I’ll get straight to it.
I was going to post about my capsule maternity wardrobe today on Rock My Family, but couldn’t decide where this particular piece should actually sit – here or over on Rock My Style.
I am becoming increasingly aware that there is a significant cross over with our audiences and often features could find a home on either platform. Fashion in particular seems to promote more engagement/is genuinely more well received over on RMS.
Needless to say I’ve been giving the whole scenario a lot of thought recently (which is double the fun at nearly 8 months pregnant when my brain is often mashed potato and I can’t remember my own name).
Please do head on over to Rock My Style if you happen to fancy a fashion fix.
Photo by Lisa at Little Beanies
I read RMS this morning then RMF. I scrolled past RMS because, not relevant and I get it, it won’t always be, but then to essentially read a link on RMF?
Your blog, your way and all of that but seems a bit like RMF seems to be taking a back seat at the empire these days. Monday posts have been a bit slapdash too.
Shame.
Hi Rebecca, as such a long term reader and supporter of the brand (I recognise your handle, in fact I recall you came and saw us way back at the National Wedding Show in about 2012) I can understand your disappointment that there isn’t a specific post on RMF today. Mondays have indeed been an area of uncertainty for the team, we endeavour to promote discussion yet don’t always appear to hit the mark. If we are not 100% happy with content then we would rather not post anything at all, It should always be about quality rather than quantity (although I do have to remind myself of this often as we are so used to posting on a daily basis – perhaps I should get it printed on a T-shirt?)
With this is mind we are working behind the scenes to evolve the platforms to better support our community and offer features that are relevant, insightful and useful.
Big Love x
Thanks for responding.
I think what Lou has said below has it right, I don’t really buy magazines anymore and read all my content online. I also agree there are definitely different times of your life you are more interested in one platform than another.
I’m actually really enjoying RMS under Lauren at the minute – yes the houses are quite similar in content and style but that suits me – its a style I quite like and Lauren covers a variety of price points.
I know you aren’t going to please all the people all the time, and I can understand being 8 months pregnant not wanting to write two blog posts….. but I also used to really look forward to reading both RMS and RMF each morning….. now RMS should basically be called Rock My Interiors and there was no post here at all today…. š
Hi Bryony, RMS has become more interiors focussed over the past two years, it was by far our most popular vertical (as evident from surveys, social sharing and general engagement) and as a result of switching our focus from “Jack of all trades” the blog readership has grown significantly.
We’re working behind the scenes to evolve our offering across all platforms, the way readers use blogs is very different to how it was even 12 months ago. As a business and as a brand where community is at the core, we are excited for the changes we are making this year, I hope you can bare with us whilst we build, design and research the best ways to grow and service our readership.
x
I enjoyed the RMS blog today – trying for baby no 2 at the moment so feels (almost) relevant to me. But, my personal take on it is it would have sat better over here on RMF. I agree with Rebecca that no additional content today on this page seems a shame and about the Monday morning post – sometimes itās there, sometimes itāsnot. Which is also a shame, as itās something I look forward to reading each day – this is a great blog and we just like to read more! š You are looking lovely in pregnancy Charlotte – hope the last few weeks go smoothly for you!
I read both RMF and RMS and really look forward to reading the daily posts. Obviously there will be a cross-over at times with content as they are both relevant.
I think this is interesting and a positive sign of how invested we all are in both blogs. You’ve built a loyal following and I’m one of those people. I do agree with the comments above – because I’m a regular reader I notice when posts feel like duplicates or a little light on content – and i did notice that this morning. But on balance, you and the team provide this platform free to us readers so I also feel like I owe you a little give and take when the piece is not so relevant.
On that note I did submit a post for RMF a long time ago now and it was initially welcomed but I never heard anything back on when and if it would be published which was disappointing – not because I think I’m brilliant and should have been featured but because it was quite a personal story and it took a lot to submit it in the first place. I’d have welcomed feedback saying it wasn’t relevant but to hear nothing felt a bit dismissive. This is just feedback for the system and offered up to you genuinely rather than in a negative manner.
I get that constructive feedback can be hard to hear – I guess my feeling is that people comment because they care?
Hi Lou, I’m dissapointed to hear about the experience you received upon submitting a post, not offering feedback, especially on a personal account, shouldn’t be our process and I can completely understand how that must have felt dismissive. Sincerest apologies if this was the case.
