasons many people simply abandon their blog or end up having a blog that loses its momentum.

Should you expect a reply from every blog you comment on?

Let’s turn the tables around. Should you expect a response to every blog comment that you make on other blogs? RA Project has covered the idea of specifically asking for a response for every blog comment you make on other blogs. In your view, should you expect every comment of yours on other blogs to get a response from the blog owners?

Should you reply to every comment on your blog?

Hopefully by now you realize how some of the benefits or pitfalls listed above will apply specifically to your blog and any possible trend of you replying to all of your commentors. In the end, do you think you should reply to every comment on your blog? Can such a habit be beneficial to your blog or business? Would such a habit instead result in problems?

Please vote in the below poll and see what others have been voting.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Please share your thoughts or any questions in the comments below. Thank you.

Special RA Project Sponsor Offer for You:

Related Articles

]]> http://www.raproject.com/reader-appreciation/surveys/do-you-reply-to-every-commentor-on-your-blog/feed/ 10 Why are you on twitter? http://www.raproject.com/questions/why-are-you-on-twitter/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/why-are-you-on-twitter/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:44:16 +0000 Bes http://www.raproject.com/?p=1173 Why are you on twitter?Twitter has quickly became a household name for millions of people, probably including yourself and your friends and family. From marketers to friends and confused people, Twitter allows almost anyone to go online and to try and spread or communicate some sort of a message.

Because of the different reasons people may be online, the reason you are on twitter may be different than the reason I am on Twitter. This results in the same types of online messages to have different meanings, due to the nature of the tweeter.

If you could figure out one single reason why you are on twitter, it could help you figure out whether you enjoy being on twitter, or if someone you know on twitter is being honest, loyal or even accurate in their tweets.

What is the single reason without which you would not be on twitter?

Following are some suggestions to help you figure out why you are on twitter. The single most important reason you are on twitter is…

  • to sell products.
  • to meet new people, whether or not they keep in touch with you or interact with you.
  • to meet new people who interact with you.
  • to follow people without having them follow you back.
  • to follow people without requiring them to follow back.
  • to follow people so that they can follow you back.
  • to have others follow you.
  • to make “friends” with people in order to increase sales among those “friends.”
  • to make “friends” with people in order to increase sales among others.
  • to make “friends” with people in order to increase sales among everyone.
  • to be able to talk about personal life in the open.
  • to express yourself.
  • to be able to talk about personal life in the open with some active people listening.
  • to be able to talk about personal life in the open with an increasing number of people listening.
  • to be able to talk about personal life in the open and to follow others who are listening.
  • to make friends.
  • to pass time.
  • to be asked why you are on twitter.

So, why are you on Twitter?

It may be extremely important to know why you are on twitter in order to make the best connections, and in order to appreciate and be appreciated with the people you interact on twitter. Which of the above reasons applies to you? Why are you on twitter? Why are some of your favorite tweeters on twitter?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below, or reply via a tweet if you wish. Thank you for reading! :)

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]]> Why are you on twitter?Twitter has quickly became a household name for millions of people, probably including yourself and your friends and family. From marketers to friends and confused people, Twitter allows almost anyone to go online and to try and spread or communicate some sort of a message.

Because of the different reasons people may be online, the reason you are on twitter may be different than the reason I am on Twitter. This results in the same types of online messages to have different meanings, due to the nature of the tweeter.

If you could figure out one single reason why you are on twitter, it could help you figure out whether you enjoy being on twitter, or if someone you know on twitter is being honest, loyal or even accurate in their tweets.

What is the single reason without which you would not be on twitter?

Following are some suggestions to help you figure out why you are on twitter. The single most important reason you are on twitter is…

  • to sell products.
  • to meet new people, whether or not they keep in touch with you or interact with you.
  • to meet new people who interact with you.
  • to follow people without having them follow you back.
  • to follow people without requiring them to follow back.
  • to follow people so that they can follow you back.
  • to have others follow you.
  • to make “friends” with people in order to increase sales among those “friends.”
  • to make “friends” with people in order to increase sales among others.
  • to make “friends” with people in order to increase sales among everyone.
  • to be able to talk about personal life in the open.
  • to express yourself.
  • to be able to talk about personal life in the open with some active people listening.
  • to be able to talk about personal life in the open with an increasing number of people listening.
  • to be able to talk about personal life in the open and to follow others who are listening.
  • to make friends.
  • to pass time.
  • to be asked why you are on twitter.

So, why are you on Twitter?

It may be extremely important to know why you are on twitter in order to make the best connections, and in order to appreciate and be appreciated with the people you interact on twitter. Which of the above reasons applies to you? Why are you on twitter? Why are some of your favorite tweeters on twitter?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below, or reply via a tweet if you wish. Thank you for reading! :)

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/why-are-you-on-twitter/feed/ 38 Comment Response Choice: A Step Backward? http://www.raproject.com/articles/comment-response-choice-a-step-backward/ http://www.raproject.com/articles/comment-response-choice-a-step-backward/#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:09:57 +0000 Bes http://www.raproject.com/?p=995 Business Reply Mail for Customers

Recently, at RA Project a new brand idea was born to allow, through WordPress and in general, each and every website commentor the choice to specifically tell a website owner whether or not that specific commentor would like a comment response. I call it the RA Project Comment Response Choice Idea. I wonder about the effect of this idea on other things in the blog-reader and business-customer relationship arena and wanted to discuss that with you today.

