The Future of Empty Nest Blessed
Is it too late to say Happy New Year? 😂 Um, maybe a little! With Christmas and New Year’s falling on a Wednesday this year, it felt like everyone was all over the place at all different times!
I always love the freshness of a new year! It’s a great time to take stock and make a few little changes—and maybe even a few big ones! As the calendar turns this year, I’m celebrating the 10th year of Empty Nest Blessed! It’s time to make a few changes. Today, I’m sharing my plans for the future of Empty Nest Blessed with you.
How it all Started
I started Empty Nest Blessed when the blogging industry (if that’s the right word for it!) was in its heyday! At the time, the only blogs about the empty nest were sad and discouraging. There didn’t seem to be many resources for someone like me, who was facing this new season of life with some sadness but also with a strange sense of freedom mixed with hopefulness! I felt like the Lord was calling me to encourage other empty-nester women to grasp this season of life with joy and expectation. My mission was (and still is) to encourage, inspire, and bless women in the empty nester season of life.
So I decided to be brave and share my life! It took courage because, at that time, being an “influencer” was not actually a thing. (Or even a vocabulary word!😂) I started Empty Nest Blessed by sharing things like our travels, our date nights, and how I was downsizing recipes in the empty nest. My blog was the primary platform, and I used Instagram and Facebook to publicize my blog posts.
Along the way, a funny thing happened! As my followers grew, they started asking questions. Some questions were about finding purpose in the empty nest or relating to adult kids. But many questions were things like, “Where did you get those earrings?” “What cookbook are you using?” “What’s your favorite brand of luggage?”
It became clear to me that I needed to be able to resource my followers in order to answer those questions, so I signed on as an Amazon Associate, which allowed me to share links to products on Amazon in exchange for a small commission (think 2-5%).
Around the same time, RewardStyle launched (now called LTK) as an affiliate sales platform connecting affiliates (aka bloggers/influencers/content creators) with brands. In a nutshell, here’s how it works: brands pay a small commission to LTK for each sale driven by an affiliate. LTK takes a cut and pays the rest to the affiliate (think 7% on average). For more on the business of blogging, see THIS post.
Although I hadn’t set out to start a business when I launched emptynestblessed.com, I suddenly had one! After doing this for nearly 10 years, I’m now the top-ranked “empty nester influencer” “empty nester blogger” and “empty nester content creator” on Google! (It’s nothing special I did! I just stayed true to my mission and the empty nester demographic I feel called to serve!)
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How the Industry Has Changed
As in any free economy, where the money is, businesses spring up! I don’t need to tell you that the affiliate marketing business has exploded in the past 10 years! It turns out that people were influenced to buy based on the recommendations of individuals they trusted rather than slick advertising campaigns. This, along with greater accessibility to the internet, caused a domino effect. We saw the demise of industries that were supported by advertising, like print media, radio, network TV, and even billboards.
We also saw the meteoric rise of social media along with the influencer industry, encompassing bloggers like me and influencers like Kim Kardashian and other celebrities. Brands started reaching out and paying influencers to share and endorse their products. Many influencers started purchasing followers, attempting to demonstrate to brands that their influence was more expansive than it actually was. (This still goes on today!)
It became all about sales, with some influencers cashing in and sharing products they didn’t use or believe in to collect a paycheck. And the money was there. As of 2023, the global influencer marketing industry is estimated to be worth around $21.1 billion annually!
Y’all, I get 10-20 emails daily from brands that want to send me their products for free in exchange for endorsing them on social media. Sometimes, they even offer a flat fee (along with free products) to endorse them.
I set high standards for the products and businesses I share on Empty Nest Blessed, so I rarely even agree to try a new product or brand! I pledged from the beginning (and have repeated it many times since) to only share products or businesses I use and love. I am SO picky. Why? Because I know you trust me.
What’s Happening With Empty Nest Blessed
With the rise of social media, blogs like mine are disappearing! Most content creators have stepped away from their websites/blogs and gone to just social media and newsletters. The idea is that followers/shoppers prefer content that comes right to them instead of reading a lot to get to what they want. (Which apparently is mostly shoppable content!)
I get it, but I don’t know how I can deliver content like How to Pray for Your Adult Children | Six Bible Verses to Use, 10 Ways to Help When Adult Children Are Struggling (or in Crisis), or even 68 Great Date Night Ideas for Empty Nesters without this blog!