Constructive feedback with regards our blog, brand and content is absolutely welcomed – honestly, and it’s because of comments/monitoring engagement and requests that we are currently making some significant developments behind the scenes that I hope will improve the overall experience and offer more insightful features to the community.
Thanks so much for your support.
x
I really love both RMF and RMS. I look forward to reading both every day, and have done from the beginning. But I have to admit that I agree with some of the comments above. RMF in particular seems to have struggled lately. I used to love hearing the different voices of all the contributors and seeing their different styles of post but now it seems to be just Lottie on her own with occasional posts from Charlotte. Love you Lottie, but I do miss the variety. Guest posts are always great but it’s nice hearing from a few different regular contributors too. Excited to see what plans you have in store for later in the year – I’m sure they’ll be fab as always! xx
Thanks so much for your feedback Tracy and I agree, we’ve actually never fully found our defined ‘way” with RMF, where as RMW and RMS have been very successful and a pleasure to manage/contribute towards/be a part of. I appreciate these things take time and our writers/structure changed last year which made it seemingly more complicated to move forward. I hope you enjoy the changes! x
I love RMF. I don’t dispute the points made above but it’s hard to get everything right all of the time. I look forward to the evolution of the platform (as long as that doesn’t mean no more RMF!) and we’ll stick with you in the meantime š
I read both RMS and RMF each day and look forward to the posts and have noticed there have been some gaps recently which I’m selfishly sad about because I read them whilst eating my Pret chocolate croissant HAHA. I think there is a big overlap with your audiences and as people say above, there is a lot of loyalty to the brand. I agree that the RMF voice has come across as solely Lottie for a while (again, Lottie I love your content but miss the variety). Also agree that RMS has become increasingly interiors focused. But I love interiors! I would like to see return of the regular beauty slots as always helpful and I’ve enjoyed the recent career slots too. It’s impossible to meet everyone’s needs and for what it’s worth, I think you do a really good job at covering various bases. I would be sad if the variety went because I think it’s the best thing about the blogs. I’d like to see more product reviews on RMF of essentials – we just started shopping for first baby and the historical posts have been really helpful and more on the big essentials would be great. xx
I’m going to add my pennies worth in (sorry)…..I too love reading both RMS and RMF. It’s a highlight of my day to have 5 minutes with a coffee when little one is having a morning nap!! Hearing your voices and comments of like minded people is just great and feels like such a support at times. I do miss it if there isn’t a post that day.
I think an earlier post on here asking for ideas of how RMF could develop was insightful…..including more posts on a variety of issues facing children of different ages as well as the baby posts.
I love the intelligent, humourous, supportive tone of all your peices….can I come work for you?!?! Keep going! X
PS I loved the jack of all trades nature of RMS but maybe that’s just me? X
Nope, I loved it too! I love interiors but I also loved the skincare/makeup purchase enabling too! x
I’m afraid I too agree with the above. I love both RMS and RMF, but RMF does feel like it has been put to the side a little bit lately. I also think today’s post is definitely for RMF not RMS, anything baby-related (even if fashion) feels like it should stay away from RMS purely as I suspect a lot of those readers are far less receptive to maternity fashion, even if there is lots of crossover!! Believe me I understand, being just a couple of weeks behind you in pregnancy, and you can’t please everyone all the time š I guess I would just like a little more diversity in content, on both sites actually. If I may, the homes featured on RMS are very often almost identical in style, which is great if that is the style you like but I confess I often skip over pretty much all the interiors posts or skim them very quickly. Again, you can’t please everyone (and this isn’t the place to comment on the other blogs really!!). Generally though I have loved the reader posts recently on RMF, and Lottie and team have been doing a great job š
First to say I love the RM empire, having started with RMW and now moving on the RMS and RMF.
I agree with the above, particularly on today’s post, which felt like an after thought. I think the maternity post would have sat better here but either way a fresh new post on each site would have been lovely. You are always the first two sites I log on to each morning.
The reader posts on RMF have been brilliant but it feels a little at times like something is missing. I miss the variety writers like Lolly brought.
