I'm struggling here. When I started my blog, I figured there were plenty of products out there to keep me busy. But the sad truth is... I live in Champaign-Urbana. Even when I read about new products online or get suggestions from readers in larger areas, I often have a hard time finding them in my local grocery stores. Also, I figured new products would be easy to spot due to a clear "New!" burst on the packaging. But, I am starting to wonder whether some companies don't bother putting a burst on their packages. Or, if the companies have simply eliminated the burst by the time the products reach our area. It seems I find plenty of products that I have never seen before, yet see no indication that they are "new."
I need your help! I think it is necessary to to open up my blog a bit, by coming up with more relaxed rules about what I should review. Here are a few ideas I have tossed around:
- New to me products. Any products that I have not tried before would be fair game. I, of course, would try to choose products that aren't incredibly mainstream either.
- New to you products. I would get a weekly "shopping list" from readers (and maybe solicit suggestions from Facebook friends if needed) on which products they wanted me to try. These would not have to be new, they could simply be something they have been curious about but haven't yet purchased.
- Expand the rut-buster scope. This would allow me to talk about new recipes, new ways of preparing food, etc. For example, tonight we tried pre-made turkey garden burgers from the fresh meat counter. Last week I clipped out a few recipes from Cooking Light that I want to make. Edy's makes a fantastic Butterfinger ice cream that even blizzard-enthusiasts would enjoy. All of these topics would be fair game for the blog.
What ideas do you like? What wouldn't you want to read about? What other suggestions do you have?
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I personally like idea #3. I think new ways of using regular ingredients definitely fits the bill of "rut buster".
ReplyDeleteI agree...I like #1 and #3 as options! I think #1 would definitely work because if it's new to you, it is probably still pretty new. But I like the idea of #3 because I think it would be more exciting/interesting for you to write and keep you motivated to keep writing posts. When I expanded the scope of my blog a bit, I definitely looked at writing posts as fun vs. a "have to" of my day! :-)
ReplyDeleteI like it all as well. New ways of trying things I think is great! and if you come across a "new to you" product, feel free to share! A lot of people probably haven't tried it either, or may want to try it again or see what you thought, etc! Keep up the good work! :)
ReplyDeleteSorry, I missed this post somehow...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with 3 of my fave people above :) New to you and new ways to use...
Hey, I was going to do all fitness and nutrition but that wasn't quite working...so expand and make it your own. A wise person once told me...even if it's random babbling, I still enjoy reading it :)
I am in favor of anything that gets you to write again!!!
ReplyDeleteYep, agree, agree, and agree. I sure liked the "new products" you wrote about, and know more about yogurt than I ever thought I would! However, what I found myself enjoying was "your approach and perspective." You have a different way of looking at things (in this case food), and that's refreshing for me. So, it was not only the subject matter, it was as Keels said, it was "you" writing and how you write that was as interesting as the content!
ReplyDeleteI know I'll read, and probably try something new just because you wrote about it!