I have come to the conclusion that when you make the decision to tip your life upside down and give it a good shake it leads to all sorts of new opportunities. Sometimes these shake ups are not necessarily planned but in response to changing circumstances. Through this year I have had to make more adjustments that I would have liked but it is now time to celebrate these changes. Scottish island mum has become a brand but in the best possible sense of the word. It has become something that people feel they can rely on and I am sure that has developed out of blogging every day. By listening to readers and establishing a real and authentic dialogue Scottish island mum has been able to respond to and reflect on reader opinions and there lies the heart of the brand. There was never any intention that Scottish island mum would become a brand. In fact, there was never any intentions at all beyond blogging on the life of a mother of four children who lives on a Scottish island.
I am not a fan of artificial and manufactured brands that are distant from the real world so when I saw Scottish island mum beginning to reach into branding territory I tried to guide it carefully. It would appear that this was a good thing because the latest shake up of our lives seems to have delivered some rare and rewarding opportunities. I must tell you that when these opportunities are dropped into my inbox I am always deeply suspicious and spend some time checking out their validity! I think that is because I am slightly out of step with my own brand. Scottish island mum developed wings early in the project and mid way through floated into the national press before returning to her natural roots. There was some thinking that lead to the development of a new site with the hope that it might be of use and interest to others. That thinking was so strong that Scottish island mum was rather left to see out her year in a quiet and gentle manner.
All that appears to have changed. In the last two weeks I have managed to take the necessary steps to catch up with my own brand and respond accordingly to opportunities that have presented themselves. As a result I am much clearer about the place of Scottish island mum going forward and I am also going to revisit my decision to migrate the site. If it is the readers that have largely driven the development of the brand then these are the very people that Scottish island mum wants to stay connected with. I haven't work out the details of this change in strategy but I did want you to be the first to know that Scottish island mum will move into 2014 with some of her 2013 features in tact.
I now have two opportunities that have presented themselves because of the strong brand coupled with the wide and deep readership reach. This has been further extended as a result of One soul many hearts being launched. I had hoped that readers of Scottish island mum would move across to embrace One soul many hearts but I had not anticipated that it would work the other way. Barring a major blip in the process Scottish island mum will be celebrating 30,000 page views in the very near future and certainly before the end of this phase of the project. You will know that there will be some serious jigging. My boys are almost constantly rolling their eyes as mother jigs around the room - excellent.
Photographs by David Newell & Lisa Valancuis.
My latest preoccupation is now that a brand has developed where and what do I want to align it with? You might wonder whether that it is important but to me it is critical. I am already using the brand to promote One soul many hearts and also several charity projects and these will always remain my first choice. Beyond that though there are always commercial options but they absolutely have to be in keeping with the brand that is Scottish island mum. A brand may not have been intended but now it appears to have arrived it is important to use it wisely. I would, of course, be most interested in your views. Do drop me an email if you have the time. Many thanks. xx
So, today has been about mind boggling conversations on the email coupled with research for several new pieces for both here and One soul many hearts. If you haven't signed up for the newsletter for One soul many hearts do pop over and do it as I am hoping the first one will be out any day. I now have the lovely Robyn working with me on it and I will introduce her to you all properly very soon. Scottish island mum will also be offering a regular newsletter in 2014 as it is an excellent way to keep in touch.
Part of me wants to stop the train and get off so that I can bottle Scottish island mum and preserve it just as it is now. Then I reflect on that incredibly valuable on going dialogue with my readers and I realise that things will change to reflect that dialogue. I have said this more than once but I will say it again.....Scottish island mum belongs to all of us and may that always be the case.
Until tomorrow. xx
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