Lottie you do a brilliant job, just my thoughts given we’re sharing today š
Yes Louise! I loved Lolly’s posts so much! I miss them. Her little boy is the same age as mine so really adored all the fashion posts and her writing is incredible too. Obvs also love the other contributors aswell š
I have been following both RMS and RMF for a long time. I love the blogs, I find them so inspirational and the content has been great.
I think I do agree with the comments above. RMF has felt very different recently to what it used to be. It felt more of a community before and the posts were very varied with different contributors. Iām not getting that vibe so much at the moment. I think interior posts came up top in the surveys of what people wanted to read about in RMS and so therefore now there are lots of interior posts which I personally love. I do also love the jack of all trades approach as well. I guess itās really hard to please everybody. I do hope RMF continues though. I look forward to reading the posts every morning.
I think you’re in a tricky position trying to satisfy so many different needs through your content, with an audience who are so invested in your brand and certainly not shy of giving feedback. I worry it must feel quite raw to get feedback like this when you’re doing your best to provide a great, free service for us all. So I just wanted to acknowledge that as a big fan of you guys and what you provide.
I think because people care and feel connected to you guys – perhaps because they go through so many big life experiences ‘with you’ – that they are quite brutally honest in a way they wouldn’t be on other platforms. However, as a brand you can’t buy this kind of natural, organic engagement so it’s a really, really good thing! Basically people have taken Rock My into their hearts and that’s all down to its amazing team.
As a long term reader and a big fan of you guys I do hope the Rock My Team can take some of the constructive points from the feedback (I have no doubt you will!) as I think there are some interesting points.
I don’t think you can please everyone all of the time, no one can! There will always be days where the content excites me more than others and what floats my boat might not float another’s. The variety is what makes me return every day and I certainly donāt feel the need to be negative if a post doesnāt resonate with me.
With RMS I love the interiors, beauty and fashion but I like the fact you used to space that content around in your schedule. It was nice to have interiors, then lippies, then must have skirts!
With RMF I just wanted to share how I use the blog as I wonder if many of us are the same. As a mum of a 2 year old (and with creeping thoughts of baby 2) who has been with your blog since my pregnancy, I find myself furiously using your search function often at silly-o-clock, wondering what your advice is on potty training or teething or whatever other overwhelming situation Iām dealing with that day.
Iāve also found myself Googling old posts more than I care to admit: e.g. we went on our first holiday abroad and your round up of what you took was invaluable! I think I bought everything you had recommended, those stacking eggs ā genius!
Iāve recently bought a first bed for my little one and wanted the Rock My take on where to flippinā start and what to buy so went straight to that blog.
Had you had those posts on pushchairs, car seats, changing bags Iād have devoured them too! Not just reviews of products but practical advice too.
As a newish mum I constantly feel like Iām doing something wrong and Iām always looking for reassurance and first hand experience from a place I trust.
I guess my point is those kinds of posts donāt exist anywhere else, or if they do I donāt trust them the way I do on here. That to me is your USP. Your personal experience, your hand on heart recommendation, and the wonderful community youāve built.
I certainly donāt mean just focus on reviews or things to buy or anything like that, but I do think there is such a huge amount of content opportunity for you guys that you donāt need to dual post across platforms (just cross link where applicable) and such a huge need for it in the market and I would love you guys to go from strength-to-strength as you thoroughly deserve it.
Lynne I totally agree with you on the review/advice posts on practical stuff, you articulated it better than I did! x
You had me at choccy croissant! š
Great comment Lynne – I use it in much the same way (btw also a mum of a 2 year old and pondering braving a second…) – I really trust the recommendations and reviews so keep going back to them. However I do also agree with some of the other comments about RMF having lost its way a bit, so I’m pleased to hear that the team have got plans up their sleeves! I actually really miss Charlotte’s musings over both RMF & RMS but appreciate that she will be busy growing the business and a baby…
Gaa a second is such a daunting prospect isnāt it. I canāt cope with my feral first most days and given the number of naps I needed in my first pregnancy heās going to need to be self sufficient at this rate! Good luck lovely šš»
Hi Lynne! Thanks so much for your detailed response, we’re taking all feedback on board as it is so useful for our future endeavours. We are definitely in the mindset of offering more product reviews and practical advice that is easily searchable. We’ve invested a lot into the development of the RMW platform over the last few months and the functionality (although requiring a few tweaks) is very advanced, we based our requirements on google in terms of searching (aim high!) so we will be rolling out some of those developments across our other platforms soon.
