Feeling Like a Rockstar
Jeffro2pt0 and Trisha Miller at WordCamp
The focus of RAProject.com has for the most part, centered around the idea of Reader Appreciation. However, after attending WordCamp Dallas, I’d like to tell a story which seems like a reversal of roles.
Sometime after lunch on the first day of the conference, a woman came up to me and asked if I was Jeffro, the webmaster of Jeffro2pt0.com. After confirming her suspicion, she introduced herself as Trisha. She then began to tell me how much she enjoyed my blog.
At this point I’m thinking to myself, “Wow, people actually read that thing”.
She told me how she has the blog in her iGoogle page and really enjoys the way I write. As I was listening to Trisha tell me what she enjoyed so much about my writing and my blog, I got this euphoric feeling inside of me.
I felt like a rock star because here we are, at this conference where I still feel as if I’m a nobody in this land some call the blogosphere and someone from another part of the country is talking to me face to face telling me how much they enjoy the site. It was very enjoyable to talk with Trisha and get a face to face conversation of what a reader of my site appreciated and what they didn’t.
So often, blog authors are encouraged to think of their readers first. I still believe in that mantra. However, because of this experience at WordCamp Dallas, I believe that readers should also show appreciation to their favorite blog authors either by meeting them face to face or by sending in emails letting them know that they are not writing into an echo chamber. My experience with Trisha was a fulfilling one which has given me a renewed sense of blogging energy.
If you write for yourself or for a not so popular blog and have had people come up to you and tell you how much they have appreciated your work, please let me know in the commenting section. I’d be very interested to know what sort of emotions you experienced during the conversation. It’s not often when you get to talk to YOUR readers face to face.
I’d also be interested in feedback for those of you who have received emails of encouragement from readers of your blog. What sort of effect have those emails had on you?
Ronald Huereca says...
Jeff,
I must say that it was awesome to witness that. That’s why I was so quick to say, “Oh, I gotta get a picture.” Not only is that what reader appreciation is all about, but it was just so neat to see it in the flesh.
Andrew says...
I have had discussion in the past with a people about the design of my blog and the nice comments were very nice, but nothing like you describe. In the world I live in even admitting that you spend your spare time blogging is a daunting thing.
I have found though that when I get comments from people who are clearly very happy, i.e. more than, “nice plugin, thanks”, that it means a lot to me.
Simonne says...
I’m sure it must have been a great feeling for you, the meeting with Trisha. I’ve never met in person any of my blog readers, but I like it very much when readers write me that I’ve helped them solve a problem, or when somebody asks for more info following an article I’ve written.
Jenny Alouettes says...
I have the same feeling as you. Some of my blog readers are my friends. Each time when they have comment on my blog concerning the words I wrote, I will feel happy to read them and encourage me to continue my writing.
Jeffro2pt0 says...
Yeah, this experience was awesome and I wouldn’t mind going through it again.
PJ says...
I’ve never met a reader in person, but after I’d showcased this guy’s site he wrote to me and said that he was already a subscriber and how honoured he was to have been chosen for it. I was so chuffed to hear that.
Ronald Huereca says...
Yes, I agree with all. I would love to meet more readers in person.
But if I couldn’t meet them, an encouraging comment or e-mail is always helpful and a nice morale lifter. Especially if the stats are taking a dive and the blogger is going through the dreaded burn-out phase.
Trisha says...
You know it’s just as flattering to me to know that my simple desire to meet & thank an author whose blog I enjoy would mean so much, but knowing that it does inspires me - I’m going to make the effort to let other bloggers know that I appreciate what they do.
The way I see it, blogging is a way of contributing - giving to others of your knowledge, experience, or just pointing out something you’ve found in this great wide web that might be interesting or of use to someone else. At least that’s true of most of the blogs I read, and I think that is deserving of the occasional thank you….
Ronald Huereca says...
@All,
For those who have actually met readers in person, how do you think it affects the relationship with the reader when things go back into online-mode?