June Contest
Well, as you can see I have skipped april alltogether with a contest, so instead I am not only holding the June contest all month long, I am also going to be drawing two random commenter winners, instead of just one, at the end of the month. The prize will be either a vintage wallpaper pendant or earrings, your choice.
Now, for the question I am going to ask one that is more of a personal one this time. It’s something I’ve been trying to make up my mind about for a few months now, and I have yet to make a decision. So I am going to posting it here for you all to chime in on.
I keep three blogs. Two are personal ones, and one is this Lucky Accessories business blog. The first, KNGwilson is one I created to update with our family news, mostly for family and friends that live overseas, or out of town. The second, It’s the little things I created besides the family one so I would have a place to post random things about or by me because I thought I’d like to keep that separate from the family blog. I wanted the family blog to focus on the family as a whole, and not just heavily be about me, me, me! Then I have this business blog here, which is obviously to post all things related to my thriving little small business which I operate out of my home.
The thing I’ve been debating is to merge all three into one big bad bulky hopping business/life blog. So it will be the blog attached to my business website, but also the blog about my family, and also the blog about me.
Is this a bad idea? Is this a great idea? Should I keep business/life/pleasure seperate? Would it be more interesting to you the readers wether you are family, friends, customers, complete strangers, to read about all of this in one and the same place, or would you rather not read about product updates when you are only trying to see how much my son has grown, or will you get tired of picures of us at the beach when you are only trying to find out what show I am going to be at next, and what’s new in my Etsy shop?
I am extremely interested in what you all have to say about this. Remember your comment counts as a entry for the July contest, and you may comment as many times as you would like, but let’s keep it on subject.
So here it is in short:
* The prizes (2!); Choose vintage wallpaper earrings or pendant necklace, worth $45 each!
* The question; Merge my personal and business blogs into one, or keep them separate?
* Entering; Place your opinion(s) in the comment section of in this post
* Increase your chances; You may comment more than once, as long as you stay on topic!
* The Drawing; July 1st
Now go, thanks in advance, and good luck!
I am an avid crafter and receive many newsletter emails from the different sites that I belong to and I find that I like the blogs that are merged because it gives us the insite , the perspective if you will to the kind of person you are as a whole. I am more drawn to the human side of you more .What I mean is, you are a woman like many of us who juggle our jobs, marriages and kids not to mention the 1,000 other things in our lives every single day. So coming to your site and reading your blog makes it more appealing to me because I enjoy your creativity and therefore have a little understanding of who you are,we are connected more as people and not just a person who sells and creates jewlery but a person just like us.So yes I really feel you should join your blogs I enjoy reading them and so do many others and it would be nice to have pictures too! So Good Luck on your decision!! happy beading from California
I too am a business owner with two blogs, one that I consider my “business” blog and a “family” one that I’ve kept since my 1st child was born 3.5 years ago. While I always have kept the blogs separate, I was using pictures from the same personal flickr account to host pictures for both. Eventually, I was getting so many looks on my personal flickr page from people looking for pictures of the wedding invitations and stationery I make, that I started feeling people might think me unprofessional (seeing as that the majority of pictures were of my kids
) and I became a little uncomfortable with having my children so “out there” on the net.
As a result, I’ve kept the two blogs separate too. I promote, publicize and list my “business” one on directories, and keep the family one personal and relatively off the searchable radar. The link to your family blog wouldn’t work for me, so I’m not sure how personal yours is, but without seeing it my advice to you would be to combine your “me” one and the business one for sure.
As the owner of a creative business, I’ve found it easy to insert a lot of “me” into my business blog. And while I do blog about general mothering or parenting issues on the “business” blog I do so in a manner relevant to that blog’s topics (design, style, entrepreneurship, working from home etc.). All the real family update stuff I keep for the family one. Going from three to two, might make things more manageable and then eventually you could combine all if you deemed appropriate. Good luck! I’m bookmarking you now!
I agree with Erin….Combine your “me” blog and “business” blog while leaving the family blog on its own.
I’ve seen business blogs with new designs of their craft as well as opinions on general topics. Then, there is a banner of the business somewhere on the page so readers can check out the new styles/designs that may have been mentioned and photographed in the blog.
I like some anonymity when it comes to things like personal life and family. So a blog that friends know about is ok and if others stumble across it, then so be it. But for me, I’d keep it separate from the business.