Should all comments be answered, or only the ones asking for a reply?

So far, in the blogging world and in the online world in general, when you leave a comment on any website, you usually expect or want a response when you ask the website owner, or the article owner, a question or for some info. Unless an author of an article explicitly says that they will reply to all comments to their article, expecting a comment response is considered kind of voluntary and dependent on the tone of a comment. The actual reply depends on the philosophy and the mentality of an important question: is it an obligation to respond to all comments?

While the concept of allowing people to specifically ask for a comment response to their comment, or let a website owner know that they do not want a response to their comments, is very interesting to me, it also raises a very important question for me: can such a concept, of making people specifically ask for a comment response to their input, be manipulated or abused a bit to give more leniency to website owners and others when it comes to the idea of replying to people who comment on their websites?

How can businesses use this new response requirement model?

Let us take this concept one step further. How can companies use this concept when dealing with their customers? A company can require all customers to actually specify if they would require a response when dealing with that company. The Comment Response Choice can greatly help in allowing companies to focus more on responses that are directly asked for. This should also help customers be more satisfied as they will realize that a company may not be replying to them because the company has not been directly asked to respond.

At the same time, however, I wonder if it is a good idea to make a customer, or anyone else, go through an additional layer of customer reader action in order to actually respond to them? I see a very interesting implementation for this: by default, such comment response choices can be modified very easily to have the “I do not need a response” option chosen by default. In such cases, if a customer forgets to look at the Comment Response Choice or something similar, the default “No” will be chosen automatically. That can make it easier for people or businesses to say later on that the reason they did not reply was because the reader or the customer specified that they did not want a reply.

What do you think?

I love good ideas, and I love new ideas that are good. RA Project has many brand new ideas on their way and many good ideas already. Though as with probably anything, ideas need to be handled with common sense, including this Comment Response Choice idea. What is your view on this? Would you, as a website or a business owner, follow such a trend of making people specifically choose an extra option if they want a response from you? Would you, as a customer or a reader, want to specifically take an extra step to ask for a response?

Please let me and others know what you think in the comments below, thanks! :)

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]]> Business Reply Mail for Customers

Recently, at RA Project a new brand idea was born to allow, through WordPress and in general, each and every website commentor the choice to specifically tell a website owner whether or not that specific commentor would like a comment response. I call it the RA Project Comment Response Choice Idea. I wonder about the effect of this idea on other things in the blog-reader and business-customer relationship arena and wanted to discuss that with you today.

Should all comments be answered, or only the ones asking for a reply?

So far, in the blogging world and in the online world in general, when you leave a comment on any website, you usually expect or want a response when you ask the website owner, or the article owner, a question or for some info. Unless an author of an article explicitly says that they will reply to all comments to their article, expecting a comment response is considered kind of voluntary and dependent on the tone of a comment. The actual reply depends on the philosophy and the mentality of an important question: is it an obligation to respond to all comments?

While the concept of allowing people to specifically ask for a comment response to their comment, or let a website owner know that they do not want a response to their comments, is very interesting to me, it also raises a very important question for me: can such a concept, of making people specifically ask for a comment response to their input, be manipulated or abused a bit to give more leniency to website owners and others when it comes to the idea of replying to people who comment on their websites?

How can businesses use this new response requirement model?

Let us take this concept one step further. How can companies use this concept when dealing with their customers? A company can require all customers to actually specify if they would require a response when dealing with that company. The Comment Response Choice can greatly help in allowing companies to focus more on responses that are directly asked for. This should also help customers be more satisfied as they will realize that a company may not be replying to them because the company has not been directly asked to respond.

At the same time, however, I wonder if it is a good idea to make a customer, or anyone else, go through an additional layer of customer reader action in order to actually respond to them? I see a very interesting implementation for this: by default, such comment response choices can be modified very easily to have the “I do not need a response” option chosen by default. In such cases, if a customer forgets to look at the Comment Response Choice or something similar, the default “No” will be chosen automatically. That can make it easier for people or businesses to say later on that the reason they did not reply was because the reader or the customer specified that they did not want a reply.

What do you think?

I love good ideas, and I love new ideas that are good. RA Project has many brand new ideas on their way and many good ideas already. Though as with probably anything, ideas need to be handled with common sense, including this Comment Response Choice idea. What is your view on this? Would you, as a website or a business owner, follow such a trend of making people specifically choose an extra option if they want a response from you? Would you, as a customer or a reader, want to specifically take an extra step to ask for a response?

Please let me and others know what you think in the comments below, thanks! :)

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/articles/comment-response-choice-a-step-backward/feed/ 65 Are You Concerned About Fake Friends? http://www.raproject.com/questions/are-you-concerned-about-fake-friends/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/are-you-concerned-about-fake-friends/#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 06:53:33 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/?p=909 If you run a blog or two, you may already know that some of the means to promote your blogs to the world are social media and commenting on other blogs in your niche. Both methods imply communication. Your avatar meets my avatar on the same page and we exchange words and thoughts.

