Q&A: What is the core vision driving my blog’s content and purpose?

Every month, I publish an answer to a reader’s question. Here’s a transcript of my answer to the 31st readers’ question I’ve answered, about my vision for this blog and putting readers first.

Hi Lisanne, in your bio you wrote about your intention to keep this blog advertisement-free. Can you explain your vision for your blog to us a little more, and how it’s driving your blog’s content and purpose? Thank you!

First of all, thank you for your question! I’ve had the pleasure of answering 31 reader questions thus far, and the joy of doing so remains undiminished – it never gets old. The broader purpose behind this platform and my work as an aspiring writer is to provide people food for thought. First and foremost, I aim to offer readers something meaningful to think about or laugh about.

Through book recommendations, insights, observations, or pieces of literature, I aspire to deliver something meaningful and unique, something that can spark your curiosity, and passions, while also helping you gain a deeper understanding of both yourself and the world that surrounds us.

But in order to provide readers meaning, it’s important to put them first, always.

I want your experience as a reader to be the best possible. I love it if you can find everything easily, that my articles are pleasant to read, and that there are no parts of the reading experience that are distracting. For this reason, I have eliminated nearly every annoying part of the reading experience: no advertising, no in-your-face marketing, etc.

Banners, pop-ups, or other advertisements often seem like a sacrifice to the user experience. I’ve yet to come across a piece where these banners add value to the reading experience. To the reader, it is often a distraction, while for the publisher it is a source of income.

It’s important to me personally, that both parties equally benefit from the choice to invite a third party into that relationship. I like the relationship to be personal and real, while website ads often, in my opinion, intervene in that dialogue and disturb – as you will, the authenticity that it needs and deserves.

In my opinion, good design is a way to serve the reader. So on this platform, I solely focus on reader support and quality stories. As the world keeps getting faster, there’s actually a shortage of thoughtful, timeless stories and ideas that are worth sharing an hour or even a week later. While the web can be a crowded place of anonymity, clicks, self-exposure, and sometimes bullying, it can also be a destination of unity, real conversations, and bringing people together. I hope this is a useful answer to your question.

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Thank you for reading. This reader’s question is part of the Ask Me Anything series. I´d love to answer more of your interesting questions and get a sense of your interests. If you have questions to extend this Ask Me Anything section, please let me know. I like to hear from you. Send me your question via team@lisanneswart.com

Here is a list of the last 3 readers’ questions I’ve answered:

• What types of nonfiction books do I love to read?

• How do I advise readers to tackle procrastination and stay motivated?

• Where do I get my ideas from?