I’m coming in on the side of keep a family blog – and a business blog. Keep the ultra-family stuff over on the family blog – entries about how cute your kids are, and where the family reunion really *ought* to be, and how you can’t stand your new bathroom tile.
But definitely make your business blog more personal. At least then you can combine It’s the Little Things, and your biz blog. People are interested in YOU as well as the materials you use or the new show you’re doing (or whatever). I wouldn’t put ultra-personal stuff in there – but a sharing of your personality, your likes and dislikes, absolutely! It doesn’t have to be all business. Make it *yours*, make it fun, make it personal. You’ll enjoy it more – and your customers will too.
i think you should keep a business blog that has information only on your business. i wouldn’t want to have to wade through personal pictures and stories if i’m just trying to find out product info; i might just give up. thanks for the contest!
I think the business blog should definitely be separate from the family blog. Your life and work may be completely intertwined for you, but that isn’t necessarily the way your customers view you, or the way they want to view your blog.
mmm…i would say keep family and business separate.Both for the family’s sake and to keep the business one streamlined and focused.You could have a link on each for people that are interested in both if you like.
by the way those earings are cute:)
Keep them separate, the more you do so, the more individual you are with each of these, and the more likely you are to draw attention to each of these endeavors. You want to show case each of your talents, both personally and professionally. People who want to know you personally, that should be separate, and more intimate for those who go to that blog. The business venture, this should be an all out go for it, let it swing, reach for the moon, no holds barred, you are trying to maximize it’s potential by blogging to the mars, and beyond. There are no limits basically on the business side, other than your creativity, and what you may bring to it. Show case your business, your ideas, your creativity, but don’t forget to give it some personalization as well, people would like some, but not all; as that is what your personal blog is for.
My opinion is that you would be better with a separation between business and personal-your family might not like sharing everything with us viewers as well.
I actually like to get a little insight into the personal life of the people whose blogs I frequent, even when those blogs are primarily about their creative work. That being said, I think that keeping your family blog separate may be a good idea for the reasons Erin mentioned—that your family members may not want everyone in your craft looking at pictures of them as well.
I started to read the other comments, but then quickly decided to just write what I think. Combine them all…. I love the fact that your creations are made here in Raleigh. I would love to know more about you and even possibly learn a little more about how your personal life (family and individually) influences what you are doing professionally. That’s the “gut reaction”. From the more practical side of me, as a full time working mother, full time wife and full time mother, combine them all. There are only so many hours in a day. We are a sum of all our parts and there is no reason why your blog needs to reflect anything else.
i think combining your personal & business blogs are fine. while i agree it may seem less professional, i agree more (is that proper english?) that it shows your personal, human side. personally, i prefer that- i like people better than companies. as for the family blog, i would suggest asking your family how they feel about it. it wouldn’t bother me a bit to get to know them, but would it bother them?
Before I read any of the other comments I felt that you should keep it to at least two blogs. Now days with so many ‘crazies’ out there you do not want to expose your family to them. My bosses have always said “keep your family home and your work at the office.” This is something I have remembered and always done. It seems to make life so much less complicated.
There are so many opinions out there and I am sure it is going to be a tough task just reading all the blogs, so you should give it a test drive just do a run of the combined blogs and see what happens , I am sure it will be interesting and then make the final choice . Take a chance! You only go around this old world once, sure there are alot of crazies out there but living in fear and being paranoid is not a healthy existance either! In any case I love visiting your website ,I love your work and you seem like a very capable inteligent person your answer will make it’s self known to you, Good Luck & Have a Blessed week-end, Debra
I like being able to get to know the people who create the gifts and items I buy, but I don’t always want all the deeply personal stuff either when what I’m looking for is updates on the newest products or sales. So, like others have suggested I think a nice compromise is to have your seperate family blog, but combine the “It’s the Little Things” and business blog. That way we get an idea of the person behind the baubles but don’t necessarily have to hear the details of your children’s first day of school for example.
I say merge them all into one and make it easier on yourself! It’s hard to manage three separate blogs and remembering to put the correct posts into the correct blog can take time. By merging it all into one you’ll make it easier on yourself and save time by only having to make one updated post.
When I last wrote I stated to make two blogs. I failed to say that Yes, we are interested and love your family,but close-up pictures make it very easy to identify
someone if they were looking for them. Maybe you live in a very safe, sound tiny rural area. I do too, but in the last two weeks there has been two arrests here. Safe? I think so, but then something happens that tends to change your mind.