What if my avatar has been “borrowed” from Flickr and designed to represent that other “me” I want to be in relationship with you? If you knew that your web 2.0 friends who helped you when you needed were just “somebody elses” hiding behind fake social media profiles, would this discovery lower your appreciation for them?

Is this situation similar to the one of the little boy who wanted to get his grandmother married, so he pretended to be her in some dating websites, and befriended some potential grandfathers in her name?

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]]> If you run a blog or two, you may already know that some of the means to promote your blogs to the world are social media and commenting on other blogs in your niche. Both methods imply communication. Your avatar meets my avatar on the same page and we exchange words and thoughts.

What if my avatar has been “borrowed” from Flickr and designed to represent that other “me” I want to be in relationship with you? If you knew that your web 2.0 friends who helped you when you needed were just “somebody elses” hiding behind fake social media profiles, would this discovery lower your appreciation for them?

Is this situation similar to the one of the little boy who wanted to get his grandmother married, so he pretended to be her in some dating websites, and befriended some potential grandfathers in her name?

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/are-you-concerned-about-fake-friends/feed/ 36 Invisible Readers, Where Are You? http://www.raproject.com/questions/invisible-readers-where-are-you/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/invisible-readers-where-are-you/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:32:09 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/?p=908 Do you remember the last time when you did something for your readers to make them feel better on your blog? How did you come to the conclusion that you had to do exactly that particular change and not others?

One of the niches I’m writing in is internet marketing. As I want to stay informed on what other people in the niche are writing, I’m subscribed to a gazillion blogs, and every now and then I even remember to read them. Many bloggers in this niche feel like monetizing their blogs is a must, taking into consideration that they write about making money with blogs. However, every once in a while, there’s a blogger who decides to get rid of all blog advertising as tribute to his readers. The results? The readers’ appreciation? I quote from the blog of Garry Conn, who’s the person in question:

Since this time, I have written some really good articles — at least what I thought to be — and have received virtually ZERO reactions to these posts. I even wrote a post about my daughter’s 16th birthday and out of 1200 subscribers on only 4 people wished her a happy birthday. So for me, I am truly offended by that. I understand nor do I expect that all 1200 people would have wished her happy birthday, but I would have expected around 20 people to do so…

So, ads are back on the blog, and so are the comments from readers. This is the last comment on the post I’ve quoted from:

I’ve never seen a marketer chew is viewers out … ?? I get great feedback, and most others do to. Only 25% of people come back to your site, meaning you’re failing on building the emotional connection. Don’t blame your viewers when you fail at generating buzz or comments. You are the one making the “first move” with your website. If you fall on your face, then work on your style, or add more value.

What do you think? Was this reader unfair? Or is it just that our readers are in such a hurry themselves that they really don’t find the time to stop and wish Happy Birthday to the daughter of somebody they learn from?

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]]> Do you remember the last time when you did something for your readers to make them feel better on your blog? How did you come to the conclusion that you had to do exactly that particular change and not others?

One of the niches I’m writing in is internet marketing. As I want to stay informed on what other people in the niche are writing, I’m subscribed to a gazillion blogs, and every now and then I even remember to read them. Many bloggers in this niche feel like monetizing their blogs is a must, taking into consideration that they write about making money with blogs. However, every once in a while, there’s a blogger who decides to get rid of all blog advertising as tribute to his readers. The results? The readers’ appreciation? I quote from the blog of Garry Conn, who’s the person in question:

Since this time, I have written some really good articles — at least what I thought to be — and have received virtually ZERO reactions to these posts. I even wrote a post about my daughter’s 16th birthday and out of 1200 subscribers on only 4 people wished her a happy birthday. So for me, I am truly offended by that. I understand nor do I expect that all 1200 people would have wished her happy birthday, but I would have expected around 20 people to do so…

So, ads are back on the blog, and so are the comments from readers. This is the last comment on the post I’ve quoted from:

I’ve never seen a marketer chew is viewers out … ?? I get great feedback, and most others do to. Only 25% of people come back to your site, meaning you’re failing on building the emotional connection. Don’t blame your viewers when you fail at generating buzz or comments. You are the one making the “first move” with your website. If you fall on your face, then work on your style, or add more value.

What do you think? Was this reader unfair? Or is it just that our readers are in such a hurry themselves that they really don’t find the time to stop and wish Happy Birthday to the daughter of somebody they learn from?

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/invisible-readers-where-are-you/feed/ 4 The Lifespan of a Reader http://www.raproject.com/questions/the-lifespan-of-a-reader/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/the-lifespan-of-a-reader/#comments Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:47:43 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/?p=905 There was this research some years ago which was showing that the staff of a company fully renews itself over a period of three years. People come and go, and if you have the curiosity to pay a visit to your former colleagues after a few years, you may end up with the surprise of not knowing anybody in that company anymore.

Thinking at myself as a blog reader, one of the things I notice immediately is that the list of blogs I read has almost completely changed over the past two years. Although I watch on average 100 blogs (or more), the ones which are still on my favorites list can be counted on one hand’s fingers only.

I don’t remember when I’ve lost interest in some blogs and how long it did take until I wasn’t interested in them anymore. However, I believe that for most of the blogs, my lifespan as a reader last some 4-6 months. I have no idea if those bloggers were starting to repeat themselves, or was it only that I didn’t care for those topics anymore?

