We’ve once again solicited questions from you guys on Facebook for our blogiversary extravaganza (of the personal, not decorating, variety). And just like we did in 2009 and 2010, we had fun answering a bunch of ’em. We crammed as many responses as we could into 20 minutes, so unfortunately not every one of the 80+ questions got answered, but we figured 20 minutes was already pushing the bounds of an acceptable YouTube video length. Haha. Here are a few things that we cover:
- Our favorite and least favorite qualities in each other
- What our neighbors think about the blog
- If the former owners of our house read the blog
- Our weirdest fan interaction
- Who Clara looks more like
- How we deal with negative criticism
- What we wanted to be when we grew up
- What will happen to our blog name when we’re not young anymore
- If we ever fight or spend time apart
- And most importantly: John’s thoughts on the new Twilight movie
And of course there are a bunch of other questions, a Burger cameo, and John cycles through soda shirts just to keep things spicy. Oh but if you’re at work you can still watch it on mute and try to guess what I’m gesturing wildly about (or wait until tonight and watch it with some popcorn and take a swig of soda every time John changes shirts). Our only video-recording rule is that we’re not allowed to re-answer anything so it’s completely unscripted and sort of an all-one-take kind of thing (that we later edit down just to shorten things/take out the “ummmms” so we can squeeze more answers in). We don’t even read the questions until we’re rolling, so we don’t overthink or overplan – but sometimes we over-share. Haha. Who’s surprised.
And just because we’re chatterboxes, this year we tossed in three bonus business-related answers:
Q: How did you get sponsors? Do you solicit advertising? What’s the secret? First we wrote about 200 posts and had been blogging for a while without even thinking about sponsors, just because it was something we loved to do. We actually had no idea there were even people or companies who sponsored blogs, we just thought of it as a fun creative outlet/diary. Then it slowly dawned on us that because we were gaining more traffic and posting every day, maybe some local folks or small online businesses would like to get a button on our sidebar in exchange for a tiny fee. So we tossed up a “wanna advertise with us?” button just to see what would happen. We thought it would be awesome to make a few extra dollars to put towards projects, but definitely didn’t have high hopes. Much to our surprise and amazement, a few small companies and Etsy vendors emailed us to say that they were happy to give it a try. So we just shared our stats and offered people a flat fee for the month and a slightly discounted fee for the quarter.
To this day we actually still use the same system. There are definitely more intricate ways of charging sponsors (like per click, per view, etc) and even more complex ways of calculating rates. But we decided to keep it simple and start with a flat rate that we felt was fair (based on what we saw other sites charging with comparable traffic) and just let the sponsors tell us if it was too high (and if they did, we’d adjust). If it was too low, well, we love a deal – so we figured why not offer one ourselves (after all, we were satisfied with that rate since we were the ones who came up with it). That system seems to be working for everyone, so much so that we haven’t raised our rates in almost two years (despite a great increase in traffic since then).
When it comes to managing sponsorships, we use Google Ad Manager to organize everything. It not only serves the ads to our site, but also helps us keep track of expirations so John can send renewal emails / invoices. So it’s a bit of paperwork on our end, but completely worth the effort since our sponsors are a big part of what makes this blog possible. There’s definitely not a get rich quick aspect to blogging (at least not in our experience), but we’ve seen that by focusing on content first and readers second, the sponsors will gradually fall into place.
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Q: Do you have to post a certain amount of times each month for sponsors? Nope, as we mentioned above, they pay a flat fee per month so no traffic or amount of posts are expected or promised. We’ve just posted 1-2 times a day about the same range of stuff for the past few years, so it’s a pace that works for us. Some juicy stuff + some light stuff + some personal stuff = a comfortable mix. Posting in some sort of regular rhythm provides structure and helps keep our creative juices flowing. If we stopped blogging every time we were in a rut or ran into a snafu we worry we might never start again. Gotta keep that momentum up! <– picture me in a bodysuit and legwarmers saying this in a sing-song-y voice a la workout videos from the eighties
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Q: Aren’t you scared to have so little job security when your whole family’s income relies on this blog? We’re not gonna lie, it can freak us out if we think about it too much. But we’ve squirreled away the recommended amount of “safety net savings” to fall back on if this ol’ blog suddenly grinds to a halt (which we built up before John came on full time as some sort of “insurance” to quell the nerves). We also have side gigs (like our column for BabyCenter and Do It Yourself magazine along with the book that we’re writing), so that helps us feel semi-diversified.
