The response to our newly designed website has been overwhelmingly positive. As we say in the north, “thanks for that, eh!”

WARM ‘N FUZZY FEEDBACK

“Clean and modern but still warm and welcoming.”
“Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better… You all have outdone yourselves.”
“Everyday I am in awe of your brilliance and can’t wait to open my daily Q&A! You’ve done it again and made today fabulous. What a beautiful site.”

CONFUSED AND TICKED FEEDBACK

We received a few messages to the effect of:

“What’s with all the Amazon ads?”
“What happened to all the white space and breathing room on your old site?”

This is where I jump in to say…we love feedback – every kudo, critique and question. Keep it comin’.

And…to speak to those who are wondering if we done gone all commercial…the answer is…hell, yes. This is not to be confused with selling out. Oh no no no. Let me illuminate (aspiring bloggers and web-preneurs, pay close attention, I’m writin’ this for all you creative comrades tryin’ to make a livin’. Word up.)

REALITY CHECK

Our intention: 1) Inspire as many people as possible to live authentic lives. Pure and simple. Always has been. Always will be. 2) Make a great living doing just that.

Our general strategy: Offer beautiful content (and services, like Style Statement) and attract millions of readers to engage in any number of ways: read our stuff, talk to each other, get inspired and informed, and maybe even take positive action in your life and the world around you. And, yes, check out our sponsors by clicking on the ads. And yes, buy their stuff if it feels true and useful to you. If we didn’t have a sincere simpatico with say, Gaiam, or Origins, or Louise Hay, we wouldn’t let them hang their shingles in our space.

What that takes: a few hundred thousand dollars in investment capital, and a good two or three years of busting our asses. Yep. We’re in this for real. We have four and a half staff, a top notch web designer, a lawyer, accountant, book keeper. And then there’s, say, rent and computers. And when we’re feeling really frivolous, we treat ourselves to lunch.

If you want the nitty gritty on how successful bloggers butter their bread, read this very good piece from Slate, by Michael Anger: Blogging for Dollars, How do bloggers make money?

So read, share, click on through. We’ll be here giving you our best, bringing you the best – mostly for free, and finding a way to turn the love into some coin along the way.