More than a week ago I very excited when I announced that I'd taken over a Facebook Group campaigning against violence against women and children. It was a huge list, with close to 5000 members. All I had to do was update it, moderate it and make sure that spam is deleted. We had no plans to rebrand it for my client yet.
Then some members started leaving. No, I don't know who they are or why they unsubscribed. I only watched the the numbers slowly going down with horror, wondering if the original owner is going to start wondering if he made a mistake by giving me the list. Obviously I had to get over myself. People unsubscribe from groups all the time, and these members' leaving does not reflect on me or the work I'm doing.
The incident reminded me how people are drawn to the individual in the blogosphere. We read a person's blog, comment on their posts, even befriend them in time because we found something in common with them; something that resonates with us.
Outwardly, we may be different, living different lives, but somehow, we make the connection. And in reality, that's the secret of online marketing and promotion - to be real to the people you talk to, and for them to see beyond the product or service or cause to the people they connect with.
And taking over an existing group, page, blog or web site is hard because basically, you're dealing with a group of people who have already made the connection with someone else. And even though you have a common purpose/cause with them, they still have to get to know you, find out if you can continue to give them what the original founder did. And some people are just tired of changes, or they're not in the mood to get to know someone else, or they don't like your content, tone or voice or whatever. Basically, you don't resonate with them. And it's no one's fault.
So I have come to that place, where I recognise and respect this. And I'm OK with it as a natural part of a web site's evolution.
And I was rather heartened to see a number of people who read various types of my work follow me to this page and subscribe. So yes, the numbers have started to grow again. And I want to say thank you to all of you who read my work, and think my work is worth spending your valuable time on.
And to all the bloggers who visit this site, I want to say your voice, your individuality, matters. It's the reason your readers enjoy your writings.
2 comments:
People are funny about change. Often change creates a step backwards. But this can simply be like one backing up in order to gain enough speed before making a flying leap forward. Best of luck through the transition. Sounds like you are already bouncing back.
Damaria, you've described "the personal effect" exactly! It's like getting a Rejection Letter - it's got nothing to do with you personally, it's just that that particular story didn't resonate with the editor. Another reason could be (hopefully) that those who unsubscribed from the FB page (5000 members. Gasp.), have now moved into another place where violence no longer plays a part in their life and they can move on. And adding to Tiah - good luck with the transition, I'm sure you'll take the list to great new places!! :)
Judy
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