We also both left advertising on very good terms with former employers/clients, so that’s another road we could explore if we ever needed to (and John still takes on the occasional advertising consulting job on the side, just to keep his toe in the water). In the end I always say that five years ago we had no idea we’d be here doing this, so trying to figure out what we’ll be doing in five more years is probably an exercise in futility. We just do our best to keep chugging along and try not to let the neurotic thoughts creep in!
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So there it is, twenty minutes of video evidence confirming that we’re dorks and three bonus bidness questions. What surprised you guys most? Was it the fact that I make up sayings that aren’t really sayings and then collapse into a ball of giggles? Or that John is so into Twilight movies? Will anyone else help me make “I took that baby to the market and carried it home” a real saying? Come on, it’s kind of catchy…
Update – Some of the most frequent requests that we get are for info about professionally blogging (how we made our site, how we grew our following, how we make money, etc) so we shared all of the details about how we started a blog, grew our traffic, and turned it into a full time job.
Allison @ House of Hepworths says
You guys are so great to share all this info with all of us. I really appreciate the tips and secrets about how you run your blog. It’s given me some really good ideas for mine. I’m setting up a Google Ad Manager account right now. I’m so glad you mentioned it. I have such a hard time staying on top of all my ads. Ugh. When I google it, it takes me to a site called dfp small business. Is this what you are using or have I gone to the wrong place?
Thanks so much!!
Allison @ House of Hepworths
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, apparently that’s their new name. Good luck!
xo,
s
Allison @ House of Hepworths says
Thanks Sherry. It’s super confusing and I have no idea what any of it means. I better get reading!
Tina Bland says
i loved this! it was so fun to watch you guys and listen to the answers, I do want to be your BFF! LOL! No but seriously, you are an inspiration for me, with the decor of your home, the blogging exp and the baby raising:) I love that you are Christians too, I had an inkling you were because of how you write it shows through;) Thanks for giving me hours of fun and motivation to do cool things with our home!
Alisa says
I’m so jealous you get to use “I’m Italian!” as an excuse. I use it all the time but, uh, um, I’m Irish…hah!
Your video had me cracking up so hard my dog kept running up to see if I was crying/hurt :)
jamie says
Just curious…did y’all start the ol blog on wordpress or did you do the switcharoo from one to the other at some point?
YoungHouseLove says
We were on Blogger for 1 day and it didn’t feel right, so we went to WordPress.com for about 5 months. Then switched to WordPress.org in order to gain more design flexibility.
-John
Elle says
Dying of the cuteness!
It would be neat to see you guys decorate a little vacation place in the mountains! I grew up near Charlottesville and my husband and I got married there. It’s a great town and full of famous people, so y’all would fit right in. ;) I saw John Grisham there once picking up his dry-cleaning and I played it cool and walked right past him, but if I saw you guys I would totally stop you and gush.
Ashley says
You guys couldn’t be more adorable! It was awesome to put a voice to the blog! Now I will always hear Sherry’s laugh while reading her posts! And yes, we all want to be friends with you guys! :)
Ange says
Love it guys! These videos are my favourite, I think because we think we know you, so this gives us a taste of what you’re really like. It’s like sitting down to a private conversation. Love the shirt changes! And..yes we really do wish we could be BFF with you – both of you & have baby BFF with Clara!Lucky Katie Bower & vice versa.
Brooke @ Tales of A Bride-To-Be says
Love the video! So real and funny, we are the same in our house about alcohol. I drink wine every now and then but Zach my fiance does not drink at all. Its just who we are are and a lot of people find it weird because we are both in our early 20’s.
