A writer asked on social media
if it would annoy readers
if she did something.
She asked that question
because she KNEW
it would annoy readers.
She hoped enough
of her rabidly devoted fans
would say it was okay
to justify her choice.
I piped up
and said it would annoy me.
A bunch of those fans
jumped on my response
and said they would support
ANYTHING the writer, my buddy,
did.
And then there was
no more dissent.
Publicly.
Privately, I suspect
many readers had
the same reaction I did.
They didn’t like the idea.
If your gut says
customers won’t like it
AND you have a solid idea
of what your customers like,
you are likely right.
Test it privately
with customers
anyway, of course.
Sometimes, rarely but sometimes,
our gut feelings are off.
But usually,
if we know our customers well,
they’re not off.
Figure out another way
to accomplish
what you aim to do.