x
Excited to see what youāve got up your sleeves, it sounds great. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply š
Also canāt wait to hear how youāre getting on when the new little one arrives – once youāve found time to come up for air from the newborn haze of course! I promise to keep up my Charlotte Tilbury lippie purchases even whilst youāre away on mat leave š
Lynne, just wanted to reiterate, that as pregnant first time mum, you have articulated my feelings on RMF perfectly. I think I’ve read all the old posts now and have printed off the hospital bag list, but the new content just isn’t as helpful as the older content. I look forward to receiving the email notification each morning regarding the RMF post, and understand it must be hard to provide daily content that satisfies such a wide audience.
I love reading RMS and I always read RMF too even though I’m not married with kids yet! I have noticed there have been a few days without posts recently which makes me sad as I love reading them over lunch. I have said it several times but I love RMS being a real mix of topics. I’ve loved the holiday suggestions, running a household inc finances, career insights, tutorials, as well as interiors. What do you think of the new Love My Dress family blog, A life loved? I’m enjoying the variety on there but do find the design of their blog hard to follow (as I do with the wedding site). I always feel like I’m missing blogs or not reading in order!
Woooooah! Woah!
I just checked in at lunchtime having gone oh cool not for me whatever on the maternity to see and read all the comments here and woah! We are like the toddler of the Rock My empire, demanding and full of strong feelings.
I do recognise some of the points made above from my inner monologue- I guess if nobody says anything nothing changes. More from Naomi? More from Victoria? Or Alice (was it Alice?)
I will write more gubbins if anyone will read it š Running buggy round up, setting up baby and toddler group comedy- was going to ask on IG for a post on jeans that donāt flash your bum at soft play!
And am here for the long haul. You know that. Xx
I wish you would Lucy! I think, for me, what I miss is the PASSION.
Lauren is clearly head over heels for a new desk lamp but I don’t get the same passion from the pages of RMF. That is what has been lacking for me recently. I get that some people get more excited about a new lipstick than a weekend camping with the kids but there is so much that could be done here – travel, genuine recommendations (rather than a “I like this…hint…could I have one for free PR please” vibe) plus clothing articles for both genders. There’s been a definite lack of boy fashion too since Lolly left.
I get that its harder with family stuff because you need to protect your own children from exposure online – and you don’t know what they will be comfortable with in due course (I’d not for example go into great detail about toilet training online) – but a bit more passion would improve things I think.
Rebecca all of our recommendations are genuine, and as a brand we certainly don’t hint to have free PR trips, ever. We refuse all manner of free gifts and holidays on a daily basis because of that very reason – it’s not genuine. Yes we work really hard to collaborate with brands that we love, we’re a business, not a hobby, and I have a group of hard-working Mums that need a salary to support their families – I’m not going to pay them in posh lipsticks or spa treatments.
I think this is the first time anyone has ever made that kind of accusation but I’ll ask the team as I would be interested to hear their thoughts/experiences on this subject.
You are quite right about passion though – especially if it is your own business, if you’re no longer passionate about what you do then you need to move on or at least endeavour to evolve your current offering.
Lucy loving the “jeans that don’t flash your bum during soft play” I loved my Zara pre-pregnancy jeans but bloody hell, they are NOT meant for bending over!!!! x
Hi Lucy, I (Alice) wrote my pregnancy diary throughout 2016 on RMF right up until I gave birth to my son Franklin in August ’16…so I may be who you mean? Anyway he’s now 17 months old so if the team want me to I’d be more than happy to contribute again with regular updates about our family life….but to be fair once I submitted my last article I never heard from anyone again so simply assumed I was no longer needed. That’s not to say I wouldn’t still love to write for RMF again if asked, as I found it was an honour and a pleasure to share my pregnancy experiences here.
I agree with the posters above – also if you delete a post (think you might have done that with the MMR discussion), it would be good to have an acknowledgment of it rather than it just disappearing forever?
But I love both blogs, please donāt give up on RMF!
Agree on the MMR post deletion as that just left me a bit confused having read it first thing!
I think that RMF has been lacking a little bit since Lolly left – and I assume that her role hasnāt fully been replaced which would explain why itās been a bit here and there. (Also I do think itās a bit strange that there was no specific announcement she was leaving/had left since she had been a member of the team since pretty much the beginning!)