Jess says
You two are just darling as always! :) I love the video-blog format. More in the future??
YoungHouseLove says
We try to do them as often as we can (you can see more linked on our sidebar) but they unfortunately take lots of time so it’s hard to do them with much regularity.
-John
Jenna says
I loved this video! Maybe the best you guys have done yet? I’m Italian too, Sherry, and I totally hear you! And, come one, guys, is 30 really old?! I sure hope not!
Lissy says
Now I’m sure I want to be your new BFF :)
Plus our girls could play with each other…Avery is 15 months and she loves Easter eggs too!
Thanks for the video, loved it! You guys are super cute.
Rachel says
I normally don’t watch videos on blogs I like, but this was cute! Thanks for sharing.
Aimee says
I loved learning a little more about y’all! And Sherry, since you mentioned people having dreams about you… I totally had a dream the other night that a friend and I were going to see you in concert and somehow scored backstage passes. And in my dream it was a big deal. Like Beyonce-esque big deal. haha
YoungHouseLove says
Sorry, am I allowed to crack up at the idea of “Sherry in concert.?” Does that make me a bad husband? Especially like a Beyonce style concert. Hilarious.
-John
Laura Bellamy says
You two are very sweet. We are a lot older than you but it does us good to see younger couples who are starting out and are so happy. Us “old” parents get a little tired sometimes and watching you helps us to remember how blessed we are. Keep it up.
Erin says
awe! I love this.
Aly says
Just wanted to let you guys know that your e-TV had an (unintended) affect of being my personal trainer tonight. I wanted to skip the last 15 minutes of a tough workout and then though to myself ‘well that YHL video was a whole 20 minutes and went by super fast so I can probably finish up.’ And then I somehow did! Thanks for all the inspiration you provide – for DIY decor AND quality workouts :)
YoungHouseLove says
Who knew we were unintended personal trainers too. That’s hilarious.
-John
Les says
Vampire Weekend! Yes! LOVE them! Thanks for the great video!
Tasha says
OMG! I thought I was surely the only weird one that had dreams about you guys! lol! I think I’ve had 2! See…People want to be your friends, so much they dream about it!
Marla says
You guys are so cute! Your friendship with each other as husband and wife really comes through. Do you know how rare it is to have this in a marriage? I didn’t really think about it until someone asked me and my hubby that once. We’re best buds and work well together. I’d say it plays a HUGE part in your blog success :)
Valerie J. says
Hilarious! 20 minutes well spent. :)
Anna says
I think it’s wonderful that you both are Christian. :)
I had no idea at all what religion you both were and I’ve been reading your blog since early 2008! I hope you both are convicted to share more about your faith. Perhaps in the Young House Life blog? :)
elizabeth says
I dont mean at all to sound rude but please leave religion off the blog if you can… it always leads to debates and drama and this is my happy place. Again, I hope this doesn’t sound offensive! I love you guys!
Jessica G in NN says
**sorry if this is the longest comment ever.**
Nice! I have to say, “the hooter and the hotter” and “take that baby to market” made me laugh so hard I started to tear up. It could be the fact that I’ve only had my contacts out for like, 5 of the last 40 hrs…but, more than likely, my tear ducts are even less controlled than my apparent Kris-Kardashian-like-bladder.
Yup. Awkward Home Goods Fan: For The Win! :)
I told my husband, “I feel kinda bad being their weirdest fan moment…” and he said, “Do you? Really?” Truthfully, yes…and no. I hate being weird-memorable, but apparently I have that going for me.
Also. John, being able to Out-Awkward me has thoroughly impressed all of my friends and gotten you a man-fan for the blog in my husband. My hat is off to you and your ability to respond to a creepy-stranger-comment about urination. I promise, I wasn’t really going to pee. I’m not sure why my excitement is expressed that way. I thought about saying, “I’m not always that weird with phrases,”
…but I am.
