Survey Thank You + A Winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who took the survey I posted recently. It was a big leap on my part to ask you these questions, and a true show of support that more than 325 people responded to the survey with well-considered answers to the open-ended questions. Your responses will help me improve the blog as I get ready to start my eighth year of writing.

The winner of the Mark Hampton “On Decorating” book was Judy Mac, whom I will notify by e-mail.

The difference between the number of people who responded and the number in the drawing was that not everyone gave their name.

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The responses were fascinating to read. For every person who wanted to see more pictures of Connor, an equal number said they wanted fewer (Sorry, here he is again, and with a shoe!)For every person who thought that a post with a few images and a few words wasn’t really a post, there were others who said that they appreciated short posts because time for reading lengthy posts is hard to find.

I try to post about five images with about 150 to 200 words, and frequently, there are times that I barely can find the spare half-hour to do that much. I probably work on the blog about 20+ hours a week, and I have a full-time job and a range of volunteer commitments, not to mention wanting to spend time with family and friends, so sometimes posts are a bit short.

As for the advertising, I heard you all loud and clear. NO FLASHING ADS. NO POP-UP ADS. NO VIDEO ADS! NO NOISE!  I am on the same page with that. I hate them, too. And I won’t be doing sponsored posts unless they have a clear association with my blog. Someone mentioned that I already do advertising for shops and merchandise I blog about, but that’s not the case at all. I do these posts because I like the product, shop or service, and I don’t receive anything in return. On the rare occasion when I do receive something, I always mention it.

Someone mentioned that they’d like clearer title posts, and I agree… up to a point. I like puns and plays on words, so sometimes titles reflect that. I am also trying to attract eyeballs, and a clever title may help accomplish that. I would rather have a creative funny title, than something that’s a dictionary definition. I’d be drawn to a post called “Naked Ladies” over one titled “Belladonna Amaryllis Flowers are in Season”.

For everyone who said that I am snobbish, others said that they felt that if they met me, they could strike up a conversation and be a friend. I might appear snobby sometimes, but it’s not intentional. I went through a period when I was flamed by someone who criticized my name and where I grew up. If you think about that for a moment, I had no say about my childhood circumstances. I was raised in a certain way, with a lot of advantages and there’s just not much I can do about it.

I work hard to be informative, creative, fun, honest and entertaining. I’ve opened my life to you, maybe sometimes a little too much, so you get the good with the bad. I work on having a varied and even balance of topics, but that doesn’t always happen.Some people like that I post a lot about Baltimore, some people think I post too much about England, some people think I should post less history, some people think I should post more about antiques. For everyone who liked of some specific aspect of the blog, there was another one that disliked the exact same thing. And those who don’t like the name, Pigtown*Design? Sorry, it’s a bit too late to change it! The name is taken from the area in Baltimore where I lived the first five years of the blog, and even though I’ve moved from there, after 1,905 posts the name is sticking.

One of the main things that I learned from the survey is that the majority of readers who responded are happy with the way things are, and with a little sprucing up, trimming and updating, things will be pretty similar, with the exception of some selected and targeted advertising later this year. No Kraft macaroni ads. I PROMISE!

Thank you again to everyone who participated in the survey. I am so grateful that you took the time to let me know what you think!