In December I sort of mentioned off-hand that I was thinking about not taking sponsors anymore when my partnerships with a couple people were up in April. I had a few people email me inquiring as to why, and I am now ready to give you that answer, now that I am have made the 100% decision to not take them past April.
For about a year now I have been struggling with my blogging conscious. I struggled so much, I actually made a pros and cons list on whether I should keep taking sponsors or not. I know, I am such a dork. But, honestly...it helped so much to write it out and see how I felt. You see, I LOVE blogging, and I also LOVE supporting fellow bloggers and small companies. However, when combining the two, it creates this pesky little monster called "obligation" and as a blogger...the obligation monster is THE WORST.
The first years I was blogging I only posted when I was inspired by something funny that happened to me, or when I was just dying to share a piece of my life. Even though the writing is laughable at times, I feel like the content was pure quality, because I know 100% that my heart was in the posts. I was posting for me and no one else. I was reading through a lot of my posts from 2011, and while they were visually pretty with lots of big photos, and lots of fun outfit posts, they didn't feel like me. And that made me so sad. My favorite posts were the ones where I
shared personal feelings, or funny stories, or just felt jazzed about life. But there wasn't enough of those posts to make me feel like I was remaining true as a blogger. How many times in the past couple years have I thought, "CRAP! I forgot my camera...NOW what am I going to blog about?" instead of "Oops...forgot my camera...oh well, let me just go enjoy out outing." Or when Ted and I are somewhere and he says, "Don't you want to take photos of this for your blog?" He never means it in a bad way, but for some reason that just makes me sad. I had gotten to a place in my life where I worked so hard to keep up with the rat race of blogging, instead of living my life and documenting it along the way.
I don't feel like sponsors have driven me to act this way. Not at all. I just think that subconsciously I think, "Well, if people are sponsoring me, then I NEED content, and I NEED to draw in numbers, and I NEED to keep up a steady readership." I don't like the way I push myself, or see my life when I am trying to keep up with the rat race of blogging. I also don't like how I put myself down when some people get sponsorships, and I don't. It's SO dumb to think that way...but it's hard to not compare myself to bloggers around me. I often would let myself think, "If they have this sponsor...what am I doing wrong?" I HATE doing this. Blogging shouldn't be about feeling validated about who sponsors you. Like I said...it's like a blogging race where there is no finish line in sight.
So I made the decision that I no longer want to be part of the race.
I am sure you have noticed my posts have been a bit sparse this month, and I apologize. January is always a weird month for me as I try to figure out how I want to live my life in the new year, and I can honestly say that 2012 will be the most exciting for us. I am really excited for it. And I am excited to get back to regular posting next week :)
My hope is that you will be able to see a difference in my posts now that I have made the decision to spend more time living, and less time running. I hope you will be able to see that the things I am blogging about are things that I care so much about. That when I am posting, I am posting because I am inspired, and excited and I want to share. Not because I feel obligated to. I hope you will be able to see my new outlook on blogging, and my excitement for living my life.
With that being said, I would love to take a moment to say how much I have appreciated the support of my sponsors over the years. They have been some of the coolest people to work with, and SO talented. I have felt blessed to work with so many inspiring people, and it truly has been an honor to share their sites with you. As I said before, I have a couple partnerships that have contracts through April, so I am still going to take sponsors until then. If you would like to sponsor in February, or would like to sponsor for the next 3 months, I have 2 different packages available. You can email me for more info if you'd like, at laurenkbrimley"at"gmail"dot"com
To everyone that reads my blog, thank you for being awesomespice!
xo!
65 awesomespice comments:
Good for you Lauren, go with your heart and to learn this at a young age is a blessing! I will look forward to your posts!
Dear L, just stick with your decision and enjoy life...you are still very young and I sincerely hope you will experience only the best in the future....so go out, enjoy with hubby and friends,listen to your Beatles, dress nicely and write when you feel like it and just go with the flow....xoxoxo
I started to do sponsors, but then took them off. I obviously had only one or two so I can't imagine the pressure you must have felt with several.
