Feedback – When did you last ask for it?

by | Mar 30, 2010 | blogging guide | 25 comments

communication_feedbackA little while back I changed my Twitter background and I received some pretty cool and positive responses – thank you.

As a result of the positive responses, I thought it would make sense to change my header banner to resemble the new Twitter background.

Within a day of deciding to make the changes, the changes were made but I never got around to changing the banner. I wasn’t too sure whether it was the right thing to do…but why?

I had nothing to lose…possibly some people would hate it and what is wrong with that?

Nothing – I like all feedback.

Then over the weekend, I received an email from another blogger…Chris Guthrie, owner of www.MakeMoneyontheInternet.com.

He said he liked my blog and my writing/advice but wanted to offer some advice as well…which was change your header banner.

He went on to say, ”I hope I don’t sound like a jerk sending you an email like this…” and “I really hope you take this email with the best of intentions…”

One…he is not a jerk (and he didn’t sound like one) and two…he spurred me on to make the changes and add my new header banner.

So thank you Chris.

Now I know I didn’t ask Chris for his opinion – it was a spontaneous email on his behalf but it was nicely written and his constructive criticism was spot on.

I wrote back and gave him some feedback regarding his blog (By the way, he did ask me to).

What’s the knock on effect?

Chris ‘made me’ take some action and put my new header banner live.

I’ve provided Chris with some feedback on his site, which he may, or may not take action on…remember it is only my opinion.

I’ve created a new relationship on-line (Blimey, I hope Chris doesn’t think I’m coming on too strong here!).

Feedback – when did you last ask for it?

Ask for it…go one…you have nothing to lose.

What do you think of my new header banner?

The new and the ex one now rotate.

Do you like the old one or the new one or neither?

Please, share your views in the comments below.

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25 Comments

  1. CJ
    CJ on March 30, 2010 at 10:05 pm

    Andrew — I really like your new banner. The old one is nice, but the new one catches your attention and makes you smile. Professional, yet not up tight. It’s a great mix.
    .-= CJ @ Page Landing´s last blog ..My First Guest Blog Post =-.

    Reply
  2. Chris Guthrie
    Chris Guthrie on March 30, 2010 at 10:44 pm

    Hey Andrew,

    I like that banner and no worries you’re not coming on too strong lol! I always try to ask for feedback and if anyone ever has something they want to share with me about what I’m doing even if I don’t ask for it that’s great too. And I also really like to get feedback on websites I’m working on by testing it on live viewers.

    I’m sure I could work in some code where it displays the blog eBook cover I had and one without the cash on it and test the conversion rate. Sort of like how I’m doing with the lightbox now. In fact, I might go try and research that now 😀

    Look forward to talking with you again.

    Chris Guthrie
    .-= Chris Guthrie@Make Money on the Internet´s last blog ..Read My Story – Updated =-.

    Reply
  3. Dennis Edell
    Dennis Edell on March 31, 2010 at 2:00 pm

    Lovin’ the rotation effect, very cool.

    How do I feel about feedback? LOVE IT! As you know I decided to build my new blog from the ground up with live feedback…good or bad, it is greatly appreciated, of course as long as the bad is constructive. 😉
    .-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Comment Contest Continues Through April! =-.

    Reply
  4. Josh
    Josh on March 31, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    Feed back is one of the most important things to a design/website. Even if there are negative ones, you need to hear that in order to improve your site.

    I personally run a “Get Satisfaction” feedback widget on all of my sites. I rarely get feedback, but when I do it’s always valuable.
    .-= Ball Valves´s last blog ..Valves, Acutators & Automation Packages =-.

    Reply
  5. Josiah
    Josiah on April 1, 2010 at 1:11 am

    Always good to hear these type of stories. It’s been a while sense I’ve asked for feedback on any of my sites. I’ll make it a point to do it soon. Thanks for the post Andrew.
    .-= Josiah@Tumblr Themes´s last blog ..Flourish =-.

    Reply
  6. Casey
    Casey on April 1, 2010 at 2:22 am

    Feedbacks are really important whether it is a praise or critic because it opens you to some ideas that will help build your own. If someone critic or praise you meaning to say they checked your work and found it worthy commenting in.
    .-= Garden Gazebo´s last blog ..Social Media Tools: Web Based Applications For Networking =-.

    Reply
    • Andrew
      Andrew on April 2, 2010 at 1:48 pm

      That’s a good point Casey – “If someone critic or praise you meaning to say they checked your work and found it worthy commenting in.”

      Never really looked at it like that.

      Andrew
      .-= Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Blogging Guide: Feedback On Our Free Guide =-.

      Reply
  7. Casey
    Casey on April 1, 2010 at 2:26 am

    I really like your blog Andrew because it is also vital to honor the compliments you have received. Am I right? Appreciation is another way thanking a fellow for the piece you have done.:)

    Reply
  8. Lee Ka Hoong
    Lee Ka Hoong on April 2, 2010 at 3:16 am

    That sounds great! Andrew, your new header looks better now and the rotation looks much more better. I like the new header especially your head on the animation. I may want to do some changes on my header too, mine 1 looks plain. How do you think Andrew? 😉

    Regards,
    Lee
    .-= Lee Ka Hoong@Make Money Online´s last blog ..How To Provide Value To Your Blog =-.

    Reply
  9. Hesham
    Hesham on April 6, 2010 at 10:36 pm

    That was so nice of Chris to give you such a feedback!

    I receive some great feedbacks and I appreciate it a lot specially when someone contact me by email (not by adding a comment)

    The last time I received a feedback was TODAY, from Kristi of Kikolani, she told me that I should change the feedburner rss and use the original RSS feed of my blog at comluv.com, it’s something that I completely forgot, and that was awesome feedback and help!
    .-= Hesham @ FamousBloggers´s last blog ..How to Get Targeted Twitter Followers Fast =-.

    Reply
  10. Hesham
    Hesham on April 7, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    Feedburner has an option to redirect your to track who click on your feed link, basically (by this way) you can track the clicks on the link you leave on CommentLuv enabled blog, check the link of my latest post in the comment above and compare it with the one below in this comment and you will see the difference!

    On my first comment the link is going to feed URL, one the second it’s a link to my recent post!

    Some people (like me) didn’t notice that at all, even when I was digging inside the CommentLuv to know more about it, but I missed this one!

    I see that you don’t have this problem, anyways if someone have this problem, he/she can un-checked the “Item link clicks” box in Feedburner account under the Analyze Tab, and the links in CommentLuv will start going directly to the post URL!

    All this is just in case if commenting on DoFollow blogs is really useful, then a direct link is much better!
    .-= Hesham @ FamousBloggers´s last blog ..How To Write An About Page that Tells your Visitors why they Should Listen =-.

    Reply
  11. Joe Emerald
    Joe Emerald on May 11, 2010 at 10:29 am

    I’ve just started blogging (having converted my existing static site to WordPress), and I’ve been following your advice very closely. As a professional copywriter of over 10 years’ experience, I admire your model of providing high quality content as the basis of everything you do, and will try to emulate this approach on my blog.

    Reply
  12. Richard
    Richard on May 16, 2010 at 9:56 pm

    Its great to see you value feedback so highly. I personally like the new banner.
    .-= Search Engine Wizard´s last blog ..Creating Backlinks and its importance in Search Engine Optimization =-.

    Reply
  13. Shameka Hennagir
    Shameka Hennagir on January 10, 2012 at 1:55 am

    That’s a very good feedback Andrew, no doubt you are truly have writing skills that no one haven’t. That probably inspires me to pursue things in blogging and I am inspired to you.

    Thanks!

    Reply

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