Either way, a pleasure to have met you guys and to have been so weird. Thanks for making me less crazy by being reciprocally awkward. Here’s to bumping into you guys around RVA in the future! Congrats on 4 years! :)
YoungHouseLove says
So glad to hear from you Jessica! THANK YOU for that memorable moment (mostly memorable because of my own embarrassing response). Let’s make a pact that next time we bump into each other that we avoid all discussion of our bladders or bathroom habits. I think we’ve covered that ground well enough already, eh? :) Thanks for being a good sport too!
-John
Jessica G says
Anytime! And consider the pact sealed! :) As far as being a good sport, this gave me some kind of blog-street cred. My friends who follow you texted me and said, “You’re the weirdest fan encounter!!!!!” before I even knew what they were talking about. 15 minutes of fame. :)
Jessica G says
Anytime! :) Consider the pact sealed. Actually, this gave me some weird blog-street cred. My friends, (who follow your blog) called and texted me to tell me, “You’re the weirdest fan encounter!!!!” before I even saw the blog. 15 minutes of fame. :)
Catharine @ Your Modern Couple says
Oh my gosh, I was so excited to watch this all day, but I was at work so I ended up watching it on my phone sitting in my (parked) car waiting for a client meeting. Crazy? Probably. But it was totally worth the strange looks I was getting laughing in my car by myself :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that’s amazing. We love you for that.
xo,
s
angelica says
you two are just great! this video totally won me over! you’re both so gosh darn FAB!!
Kirst says
I’m a non-drinker too John and my husband loves boasting about his permanent designated driver. I always like meeting fellow non-drinkers (although technically I haven’t met you). I certainly didn’t come to that decision because of my family though, my parents love to drink. Thanks for sharing some snippets of your lives with us.
Tiffany E. says
I absolutely loved this video and John’s wardrobe changes! I think that maybe Sherry should get in on the action and change into different black tops next time and see if anyone notices!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I totally should have done that. Hilarious.
xo,
s
Debbie says
I love watching your videos; You two are so cute!! And John, I totally agree on your view of twilight. :D
Sherry talking about dreams reminded me that I had one with you two in it last week or so. I don’t remember much of what happened but Clara was there too and she had a head of curly blonde hair!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man I hope that comes true! Can’t wait for my baby to have hair!
xo,
s
Heather S says
That video was awesome….but you should know that you wouldn’t bore your fans with a video longer than 20 minutes. YouTube caps out about 30 minutes though. You two are so stink’n cute it’s ridiculous!
Thank you so much. Happy Blogiversary. Yes, John you’ll still be young (I’m 34 and still young, my 9 year old says I won’t be old until I’m 50 or something!) ;)
Erin says
You guys are so cute. Sherry, you are a lucky lady. My husband could care less about design and shopping at home goods (jealous)… John, you’re welcome to come be friends with my husband any day. One thing… they both definitely have the same opinions of Twilight. I thought it was hilarious how John slowly leaned out of the frame – LOL. I love this blog. Just a thought… I live in Illinois so it makes me wonder how many of your fans are in other states. Wouldn’t it be cool to put that into a pie chart?
YoungHouseLove says
We have a little poll going on today about where folks live and many of them are commenting with state info and it’s fascinating!
xo,
s
Katie S. says
Sherry, don’t sell yourself short, woman! I totally want to be your bff! You are hilarious, bee tee dubs (yeah, I stole that one…). ;) And I suppose I wouldn’t mind John as a friend either–I do love Pepsi.
Love reading (or watching) each and every word. Keep ’em coming!!
Jessica S says
Gah, you are both cute and hilarious and all I could do was laugh at Sherry’s awesome expressions (carry it home?). My partner made fun of me and thinks I’m crazy.
BUT, I also wanted to point out (I don’t know if someone pointed this out already I couldn’t read through all 500 comments!) that John changed his shirt half way through? First Dr. Pepper and then Pepsi?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, he actually changed it a few times throughout the video. Just to see if anyone noticed! Haha. He’s so weird.
xo,
s
Megan says
your candidness shows a trust that some have lost in our day and age. Found your blog recently and am addicted. Thanks for the laughs and great ideas!