Excited to see what your blog layout looks like with no sponsors :)
I think any decision you have made is the right one because it is yours! :) I adore your blog, think you are lovely and always look forward to what you have to say and the fun pictures you post! Thank you for such a sweet post to your readers, sponsors and contributors and I hope 2012 continues to be magical for you!
Liesl :)
Lauren, I totally support you. And can I say that one of my absolute favorite posts you have done lately is the one about your scary Joseph Gordon-Levitt dream! I loved it and it really reminded me of some of your post from when I first started reading your blog. It made me laugh! Honestly, you could write a post that just said "Today I woke up, clipped my toenails, and read a book" and I would still be reading your blog, because I love you and the way you write!
good for you! ♥
Can I sign up for a sponsorship through July?
I'm proud of your decision. Not that it matters, but I've noticed the difference in your writing. It felt more contrived. Looks like you're in for a breath of fresh air, sweet girl. Enjoy!
This is something I love to hear. The thing I dislike the most about reading blogs is the fakeness you come across so often. I love sincere people which is why your blog is my favorite. So I'm glad you're sticking with your own authenticity. :)
Mama Face beat me to my comment, haha! :)
I haven't even been in the blog world much lately, and that was because I was feeling the pressure to blog IN ORDER. I got freaked out when I missed all of spring break 2010 and have hardly blogged since. You have inspired me in my own decision of blogging out of order (oh, the HORROR!) -- not that I have readers anymore, anyway, haha.
Enjoy your amazing life and the loving blogging of it! xo
I love this decision! There's nothing really wrong with blog sponsors, but it definitely turns blogging into a job instead of a hobby, and the writing definitely becomes more geared toward the sponsors instead of being what the blogger wants to write. I'm looking forward to seeing your true self come out in your blogging! Like I've said before, these kinds of honest, heartfelt posts are my very favorite.
you got the point. sometimes i felt like i had to be with a camera so i could the my blog that what i was living was true and that's not cool
I love this. I'm relatively new to blogging so no-one would want to sponsor me anyway but I love this attitude. I'm in because I enjoy it, and if that means that I don't post for a week then so be it. I've been reading your blog for well over a year now (yikes!) and I must say, my favourite posts of yours are the random little stories you tell. My laptop hates those posts because they sometimes result in me laughing whatever I'm drinking all over it. Hmm.
Lauren,
You are a gem. I love reading about your adventures. Your readers will completely embrace your decision. You have to do what feels right for you.
Warmest Regards,
Ashley
I totally get it! That has to be a hard decision, but I fully support you.
you are just too adorable girl! and it's true, having sponsors definitely makes things a little more pressured. may just have to follow you on this someday soon!
xo TJ
saweet! welcome back to the simpler times baby. :) i really love your blog sponsors or not.
Well said! So many times I read blogs and think some of it is so staged just for the sake of blogging. I think you are great for wanting to get back to documenting your life for YOU and not for the numbers. :)
Lauren, I greatly appreciated this post, and I am glad that you have found a decision that you are happy with. Many blogs I see are filled with things that that person finds inspirational or curious. They post DIYs and outfits and collages and all sorts of things that, yes, they "like," no doubt. However, the content itself doesn't come from one's heart, and it can often seem a bit shallow to the blog author. Readers will gobble any content, it's true, but the habit can become disheartening. I honestly believe that every blogger goes through this struggle, and must face a decision--sponsors or no sponsors, continue blogging, or continue living? I chose to blog, and I love it. I can't wait to share certain things, can't wait to express my feelings and thoughts. I want you to feel the same way, regardless of what you share--pictures or stories, anecdotes or images. In the end, it's not the sponsors; it's YOU, you and your family and the pieces of life you choose to share with us that makes us read.
I think it sounds like you know exactly what is best for you. good for you!
