One of the sad experience in blogging is the time we lose our readers. Seasons come and go, and sadly readers come and go as well. This blog has the same experience, but the art is really how we can stay positive when that happens. Losing readers is unavoidable as a part of your growth as a blogger or a people of influence. You can take it as a failure, or you can take it as a success. It’s really about perspective.
If you ask me, then these are some of the reasons why you can smile and stay positive, even when you lose readership…
1. Your readers are growing…
Scott H. Young recently wrote a mind-boggling article in his blog, The Purpose of This Website is to Lose Its Readers. It really opened my eyes on the experience, more than a reason to smile, he put losing his readers as a goal or purpose to achieve. Isn’t that like school graduation? Imagine what will happen if school doesn’t want to lose its students. The students will never be graduated and they will never step into another phase of their life.
In blogosphere, we can also consider that our readers are graduated from our blog. They have gained so much from our blog. They are growing to their next phase of life and they need to learn from another source, someone that is suitable with their stage of growth.
I experienced this not only in blogosphere, but also in my relationship with some friends. One of them is a college junior which is very close to me. I motivated him once when he was down, and he was very thankful of it. Since then, we talked a lot, and he shared a lot of his struggle to me.
But, it did not take forever. I was sad but I learned to see it from a better perspective. He grew up, and he became a much more independent man. With that right perspective, I can be happy that I have helped him with motivation when he needed it, or maybe I can consider that as my specialty…
2. Consider that as your current specialty/niche…
Recently I learned how to swim, I hired a coach to teach me and after 4 lessons, I can swim. I considered that enough and I stopped. It’s not that I’m not I’m not thankful to him, but it’s so far what I need to learn from him. Swimming is his specialty or niche, and I’ve been graduated from his lesson.
In blogging and in life, you will eventually pick a niche/direction to focus on. The best thing is of course, one that can cover much more so that you can maintain your readers for a long time. But, unfortunately, there is a journey that we all need to go before reaching that. It’s also one great thing about blogging: that you can start wherever you are, with whatever knowledge you have right now.
Another example, I won’t be able to coach you business skill as I do not have much experience yet, however I can share with you about the experience in the success journey, the motivation, the attitude, the right perspective, the actions and habits you can start doing. It’s what I can offer now, and you can say it’s my niche. People change; people will judge and evaluate their commitments. That’s unavoidable! But as long as you grow, you can put aside what people think of you…
3. Time for you to grow…
In fact, it’s important that you write with the readiness to lose your readers. William Zinsser wrote about the writing audience in his book On Writing Well. And to my surprise, the audience is none other than you yourself…
Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it. ….
You are writing primarily to please yourself, and if you go about it with enjoyment you will also entertain the readers who are worth writing for. If you lose the dullards back in the dust, you don’t want them anyway.
~William Zinsser (On Writing Well)
The message is about what you believe, and it’s not about pleasing anyone with the message you bring. This is also the attitude I want to bring to my readers, I’m not here to make you happy. I am not writing that often, as I also need to “eat” what I write. I am growing so I can bring more value in what I share. And I have to also voice up what I believe even if I will lose some readers. It’s really when you are detached from your readers, than you can give and share the best from what you value and believe, not what will please them on the surface.
Concluding thought
So…. I really don’t think that you need to worry or sad losing some readers, or those who are commenting on your site. Even if they go because they don’t like you, you can always think otherwise, that you have already given them enough. And the point is you have to grow, as a blogger, as a human, and a leader. And it’s not about a competition of how many readers you have; it’s really about the journey that you need to take.
And for all who are still reading my blog, I really appreciate you guys, be the best you can be and follow your course, wherever you need to go. Reason-4-Smile will always encourage you to live your life.
And if there is one thing you can do for Reason-4-Smile, is really something that Scott H. Young also mentioned. You may not need my article anymore, but you can always share my blog or article to those you care about.
Stay motivated,
Robert
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20 Comments
Ari Koinuma
on 20th Oct, 08 04:10pm
Hi Robert,
This was a very timely post for me, as I am about to put up something that can potentially stir up a lot of negative emotions in people. Though my case is slightly different — people may get upset and leave.
It’s a scary thing but ultimately we have to speak what’s on our mind.
ari
Ari Koinumas last blog post..Book Review: Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development for Smart People
Shamelle- TheEnhanceLife
on 20th Oct, 08 04:10pm
Um.. I like your perspective. Next time I see my stats and if I see a down fall I will try to keep these point in mind.
Great post.
Shamelle- TheEnhanceLifes last blog post..Overworked & Overwhelmed? Achieving Life Balance Amidst Chaos
Marshall - bondChristian
on 20th Oct, 08 08:10pm
I like what you’ve added to the “lose your readers” conversation. I’m still not completely convinced it’s the ideal, but you’re thoughts are compelling nonetheless.
Robert A.
on 20th Oct, 08 11:10pm
@Ari, thanks, great that this post can be an inspiration to you. Please let me know when you have posted your post.
@Shamelle, yeah, hope that this message will keep you motivated to continue on!
@Marshall, thanks. If you have any thoughts, please do share them. I welcome any opposing opinions =)
Thanks guys and stay smilin’,
Robert
Evelyn Lim
on 21st Oct, 08 02:10am
It’s true that readers will come and go. It’s important that we accept with grace if they no longer wish to come back to our site.
Evelyn Lims last blog post..Can You Read My Mind?
Irene | Light Beckons
on 21st Oct, 08 03:10am
Great post Robert! You don’t need quantity, just quality.
