There are lots of things going on behind the scenes here at Frugal Upstate-so I thought I’d let you all in on the fun and get your opinion on a few things.
First off I am working on a new logo and site layout. So if you show up here one day and it looks different, don’t be surprised. I want something a little more streamlined with some room for better placed ads (hey, a girls got to make a bit of money somehow-keeping you all up to date on frugality is a lot of work). Never fear though, I am working on keeping the same warm friendly feel that Frugal Upstate has always had.
Also I am moving to my own domain. I have purchased www.FrugalUpstate.com (finally-the darn squatter who had snagged it a month after I started my blog in 2006 let the name expire). The two addresses both point to the blog and will continue to do so. Although I’d rather you changed any links etc to the .com to make my own tracking and statistics a bit easier, it really isn’t necessary for you to continue enjoying the site.
Lastly I’m trying to decide what to do as far as an additional blog. Long time readers know I have been considering on and off for more than a year creating a second blog. I’d like to have a place to talk about my thoughts, ideas and finds of all things NOT frugality related. Also with the increased opportunities I’ve been having for reviews and giveaways it seems even more imperative for me to do so. I know some of you are happy to have the contests, reviews etc, and others just wish they would go away so they could read the informative posts.
So here is the issue I’d like you to weigh in on. Should I just keep a single blog. Should I split into 2 blogs (Frugal Upstate & Jenn Upstate [ contests, reviews & general life]) or should I split to 3 blogs (Frugal Upstate, Upstate Reviews [& contests] & Jenn Upstate [general life]).
I put a poll in the left sidebar so you all can give your opinion. If you have any additional ideas or suggestions I’d love to hear them in the comments.
In my opinion, I am afraid that if you break it into two or three blogs, it will:
* be too time consuming for you
* take the enjoyment out of blogging for you
Leave it the way it is and we (readers) can read through and decide which posts are pertinent to us. Thanks for all you do!
Great news on your domain! I’ll change my link toute de suite!
Colleen-I appreciate your concern for me and my time! That is so sweet. My issue is there are currently a lot of things I’d LIKE to review or LIKE to talk about, but I don’t because they don’t fit the demographic. If I created 1 or more additional blogs they would not be updated as frequently as this one, so I wouldn’t burn myself out. Also, currently any day that I post a review or a giveaway I try to also write an informative post as well-so I am already double posting on those days 🙂
Amanda-Yay!!! I know, I was so happy when it came available. . .
Whether two or three blogs, I prefer to keep the reviews and giveaways separate. I find myself not reading here as much lately. I miss reading your laundry posts, etc that were more how-to. I like to see real life stuff. ;D
I know you’re concerned about your demographic, and I imagine that your site count probably affects reviews, etc. for you. However, I’d like to think that like myself, your other loyal readers are interested in all aspects of your life that you’d care to share with us. Your blog is the first blog that I ever read, way back in 2006 (when I Googled DIY laundry detergent). I’ll read all of your blogs, but it would sure be easier to just check in at one place.
How about a link to another more personnal blog? Two or three seperate blogs is too time consuming to read.
I would prefer to read just one blog. I find it interesting to read not only your frugal living ideas, but also, your opinions on other things too. I guess its a more well-rounded view of a person. Plus, I already have a very long list of blogs I check in on, so I wouldn’t want to add another 1 or even 2! LOL! I say, keep it all here, in one neat package! If folks aren’t interested in the other stuff, they’ll just gloss over that.
Blessings,
Susan in Manitoba (just North of North Dakota, and also waiting for flood waters .. sigh)
I’d like to at least see this as the main place for the information. If there needed to be satellite blogs for more in depth reports they could exists as off-shoots but with the mini-review or pre-review listed here perhaps.
stephanie
Hi Jenn,
I voted (via “secret” ballot in your survey), but I wanted to share what I’ve done on Feels like Home.
When I moved from Blogger to self hosted WordPress, I separated my blog into 2 blogs. I now have my main blog, Feels like Home, where I post my own thoughts, personal stuff, recipe stuff, craft stuff, parenting/family stuff, and home stuff, and then I have a second blog where I post reviews and contests. The second blog is very small, and I post there infrequently, but the feed appears in the sidebar on my main blog. The two blogs are linked closely together.
I know my readers might not want to click over to the second blog, but I want to start doing more product reviews (and I have the offers, now if only I had the time to WRITE them!). I want to keep my main blog about ME and my topic, so I was afraid too many product reviews and contests would gum up the works.
Does that make sense? Not advice, really, but just what seems to be working for me. 🙂
I thought of something, Jenn–depending on the advertising you select for your site, some do not allow paid product reviews unless you feature them on another page without ads on them. So something to consider there.