Robyn says
Loving this blogiversary week! Hafta say too, about the BabyCenter post that you wrote John – right on. My father was a really good man and he sacrificed so much of himself to provide for my family. He worked ridiculous hours and we rarely saw him. But those hours away from us were to give us the gifts of security and stability. But now, a few years since his death, I’ve realized that sometimes the safest feeling in the world is knowing Daddy (or whoever loves you) is going to be there when you wake up and when you go to bed at night.That’s pretty awesome. It’s not about fulfilling stereotypes or about conventional ways of earning money.
I never got the opportunity to feel that and that’s something I missed out on. You’re both doing something incredible for your little girl and it looks like y’all are having fun doing it too :) Congrats on another year!
Laci Waner says
“I took that baby to the market and carried it home!” …complete awesomeness!!
Kathy says
You two are just adorable. Keep on, keeping on.
You, and your blog, gets better every year.
Happy 4th Anniversary!
Benita says
Loved watching that :)
Happy 4th!
Tamryn says
thank you for sharing, loved the video, smiles all around :)
high five.
Laurel says
I thought I was going crazy imagining the shirt changing. You guys are hilarious!
Joane says
Aaaaw.. you guys are so friggin’ cute!!
Summer says
John you need a mountain dew shirt. lol
YoungHouseLove says
Don’t think I’m not actively looking for one. Haha.
-John
Holly says
My husband knows the dewey decimal system by heart and he has arranged our “library” in the system. Dorky? Yes. Very much so. But also, very surprisingly helpful!
Love the video! I am a teacher and I get to school a little early to catch up on my YHL posts.
Rosi says
My hubby is the same way with throwing things when he is frustrated. :)
Brandan WH says
Quite cute and informative! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah Hawes says
Loved the Q and A? It sparked up another question I have for you two. Mac or PC? And what are your favorite features of the computer of your choice?
YoungHouseLove says
Mac 4 eva! We never get viruses and have been writing the blog exclusively from two Mac laptops since 2007 when we started it. Just from being in advertising/design, Macs are the computer of choice in our industry.
xo,
s
Rachel says
I just started reading your blog this summer and it has been fun to follow your projects via little screen (iPod touch) while feeding my new little guy. I have been inspired by your decor and impressed with the cataloging on the projects page. I was nervous to watch your video because Sometimes it is super awkward to see people in a different medium (think seeing pics of radio hosts). Well I’m happy to say the video was great and only makes me want to read more. Way to go for not being weirdos on film ;)
Amy @ TrangleHoneymoon says
So completely random, but I tried the closed caption button for the YouTube video because I was watching in a busy area and couldn’t hear without really blasting it. It is completely wrong! It typed out something about prisoners effeminating… just when we thing the internet can give us every tool we need :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh- that’s pretty off! Haha. So sorry it didn’t work!
xo,
s
Kara says
I’m late to the question party, but I am curious what you all did (if anything) to actively drive traffic to your blog. Or did it just grow naturally over time without intervening?
YoungHouseLove says
We just focused on content. Didn’t do advertising or anything like that. Just word of mouth. And of course we interacted with other bloggers (leaving them comments, etc) so becoming a part of the “design blogger community” definitely helps get your name out there I think! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jessica G says
i’m going to stop replying now…just wanted you to know i didn’t mean to send two replies this last time. my computer messed up, said the comment was lost, and then refreshed after i’d written the second one and showed them both. sorry!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha – no worries!
xo,
s
Vanessa Rae says
You guys are hilarious… I want to be your BFF! :)
Kath says
Awww man – I think retiring to Cville would be smashing!!
Pam says
I have to say, I’ve always been a sporadic reader of your blog since we’re living in a rental overseas right now and won’t be buying until next year. I loved this video, though-you guys are great!-and you have converted me to a regular on personality alone. =)