Two blogs would be nice, and just in case you quit this one you will still have your family one without all the extra things in it.
Although I do not know all that much about the world of “blogs” yet, as a parent I would be nervous about posting my family blog along with my buisness. I love to share pictures and stories about my family, but I also like to know who has access to them. For that reason I would keep the family seperate. Also I know when I go to purchase something online. While I do like a little “background” on the person/product, I dont want to be bombarded with too much information.
I personally love a merged blog. Otherwise, when I am reading sometimes they refer to the 2nd blog with a link – which curiosity makes me click…when I could just read it all together…much nicer.
I would vote to keep your blogs seperate. A blog for a creative business could include info about your inspirations, be them family, work, or life but may be too cumbersome with everything merged together.
I would keep them separate, cuz buisness is business and family is family. BUT, if a cust is interested in who you are and wants to look, or a fam member wants to see what you’re selling…..
They should be able to see/join any.
IMHO
Val
Keep them separate!!! Otherwise you’ll be overwhelmed with never being able to “leave” either your personal life or your job, they’d be never-ending. It’s good to switch gears, cleans out your head. Lets you take a step back, so to speak, and just breathe.
I think that it would be interesting to know about you as a person. The woman that i’m buying all of these beautiful things from. I think you should merge the personal and business blogs together. That would make it more interesting for visitors.
However, I think you should leave your family blog for just the family.
Thanks and good luck.
I think it would be easier for you to keep your three things separate or you get overwhelmed by mixing them all up. If you only have time to look at one particular thing it will be in one place and you won,t have to wade through other stuff. Your jewelry is awesome, I wish you much luck in this business.
As the old saying goes: don’t mix business and pleasure, so keep the business entity separate. Aloha
Well I would definitely keep your business blog seperate from the other two.
Just my 2 cents. Good Luck!!
I would keep them seperate because business and family shouldn’t be mixed. I am so glad I don’t know what has gone on in my husbands business and would not want those people in my family life. It is not that they are bad people or anything, I just have good friends and they are what I want to share my family with not people I hardly know. Never mix business and family.
I think you should keep the personal and business blogs separate.
On the business one you might want to provide just a brief personal summary and photo. I would think that is all that people who visit the product site would really be interested in since they want to spend their time looking at products not reading about you. You could provide a link to your personal blog for anyone who is interested in learning more about you.
I think you should combine your two personal blogs into one though since that would eventually save you blogging time and time in uploading photos. If there is anything really personal you want to share with family, you could have an email list for that.
I love the jewelry. It is really unique.
Business and pleasure are better separated – most of the time. Just my opinion!!
I’m not computer literate – am just learning the world of “blogging” so cannot lend any expertise at this time!
I think you should keep them seperate. “Cut to the chase” mentality
Keep the different blogs separate. It will save time for the shoppers.
Keep the blogs separate. It will save time for shoppers
I think you should keep your personal and business blogs separate. People are use to where to go to find out about the family, just you, or your business. Everything merged together might get too confusing for those who enjoy your blogs and could cause some added stress on you also. Remember if it is not broke do not fix it!!!!
I would keep your blogs separate just so you could focus better on each topic.
I know I would have too many ideas swimming in my head and wouldn’t be able to sort it all out if I combined the blogs.
Good Luck!
unbeliveably bad idea.
Business is business.
personal is personal
family is family
and very seldom do they meet
I like the idea of combining them. I like to feel that I’m dealing with a real life person that understands the needs and wants of the average consumer and not just a large (or small) company that considers their consumers as one and the same.
Hello,
My opinion is to have two blogs. Keep the business one for business & perhaps add a touch more about yourself & then combine your family/me blog as one. BTW I love the earrings.
I would keep them separate. All work and no play is no fun!
I think you should keep them separate.
One for business and one for family.
This would be a convinence for everyone because some are only interested in
family while some are only are only interested in business.
I also think you should have seperate blogs. IMO family blogs are for family.
the necklace is cool!
Keep them separate.
I would keep the business blog and the family blog seperate. I would put the “me” in with the business if it will help sell your product and tell a little about “you”. You will always have some of “you/me” in the family blog.
You should never mix the business and family blog.
I hopes this help you off.
hi! my opinion is to definately keep business separate. I and many others, am sure, short on time, want to get found & searched what i’m looking for asap, etc. like the earrings — awesome!
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