Okay, y’all… I was kind of embarrassed to be writing this post. Because it flies in the face of pretty much my entire post about blogging changes that I wrote at the beginning of 2017.
But sometimes, you think something is a great idea, you try it for a year, and you decide that it just doesn’t.work.at.all. And then you decide to take back everything you had committed to and try something else.
That’s exactly what I’m doing. And I’m not going to apologize for it.
Honestly, I’m really glad that I tried the one-year experiment of only blogging about money-related topics (except for my weekly Sunday posts). It was clarifying for me.
When I started 2017, I had envisioned that I was going to start multiple blogs and have those other platforms to share what was on my heart and share the many eclectic topics I am passionate about.
But then, we launched YourBloggingMentor.com and I realized how much work it was to run two blogs. I thought maybe it would get easier after a few months, so I just pushed back the launch of CrystalPaine.com. After a few months, I still knew deep down in my heart that I just didn’t have the desire or capacity to run more than two blogs.
I loved building YourBloggingMentor.com from scratch and I wanted to keep focusing on that, plus overseeing MoneySavingMom.com. It felt right and I fell into a good rhythm.
Deep down, however, I really missed sharing inspirational posts/real-life posts/peek into our life type of posts, talking more about books I was reading, posting about organizational projects, and other topics that I’m really passionate about. I felt like I had all of these posts I wanted to write and things I wanted to share and I had no place to put them.
As 2017 started to wind down, I began toying with the idea of bringing those types of posts back here on MoneySavingMom.com. And around that same time, multiple people mentioned to me how much they missed those types of posts.
And I began to realize that it’d be okay to end my year-long blogging experiment and bring back so many of those types of posts here that many of you love so much and the ones I love to write!
So, with that back story, here’s how the blog is changing in 2018:
1. I’ll Be Blogging More & Talking About Non-Money-Saving Topics
While I’m still passionate as ever about saving money and being wise financially, I felt so restricted to only be talking about money-related topics. And I know that many of you used to come here for my intentional life type posts and real-life posts more than anything.
So beginning this week (you may have noticed?), I’m bringing back the types of posts I used to share — things I’m learning, what I’m trying, what I’m cooking, what I’m organizing, what I’m reading, things I’m thinking about, goals I’m working on, and so on.
I’m giving myself permission to see this as my blog again and not a niche blog that is only focused on money topics. Which gives me free reign to blog on whatever topics I feel would inspire or encourage or motivate you. Or that I just want to write about! 🙂
Don’t worry, my team will still be sharing the great deals and freebies and printables you’re used to! We’ll just be adding in a lot more of my voice here! In fact, I’ll be writing a content piece almost every day. You can also expect to get a lot more of a look into my life — not just money-saving or money-related topics!
2. I’m Experimenting with Themed Days
I’m going to try something to see how it works… I can’t promise that I’ll stick with this long term, but I’m going to stick with it for at least 3 months and see how it goes. I think it will work, but I just don’t want to box myself in if I end up deciding this just doesn’t work. 🙂
I’m planning to try having themed days, where I post on a specific topic each day of the week. This will allow there to be a good mix of topics and variety here, but it will help me stay more organized in my post planning (at least that’s my hope!).
Here’s my plan for what I’ll be posting on:
- Sundays — A Peek Into Our Week Posts: These will be the Sunday posts that you are used to, only these will be more focused on showing pictures of what we did the past week and giving you a peek into our life and activities from the past week + what I’ve been pondering/thinking about.
- Mondays — Book-Related Posts: So many of you have requested that I bring back my book lists and book reviews, so here you go! I’ll be sharing all things book-ish on Mondays. From what I’m reading, our read alouds, and honest book reviews, to talking about my progress on my goal of reading 100 non-self-help books.
- Tuesday — Organizing-Related Posts: I’ll be sharing organizational projects in our house or ways that I’m organizing my life/business/home, things that are saving my sanity, plus possibly time management tips or ideas I’m experimenting with.
- Thursday — Cooking-Related Posts: In this posts, I’ll talk about what I’m cooking/baking, share recipes we’ve loved, share kitchen tips,share kitchen flops, or give you a peek into freezing cooking I’m doing.
- Friday — Money-Related Posts: On Fridays, we’ll be exploring money-saving ideas, money-related ideas, ways our family is saving money, and ways to make money or get into a better financial situations.
3. I’m Taking Wednesdays Off
Did you notice that I skipped Wednesday in my list of Themed Days above? That was intentional!
In my Word of the Year post, I talked about how one of the things I’m going to do in the spirit of SLOW is to take Wednesdays off from business/bogging work. I had attempted to do this for a few months in 2017 and it (mostly) worked. But I hadn’t made it a public goal, so I struggled to stick with it.
Since I typically work a half-day on Saturdays and Sundays are for church, volunteering, and Community Group, I thought it would be fantastic to have a day in the middle of the week where I’m offline and have a SLOW day.
The idea of a SLOW Day first originated from Monica who blogs at The Homespun Heart. She often posts about their Slow Days and I’ve always wanted to do something similar in my own life.
So we moved some things around in my schedule and in my work schedule and my goal is to be completely offline all day every Wednesday. I probably won’t do it perfectly every single week, but that’s what I’m aiming for. 🙂
This will give me time to slow down, breathe, read, spend more time with Jesse, invest in our local community (Wednesday mornings are when I co-lead a small Discipleship Group at our church), and just enjoy a more relaxed pace with the kids in the mornings and evenings since my day is almost entirely clear.
I think it’s going to be a good change. And something that will be great for my heart and soul!
So I won’t be blogging on here on Wednesdays, but you’ll be in good hands with my team and they’ll still be posting deals and sometimes sharing a post that I’ve pre-scheduled. My hope is that by taking Wednesdays off, I’ll be even more inspired and fresh on the other days to share great posts with you, share on Instagram, and share on Facebook Live!
What Would You Love for Me to Write About?
There you have it! My three big blogging changes for 2018.I’d love to hear from you if you have any special requests of types of posts you’d especially like to see me share or write or any topics you’d love for me to tackle. I always welcome your suggestions!
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