I realized over the past few months that I prefer to keep my blog more professional and less personal. I just realized, I am getting more and more hits on my blog which means more and more people are both gaining access to my business and my personal stories. And for a business that is awesome and SO important, but for a person like me who is very very private, I just don't want the whole world to know my personal life and I don't want to post lots of photos from my personal life. I don't want to take photos for the purpose of showing the blog world what I have been doing in my spare time, my actual real life. I don't want to think of my personal life as something I should document for my blog.
I think in that way, you might feel the same. When you are hanging with ted, you should just be in the moment with him, not thinking about needing to take photos of your experience for your blog. I don't want to drag my blog into my personal life more than it already is as an element of my business. i love my blog. but for me it is better used as an element of my business, a place to meet people who have similar online interests as me with fashion and design, a place to share my loves that have to do with fashion, music, and design. But not a place to tell the world all the details of my personal life.
I just feel better leaving the blog on the web and letting myself jump freely into when I want to, and out of it into my personal life with ease.
xo Moorea
This is exactly how I feel sometimes and I'm just a small blog! Good for you for doing what feels right to you x
Awesome blog post Lauren. I love it so much!
And please from the bottom of my heart don't be offended when I say that one of the reasons I haven't come by as often is because I missed your old blog personality. It was so freakin hilarious and carefree and devil may care. And did I mention hilarious? I don't remember a post going by where I didn't laugh out loud or at least smile in adoration at your writing and wit. Pure talent, Lauren.
Did you see my blog post for my word of 2012 and how it is to Be Present? For similar reasons as you. I always feel mentally connected to fb or my blog and need to love and live the life I'm in, not my virtual life.
Hugs to you, my sweet. And here's to a wonderful 2012 with amazing things coming for you and your family! xoxo
Awesome blog post Lauren. I love it so much!
And please from the bottom of my heart don't be offended when I say that one of the reasons I haven't come by as often is because I missed your old blog personality. It was so freakin hilarious and carefree and devil may care. And did I mention hilarious? I don't remember a post going by where I didn't laugh out loud or at least smile in adoration at your writing and wit. Pure talent, Lauren.
Did you see my blog post for my word of 2012 and how it is to Be Present? For similar reasons as you. I always feel mentally connected to fb or my blog and need to love and live the life I'm in, not my virtual life.
Hugs to you, my sweet. And here's to a wonderful 2012 with amazing things coming for you and your family! xoxo
You gotta do what you gotta do Lauren, and you have people who read your posts because YOU wrote them and YOU are funny and clever and beautiful and you write about great things :)
xo
http://kittysnooks.blogspot.com/
You GO girl!!! I love it! I think its a great decision!
Good for you. I think it's great that some bloggers have sponsors and make some extra cash that way. Though I always wonder who visits those sponsors? Certainly not me. I will enjoy reading your blog, with or without sponsors. Do whatever is best for you!
Well this is mighty comforting. You have alluded to this type of thing in the past but this really illuminates how you're feeling. It's funny, I have a whopping 17 followers but for a long time I felt sorta the same way you do. I didn't find a lot of time to blog because I was out living my life. But whenever someone new would comment, I would feel SO obligated to go to their blog & comment cuz I didn't want to be rude. And sometimes even THAT felt overwhelming. I have found a way to carve out more time for blogging because like you, I just LOVE it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's comforting to know that someone with as big a following as you, has the same kinds of issues in regards to their blog.
I've always loved your blog - it was the first that I went back & read from the beginning (it took me forever!). I've often wondered if poor Ted gets neglected sometimes because you're blogging. Not in a judging way at all, just curiosity. Glad to hear he'll be getting a little more Lauren time.
Oh & PS - I always flip through your comments to see what witty remark your mom has. I about died the other day when she commented that 'maybe your mom buys that toilet paper so you don't poop at her house!' I was laughing hysterically. :o)
What a beautiful, heartfelt post with such a great message! You are such an inspiring blogger. Looking forward to all that's to come on your lovely blog.
http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com/
good for you:) way to follow your heart!
