No More Sponsorship

          Hello Wonderful Readers!  As you might have noticed these last few days, I no longer have an ad store.  Why is that?  Well, after Passionfruit decided to add a fee for their services, I knew I had to change what I was doing.  I absolutely love Passionfruit, and I recommend it for anyone who wants to offer ad purchases on their blog.  Jason even helped me via texting when I discovered I had two different ad shops!  He was awesome to work with, and I plan to return to Passionfruit if I ever decide to sell again.

          To be honest, I do think having ads on your blog is a great idea, but for my size and mission I don't feel that sponsors are needed at this time.  First, let's talk about my size.  I think it's easy to say that I am a very small blog :).  Hoping that people will buy my ad spots is unrealistic.  Having the availability to buy ads on my blog has brought nothing but disappointment.  As much as I love my swap buddies; they don't monetize my blog, and they only add more work and stress onto my plate.  For example, I did not post at all last week.  The reason?  That's personal.  However, I needed to email my sponsors and let them know why my views would go down.  I like to keep my personal life to myself, and sharing that with them was a little uncomfortable.  They all understood and were very kind, but I don't want to be put in that situation again.

          Next, let's look at my mission.  Monetizing my blog has never been a goal of mine.  Sure, making money is awesome (especially for a broke college student), but my priorities for this blog are going in a different direction.  I actually feel ashamed to say that I have lost sight of where my blog is going.  When I started Lizzy's Luggage, I wanted to create a place to share my thoughts and opinions to influence and inspire the people of the world.  As time has ticked by, I've turned away from trying to inspire into trying to make money.

          So here is what's going: No more ad spots.  I am no longer offering paid or free ad positions (or swaps) on my blog.  I didn't start this blog for money: I'm not going to continue this blog for money.  I'm also going to make a few more conscious decisions in the content of my posts.  What I write about not only needs to exemplify the message I have, but also entertain you.  I like writing posts like Why I'm Single or If I Went to the TCA's, but I REALLY love writing posts like Becoming Someone and Be the Power.  My posts will no longer be geared to increasing views or followers.  I'm going back to the mission I had when I started: to inspire people.  My goal is complete when you feel motivated to change the world in your own way and when you smile.  Have I succeeded?