Comments on: Blog readers help requests: post at problogger.com http://brutallysuccinct.com/2008/05/blog-readers-help-requests-post-at-probloggercom/ web designers at large Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:33:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Shelly http://brutallysuccinct.com/2008/05/blog-readers-help-requests-post-at-probloggercom/#comment-2 Shelly Wed, 14 May 2008 17:01:35 +0000 http://brutallysuccinct.com/?p=142#comment-2 I do this. I pretty much have a standard method for answering requests on my blog. Along with culling all of the "thank you!" and "great job!" comments - which some may be genuine - I basically feel like my blog is a place to help people. So I've recently started seeing my comments as a "contribution" area. If whatever comment you're leaving doesn't contribute to the "helping hand" theme of the site, I get rid of it/don't respond to it. (BTW - I'm still working on culling everything out - I came to this realization about 3 months ago, but it's a slow work-in-progress to put it in action. I wish I'd thought of it in the beginning, so I could have kept up with it better - but now I'm going retroactive on it.) There is a point where it crosses the line to "doing free work". But I think that's something that is a personal level - you can't really define it. For me, the point of "you need to pay me" comes when anything I say or offer needs personal customization to fit the preferences of the end user. If they take something and apply it, and there's an error, I'll fix it - because that fix helps everyone, not just that one person. But if they need help with, say, changing a font color or moving a sidebar - I point them to many CSS tutorial sites. If they want certain custom queries that aren't already a part of my tutorials, then that's $$ for me. But when it comes to issues/problems/bugs - I'm there, ASAP. I do this. I pretty much have a standard method for answering requests on my blog. Along with culling all of the “thank you!” and “great job!” comments – which some may be genuine – I basically feel like my blog is a place to help people. So I’ve recently started seeing my comments as a “contribution” area. If whatever comment you’re leaving doesn’t contribute to the “helping hand” theme of the site, I get rid of it/don’t respond to it. (BTW – I’m still working on culling everything out – I came to this realization about 3 months ago, but it’s a slow work-in-progress to put it in action. I wish I’d thought of it in the beginning, so I could have kept up with it better – but now I’m going retroactive on it.)

There is a point where it crosses the line to “doing free work”. But I think that’s something that is a personal level – you can’t really define it. For me, the point of “you need to pay me” comes when anything I say or offer needs personal customization to fit the preferences of the end user. If they take something and apply it, and there’s an error, I’ll fix it – because that fix helps everyone, not just that one person. But if they need help with, say, changing a font color or moving a sidebar – I point them to many CSS tutorial sites. If they want certain custom queries that aren’t already a part of my tutorials, then that’s $$ for me.

But when it comes to issues/problems/bugs – I’m there, ASAP.

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