<3
M
I love love love this post!!!! I am so glad you will be going back to your "old self." I was drawn into your blog originally because of those types of posts. You have such a way with wit that it just kills me. I have always loved your blog but I did notice a change in its content. I'm just happy you are happy with your decision because honestly, your readers (at least me) have fallen in love with YOU regardless of what you post.
I love this decision!! Some of my favorite posts of yours have just been the ones about your everyday life/crazy stories. Looking forward to more :)
I LOVE your blog! When something you enjoy becomes a burden, its no longer fun. It becomes a job. I have to admit, your the only blog I read regularly. Others I have read aren't as funny or I just can't relate to. Do what your heart tells you. I'm proud of you for making a decision based on happiness, not profit. Your a witty, funny, and an all original young lady. Keep being YOU!
This is why we love you! Keep it real, girly <3
I love that you are honest with not only your readers, but yourself. There have been a few moments when I think of things more as "blog potential" rather than "life experience" and that should NOT be the point of living! It's sad actually.
I think your content is always awesome and I'm excited to keep reading as you start to do it more for you rather than for others. :)
Life is too short to worry constantly about what others think, or how you have to match up. Being happy is worth so much more. i couldnt imagine the pressures of sponsorship every month.
im happy if i get a comment for every 3 posts i write! ha i know, i am easily excited!
ps, dont ever stop photographing. i couldnt imagine life without it.i never purposely photograph for blog posts, but i do enjoy posting Photos I take on there. ( if anyone ever cares to pay any attention).
It seems being popular, can come with lots of responsibility, esp. if you aren't yourself, and you are trying to constantly compete with others.
There are so many new ventures to get into. Give service at a soup kitchen, keep supporting localism, hike, ride a bike, write some poetry. ( come to LO-FI in downtown mesa on 1st and 3rd thursdays of the month at 7 pm, and listen, or read for open MIC night). so many new cool things to explore..
Be happy happy happy, and healthy for you!! It makes life so much more worth living.
I hope you find what you are looking for.
-m
here here for blogging for the joy of blogging. love it.
This makes me Happy ♥
This is amazing. I really love your outlook on blogging. REALLY. this sounds cheesy, but thanks so much for posting this. it kind of helped me really think of what i'm trying to accomplish with blogging. like, what is real reason i blog? and all that jazz. it kind of helped me get my priorities straight with blogging. i don't want to keep doing this and competing at something i'm not going to win. i want to share the funny things i find on the internet, silly little things that happen to me during the day and stuff like that (she says as she rambles on and on and on...)
anyways, i really do enjoy your blog. like a lot. and look forward to your posts! :)
Thanks Lauren. <3
Super awesome idea. You're the best.
lots of love lauren!!! :]
great post lauren. <3
This is great. I only took sponsors for a few months, but I really noticed how stressed I became and as the obligation factor. Glad you're doing what is best for you!
you are awesome lauren. blogging is much more fun when it is on your terms. miss you!! xoxo
Proud of you :) That's a very mature decision to make.
good for you! it's precisely the reason why i decided to never do sponsors. (but then sometimes i sorta forget about my blog and hardly ever post...)
You are the best! Just thought you should know.
Hey that funsizetessa girl is one of my best friends! ha! Anyway...I love this blog and I think it will be marvelous as always without them sponsors. You're great!
This post was such an inspiration to me, its reminded me to post for me and not to get the readers and the sponsors.
Great post!
Nikki
fashionsonthefly.blogspot.com
Totally understand!! I love love love photography, but once I got into the business side of it and started doing photo sessions, charging money for it and having to edit the photos by a certain time, everything changed. I dreaded even taking my camera places with me. All because of the obligation monster! So I decided to stop and, instead, continue to develop my love for my talent of photography instead of trying to fill my pocketbook.
I think you're a great example for doing what you feel is best for you personally!
You go, girl. Way to be. It's been fun being a sponsor while I could!