How are you as a reader? Are you aware of your lifespan as reader of a certain blog? When you stop reading one, do you know your reasons, or it’s just that one day you discover that you completely forgot it existed?

After how much time the readership of a blog is completely renewed? I wonder if we could measure that. What do you think?

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]]> There was this research some years ago which was showing that the staff of a company fully renews itself over a period of three years. People come and go, and if you have the curiosity to pay a visit to your former colleagues after a few years, you may end up with the surprise of not knowing anybody in that company anymore.

Thinking at myself as a blog reader, one of the things I notice immediately is that the list of blogs I read has almost completely changed over the past two years. Although I watch on average 100 blogs (or more), the ones which are still on my favorites list can be counted on one hand’s fingers only.

I don’t remember when I’ve lost interest in some blogs and how long it did take until I wasn’t interested in them anymore. However, I believe that for most of the blogs, my lifespan as a reader last some 4-6 months. I have no idea if those bloggers were starting to repeat themselves, or was it only that I didn’t care for those topics anymore?

How are you as a reader? Are you aware of your lifespan as reader of a certain blog? When you stop reading one, do you know your reasons, or it’s just that one day you discover that you completely forgot it existed?

After how much time the readership of a blog is completely renewed? I wonder if we could measure that. What do you think?

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/the-lifespan-of-a-reader/feed/ 4 To Follow, or Not to Follow – on Twitter http://www.raproject.com/questions/to-follow-or-not-to-follow-on-twitter/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/to-follow-or-not-to-follow-on-twitter/#comments Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:44:07 +0000 Ronald Huereca http://www.raproject.com/?p=886 twitter.jpeg

To follow, or not to follow. That is the question.

This past week I gained about sixty or so followers thanks to Jeff’s Twitter post over at WeblogToolsCollection.

After scanning through each of my new followers, I was faced with a decision. Do I follow just because they’ve followed me? Or, do I follow because there is a genuine, and hopefully, mutual interest?

It’s really the same dilemma I find myself facing when it comes to feeds. I would love to subscribe to each one of my readers’ blogs, but I typically only subscribe if I can relate to the subject matter in the areas of interests, language, and material.

If you are on Twitter, what is your criteria for finding people to follow? Also, what would cause you to unfollow (is that a word?) someone?

For those interested, here’s some of the RAP contributors’ Twitter profiles.

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]]> twitter.jpeg

To follow, or not to follow. That is the question.

This past week I gained about sixty or so followers thanks to Jeff’s Twitter post over at WeblogToolsCollection.

After scanning through each of my new followers, I was faced with a decision. Do I follow just because they’ve followed me? Or, do I follow because there is a genuine, and hopefully, mutual interest?

It’s really the same dilemma I find myself facing when it comes to feeds. I would love to subscribe to each one of my readers’ blogs, but I typically only subscribe if I can relate to the subject matter in the areas of interests, language, and material.

If you are on Twitter, what is your criteria for finding people to follow? Also, what would cause you to unfollow (is that a word?) someone?

For those interested, here’s some of the RAP contributors’ Twitter profiles.

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/to-follow-or-not-to-follow-on-twitter/feed/ 15 What Else Do You Do With Your Readers? http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-else-do-you-do-with-your-readers/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-else-do-you-do-with-your-readers/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 21:06:19 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/?p=793 If you started blogging more than 5 minutes ago, chances are that you already have a few readers, and you probably know some of them (if not all) by their names.

Now you know who your customer is, you start writing with him in mind, you start polishing your articles more, because you know that Bill, or Jane or Cheap Blue Contact Lenses will have their say on that next article of yours.

But what else do you do with your readers, when you don’t write for them and you don’t answer their comments?

1. Do you share links on social networking sites?

2. Do you read their blogs?

3. Do you chat with them on Skype, or other instant messenger services?

4. Do you meet them at blogging conferences?

5. Do you exchange emails with them?

6. What else?

If you shut down your computer and close your eyes, how many of your readers you can list by their names? If you have less than 10 readers-commenters, you’d probably remember all of them. If you have 100 readers who comment, you’d be lucky if you remembered 50% of them. What if you had 11874 readers? How can you have so many readers and still write with them in mind? Or are you still writing only for the core readers who were the first to discover your blog and enjoyed it ever since? Or for those people you are doing also other things with?

Or are you just writing for the Google bots, hoping that people would follow?

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]]> If you started blogging more than 5 minutes ago, chances are that you already have a few readers, and you probably know some of them (if not all) by their names.

Now you know who your customer is, you start writing with him in mind, you start polishing your articles more, because you know that Bill, or Jane or Cheap Blue Contact Lenses will have their say on that next article of yours.

But what else do you do with your readers, when you don’t write for them and you don’t answer their comments?

1. Do you share links on social networking sites?

2. Do you read their blogs?

3. Do you chat with them on Skype, or other instant messenger services?

4. Do you meet them at blogging conferences?

5. Do you exchange emails with them?

6. What else?

If you shut down your computer and close your eyes, how many of your readers you can list by their names? If you have less than 10 readers-commenters, you’d probably remember all of them. If you have 100 readers who comment, you’d be lucky if you remembered 50% of them. What if you had 11874 readers? How can you have so many readers and still write with them in mind? Or are you still writing only for the core readers who were the first to discover your blog and enjoyed it ever since? Or for those people you are doing also other things with?

