What You Want

Well, the results are in! Thank you all so much for helping me figure out how to improve my blog this year! I loved reading all of the comments you guys left on the survey, and seeing your choices for what you love, what you want more of, and what you want less of (some of those cracked me up.) Here are some of the stats.

Your Favorite Features

Style posts came in at the top, thankfully (because how bad would it be if, as a style blog, style posts were not the favorite thing???)! Next in line, surprisingly to me, was Photography Sessions, followed closely (as in, one person less) by Book Review/Inspired Outfit posts. The least favorite, sadly for my husband (who actually probably doesn’t even care) was man of style posts, and with only one vote more was Weekend Links. Which actually didn’t surprise me; my entire demographic is women, and many of you are moms or young women looking to get thrifty with your style rather than see manly fashion or waste your time around the internet.

So in 2015, expect me to be sharing more of my family/baby/individual photography sessions with you all! I really was surprised at this one, because it’s not style-related at all and I did get one commenter who wasn’t a fan of photography sessions. And part of me wonders if y’all thought “photography session” meant something else, but uh… what else could it mean?

And, of course, I will definitely be incorporating more book reviews and inspired outfits, because one of my resolutions is to keep reading more, and that includes reviewing more books! I hope to review at least two books a month, if not more.

What You Want More Of

The overwhelming winner for this one among the comments and votes was more lifestyle/motherhood posts. Seriously, at least 75% of the comments mentioned wanting to see more motherhood and family posts as well as lifestyle, life videos, vlogs, and personal stories. And, as I have been wanting to incorporate more of this on my blog, it’s so encouraging to know you all are interested as well! Among the comments for this one were also more creative writing, more short film posts, more about my faith. All of which I am hoping to share more of this year.

What You Want Less Of

Hilariously, most of you answered “nothing.” Which was great, because it’s good to know y’all like everything I post, but not helpful. A select few of you were honest enough to give me straight answers though, and chose marriage posts, makeup tutorials, and wrinkled clothes as things you’d like less of. Funny enough, the first two things are both topics that I’ve felt pressured to write about (or create) simply because I’ve done it in the past (makeup) or other bloggers do it (marriage). And while I love both of those things, I don’t really feel qualified enough to post about either. Don’t get me wrong, I love creating new makeup looks, and I love being married. But makeup-wise, I always feel scattered when creating a tutorial. And marriage wise, everything is good so I really don’t have much advice to give.

As far as wrinkled clothes go, well… I don’t own an iron, so if something is wrinkled, that’s because I don’t have the ability to iron it. It’s on my to-get list, but for now you’ll have to forgive me for that! I really do keep everything hung up, but my space in the closet is far too small for the amount of clothes I have, which results in lots of wrinkles.

A Warring Opinion

Those of you that did voice what you’d like more or less of did have one subject that had almost equal responses in the “less” and “more” categories. And this subject was recipe posts. A few of you said it doesn’t fit with the rest of the blog, or you’re just not interested, and a few of you said you’d really love to see more Paleo recipes and adaptations.

Personally, I haven’t figured out how to photograph food in a way that appeals to me, so I’m not as comfortable sharing my food posts when I do write about them. I’m going to be working on it, though, because food is part of lifestyle, and the coming year will tell whether I share food posts or not.

Most Helpful Comments

A few of you gave super long, detailed comments about what you like, what you thought could improve, and some of the things you want more of, which was awesome! One commenter mentioned that my overall blog theme could be less cluttered and busy, which spurred me to revamp the layout sooner than I had planned. I’m still working on it — I can’t afford to pay someone to create me a great theme, so I have to figure it out and learn as I go — but with a bit of redesigning and rearranging, I think the current theme feels much more cohesive.

Another of you answered that more structure within my posts would be great, and this is something I am determined to work on. I definitely want to stay authentic and honest and “me” in everything I post, but I have noticed when reading back that many of my posts become a ramble of random subjects, which can be improved upon. I hope to start writing down post-ideas as they come to me, so that in the future I can share my life with a little more direction rather than just rambling about whatever comes to mind in that second.

Why You Come Back

Reading why you all come back to the blog did loads for my confidence in my blogging style. I’ve always felt as though I didn’t quite measure up to all the bloggers out there; I don’t have a fantastic life, an expensive wardrobe, a huge budget; I don’t live in a fancy apartment or a big city; I don’t go out to parties or have a perfect home… I’m so normal, and I’ve always felt somehow less because of that. But your universal answer (other than my style) was that you come back because you can relate. Because you like the fact that my life is what it is. That I’m honest and real, and I feel so much more relatable and personal, and my life isn’t “glamorous and sugar dusted.”

That was a real confidence booster, and I feel so much less pressured to change and become more like other bloggers. So thank you!

What Comes Next

So, now that it’s 2015 and I’ve gathered up all of your responses, I’m putting them into action! You can still let me know if you’ve got any helpful advice, constructive criticism, or general comments about what you want to see more of or less of, because I’m always open to improve!

Right now, I am working on a posting schedule. I really love organizing things, so I would love to stick to a schedule wherein you can predict what to expect that day. Currently, the only thing I stick to is Sunday Sweets and Weekend Links. Which both might get mixed up (or, in the case of the latter, nixed), what with more lifestyle posts hopefully coming into the blog (lifestyle right now = lots of Asa making messes). I hope to post either two or three style posts a week, and fill the in-between days with lifestyle, photography sessions, vlogs, and maybe even some creative writing.

Most of all, I want to thank each and every one of you who took the survey! It was incredibly fun to read all of your answers, and so helpful to see the areas that I need to improve! I’m eternally thankful that I have all of you to write to each day. You are, without a doubt, the best readers and friends I could ever have.

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