a few changes. (simplifying and growing!)
Helloooooo! Hope your week is off to a great start already! I just woke up a little bit ago and am relaxing in bed, munching on crackers and willing this nausea to leave me alone for the day.
Thought I would update you on a few things going on around here. I posted here about my word for 2012-- "grow". I've been thinking a lot about that and what it means to me, practically. Growing doesn't always mean adding more on, or getting bigger, but sometimes in order to grow, you have to prune away the unnecessary or the things that keep us from growing. Sometimes you just have to simplify to make room for new growth.
In light of that, I've decided to do away with sponsor feature posts. I love being able to support and give greater exposure to my fellow handmade artists and bloggers, but right now, I feel like the sponsor feature posts are taking away from what I really want to post about -- our life, our baby, my artwork, creative inspiration, etc. I will still be taking new sponsors each month, but the sponsorships will remain sidebar space only, for the most part. For the time being, I've dropped the prices a bit, but since I haven't raised them at all since I started offering sponsorships (and I have 10x the traffic now), they might be going back up a bit in the future.
**edit-- I do have a few more sponsor features for my awesome January sponsors, but after that, they'll disappear... ;)**
**edit-- I do have a few more sponsor features for my awesome January sponsors, but after that, they'll disappear... ;)**
I also will not be doing any more "call for sponsors" posts. These posts also take away from my posting time and I figure that the people who really want to sponsor can easily figure out my information. Plus, they're kind of awkward to post, so nixin' those babies.
If you want some more info on sponsorships and the new changes, check out my sponsorship page here.
Thanks for all your support and understanding. It's not always easy making the "pruning" kinds of decisions (actually, it's not easy for me to make any sort of decision!).
I hope you are getting excited for the BIG changes coming this way very soon. Aisle to Aloha will be changing its name and look in the very close future and I have to tell you that I'm ecstatic. I'm having a blast working with the talented Oana Befort on the graphic changes.
Here's a tiny sneak peek! Can't wait to share the new name with you and make the big change!
Ok, now that business is out of the way-- watch for a post later today all about our favorite things to do and see on Oahu!
lindsay
Congratulations on taking these steps to grow your blog and business! I can't wait to see the changes. :)
ReplyDeleteI've got to say I'm liking how there are quite a few people who are stopping the "sponsor love" blog posts. I hate to admit it, but I tend to completely skip those posts... I love the blog posts that are about the actual blogger! So, that's awesome news! :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, what a great sneak peek! So excited to see the finished product! :) That little glimpse looks awesome.
Ooh, glad to know I'm not the only one simplifying things lately! I agree, Holly, I think those posts are looked over quite a bit and I really want to offer great blog content, not just content I feel I "should" be offering. So glad you love the sneak peek!! :)
Deletelove and respect your decision love!! i can't wait for this new chapter in your life with a new blog look, name, and all the baby bump updates!! the nausea should end soon, i hope!! :)
ReplyDeleteLove this post!! It is something I have been debating for a while. I feel the same way, as much as I love having support from other readers/bloggers/etsians, the posts do take away from why I started blogging in the first place. On top of that, they can be time consuming! It's hard to have an idea for a blog post but feel obligated to do another post instead. Proud of you for making this decision. I may follow in your foot steps!
ReplyDeleteSounds like some really positive changes going on... I'm excited for you!
ReplyDeleteWhile I love seeing the handmade items and awesome businesses that sponsor you, I would MUCH prefer to hear YOU! Hope you start feeling better and get to postin'!
ReplyDeleteSo great!!! Simplifying is so great!! Excited what the future holds for you and your blog. You're doing a great job!!
ReplyDeleteI commend you on making such a big descison & support you wholeheartedly...that's why I admire you so much: you just make a descison for yourself without thinking about others. Gahhh, I'm doing such a horrible job expressing my feelings but I think you know what I'm saying.
ReplyDeleteOo, I adore Oana's work. She's so talented! Can't wait to see what she's created for you.
ReplyDeleteRosie xx
proud of you. excited for you.
ReplyDeletehugs!
Thank you for doing away with them. It always was annoying to see them on blogs and seemes like every other post for most (hey that rhymed) was call to sponsor or about their sponsor. It is the main reason I stopped reading Illy's blog. Anyways. Thanks :)
ReplyDelete