by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
At the very start of this blog back in 2008, I tried to figure out who I was writing for. I’d read a lot of advice at the time that blogging was a good way to connect to readers.
Instead, I decided to stay in my comfort zone and make my blog writer-focused.
I took a class on building a social media platform. It recommended interfacing with readers instead of writers.
Instead, I decided to stay in my comfort zone and focus on connecting with writers on social media.
Despite my complete disregard of all the excellent advice that I’d gone searching for, this reader avoidance on my part worked really well. I built a large platform online. Readers could easily find me because of good SEO. They’d message me on Facebook or email me if they wanted to connect and communicated directly with me. I care a lot about my readers and I answer their messages promptly. But I was very shy about seeking them out.
It’s been a couple of years now that I finally started thinking about ways to connect with my readers.
I originally went about it the wrong way. I asked “where are my readers?” and then set out to join them.Continue reading