Coupons v 2.0

Last week I posted a Blog 101 entry about the potential pride of publishing your frugal ways. We've received lots of feedback on this post. Some took offense, others thanked us for writing what they've been thinking for a long time. I wanted to follow up with a few points:

• Our intention with all Blog 101 posts is to help others become better bloggers.
• The point of "the coupon post" was to know your audience, and serve them by offering some helpful information.
• That point was lost by some due to my negative tone. Completely my fault. It sounded like I had just returned from the grocery store after waiting forever in the check-out line because the lady in front of me just had to whip out her coupon binder, scan in 75 coupons, and then pay by check. It sounded like whining. My negativity had no justification.
  
• I like coupon people. As long as I'm not in line behind them. (See above point)
  
• I like coupons. I try to use them whenever I can. I am pro-coupon.
• The post was not referring to any individual blog/blogger.
• The post was not a rejection of the mundane. People (including us) generally enjoy reading about the mundane activities of your lives. If you can find a more boring, mundane blog than ours, let us know. Ok, this one doesn't count. Again, we use our blog primarily to record these day-to-day events (like a journal), and we see great value in doing that.
  

So, I am really sorry for any offense that my words may have caused. I do hope that the truth of the post is not lost on anyone who could benefit from it. The positive feedback we received confirmed some of the points I made:

• It is important to understand the difference between writing about YOUR savings vs helping others save (while you write about your savings).
  
• Posting about your frugality sometimes causes readers to have a negative experience while on your blog. And from our discussions with some of these people, it is the number one reason that they will unsubscribe or stop visiting your blog - even if they are interested in all other posts.
• We all need to be careful about expressing how frugal or "financially excellent" we are. No one needs to hear this more than me. NO one. It is a very subtle form of pride that some of us need to be thinking more about.
• People really feel helped and thankful when you post about ways THEY can save money. That is just plain nice. And most of you are doing that very well.
  

As I told a thoughtful friend last night, sometimes we need to hear from a Simon Cowell in our lives. The good thing about Simon is that he generally knows what he is talking about. The bad thing about him is that his arrogant attitude and rudeness sometimes negate any intelligent thoughts he may be trying to communicate. I think this describes "the coupon post" pretty well.

Thanks for your patience with me. We're glad you (generally) enjoy our blog, and we hope to continue to deliver content that entertains, enlightens, and informs you.

Now go get a free book, while you still can.