Hello dear friends and a bit of a happy belated new year to all of you! How are things? I’m not sure if you heard the rumor…I’ve been dating another blog. It’s true! I’m actively publishing interior stories now on my very own Substack - please subscribe to decor8 on Substack to support me and also to get all of my posts! This blog - decor8 - isn’t as active as it used to be, I’m sure you’ve noticed and here’s more of an explanation as to why…

I’m blogging maybe a few times a month here nowadays :( and that’s it. I haven’t given up - not at all - I’m a writer at heart and I love to share so I’ll always have some space online where you’ll be able to find me writing and dreaming about design and decor. Thing is, I decided to move my daily blog musings over to decor8.substack.com since September 2022 because there I can connect more intimately with my dear readers - with those who really want to see what I have to show and say. Not just anyone, but a special group and that includes - you!

I’ve been writing on decor8blog.com since January 2006 - can you believe it - 17 years of blogging!!? It’s insane, really. I am so proud of myself for sticking with it no matter what, I never gave up in spite of all of the ups and downs. I mean, I started blogging before social media existed. My goal is to keep it running for 20 years so I still have 4 more years of blogging to do here before I reach my 20 year blog anniversary. Then, I may evolve it into something else. Unsure of what, but I’m not leaving my dear blog here anytime soon.

So why add a Substack? You guys actually comment there. No one comments here. It’s honestly depressing to write blog posts that statistically, are being read, but no one talks to me so I have zero incentive to keep writing without a single exchange or opinion. I need feedback, comments, thoughts, conversation.

SOMETHING!

The reason I started blogging was to build a community and initiate conversation and I accomplished that. I remember the days when I would publish something and I’d have at least 100 comments. Sometimes several hundred. And when I ran a competition or giveaway, thousands of you would get involved in the comments section and it was positively exhilarating! Exchange is so meaningful for us all - but critical to me and my mental health - because when I feel ignored or boring, I can start to feel uninspired and blue. This begins the cycle of posting less and less until I’m barely chugging along. As a writer, I can’t stop writing… It’s hard-wired into my DNA to communicate through written words. Yet, without others to have a discussion with from time-to-time, my writing can feel very one-sided, like I’m talking to myself, and very strange!

I was thinking about the early blogging days… I was never the type of blogger who could just produce piece after piece and not care at all to engage. Or those bloggers who used to blog with comments turned off - they didn’t want to engage at all, they feared opinions. That was never me. I’m always trying to start a conversation with hopes that a few of you will chime in and in the past, you did, but since the popularity of apps like Instagram, comments on most blogs are dead (unless the topics are highly controversial, which mine are not). I don’t take it personally, it’s how it goes as tech evolves and new generations are born and raised as largely a swiping culture with a 2 second attention span. I get it, it is what it is. Plus most blogs are really complicated to comment on. Sadly, blog tech never evolved to include a simple commenting system or a comments with rewards system like Instagram has.

To keep going as a writer in online media, I need YOU and your support of my work. Your comments, YOU. So decor8 both here and largely on Substack seems to be the right balance for me. My readers there are more actively engaged, at least for now. That could change as everything online changed quickly but for now it works and that’s all I need. I need this to keep working so I can keep going because I still have so much to say and share.

Also on my decor8 Substack, I plan to grow it out with video chats from me to you and so much more. The site has an app you can download so Substack can be on your smartphone (Android or iPhone) where you can easily comment and engage with me and others whom you follow there directly from your phone. I love that personally because I use my phone more than my computer and I’m guessing you are the same. You can also decide to sponsor me, to pay for a subscription, which is pretty cool since I don’t write anything on Substack that is paid for, sponsored or gifted. It’s a very pure space just as in the old days when blogging was new and sponsored content didn’t exist. And I miss those days because blogs, Insta, everything seems to be sponsored and it makes me feel like I’m constantly being told what to like and hustled to and even lied to - like most people on Instagram wouldn’t bother unless they were making money. It’s not a passion project as much as it was.

I love that I’m able to write on Substack and my fans can choose to pay me ($7 USD a month or $70 USD a year (better deal) - or you can become a founding member for $210 year and receive a year long subscription plus a free book of mine of your choice - DECORATE, DECORATE WORKSHOP, DECORATE WITH FLOWERS or DECORATE FOR A PARTY). Fans can also subscribe for free and just see less content (one post a week vs. more). There, I can publish posts that are driven only from my passion and not because someone offered me 5k to post about their sofa. I like the freedom in my work there now, I can say and do whatever I want, and I love that my fans and friends can support me because it makes them (or shall I say, you) pay more attention to my words and get involved by commenting when readers are funding my writing personally. It adds a layer of intimacy that I appreciate and cherish very much.

I hope that you’ll follow me here on decor8 but also on decor8.substack.com - I am excited to grow my Substack this year and hope you’ll join me for this new adventure.

Love,
Holly Becker