Let the Feedback Be Your Next Step Up

Guest Post: This is the first guest post on this blog.

When using WordPress  to build your blog, it’s important to make occasional changes to try to drive more traffic to a website. The trouble is that many bloggers don’t know where to start. WordPress statistics can be a helpful tool, but user feedback can be even more powerful. Reading and responding to reader feedback is one of the most important parts of running a WordPress site.

Of course, it can be difficult to know how to respond to feedback, particularly when an email seems unfair or derogatory. Every blog owner should know how to use feedback as a tool and when to consider the criticisms and suggestions of readers.

 

Dealing with Negative Feedback

 

Every blogger will occasionally receive negative feedback in the form of comments or direct emails, and if the negative letters are few and far between, it’s generally alright to ignore them. Blog readers can be very opinionated, and the anonymity of the Internet can inspire them to be relatively harsh. Ignore comments that don’t seem helpful or which don’t provide realistic tips for improving your WordPress site.

However, if readers regularly criticize the same aspects of a blog or website, it’s probably time to consider making a change. Regular comments that criticize a writer’s style, research, or the length of blog posts are probably pointing out issues that drive other readers away.

Before changing any aspect of your website because of negative feedback, however, there are a few things to consider. First of all, think about whether the comments came from the type of visitor that you want to cultivate. WordPress hosting  sites often allow you to see where your visitors are coming from and what they’ve been searching for, and most blog owners try to build their blogs around particular keywords to attract certain types of visitors. Only consider making content changes based on feedback if the changes would make your blog more relevant to your target audience–especially if you’re relying on advertisers or direct product sales to pay your bills.

You should also make sure that you understand the criticism and that you have a clear plan for improvement. If your blogs are criticized as too short, for instance, it doesn’t help to add filler text. Adding valuable, well-written and researched content will lead to a greater number of readers and better profits, regardless of the type of WordPress website that you’re running.

 Managing Positive Feedback

 

Although negative feedback tends to stick out and can seem overwhelming, positive feedback is also fairly common for a popular blog. Positive feedback should be treated just as carefully as negative feedback. It’s important to notice the aspects of your website that are resonating with readers, but to do this, you’ve got to be able to tell when a single reader’s comments speak for a much larger group.

Consider all positive feedback, but again, you should pay special attention to comments that come up regularly. If all of a blog’s readers enjoy when the blogger shares his views on a political issue, for instance, the blogger should include more of that type of content. There are probably dozens of readers who feel the same way but who didn’t take the time to send an email or leave a comment. However, a single email asking for more political posts shouldn’t carry as much weight.

If you’ve received an email from a reader that’s positive but fairly general, don’t be afraid to write back to ask for more specific feedback. Find out exactly what your readers like. This is particularly important if you’re promoting a product or service through your WordPress blog or if you depend on a consistent stream of traffic.

 

Knowing When to Respond

Some feedback is downright negative, but it’s a waste of time and resources to respond to readers who are unreasonably angry or hurtful. Respond to feedback only if doing so will help to improve your readership and the overall quality of your website.

If you’re starting to receive a lot of feedback, work with a good WordPress hosting company to sort it out and to identify areas where changes will be the most effective. WordPress hosting companies can often help blog owners to find extra demographic information about readers who leave comments, which can be immensely helpful in making a website into a long-term success.

 

About the Author:

Zac Kenni is a business developer and a senior writer from a trusted hosting reviews company. Webhostingsearch.com, a leading provider of good quality webhosting reviews and web development resource. Lists and rates hosting services through a collaboration of thorough research and data analysis, performance and user feedback.