Or are you just writing for the Google bots, hoping that people would follow?

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-else-do-you-do-with-your-readers/feed/ 4 Do You Make Money Online? http://www.raproject.com/questions/do-you-make-money-online/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/do-you-make-money-online/#comments Mon, 19 May 2008 23:04:56 +0000 Ronald Huereca http://www.raproject.com/?p=779 The “making money online” topic is something I have personally shied away from here simply because this isn’t the type of blog that talks about making money.

However, I know some of you out there who do make money online, whether it’s from blogging or some other online venture.

A question I’ve been pondering, but am unable to answer, is how does one make money online and keep the readers in mind?

The linked article does an excellent job of detailing how not to alienate readers, but I’d like to hear it from you if you have a moment.

By the way, the new (and about to be released) Ajax Edit Comments is live here, so feel free to comment and test it out. Please note that any test comments will be later removed.

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]]> The “making money online” topic is something I have personally shied away from here simply because this isn’t the type of blog that talks about making money.

However, I know some of you out there who do make money online, whether it’s from blogging or some other online venture.

A question I’ve been pondering, but am unable to answer, is how does one make money online and keep the readers in mind?

The linked article does an excellent job of detailing how not to alienate readers, but I’d like to hear it from you if you have a moment.

By the way, the new (and about to be released) Ajax Edit Comments is live here, so feel free to comment and test it out. Please note that any test comments will be later removed.

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/do-you-make-money-online/feed/ 27 How To Ruin Hundreds of Online Reputations At Once http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-to-ruin-hundreds-online-reputations-at-once/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-to-ruin-hundreds-online-reputations-at-once/#comments Tue, 06 May 2008 20:31:02 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/?p=737 How to ruin 1000 online reputationsWe’ve just seen three ways to ruin an online reputation. It is just that easy: take a wrong step and you’re lost. Sometimes, one doesn’t even need to lie, cheat or hack your readers. Sometimes, a small “detail” like telling something really important for the readers in a small phrase hidden inside a very long sales letter can bring one down in a matter of days, if not hours. This was the case of Joel Comm, who was selling an ebook for $9 and had all buyers automatically subscribed to a $29.9 monthly membership.

Seeing his reputation endangered by greed, Mr. Joel Comm saw himself in the position of running from blog to blog and saying how sorry he is, and how he is going to fix that issue by changing the sales page, so people can clearly see and opt for one of the variants: buy only the book, or buy the book plus the subscription.

Surely, Joel’s reputation had to suffer. But what about the reputation of all bloggers, like Darren Rowse of Problogger who promoted his ebook via affiliate links? Maybe they didn’t notice the scam, like many buyers of the book. Or maybe they’ve seen that, but they kept their mouth shout, in order to get the commissions. There was a lot of money at stake, as the previous version of AdSense Secrets (the ebook in question) sold for $97, and now there was an updated version available at only $9. Quite a bargain for the naive buyers!

Quite a surprise for all bloggers who promoted the book, to find their online reputation endangered by the simple fact that they promoted a product they thought to be good.

What do you think? Did the affiliate bloggers’ reputation also suffer from Joel’s scam or not?

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Other RA Project Articles

]]> How to ruin 1000 online reputationsWe’ve just seen three ways to ruin an online reputation. It is just that easy: take a wrong step and you’re lost. Sometimes, one doesn’t even need to lie, cheat or hack your readers. Sometimes, a small “detail” like telling something really important for the readers in a small phrase hidden inside a very long sales letter can bring one down in a matter of days, if not hours. This was the case of Joel Comm, who was selling an ebook for $9 and had all buyers automatically subscribed to a $29.9 monthly membership.

Seeing his reputation endangered by greed, Mr. Joel Comm saw himself in the position of running from blog to blog and saying how sorry he is, and how he is going to fix that issue by changing the sales page, so people can clearly see and opt for one of the variants: buy only the book, or buy the book plus the subscription.

Surely, Joel’s reputation had to suffer. But what about the reputation of all bloggers, like Darren Rowse of Problogger who promoted his ebook via affiliate links? Maybe they didn’t notice the scam, like many buyers of the book. Or maybe they’ve seen that, but they kept their mouth shout, in order to get the commissions. There was a lot of money at stake, as the previous version of AdSense Secrets (the ebook in question) sold for $97, and now there was an updated version available at only $9. Quite a bargain for the naive buyers!

Quite a surprise for all bloggers who promoted the book, to find their online reputation endangered by the simple fact that they promoted a product they thought to be good.

What do you think? Did the affiliate bloggers’ reputation also suffer from Joel’s scam or not?

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Other RA Project Articles

]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-to-ruin-hundreds-online-reputations-at-once/feed/ 10 Would You Buy From My Sidebar? http://www.raproject.com/questions/would-you-buy-from-my-sidebar/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/would-you-buy-from-my-sidebar/#comments Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:58:00 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/?p=701 Blogs. Sidebars. Fashions. Uniforms. The 125×125 ads displayed in the sidebar of probably 80% of all blogs.