Iāve followed RML since RMW began (and before that I read Charlottes wedding story on YAYW!)
I imagine that there are lots going on behind the scenes for a bit of a revamp and I look forward to what is coming – if you could make it happen sooner rather than later despite being 8 months pregnant that would be great!! š (of course Iām joking!) x
Oh I didn’t realise Lolly had left š I agree, it would have been nice to have a little farewell.
Hi Kate, yes Lolly left in May so 8 months ago now. Everyone who leaves Rock My has the opportunity to do a farewell post, it’s up to them if they decide to or not. I completely appreciate readers become attached to certain writers but from a business perspective, it has to be expected that employees choose to move on to different roles and companies, or that we restructure and certain roles are no longer required/don’t work out – the same as you would find in any other business. x
Charlotte I just wanted to add that your Rock My empire is such a wonderful achievement!! There is clearly a lot of heart in your business…….and it seems the overall feeling from all of us readers commenting is that we love this community too! Well done you super woman you!! X
I love both RMS and RMF also but Randi let since Jan have stopped checking both daily as find them a bit ininspiring. Agree that Lottie seems to rule the posting and quite frankly I adore her, keeping it so real but she can’t keep it alive daily! Hope you guys can find some new inspo xxx
Apologies typo *randomly stopped
We strive to make RMF the very best it can be. Always. We beaver away so hard behind the scenes, maybe more than some readers realise and the work and content we put out there relative to the size of our team feels like a great achievement. We all write (or at least we believe we do) with passion and fire and with a real desire to connect with every one of our readers where we can. Whether Iām telling you about my miscarriage or what puddle suits I think you should buy Iām telling you because I believe in what Iām saying. For it to be suggested I lack passion, or that the other women who work on this blog (and lets not forget, the other two blogs, plus a directory as well) who are some of the most hard working people I have ever met is disappointing and upsetting. From the start RMF has been a place of no judgement and because someone might prefer a new lippy over a day camping doesnāt mean that they are less worthy. There is a place for everyone here. We can only share our own experiences (which are limited to our lives) and those of others who come to us to ask if they can, which we welcome with open arms. Iād love to write posts about travel experiences but that isnāt something that is a part of my life so I simply canāt. Not in order to stay honest, transparent and trusted by this wonderful community.
Wow, Jesus Christ I don’t check in for one day and this happens! I thought my day at work was weird… (Try getting tangled up in the biggest news story of the day – who said charity work was tame)
But anyway… I don’t think anyone could accuse you guys of having no passion, and as someone who’s opened up on here about the most difficult time of my life – like you have Becky – that sort of comment is a bit insulting.
There’s obviously plans afoot and I trust you guys will do what you feel is best for the brand. As always, I’ll be along for the ride!
I wish I had some constructive words of wisdom but it’s been a long day!x
Feels a little bit like the comments here have gone from feedback to criticism so just a quick note to say thanks for a great group of blogs and for all the work you lovely ladies (and Adam! ) do across all blogs xx
Iāve said it before when comments on your posts have descended into an unasked for feedback session, that RMF to me is like a magazine, some stuff is relevant, some stuff is genuinely useful, some stuff is interesting to me, and others I will skip. And thatās fine. I love it! Yes Iām disappointed if there isnāt a post one day, but no one ever committed to me there would be, so I get on with my day. I donāt read any other blogs and have found nothing else like RMF online, and I definitely havenāt noticed a change, or dip in the quality of content recently. Keep doing what you are doing, and most importantly, donāt worry about it while you go off and have another baby! Thank you for providing something unique for us mums and mums to be x
Completely agree with the above – thereās no blog like it online and I look forward to dropping in to see whatās happening on RMS and RMF every afternoon at nap time. Keep up the good work team x
Couldn’t agree more with this. We won’t all of us like every single post, parenthood is very varied with readers at different stages of child rearing. It must be really difficult to keep generating posts that maintain the engagement of new and old readers but I think you manage it well. I think the site is fab and think I’ve said it before but it’s the only one I read with any regularity other than RMS. I would refute the idea that you don’t write with passion or that you’re out for freebies, not my experience of your sites at all. Good luck with any developments you make and kudos to you for handling all this with your usual grace