I Feel Pretty | Humbled

Jan 22, 2014

Last week, I sent out my very first reader survey.  When the responses started to roll in, I got that same feeling that I used to get right before a performance review at my corporate job.  The butterflies, the sweaty palms, the fear of finding out what you all really think of me.

The great news is, it wasn’t that scary after all.  You guys are truly the sweetest, nicest, most helpful and BEST READERS EVER!  Even when you did offer criticism or suggestions for improvement (which I asked for), you did it in the most constructive and helpful way possible.  And the positive feedback?  Well it completely overwhelmed me.  I am so humbled and honored to be able to share this blog with you.

On to the results!

The top five pieces of feedback I got were the following:

#1 – You want more personal posts.

This was hands-down the biggest request.  You have NO idea how happy this makes me!  This was something that I had no clue you wanted more of.   There are so many things that I wanted to share here but just skipped out on it because I didn’t know if you’d be interested.   But I’ve been dying to tell you!  Life is exciting right now – our son just got his first acceptance letters for college and we’re scheduling visits.   We’ve had our challenges too – our daughter made the decision to quit gymnastics after ten years.  Lots of changes and transitions going on.  There are so many more things I want to share with you guys and I’m beyond excited that you actually want to hear about them!

#2 – You want less sponsored content.

A million times THANK YOU for being honest about this.  The last thing I want to do is be inauthentic or sales-y.  Yuck.  I would totally suck as a salesperson, that’s why I’ve never been one.  🙂  Please forgive me if I turned you off with sponsored posts and most of all, thank you for sticking around if I did.  I totally get it now and my goal is to strike a better balance.

I wish I could blog for free, I really do.  For the most part I did up, until I got laid off last year.   While I am first and foremost a personal blogger, I am also a digital publisher.  I’ve had the privilege of being accepted into some pretty awesome publishing networks like BlogHer.  They provide me with an opportunity to supplement our family’s income through blogging.    The primary way my blog makes money is through sponsored content and ads.  Affiliate sales are just a small percentage.   Most readers are here for inspiration, not to buy anything, and that’s perfectly fine. But it does put me in a position where I have to post sponsored content sometimes.  Otherwise, blogging can be an expensive hobby and I’m not in a position to have one of those right now.  Especially with a kid going off to college in a few months!

Having said that, monetization is important but what good is it if nobody wants to read your blog?  This has slapped me upside the head.  Unfortunately some sponsored content is a necessary evil but I will try my hardest to only accept opportunities that tie in well with what you want more of.  Much like flipping through the ads in a magazine or DVR’ing your favorite show and skipping the commercials, feel free to only read what you like here too.  I won’t mind at all!  Just don’t let it be something that keeps you away for good.

#3 -You like that I interact with you.

If not for this community, there wouldn’t be a blog!   You truly are what makes this worthwhile.  If you’re a reader who doesn’t comment because you don’t see me responding in the comments section, I want you to know that I respond to every single comment that I get through e-mail (or by visiting your blog, if you’re a blogger).   My reason for doing it through e-mail is because I can get more personal and I know that you’ll read them.  Not everyone goes back to a blog post to see if they got a response on their comment.  I love connecting through the e-mails we send back and forth and have made many new friends through my comments section, some that have become real-life friends.

#4 -You’re here for the outfits.

By a landslide, outfit posts were the winner with 80% of respondents preferring them most of all.  The runners-up were beauty, trend watches, home decor and health.  I hear you loud and clear and will be giving you more of what you want and less of what you don’t!

#5 – You want casual, affordable, easy to put together, age-appropriate outfits, that fit your body well.

Amen sisters!  My goal is to create effortless outfits that are affordable and on trend, yet completely age-appropriate.  A lot of you also mentioned fit and dressing for your body type as challenges.  I’ll be more aware of that and try to offer options and advice for fit when I can.

Many of you also mentioned wanting to see more casual outfits.  So, on Monday I started a Daily Style Diary post of my photos on Instagram to show you my outfits I’m wearing for everyday.  I can’t promise you there will be one every single day but I’ll try to post as many as I can.  You can find the outfits I’ve posted so far by searching hash tag #dailymomstyle.

Again, thank you for your honesty and candor.  Your kind responses were just simply overwhelming.  The fashion and beauty challenges that you shared have given me so many ideas for future posts and I couldn’t be more excited to dig into them.  I want this to be a place you enjoy coming to every day where we can be friends talking about style, beauty and all of the things that girlfriends love to share.

[Trench:  c/o eShakti (similar)/Sweater:  Loft/Jeans:  Paige/Scarf:  American Eagle (similar)/Boots:  c/o Wallis/Watch:  c/o Fossil/Earrings:  c/o Zocorra/Sunglasses:  Ray-Ban]

I FEEL PRETTY

It’s the day of the week at GYPO where we celebrate what makes us feel pretty. Whether it’s a new outfit, hairstyle, or makeup, the I Feel Pretty link up is about anything and everything that makes your life prettier. Even if you’re not a blogger, you can still play along. Just tell us what made you feel pretty this week in the comments!

2. Link up your pretty post.

3. Link back to my blog (using the button above or your own link).

4. Visit other pretty peeps.

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Getting my pretty on with Fashion Friday, Fashion Informant, What I’m Loving Friday, Friday’s Fab Favorites,  What I Wore to Work, Tres Chic Thursday,  The Pleated Poppy and Shanna.