Good for you! I am 100% on board with everything you said and look forward to reading more about your real life. :)
Totally understandable! I get the same way at times.
I know you said once that you use picnik to edit. So sad to see they're going away. I love Google, but this decision by them makes me sad. Maybe they'll come up with something 10x's better. We can only hope!
no, no... thank YOU for being awesomespice.
I hate expectations. Feeling like I have to do something makes me automatically NOT want to do it (screwed up right?)
If it makes ya feel any better your blog has seems just as real as always the past few months. I like you.
You are so inspiring.
I love it...
GO GIRL! I'm so glad you are taking a stand, and not getting lost in the motions.
Come on over to my blog and follow (if you don't already) because once I reach 200 followers (I'm only 1 away right now!) I'm going to be hosting a "200 Followers 'Super Yay' Giveaway Party" and you won't wanna miss it. And if you can spread the word! :)
Ky
www.thebirdssay.blogspot.com
Dear BBL,
I'm not going to lie... I've missed the old you, the one who blogged about funny things that happened to her and made me split a side laughing every time I signed in. I haven't read you as faithfully since the fashion posts and reviews and picture bombs have become more frequent (not that there's anything bad with fashion, books, and photograpy! It's just not that interesting to me and I would have rather spent my time reading someting that I genuinely enjoyed)... I'm just excited to have the old Lauren back! I've missed you! :D
Be true to YOU. Heck ya!
i completely support this decision. i love when you post funny, real-life posts, so i'm excited to see more of those.
i completely relate to the "oh crap, i forgot my real camera, what will my blog readers think?!" ... and luckily (as much as people may think it's annoying) instagram/my iphone camera has kind of reminded me that it doesn't matter the quality of camera that you document life with as long as you remember it somehow! =)
keep on keepin' on, Lauren!
=)
-stephanie
this is so exactly how i feel about blogging.
no, i am not a big popular, fancy blogger by any means, and i don't live on the edge of my seat to see how many followers i can get (obviously, i have like 17 haha) and i don't ever want to get that way. i don't do fancy giveaways and i don't have weekly "obligations" that i have to post on certain days every week. and i like it that way. i don't want it to be like that. i want to keep it simple, and to enjoy it as a journaling experience for myself and my family. good for you :)
Lauren I think this is really noble of you. I am so happy that you have followed your heart and pushed through with your decision. Good for you. and I, for one (of many i'm sure), am SO excited for this change you're making. I've followed your blog for awhile. The reason I've followed has never been because of pretty pictures or fun outings. It was always for those heartfelt posts when you share real life! and of course your humor! that's always fabulous too! :)
I love this! And I think you're awesome. The readers you truly want will come to you for YOU. I like the personal content better anyways. It helps me feel like I'm following a real person :) Keep it up! (As often or as NOT often as you like.) -Loyal Reader Steph
this is your blog, lauren. you have to do what is best for you. you need to live the kind of life that makes you happy. and if a part of you is living simply for your blog, maybe that's not what's best for you. i don't even really have sponsors and i feel like that sometimes! i think "oh, i wish i had my camera, that would have been good for my blog" etc. when in reality, people will read your blog, or they won't. if they don't read it because there are no pictures or not enough funny stories, then, don't worry about them. there are still genuine people out there who will still come and see what you have to say just because you're interesting or have good insight or because they like the way you write. and personally, those are the kind of people i'd want coming back to my blog anyway.
i say, good for you with your decision and i wish you the best!
I think this is wonderful what you are doing and kudo's to you to getting back to blogging for YOU. I love your personal posts and I think you inspire a lot of people in what you write! Keep it up girl.
Wow, good for you! I don't think most people would be able to step back and realize their content/life is being negatively impacted in this way and to actually make this decision. I am a new follower, but I love your writing style and look forward to your future posts, especially now that you think your heart will be more in it!
Modern Modest Beauty
I loved this post and that you'll be relaxing back into your raw self again. I look forward to your future posts!
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