Giving My Readers What They Want ( Thanks For The Feedback)
Giving My Readers What They Want (Thanks for the Feedback!)
One of the things I love most about running websites is that every article tells a story.
Not just through the words on the page, but through the way readers respond. I love that.
Every view, every click, every comment, every share, and every search teaches me something about what people are looking for.
And lately, you’ve been teaching me a lot.
So first of all:
Thank you.
Moving on.
The Experiment
This year I’ve been working on a large content project focused on Christmas gift guides.
One of the biggest projects has been my series of gift guides organised by age.
You’ve probably seen some of them already:
- Gifts for a 13-Year-Old
- Gifts for a 16-Year-Old
- Gifts for a 20-Year-Old
- Gifts for Teenagers
- And many more to come
The goal was simple.
I wanted to make Christmas shopping easier by helping readers find suitable gifts for specific age groups.
It’s a project I’m still proud of and one I plan to continue, but I’m not happy with those posts NOT having links in them so I will fix it both the back log and moving forward.
The Results So Far
Here’s the interesting part.
The age-based gift guides aren’t currently the strongest-performing articles on the site.
And that’s okay. In fact, it’s more then okay it’s expected.
Not every piece of content is an instant success.
In fact, one of the most valuable things content creators can do is pay attention to the data without taking it personally.
I see every article as a signal.
If it performs well, that’s useful information.
If it doesn’t perform well, that’s useful information too.
Either way, I’m learning. I’m always here to serve my audience with useful content that genuinely helps them.
That’s the goal.
What Is Performing Well?
Something surprising started happening.
The articles attracting the most interest weren’t necessarily the age-based guides.
Instead, readers seemed to be responding more strongly to brand-specific and interest-based gift guides.
In other words, people appear to be searching for things like:
- Gifts for Disney Fans
- Gifts for Book Lovers
- Gifts for Gamers
- Gifts for Beauty Lovers
- Gifts for Collectors
- Gifts for Hobby Enthusiasts
The more I looked at the data, the clearer the pattern became.
People often know what the recipient loves.
They don’t always know what to buy.
What This Means Moving Forward
The age-based gift guides aren’t going anywhere.
In fact, I fully expect them to become more useful as we move closer to Christmas. I will start them up again in July, but for June I have other plans.
After all, most people aren’t actively shopping for Christmas presents in the middle of summer.
Those articles are long-term resources and I believe they’ll have their moment later in the year.
But your feedback has shown me that you’d also like to see more gift guides based on interests, hobbies, brands, and fandoms.
You also have voiced to me in emails and messages you wish I’d include links, even affiliate links in my posts.
So that’s exactly what I’m going to create.
Thank You For Helping Shape The Site
One thing I never want these websites to become is a place where I create content in isolation.
These sites exist to help readers.
That means listening matters.
The articles you read, the posts you share, and the topics you search for all help shape the future direction of the content.
I hear you.
You may not realise it, but every click tells a story.
And lately, you’ve been telling me that interest-based gift guides deserve a bigger place here.
I’m listening.
What’s Coming Next?
You can expect to see more gift guides focused on:
- Favourite brands
- Popular hobbies
- Collecting communities
- Books
- Gaming
- Beauty
- Crafts
- Pop culture
- Seasonal interests
Now you may be asking how on earth could one wokan know so much about gifting in all of these categories.
The answer may surprise you, I’m a multi passionate individual with 20 blogs on the internet in different niches.
I get to see the trends through my other projects under the Christmas Media Company banner. I can then use that data to create more meaningful blog posts.
Alongside the aged based series you’ve already come to know, I will be creating more brand,hobby and fandom specific content.
My goal has always been simple:
To help make gift-giving easier, more thoughtful, and more enjoyable.
So thank you for the feedback.
Thank you for the clicks.
Thank you for the data.
And most importantly, thank you for being part of the journey.
Happy gifting,
Hayley