I couldn’t do what I do without my assistant Beth, and we try our best to provide helpful content for you. We try to mix shoppable and informational content. Our hope and prayer is that all of it is encouraging, inspiring, and a blessing to you. For me, the shoppable content pays the bills and provides a modest paycheck, but I think you know the other content is where my heart truly lies.
I’ve always envisioned ENB as a reflection of us as women. We’re beautifully complex—balancing hearts devoted to faith and family with a desire to live lives of purpose, all while embracing our love for fashion, beauty, travel, and more. (How fun are we? Seriously!) 😊 The content on Empty Nest Blessed will continue covering all these areas!
How Empty Nest Blessed Will Be Changing
Every time I watch figure skating, I decide I can do a double axel! “That doesn’t look too hard!” 🤣
But as with most things in life, producing a good product always takes more time and effort than it looks like when you see the final result. The truth is, we work on most posts and gift guides for weeks before you ever see them. I struggle sometimes (often!) with work/life balance, and I’ve pledged to my family and myself that I will work harder at taking breaks and unplugging. Bob and I are going to downsize this year, and the decluttering project is looming large! 😳😂
In the future, you’ll continue seeing lots of blog posts on ENB! They may come a little less frequently. We have lots of good content in the works! Here’s a sneak peek at some of the posts we’re praying about, compiling, or writing:
- Flirting After 50: How to Keep the Spark Alive in Your Empty Nester Marriage
- Supporting Your Spouse Through a Tough Time
- Downsizing the Nest: How I’m Doing it & What I’m Learning
- The Spring Style Trends to Know & How to Wear Them
- At-Home Laser Technology for Women Over 50: My Honest Review and Results
- Mothers & Daughters: 5 Helpful Tips to Build a Good Relationship
I always send out a newsletter when I publish a new post, so if any of those sound interesting to you, it means now would be a good time to join the ENB email list if you’re not already signed up.
In addition, since current trends and analytics tell us that people enjoy receiving content directly in their inboxes, we’re starting a Friday Fun Mail newsletter. It will feature a behind-the-scenes look at my life, info on what I’m reading, watching, or shopping, recent fashion looks and favorite products, and a rundown of the best weekend sales. If you’re an Empty Nest Blessed subscriber, you’ll receive it. If not, I hope you’ll consider signing up. I don’t want you to miss a thing!
How You Can Help
I love what I do, and I truly feel called by God to do it. Serving you brings me so much joy! If you appreciate the content at ENB, there’s SO much you can do to help me! First and foremost, tell your friends about emptynestblessed.com and encourage them to subscribe to the email newsletter. Word of mouth is the best form of PR!
The honest truth is that, in my industry, people largely evaluate effectiveness by follower numbers (called “reach”). It’s an important metric for me, but I’ve never purchased followers and never will. Another important effectiveness marker is “engagement.” That’s the number of readers and comments I get on blog posts AND the likes and comments I receive on social media posts. Your engagement with my content—whether on emptynestblessed.com or social media—matters!
I think the younger generation is comfortable interacting with the content they consume, but our generation is used to consuming content without interacting! Think about it! We’re the generation that sat back on the sofa and flipped on ABC, NBC, or CBS for news and programming, listened to the radio to follow sports games, and thumbed through magazines for fashion and beauty inspiration. Compare that to the way your children consume content! They’re DMing brands, celebrities, and content creators on Instagram and commenting on news and sports stories they see on X! Yep! I’m playing in their world!
It would mean so much if you would consider following me and interacting with my content on these platforms:
- The Empty Nest Blessed Email Newsletter (includes the new Friday Fun Mail!)
- YouTube
- Amazon (The follow button is on the top right.)
- LTK
I Would Love Your Feedback!
I do what I do for you! I’m so grateful for your support, encouragement, and love. Thank you for shopping with my links and commenting on my content! Your support enables me to continue to do this job that I love so much. (Beth says thank you, too, because she loves her job! 😂 You will see more of her in the future, as she will begin writing posts and sharing on social media!)
What are your thoughts about the future of Empty Nest Blessed? Beth and I would love to know! Are there topics you especially enjoy? Topics you’d like to see me cover more? Or less? Feel free to leave a comment below or email me at [email protected].