Despite their extremely poor conversion rate (very few people are clicking, and even fewer buy), the little cute squares are bloggers’ favorites when it comes to selling advertising (or at least to filling them with affiliate banners, forever waiting for the day when the advertisers’ requests will start flooding their inbox). That section is most of the times clearly labeled as Advertising, or Sponsors, so it is clear the sole purpose of those ads is money.

Keeping this in mind, do you believe that displaying those ads in the sidebar implies that the respective blogger also endorses those products or services? I never thought that readers may think I’m endorsing those things I get paid for displaying in my sidebar, as long as I label them as advertising.

Although assuming is not the wisest thing of all, I assume that some of you will say that it is a sort of endorsement. Some others would probably say that a blog’s sidebar is just like the advertising pages in printed magazines: pure advertising. No magazine endorses the products which are advertised inside. It’s just advertising, everybody knows and accepts the convention.

Why then would you buy something from a banner in my sidebar? Or, would you?

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]]> Blogs. Sidebars. Fashions. Uniforms. The 125×125 ads displayed in the sidebar of probably 80% of all blogs.

Despite their extremely poor conversion rate (very few people are clicking, and even fewer buy), the little cute squares are bloggers’ favorites when it comes to selling advertising (or at least to filling them with affiliate banners, forever waiting for the day when the advertisers’ requests will start flooding their inbox). That section is most of the times clearly labeled as Advertising, or Sponsors, so it is clear the sole purpose of those ads is money.

Keeping this in mind, do you believe that displaying those ads in the sidebar implies that the respective blogger also endorses those products or services? I never thought that readers may think I’m endorsing those things I get paid for displaying in my sidebar, as long as I label them as advertising.

Although assuming is not the wisest thing of all, I assume that some of you will say that it is a sort of endorsement. Some others would probably say that a blog’s sidebar is just like the advertising pages in printed magazines: pure advertising. No magazine endorses the products which are advertised inside. It’s just advertising, everybody knows and accepts the convention.

Why then would you buy something from a banner in my sidebar? Or, would you?

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/would-you-buy-from-my-sidebar/feed/ 8 Usability Or Stereotypes? http://www.raproject.com/questions/usability-or-stereotypes/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/usability-or-stereotypes/#comments Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:31:04 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/?p=644 Have you seen the dashboard of the new WordPress 2.5 yet? I’ve seen it today for the first time, and for a few seconds I felt like Alice in Wonderland: despite the cool look, almost nothing was in the known place anymore. I suppose it is OK, but when you’ve seen the same page for thousands times over the past year, you have to fight a little to get rid of the old patterns (and develop new ones).

Lately I’ve become interested in developing themes for WordPress blogs, and many times I ask myself which way is better: to get creative and take people out of their blog navigation patterns, or to go with the flow and create those kinds of layouts which are “in fashion”? Due to the fact that we design the themes for the readers, and we wish them all to download and use at least one of our themes within one year from now, we decided to follow the trend and create themes which respect the readers’ wishes and expectations.

What do you think? Is this usability, to find all things in place, more or less where you’d expect them to be, or is it only the fact that we are overexposed to certain things, thus developing stereotypes in our behaviours and expectations?

If you cannot figure out what I am talking about, please check out the following website: www.leoburnett.ro. It belongs to the Romanian subsidiary of the international advertising agency Leo Burnett. It is one of the most creative websites I’ve seen lately, but I’d like to find out your opinion, as users who don’t understand the language (actually the main menu items are in English, so you won’t have a problem finding your way).

How interesting should a website be, so we take time to learn how to navigate it? Is a website an artwork in itself, or should it mainly serve the purpose of offering information to the readers?

Personally, I like it when I find everything easily on a page, but I cannot refrain from thinking that we have imitation deep in our blood, with the consequence of a perpetual search for models to follow.

Would you still read a blog with a crazy creative theme? Would you give your blog a crazy creative look?

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]]> Have you seen the dashboard of the new WordPress 2.5 yet? I’ve seen it today for the first time, and for a few seconds I felt like Alice in Wonderland: despite the cool look, almost nothing was in the known place anymore. I suppose it is OK, but when you’ve seen the same page for thousands times over the past year, you have to fight a little to get rid of the old patterns (and develop new ones).

Lately I’ve become interested in developing themes for WordPress blogs, and many times I ask myself which way is better: to get creative and take people out of their blog navigation patterns, or to go with the flow and create those kinds of layouts which are “in fashion”? Due to the fact that we design the themes for the readers, and we wish them all to download and use at least one of our themes within one year from now, we decided to follow the trend and create themes which respect the readers’ wishes and expectations.

What do you think? Is this usability, to find all things in place, more or less where you’d expect them to be, or is it only the fact that we are overexposed to certain things, thus developing stereotypes in our behaviours and expectations?

If you cannot figure out what I am talking about, please check out the following website: www.leoburnett.ro. It belongs to the Romanian subsidiary of the international advertising agency Leo Burnett. It is one of the most creative websites I’ve seen lately, but I’d like to find out your opinion, as users who don’t understand the language (actually the main menu items are in English, so you won’t have a problem finding your way).

How interesting should a website be, so we take time to learn how to navigate it? Is a website an artwork in itself, or should it mainly serve the purpose of offering information to the readers?

Personally, I like it when I find everything easily on a page, but I cannot refrain from thinking that we have imitation deep in our blood, with the consequence of a perpetual search for models to follow.

