3 Big Reasons I Rebranded My Blog

Hi friends! Welcome to my new site!  I am sure (hopeful!) that you guys missed me on social media over the last week or so! However, I have been really hard at work over here.  You will notice that the name of my blog changed from Illuminate Blog to Laura Mintz: A Life + Style Blog.  The reasons are pretty straightforward but I wanted to share them with you and encourage others to take the leap to pursue their passions as well.  So without further ado, 3 reasons I rebranded my blog are below:

Rebrand Reason 1:  Original Name Problems

I originally came up with the name Illuminate because I wanted to “shine a light” on things that I love; specifically fashion trends.  Over time though, it became clear to me that a slew of people thought that the name of my blog was Illuminati.  I was tagged in a lot of things that were completely irrelevant to my blog because of the confusion.  And even though the original name was clear and made a lot of sense to me, it was not clear to others.  In fact, the first time I met my fellow blogger, Michelle, she even said Illuminati in her stories.  I knew then it was a problem. I am a stubborn person at times though and I wasn’t ready to start over.  Especially after the time, money and energy I had spent on the original blog.

Rebrand Reason 2: A Change In Focus

Over the last 9 months of blogging I have learned so much.  And for the majority of it I spent my time trying to fit into an influencer box.  I wanted to be like everyone else that was successful.  But the problem with this is glaringly obvious now.  Those people aren’t me.  For the longest time my goal was to be accepted into the RewardStyle Affiliate Program.  Why? Because I felt like it would validate me as a fashion blogger.  It is a great program and I use it, but my goal as a blogger is to connect with you all as a community, not to make you feel like you need to buy everything I wear.

Of course I am going to continue to share fashion and sales, because I love those things.  However, sometimes I want to share a recipe, what is going on in my life, my struggles or maybe even tell you about a product that I DON’T like.  Basically, I just want to be ME! And yes, I am channeling my inner TSwift as I type this post.  😉

Rebrand Reason 3:  Deciding To Go All In

One big struggle and worry I had with changing the name of my blog to my name was that people would think I was being narcissistic.  It still nags me slightly.  But, that being said, as a blogger, I am creating my own brand.  It is my job to create the blog and place that reflect my own personality the most.  I love social media and certainly hope that each of you follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.  But, I don’t own those platforms.  They could go away tomorrow.

For me, it is so important to build my own site and my own brand that I have complete creative control over.  I hope if you aren’t already that you will subscribe here to my blog.  As always, I am so appreciative of each and everyone of you that stop by my page.  And even though it was a difficult decision for me at first to rebrand, it is one I am so happy about now!

Final Thoughts On Rebranding

If you are a blogger or considering a blog, don’t be afraid to brand or rebrand FOR YOU.  Ultimately, people will see and connect with the real you.  It is up to each of us to create the supportive and kind community that we can feel confident and free to be ourselves.  I am sure I will have moments where I play the comparison game, goodness knows I have done it a lot.  But, we each have our own strengths and weaknesses.  I encourage you to embrace who you are and form connections built on truth and genuine thoughts and actions

A Little Fashion Fun

I haven’t posted any fashion in the last few weeks. So before I end my post, I want to share a little bit about this fun pastel candy cane striped dress from Chicwish.  I love tassels right now and this dress has the perfectly placed ones around the hemline and on the straps.  I am very small in the bust and have a difficult time finding a spaghetti strapped dress to fit without being too loose.  Luckily, this one ties so you can adjust it exactly like you need to fit you perfectly. I am wearing a small for reference.

For the summer, I love pastel colors so the stripes in this dress are great for me.  I love that I can throw on a denim jacket and look office appropriate.  Plus in the summer, I tend to freeze in restaurants where the A/C is cranked up.  What about you all, do you love tassels and stripes this year?

I would love to know what you think about the new site, the reasons for my rebranding, and anything specifically you would like to see write about in my blog posts.  Please take the time to leave me a comment letting me know so I can work on the content that resonates best with each of you!  I hope you have a great week!

Love, Laura