Irene | Light Beckonss last blog post..Natalie Fights Back
Daniel Richard
on 21st Oct, 08 02:10pm
You just lost me as a reader…
Nah! I’m pulling your leg. Haha. My own aim is to “graduate” readers into a more conversational relationship and of course to become friends!
Daniel Richards last blog post..11 Traits You Need To Getting Things Done With a BIGGER SMILE!
Robert A.
on 21st Oct, 08 03:10pm
@Evelyn, Irene, and Daniel, really great to know you guys, all Singaporean bloggers. Frens I met in blogosphere. I guess we should gather and meet up one day =)
And Daniel, I really like your perspective, graduating your readers into friends!
Cheers,
Robert
Raymond Chua
on 22nd Oct, 08 02:10am
Great post. I can relate with it. Sometimes, I purposely send out some promotional emails to get rid of lousy subscribers too. It’s away to increase the responsiveness of my list.
Usually, I’ll do this when I have something cool to give away because I want to reward only loyal readers and subscribers.
Raymond Chuas last blog post..Integrating The Self Confidence with the Law of Attraction
David Rogers
on 22nd Oct, 08 06:10am
Good post. We forget people come to our blogs for information and when they have got that they move on. I was taught to swim at school, but recently I “employed” my daughter, who is a swimming instructor, to help me swim better – so I can empathize with your experience here.
David Rogerss last blog post..Myth of the Addictive Personality
Alex Kay
on 22nd Oct, 08 06:10am
This post really hit home with me, Robert.
There’s always a positive side!
Thanks for sharing Robert.
Best regards,
Alex
Alex Kays last blog post..How To Use Your Voice to Project More Confidence
Alex Kay
on 22nd Oct, 08 06:10am
Whoops, can you edit my previous comment? I meant to say “always” not “also”.
Thanks
Alex Kays last blog post..How To Use Your Voice to Project More Confidence
Jun Loayza
on 25th Oct, 08 05:10am
You know, I’ve never looked at blogging in this way. I see so much written about how to get more readers to your blog, and more importantly, how to KEEP THEM. Reading this is a very refreshing take on the art of blogging.
What is blogging truly about? I believe it is about sharing ideas, expressing one’s self, and educating others.
I now see how a person can ‘graduate’ from a blog. I think like graduation, it doesn’t mean that you ‘lose’ a reader; it means that the reader has moved on to explore other facets in life. I am still very involved with my Alma Mater, and I feel a great blog has many alumni who always come back to it.
- Jun Loayza
Jun Loayzas last blog post..5 steps that might have undergraduates worrying about a job
sba
on 29th Oct, 08 12:10pm
I can use your insights as I am building my blog’s readership — I see lots of people stop by from searches and don’t leave a footprint other than in Analytics! Although I never ‘had’ them as readers or even commentors, there’s a sense of loss. Now I can say they found that tip I gave them, used it and moved on. When I get more subscribers and some of them leave, I’ll use your thoughts since my motivation is to share information and help bloggers grow. Thanks
sbas last blog post..Check Out My Guest Post
Mitch
on 2nd Nov, 08 06:11pm
This is an interesting take on the whole concept of readership. Truthfully, I don’t want to lose readers, but I know that, as I tackle certain things, readership may leave because one can’t always write safe stuff that doesn’t engage the overall group of readers. Still, I’d rather gain in overall readers than worry about the one or two who may decide that I’m not their cup of tea. So, I guess the good thing to think about, if you’re doing the right thing, is that you will always have someone to replace those people who leave, and if you’re passionate about something, the number of people who come will surpass the number that leave.
Mitchs last blog post..A Point About Commenting On Blogs
blackzero85
on 8th Nov, 08 12:11pm
Aw come on. Think positively… and be strong. Readers sure can come and go as they please but, we have friends we can depend on. So… we’re not alone. ^^
blackzero85s last blog post..Saturday’s Random Rant.
cat
on 9th Nov, 08 08:11pm
Of course readers come and leave and we don’t have to raise hell with them if they don’t want to read any more
Armen Shirvanian
on 10th Nov, 08 07:11pm
This is a way to put a positive twist on an occurrence that does not generally appear to be quite positive. Although it might be the fact that a site is not providing what it used to for its readers, it is also possible that a site has hit its limit of material to provide to viewers, and thus the readership may decrease in response to this. Also, telling readers that the purpose of a site is to lose its readers and that the readers should cancel their subscription someday is a great way to keep readers subscribed as they think “great point, and I will stick with you to read more”.
Armen Shirvanians last blog post..Leading By Example – Guest Post
Robert A.
on 12th Nov, 08 01:11am
@blackzero85 and cat, you got a point that we can take it light-heartedly. Life must go on! =)
@Armen, you got several good points, yeah I agree, lose of readership can be caused by both the changes in the readers or writers. But as a writer, it’s really important that we evolve as well. Of course, the best for the readership if we can grow along with the readers. Nevertheless, if we have to take different path, it’s important not to become people-pleaser or reader-pleaser.Don’t you think so?
Thanks!
Robert
Allan
on 17th Nov, 08 07:11am
Well, this probably isn’t the best feedback, but I don’t write for readers. I write first for myself and then if there are some few people out there that find my writing resonant, then great. If not, the writing process itself is of such value to me that I would continue to do it. I do however like to read other people’s work, even if they are trying to gather a large audience.
Allans last blog post..Semper Fidelis