Big things are in store!
Simple Living Media, LLC was launched in the summer of 2009 as the umbrella for a variety of media ventures launched by Tsh Oxenreider.
SimpleMom.net, the largest of the ventures, is a blog started in 2008, and continues to grow exponentially. In 2009, the blog added five columnists, each rotating a week of publication.
The blog’s editor, Tsh Oxenreider, signed a book contract in spring 2009, and SLM will handle the royalties from this publication as well.
In 2009, two more blogs were added to the SLM family — SimpleKids.net and SimpleNest.net.
Looking Ahead
In 2010, we are going to expand all the blogs to come together as more of a network. The model we’re using is the same used by Apartment Therapy — completely separate blogs, but unified together as one look and mission — to encourage simple living.
There are several purposes for this:
1. A wider range of topics. While each of the blogs’ common themes is simplicity, each of them will have their individual topic distinctive. The plan is to allow the entire SLM family to freely contribute to each site, depending on their posts’ topic. Possibilities are currently being researched.
2. Higher overall traffic. Simple Mom is currently income-generating through private ad sales. We plan to make all the sites profitable, and this will be much easier once all the blogs are interlinked. Each site may have their independent audience, but collectively, they will attract a more massive crowd who have a general interest in simple living. Advertisers will be able to either purchase ad real estate either on an individual blog, or for a better rate on the entire network.
3. Increased authority in the niche. The blogs that are currently live have the privilege of being an authoritative voice on the topic of simple living. Expanding to a network will fuel this message, creating a more powerful presence on the internet. And a more powerful presence means a more profitable venture, making it more worth our while for all of us.
4. A platform for great writers. There are many people out there who want to expand their own business, be it a personal blog with advertising, a cottage industry, or a writing career. We want to provide a platform for well-educated, thoughtful men and women with passionate voices to write about their unique angle on simple living.
5. Community involvement. We are passionate about creating a spirit of shared knowledge, and we don’t want to come across like we have all the answers. By having a wide variety of voices, we can encourage our loyal readers that they, too, are wise and intelligent within their sphere.
By the end of 2010, we hope to have all the SLM blogs earning revenue.
Launching New Sites
We will continue with the blogs Simple Mom and Simple Kids, and see nothing but great things for the future for these two sites as they continue to grow their voice on the internet. We are dialoguing about the future for Simple Nest for a variety of reasons. Its current editor, Mandi Ehman, continues to write strongly on Organizing Your Way, and plans to continue with SLM as a contributor.
So in addition to these two sites, we are launching three more. In no particular order, they are:
1. SimpleBites.net
This will be a blog dedicated to all things food and drink. With the unique angle of simple, we will provide recipes, meal plans, cooking tips and ideas, and share stories of food successes and mishaps. It will be a family-oriented blog, though we want to expand our readers’ horizons with more than just chicken nuggets and mac n’ cheese. One of our non-negotiables will be an emphasis on eating real, whole food and cooking seasonally and locally.
2. SimpleOrganic.net
This is a blog about sustainable living. It will cover everything from green tips and trends, to tutorials on repurposing items via crafting and creating. While we’ll keep up with environmental policies, our voice will be a more positive, family-friendly one, geared to the average home manager interested in “greenifying” their home and lifestyle. Our emphasis will be on highlighting the growing handmade trend, and our main goal will be to show that becoming more eco-wise really is family-friendly and simple.
3. SimpleHomeschool.net
Homeschooling’s popularity is growing by leaps and bounds, and gone is the stereotype that families who homeschool are sheltered, uncultured, and hyper-conservative. There aren’t many strong voices in the online homeschooling community that encourage and promote simple living and educating well. We want to provide a place for those interested in homeschooling to find answers to their questions, to bounce ideas off one another, and to showcase the successes of the families who are doing it well. Mostly, we want to be a place where readers can be encouraged and inspired in their homeschooling endeavors.
A Community Effort
As mentioned earlier, we want this network to be a community effort. The sum of this family of blogs will be greater than its parts, so together, we can speak in one powerful voice, passionately endorsing simple living.
There are a wide variety of roles in the SLM family, and the four additional SLM editors and myself are eager to bring fresh, passionate voices to our pages. Each of these contributors will have a chance to promote their site or business, giving them leverage, an increased audience, a more authoritative voice in their niche, and something to add to their resume and credentials.
Here are SLM’s currently active roles:
Senior Editor
• Tsh Oxenreider
As the founder, Tsh is the senior editor of SLM, being the main voice and making the final decisions on all things related to SLM. She serves as the blogs’ administrator and chief graphic designer, and works first-hand with all the editors.
Blog Editors
Each blog has its own editor, and they control the daily workings of their blog, including the content, the comments section, the community built on the blog, and the networking to spread the news about it. They make decisions about guest posts, should they accept any, and they will work with Tsh to decide on the blog’s regular contribtuors. They will also work together with the business manager regarding vendors who approach the blog about giveaways.
The current editors are:
- Simple Mom – Tsh Oxenreider
- Simple Kids – Megan Tietz
The editors for the new blogs are:
- Simple Bites – Aimee Wimbush-Bourque
- Simple Organic – Katie Fox
- Simple Homeschool – Jamie Martin
Columnists
Simple Mom currently has five columnists, each writing once a week in their area of expertise. They are similar to contributors, except that they write soley about their one topic and only on Simple Mom.
What Now?
This is new territory for us, and we’re working on a lot of new ideas! But we’re excited about what’s ahead for SLM.
