Coffee Talk 01.03.21 + State of the Blog Address

Yay, the first Coffee Talk of 2021! It’s weird typing those numbers — my fingers aren’t used to it yet.

For the past few years, I wrote my State of the Blog Address at the end of my Year In Review, but that post was sooooo long this year. So instead, I decided to share my State of the Blog Address in lieu of a Coffee Talk today.

Last year I also did a post I called New Year’s Eve Thoughts… now that was fun to re-read. All those plans! The only thing I can think of to say about that is, Bless her heart… 

I mean, no one could have imagined what 2020 had in store, but I was cracking up reading how our Paris trip in May would make up for our canceled Austin trip in 2019… and how I was moving to a 6-day posting schedule.

(I’m not sure when I fell off that wagon, but I don’t recall it lasting very long!)

But I also love reading about how I was struggling with my weight and planning to hit IF hard in January, because that actually did work out pretty well.

I also talked about my upcoming kitchen remodel, and that timing worked out perfectly. We finished up right before everything shut down in mid-March, and I’ve been able to enjoy my beautiful, updated kitchen during all this time at home.

The other thing I said in that post was that I wanted to focus more on quality over quantity in 2020, and be more true to myself in the brands I style and the retailers I work with. I feel like I’ve done that, and it’s been fairly well received.

I realize I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but if I’ve learned anything over my 15 years of blogging, it’s that I can’t be all things to all people. Believe me, I’ve tried!

All I know to do is stay true to myself, and the people who relate to me will stick around, and the rest will eventually lose interest and find somewhere else to hang out. That’s just the nature of the space, and I’m okay with that.

Looking Ahead to 2021

As for 2021, I’m once again going to start out by taking Saturdays off from posting to the blog. We’ll have to see how long that lasts…

But otherwise, I’m not planning any major changes to my content or posting schedule this year.

Email Newsletter Updates

Even when I don’t have a new blog post on Saturdays, I will still send out my Weekly Digest email newsletter with a recap of the week’s posts and the weekend sale roundup. (If you’re signed up for the New Daily Posts, you also get the Weekly Digest, as that one goes to all subscribers.)

If you aren’t signed up for any of my emails, you can do that HERE.

Yesterday I sent out my first Weekly Digest email of the new year, and I played around with my format a bit. You’ll have to let me know what you think.

I replaced my usual Weekend Sale Roundup section with Saturday Steals, and I tried to make it more tightly curated with only the very best sales, along with specific product picks. And I added This Week’s Top Sellers to the Weekly Digest as well. (I usually include that in Sunday’s email.)

The idea behind that was to spend less time on the Sunday email and to keep it more personal with just a link to my Coffee Talk post. Plus, it just seems like This Week’s Top Sellers belongs in a weekly recap.

The only thing about that is, it makes that Saturday email really long. Is it too much?

I could do a graphic for This Week’s Top Sellers instead of individual pictures, but I always figure people prefer to see me wearing the items if at all possible.

Blog Redesign!

Other than that, the only major change coming in 2021 is a big blog redesign. It will be a lot more sophisticated than what I have now, with some extra features and a much better Shop.

I’ve sorely neglected my Shop pages over the last few months, so I just took the link off my menu bar. Hopefully with Amy’s help, I can keep the new one more up to date.

The new site should roll out sometime this month, and I’m super excited about that! I know that too much change can be frustrating, so I did my best to keep the design simple and easy to use. I can’t wait to see how you like it.

More of the Same Great Content!

As for blog content, I’m planning more 5 Ways to Wear posts, so let me know if you have any requests for items, trends, or colors you’d like me to style multiple ways. I’d like to do at least one of those a month.

I also plan to do the popular Old Outfits Updated posts seasonally, and I’m working on a post on What’s In and What’s Out for 2021.

Regular features like What I Wore Lately and my Try-On Hauls will continue, as they’re always popular. I can’t promise to do both every week, but there will definitely be a few each month.

Then there are all the seasonal one-off posts that I like to update and republish each year. As I wrote my end of year recaps, I made notes about which posts did really well, and I put them on my 2021 editorial calendar so I can remember to update them and republish at the optimum time.

I’m trying to get better about planning, but that will never really be my strong suit. #iyamwhatiyam

Overall, I’m happy with the content I’ve produced this year — especially considering everything we’ve been going through as a country… and you know, a certain global pandemic that shall not be named.

I just need to get more efficient and figure out what else I can delegate so I’m not overextending myself, and I’d really like to be in a place where my posts are written and scheduled the night before, so I can get my daily emails out by 8AM. I used to do that, and I’m not sure why I can’t seem to get back into that rhythm.

All that to say, not much will change with blog content this year, but I’m always open to ideas and suggestions!

In Conclusion

I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions or choose a word of the year, and I’m not even making many plans for 2021 at this point.

But I do want to be more intentional with my time, continue to prioritize exercise, and focus on delegating more and being more efficient with my work hours.

If we get to go to Paris in May, great! But I’m not counting on it. (We weren’t able to get a refund on our apartment rental, so we just rescheduled for this May in hopes that things will be better by then.)

I’d love to think that by summertime, masks and social distancing are a thing of the past, but at this point, I’m taking it one day at a time.

I’m just thankful that all of my people are healthy and happy and under one roof, and that I have this supportive community of women online to share our joys and trials.

Once again, I want to thank you for being here. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for sticking around during this insanely trying year. I could not do what I do without you.

The pace of this job can be overwhelming, but sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe that I actually get to do this for a living. I’m so grateful for the community we’ve built here.

I hope you have a restful and very blessed Sunday!