Would you still read a blog with a crazy creative theme? Would you give your blog a crazy creative look?

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/usability-or-stereotypes/feed/ 12 What is the Ideal Comment Section? http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-is-the-ideal-comment-section/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-is-the-ideal-comment-section/#comments Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:19:37 +0000 Ronald Huereca http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-is-the-ideal-comment-section/ With the upcoming re-design (details coming soon, I promise), I will have the opportunity to completely redo the comment section.

The slogan of this site is, “Where it’s all about the readers.” I’d like to keep true to that and have a comment section that is truly all about you, the reader.

As a reader, what is the ideal comment section?

Here are some things to consider if you are considering a response:

  • How prominent is the author name?
  • Are links no-follow’ed?
  • How do you tell different authors apart with the same name?
  • Are Gravatars or MyBlogLog Avatars displayed? How large?
  • What comment plugins do you like?
  • Editing comments?
  • Should readers be set apart from authors?
  • Should frequent commenters be shown different than new commenters?
  • How are Trackbacks/Pingbacks displayed?

I will absolutely use the feedback used on this post to draft a comment section. If you respond with a post of your own rather than a comment, I will gladly link to it here.

As soon as my design mock-ups are complete, I will post them for you all to see.

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]]> With the upcoming re-design (details coming soon, I promise), I will have the opportunity to completely redo the comment section.

The slogan of this site is, “Where it’s all about the readers.” I’d like to keep true to that and have a comment section that is truly all about you, the reader.

As a reader, what is the ideal comment section?

Here are some things to consider if you are considering a response:

  • How prominent is the author name?
  • Are links no-follow’ed?
  • How do you tell different authors apart with the same name?
  • Are Gravatars or MyBlogLog Avatars displayed? How large?
  • What comment plugins do you like?
  • Editing comments?
  • Should readers be set apart from authors?
  • Should frequent commenters be shown different than new commenters?
  • How are Trackbacks/Pingbacks displayed?

I will absolutely use the feedback used on this post to draft a comment section. If you respond with a post of your own rather than a comment, I will gladly link to it here.

As soon as my design mock-ups are complete, I will post them for you all to see.

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-is-the-ideal-comment-section/feed/ 9 What Happens If We Combine Social Media With Automation? http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-happens-if-we-combine-social-media-with-automation/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-happens-if-we-combine-social-media-with-automation/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:08:03 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-happens-if-we-combine-social-media-with-automation/ Automated twitteringI suppose social media is meant to give people a channel for socializing.

Socializing is like going to a party. You dress yourself nicely, put your best avatar for the night, perfume your account with your latest accomplishments, pick up your partners and go for it.

What if, instead of the host, you’d be welcomed by some robots, wishing you to buy the latest brand of detergent, or to read the newspaper before you step inside? What if, the host itself, would insert into the conversation some fragments like “you know I’m right, my darling, please see my yesterday’s post, and make sure you click on my affiliate link, since you are there”?

Well, this must be annoying, as you actually went to that party to interact with humans, not to witness a sample of the latest technology in matter of automation. As antisocial as I may be, as much as I cannot see the benefits of using Twitter, and I like to joke about it, I cannot stop myself from thinking that Twitter set on automation is a real freak.

How would it be to record my voice saying some promotional messages for my clients, or for my own blogs, take with me an mp3 player, and each time I meet an acquaintance, play him the morning tune, or the afternoon tune, or the evening tune?

Where’s the line between marketing and over-marketing? Maybe it’s us, the marketers who should draw it, who knows? And maybe we will, when we’ll realise that a pissed-off client is very hard to bring on your side again.

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]]> Automated twitteringI suppose social media is meant to give people a channel for socializing.

Socializing is like going to a party. You dress yourself nicely, put your best avatar for the night, perfume your account with your latest accomplishments, pick up your partners and go for it.

What if, instead of the host, you’d be welcomed by some robots, wishing you to buy the latest brand of detergent, or to read the newspaper before you step inside? What if, the host itself, would insert into the conversation some fragments like “you know I’m right, my darling, please see my yesterday’s post, and make sure you click on my affiliate link, since you are there”?

Well, this must be annoying, as you actually went to that party to interact with humans, not to witness a sample of the latest technology in matter of automation. As antisocial as I may be, as much as I cannot see the benefits of using Twitter, and I like to joke about it, I cannot stop myself from thinking that Twitter set on automation is a real freak.

How would it be to record my voice saying some promotional messages for my clients, or for my own blogs, take with me an mp3 player, and each time I meet an acquaintance, play him the morning tune, or the afternoon tune, or the evening tune?

Where’s the line between marketing and over-marketing? Maybe it’s us, the marketers who should draw it, who knows? And maybe we will, when we’ll realise that a pissed-off client is very hard to bring on your side again.

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/what-happens-if-we-combine-social-media-with-automation/feed/ 8 Are Blog Contests A Sign Of Reader Appreciation? http://www.raproject.com/questions/are-blog-contests-a-sign-of-reader-appreciation/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/are-blog-contests-a-sign-of-reader-appreciation/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:16:53 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/questions/are-blog-contests-a-sign-of-reader-appreciation/ Are blog contests so cool?You have probably noticed that blog contests increased in popularity, as more and more bloggers want to get more RSS feed subscribers and more comments on their posts. Encouraged by opinion leaders, bloggers are keen on launching their own blog contests, sometimes giving up the morning coffee in order to have the money for the prizes.

