Gorgeous photography by Corbin Gurkin
Many times I have had clients or other wedding professionals (or even my dad) come up to me and tell me they follow my blog loyally (religiously even!) and tell me how much they love reading the posts and looking at my maps and the various eye-candy photos I like to put up for you all to see. While this is so flattering (who doesn't love to hear this??) my reply is usually something along the lines of, "Really!? I didn't know you follow my blog!"
After discussing this with several other bloggers, I've found I'm not the only one to feel that way. As a reader you may not know it, but we bloggers love to hear when you are happy with what we are writing. When you like our work and you comment on it, it encourages us to keep writing. It can be somewhat discouraging when we bloggers hit up the major sites (Style Me Pretty, anyone?) and there are 50 comments! So please, if you have feedback, leave a remark and I will be ever so grateful =)
While we're on topic, let's address a few courtesies about commenting (on all blogs, not just ours):
The comments are a great place to ask questions about the post! Like most blogs, the comments my readers leave come directly into my inbox, so if you ask a question, I will respond to you, either via email or back on the comments feature. Sometimes the blogger will even take your question if it's a popular one and write an entire post about it, so please, ask away.
The comments feature is not a place to use as free advertising for another site. On our blog, we require that all submissions be sent via email, so that we can choose who we would like to promote on our blog. If you have a suggestion, we thank you for thinking highly of exposure on our blog, but please send it via email!
Please know that many blogs do moderate their comments. We are one of those blogs. We tell you in our sidebar that we reserve the right to delete any inappropriate comment, or any purely self-promotional comment.
On that note, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who does follow. Please, leave a comment (it doesn't have to be on this post!) and have a safe and happy holiday!
(The calligraphy in the above photo is Elegance Script.
Photo is courtesy of Corbin Gurkin Photography.)
(The calligraphy in the above photo is Elegance Script.
Photo is courtesy of Corbin Gurkin Photography.)
7 comments:
I can't speak for anybody else but myself, however... the reason I usually don't post comments is precisely the fact that I have the impression that most bloggers are more interested in accolades than in actual feedback. For example, if you misspell the foreign name of a city in your map, it's actual a favor to you and your job if/when somebody corrects you.
Too often American bloggers are so PC that can't take something that goes "against" them even when it's a fact. And that's unfortunate.
Personally I am a "silent stalker" of many blogs, and I know some of my friends are too! Guess we should be more internet vocal =)
I read a very interesting discussion recently - in the comments section of a blog ;o) - and a lot of what was said resonated with me. I very often find myself thoroughly enjoying a blog post and yet I rarely comment as I don't feel my comments will add anything significant... I guess we forget that they are so higly appreciated and longed for by the authors of the blogs we so loyally, yet silently, follow. I absolutely realise also that far from comments being coveted for their mere measure of a post's or blog's popularity, they are a source of future inspiration, feedback and recognition that someone's actually out there with a voice! A blog's statistics will very often validate the fact that a regular readership exists, but it must be lovely to 'see' who those people are.
All this to say what?! Well, that I'd personally love to hear more about your creative process. Oh, and that I'm one of those little dots in Europe whenever you check your stats!
@Graciete Thank you for your comment! That's exactly my point. We definitely appreciate every comment, whether it's just to say good job, or whether it's feedback.
As you said, we have can see the stats at any time -- It's just nice to put a name or face with those faceless stats.
@Rosanna We do appreciate all feedback, even corrections. However I, and I'm guessing most other bloggers, would appreciate corrections in the form of a private email. It's basically like any other profession - do you want to be called out for your error in front of your peers, boss and future clients? We feel the same, but do appreciate all constructive criticisms. Thanks for reading though!
@Laura: most norms, even the ones on blogging and feedback, are cultural. So for example I wouldn't dare posting negative feedback publicly because in your culture is interpreted in a negative way. In my culture (mainland Europe) it isn't interpreted the same way as in yours... so interpreting a negative comment from a European person as meaning something demeaning is culturally insufficient. As for the example you made, to be called out for my mistakes, in my culture, sucks both in public and in private equally because here what sucks is to be wrong, not to be found out or discovered.
I'm a blogger too... the point of my comment to your original post was to give you another perspective on why a reader might not want to comment on your posts... people from different cultures might not want to comment JUST because they don't want to be interpreted as "mean spirited" by somebody with a different culture. They might still appreciate your work, blog entry and writing style a great deal, even when the appreciation isn't a 100% endorsement.
Because of their not posting, you might feel alone or not heard (again, it's another cultural - typically North American - interpretation). Here we think that readers who don't comment agree with us or else they would openly dissent.
In short: never assume that because you belong to a culture and you blog in English your readers come from your same culture, and never assume different cultures to have the same take on a given behavior.
Hi Laura, I love you blog and your work. I agree with your approach to comments. I often get comments that are obviously people trying to get their link out there and even try to put their key words where their name is supposed to be.
It is nice to get a comment from someone who actually reads the post. Yes I see there are people reading on my stats but a very very low percentage actually comment and quite a few of those are just people trying to get their URL out there.
Keep up the good work!
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