Nothing says welcome to my new website like a picture of me balancing a spoon on my nose – I’m multi-talented 😉 So, welcome to my new website! YAY! Remember last week when I was sharing that there were big things just around the corner? HERE IT IS! I’ve been talking about making the switch to WordPress off and on since forever and finally made the leap this summer. While I was at it, I decided to switch things up and share with you a new look & brand for Oak + Oats! Don’t you just love it?!
There has been a lot going on in the background to get ready for this day! I ‘ll be sharing more about the things I did to prepare for this rebrand later in the week but for now I’ll just talk about how I cannot believe this day has arrived! Whenever I take the time to really think about this space, see where it has come from and plan for the future, I am in awe! It is such a fun hobby ( & now business) that I get to come back to day after day – constantly being challenged to grow in community & in knowledge.
Some of you may remember months ago I sent out a reader survey and those responses went into making some key decisions for this space and the future of Oak + Oats! I wanted to share some of those findings with you and let you know the facts behind some of my design & direction choices for the future.
reader survey 2015
There were 72 recorded responses for the survey I sent out. While I know that is not ideal for a research study (I took Statistics for Psychology back in my day,) I still thought it reflected a good chunk of the people who do come to this space daily. I also am so thankful to those 72 people who engaged & offered feedback even though I offered no bribe in return – it is a privilege to learn from them! So thank you if you were one of the 72 – YOU ROCK! (PS: The rest of you still rock too and should totally fill out my next survey 😉 xoxo)
Quick Stats
- 98% of you are female
- 89% are between 20-32 years old
- You are from all over the place but mostly the USA & Canada
- 62% of you have been reading Oak + Oats for over a year (and 22% remember when it was called “Until Only Love Remains”)
- Top 5 Favorite Post Topics voted by you were: Heart-to-Hearts (67%), Marriage (63%), Home Decor (57%), Blog Tips (54%), and Style (53%).
Your Quotes
“You’re so transparent and have inspired me to begin my blogging journey in the same style/format.”
“Would love to read more on building a blog brand and “successful” tips and tricks.”
“I love the way you write and think it would be awesome if you wrote a book! Your faith and marriage posts are always some of my favorites, so I’d love to read a book on one or both of those topics.”
“I would love to see more personal, unedited moments of Oak + Oats. I realize pretty photos and stylish posts attract followers, but I would be interested in learning more about the behind the scenes.”
“I love your honest perspective on the blogging community and how you foster community here on your blog. I’d love to know more about your approach to Instagram and how you build such a loyal and involved community.”
“You already speak a lot about faith but I think you can never talk about it enough so more of that would interest me. Also, how you do married life and how it was to transition from single life to married life.”
What that Means for Oak + Oats
Reading through the quotes and the answers to your favorite posts, it was obvious you LOVE the personal, heart-to-heart, real life posts! You all were screaming out, “we love your authenticity and all those feelings you have on all the things – share more of them!” Okay, I said! I had no idea you loved those personal posts so much! I was also super surprised by how high marriage was on the list and in your comments. I mean, Bruce is a main character on the blog and in my life (obvi) but I don’t share a lot of marriage focused posts here, so it was fun to see that come to the top.
You also loved to hear about blogging, blog tips, social media, branding, building community, and all those business related posts. You want more of the failures, the successes, the advice, and the journey. I loved seeing that theme emerge because I can totally get behind more of those posts! It is seriously a joy to share everything I have learned and my real life advice with you! Also, there were several comments about Instagram and that sent my heart all a flutter – I’ve got dreams in the works dealing with that topic!
I looked at your favorite post topics, spent some time looking at the posts that I love to write, and created a new outline for Oak + Oats. While you are checking on the fab new design by Whitney Blake, make sure you notice the cleaned up & newly organized tabs at the top. I took your advice, condensed, and refocused some of the topics so that I was no longer blogging about all of the things but just some of the things. I’ve also taken to heart your desire for more of the personal. Some posts will be specifically focused on faith, marriage, or a good ol’ heart-to-heart but even in the other posts I’ll be putting more “real” and more “me” into them!
There were some of you who contradicted each other (what you mean we are not all the same & have the same favorites?!? 😉 ) and I know that I cannot make everyone happy all the time but I only feel energized going forward from here – I hope you feel energized too!
Thank you for being a part of the Oak + Oats community whether you have been here one day or 5 years! Feel free to look around and explore the new site! Please also be gracious – as much as I worked beforehand to prevent broken links, typos, and general website funkiness, things may not be perfect.
Wow! I love this new design. So stylish & you. 🙂
Thank you so much! I really love it and it is so fun! You are so sweet and encouraging!
I love, love, love the new design! 🙂 Cheers
Thank you so much Erica!
Your blog looks AMAZING!
Thank you so much! I am really loving the new look!