Ok, so I’m a whiner. ?You haven’t figured that out by now? ?I have good cause to be on occasion. ?I work two or more jobs, I’m a full time mom, I’m trying to start a charitable foundation and man alive does my stomach burn at the moment. ?I am trying to cut back on any extraneous obligations, trust me.
I’ve struggled over the past year on what to do with this blog. ?I would like to say that my heart is still in it, but I’m not sure that is the case. ?The reason I still write is to keep people interested so they will buy chocolate at Christmastime. ?I am terribly afraid that if I don’t have this site our candy sales would dramatically drop. ?I think I’ve built up a good enough loyal customer base and we have added the sales people so that helps, but believe it or not, the BlogHer network thing on the side brings in a few extra sales each season. ?I love having first time customers. ?They are just one more person who can spread the word about what Sweet Hope is about.
Sweet Hope is a passion of mine, if you haven’t noticed. ?The scope of the project goes way beyond selling candy and sending money. ?It is no longer just me running the show. ?I have a whole board of directors and one director in particular who has helped me expand the vision. ?I can’t let her down now.
As for Life of Elle… I know who my loyal readers are and that they like to hear about some of the stuff our family gets into, but I feel like my life is rather boring. ?Well, except for that whole pooping in the backyard incident. ?That was pretty funny. ?I can still write those stories, but they would be rather few and far between.
So help me out, how can I keep Sweet Hope going and make it bigger and better and be able to feel less obligated to Life of Elle?
That is a hard one… my first instinct would be to say keep life of elle and sweet hope separate…and blog about what you love. But it is evident that what you are passionate about it sweet hope. So what do I know anyway.
just trust, jump and trust the net will appear.
This is an excellent question that the board needs to really contemplate and think about.
Another main task of a board of a non-profit is to be stewards of the organization and be the main cheerleaders and get people involved and make others aware. This is an excellent major agenda item for the next meeting.
You don’t need to post very often, just when something really funny (like the poo in the backyard) pops up. (Or should I say ‘poops’ up) Or maybe combine the two sites and have a sub-page for funny family stories on the Sweet Hope site. That would keep the Sweet Hope endeavor on a very personal level which is one of the things I so love about it.
Hmm… that is a tough one. I guess the ? is, are there other ways to reach more people? Listings of your buyers is hopefully been kept and if not… keep writing. Otherwise, hang on to those names (gotcha game) and search for other avenues to getum. Flyers stuffed into grocery bags, (many stores allow this if you plea your case with the store manager) other churches spreading the word, and most importantly… word of mouth from previous customers! There is no doubt… “If you build it they will come.”
I read a blog called Design Sponge and she has a series of posts about how she grew her business. Check out the following 10 min video when you have 10 minutes. It’s inspirational.