This is a very nice gesture, and a gesture of reader appreciation, you’d say. But as a reader, don’t you feel underestimated if you are required only to subscribe to a feed, or to leave a comment, or to write a few words about the contest, in order to qualify for a prize?

I’ve organized both kind of contests: the ones I’d like to participate in myself, which required an extra neuron to be put at work, as well as the typical ones, requiring no more than subscribing to my blog feed. The participation in the second type of contests exceeded by far the first category. The funny thing is that I was a bit embarrassed when I announced the simple contest, because, honestly, I think my readers can do better than that.

Somebody may say that people don’t have time for complicated contests.

OK, I agree, but if it is not for fun, why are they participating to the social blogging life? For the big prize of $20 which they may win if they subscribe to a feed?

Participation to contests is not an obligation. Blogging is not an obligation. Having fan could be.

If you want to have fun with a blog contest, please check out Emma’s Words to Know. This is also simple, but much more entertaining than the “subscribe to my feed” ones. And Emma’s got only 5 participants in her contest. Is that fair? I don’t know, but it surely is true.

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]]> Are blog contests so cool?You have probably noticed that blog contests increased in popularity, as more and more bloggers want to get more RSS feed subscribers and more comments on their posts. Encouraged by opinion leaders, bloggers are keen on launching their own blog contests, sometimes giving up the morning coffee in order to have the money for the prizes.

This is a very nice gesture, and a gesture of reader appreciation, you’d say. But as a reader, don’t you feel underestimated if you are required only to subscribe to a feed, or to leave a comment, or to write a few words about the contest, in order to qualify for a prize?

I’ve organized both kind of contests: the ones I’d like to participate in myself, which required an extra neuron to be put at work, as well as the typical ones, requiring no more than subscribing to my blog feed. The participation in the second type of contests exceeded by far the first category. The funny thing is that I was a bit embarrassed when I announced the simple contest, because, honestly, I think my readers can do better than that.

Somebody may say that people don’t have time for complicated contests.

OK, I agree, but if it is not for fun, why are they participating to the social blogging life? For the big prize of $20 which they may win if they subscribe to a feed?

Participation to contests is not an obligation. Blogging is not an obligation. Having fan could be.

If you want to have fun with a blog contest, please check out Emma’s Words to Know. This is also simple, but much more entertaining than the “subscribe to my feed” ones. And Emma’s got only 5 participants in her contest. Is that fair? I don’t know, but it surely is true.

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]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/are-blog-contests-a-sign-of-reader-appreciation/feed/ 6 How Do You Prevent Your Readers To Get Bored? http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-do-you-prevent-your-readers-to-get-bored/ http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-do-you-prevent-your-readers-to-get-bored/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:00:44 +0000 Simonne http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-do-you-prevent-your-readers-to-get-bored/ Every now and then, I notice people unsubscribing from my blog. There may be many reasons for that, one more serious than the other. As I don’t run a highly focused blog, I suppose that those people subscribed following a post which tackled a topic they were interested in, and now, seeing that I don’t write about that topic again, they unsubscribe.

Nevertheless, I think that another reason for somebody stopping reading a blog is just because it may be too focused, too serious, too narrow. I’m talking here especially about blogs about blogging, which tend to take a piece of info or advice (which may be good, I don’t argue that) and twist it, rephrase it, rewrite it, day after day, month after month, until everything starts looking like “deja-vu”, like in the Groundhog Day movie.

I’ve already seen blogs which try to prevent reader boredom. Some of them do it by participating in memes, others try to make readers think whether boredom is a friend or a foe, while others just discover the benefits of interruptions in work by using AntiRSI, a software which will force you to have a break from your computer activities at fixed intervals.

I did not pay too much attention to my readers’ boredom, maybe because I was not aware of it.

Do you think your readers get bored? Are you doing anything to prevent that?

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]]> Every now and then, I notice people unsubscribing from my blog. There may be many reasons for that, one more serious than the other. As I don’t run a highly focused blog, I suppose that those people subscribed following a post which tackled a topic they were interested in, and now, seeing that I don’t write about that topic again, they unsubscribe.

Nevertheless, I think that another reason for somebody stopping reading a blog is just because it may be too focused, too serious, too narrow. I’m talking here especially about blogs about blogging, which tend to take a piece of info or advice (which may be good, I don’t argue that) and twist it, rephrase it, rewrite it, day after day, month after month, until everything starts looking like “deja-vu”, like in the Groundhog Day movie.

I’ve already seen blogs which try to prevent reader boredom. Some of them do it by participating in memes, others try to make readers think whether boredom is a friend or a foe, while others just discover the benefits of interruptions in work by using AntiRSI, a software which will force you to have a break from your computer activities at fixed intervals.

I did not pay too much attention to my readers’ boredom, maybe because I was not aware of it.

Do you think your readers get bored? Are you doing anything to prevent that?

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Other RA Project Articles

]]> http://www.raproject.com/questions/how-do-you-prevent-your-readers-to-get-bored/feed/ 6