Do You Really Care about Your Blogging Audience?

I read a blog post recently.

The blogger noted a long-defunct website as link anchor text.

I double-checked the blog post publish date of February 2022.

Human beings make mistakes. But imagine writing and publishing a blog post in February of 2022 containing link anchor text touting a famous website that closed down years ago?

Even though the blog owner may have had a contributor publish the blog post, they are fully responsible for the blog, the blog content, and anything published on the blog. One part of me knows that he made a mistake. But another part knows that he does not care deeply about his audience.

I should know. I found myself in his shoes years ago.

I thought about the fact that he allowed anchor text pointing to a defunct website that was years into extinction as a fresh, new blog post. He fell asleep at the wheel. But I made the same error a while back. I likely understand what he may be thinking and feeling.

Maybe he just wants to publish as much content as possible without doing quality control. But adding anchor text related to a long-dead website proves that he does not deeply, really care about his readership. On a blogging level, the anchor text mentioned would be like saying in a post published in February of 2022 that MySpace is one of the best social networks for driving a high volume of quality, targeted blog traffic.

Avoid Gaffes

Every single blog post needs to be checked and double-checked by blog owners, contributors, or editors to avoid this massive gaffe because if a site closed down 3 years ago and hundreds of millions of people know the site closed 3 years ago, you better not publish a new post promoting the now-defunct site in any way, shape or form.

I immediately closed the browser and stopped following the blog on Feedly.

I once had the same attitude concerning publishing posts and overall quality control. Perhaps missing a few typos or grammatical errors seems OK. But when someone emails you with a shocking complaint, you need to either bury your head in the sand from an utterly delusional approach or you can own the fact that you need to care more deeply about your readers.

Shocking Email

Someone told me that it was a shame I had not proofread an old blog post submitted by a guest contributor to Blogging From Paradise. I clicked the link to see what she meant.

Shock overcame my being. I actually published a guest post on Blogging From Paradise from years ago littered with grammatical errors. The ESL blogger meant well, shared solid practical tips, and even ranked on page 1 of Google for a few posts. But he clearly sounded like an ESL writer.  I felt horrible and even guilty that I published such low-quality content without checking one word.

Talk about an eye-opening experience! My mind sat in such a place of fear and hurry years ago that I copied, pasted, and published the blog post without proofreading the post. I had deleted 1000 plus old, thin, lower-quality posts on Blogging From Paradise prior to this moment but subsequently deleted that post and virtually every single guest post submitted by bloggers whose writing did not match my blog, brand, and voice.

I vowed to deeply care, appreciate and value my readers from that moment moving forward. Every single piece of new content on my blog needs to pass rigorous quality controls. Every old piece of content I come across either makes the cut or finds the trash folder.

Do You Value Your Readers?

How deeply do you value your readers?

Do you rush to publish thin or low-quality content riddled with grammatical errors or typos?

Do you promote any business opportunity solely to make a buck? Do you litter your sidebar with advertisements to make money even though the heavy, slow-loading ads kill the user experience?

I recently added a sidebar store to my blog pointing to the few eBooks I sell through Selz but only because the eBooks help my readers with blogging and author tips, the store loads seamlessly and my reader’s UX remains solid. I thought about my readers before I embedded the store. Valuing my readers means that much to me, right now.

I also forgave myself for not being as mindful of my readers in the past because I went through tough times that scared me into thinking about myself and my needs over my reader’s needs. Everyone makes mistakes. I feel at peace over making blogging mistakes.

You may need to make the same inner discoveries as I to develop a deeper appreciation for your readers. Perhaps someone needs to shock you before you really value your readers.

I always appreciated my readers on some level. But doing some mental housekeeping recently revealed that I had to establish a deeper appreciation for my community.

Practical Tips

Review old posts for overall quality control. Delete posts beyond being salvaged. Update quality content that needs upkeep.

Remove dead links from old blog posts.

Remove all anchor text or links containing references to defunct websites closed long ago.

Read and reply to all comments on your blog.

Email clients and customers asking how you can help readers who helped grow your business.

Conclusion

Value your readers.

Appreciate your community.

Publish quality content.

Express gratitude for your readership by doing a fabulous job with your blogging campaign.