Podcast: https://bit.ly/3MIebdW
Today I want to look back, and then look forward, at what Lori and I do to help marriages. And I would like your feedback! Skip to below the image if you don’t want the history.
In 1997, we started The Marriage Bed site to provide information about sexuality that was biblically sound and scientifically accurate. We keep that site updated, and it still gets a lot of traffic.
In 2000, we started The Marriage Bed Forum to give Christians a safe place to discuss marriage and sexuality. It’s been awhile since we’ve posted there, but we still do the web and server work for the site.
In 2001, we began blogging as The Generous Wife and The Generous Husband. Lori moved to Doing Marriage Well in 2022, and I took it over this year.
A couple of years ago, we started doing online coaching. Sadly, it did not generate enough business to be viable, and we will no longer being doing it the end of this month.
We are always looking for ways to extend our reach. Blogging is a dying platform. Podcasting is big now, as is video.
This winter we’re going to work on making podcast episodes for various pages on The Marriage Bed. We’ve also kicked around trying to do something with the wealth of information on the Generous Sites. I have a couple of ideas for that.
And yes, we have discussed doing a YouTube channel, with a combination of videos and Q&A.
I’d like to be able to do coaching in some form, as we have seen some great things happen from that. I’ve toyed with doing that by email on a donation basis. A lot of what helps folks, partially in the realm of sexuality, is pretty straight forward, and not really a multi-week coaching thing.
One nagging issue is we have to be able to monetise at least some of what we do – Tilly and Widget have to eat!
So what would you like to see/hear? What would really help you, and in what format?
~ This is Paul, and the Internet has changed a lot in the last 28 years!
Speaking of keeping the pets fed: We’ve passed 10% on our year-end giving. Thanks for a great start!
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Tilly felt the need to show us we are beneath her.
Image Credit: © Paul H Byerly created with ideogram.ai & Paul Byerly
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Good Morning,
I didn’t see a link to a survey so I’m going assume that you’re open to answers to the “So what would you like to see/hear?” question in the comments.
At risk of exposing myself as a dinosaur before my time I’ll share that as cool as podcasts are, I go months without listening to even one. There is always a call to make or a book to continue to listen to when I have moments driving or otherwise unoccupied. Several other blogs or emailed newsletters that I subscribed to have leaned towards more podcasts and for me that means that I simply absorb less of their content, compared to the daily notes in my inbox.
There are likely many opposing views, but my vote is that you continue to exactly what you’re doing with “Doing Marriage Well” so that I can receive a snippet of wisdom nearly daily. As far as monetizing it, your readers, including me should do a better job of donating, so don’t be ashamed to remind us.
@Jared Barlew – I hear you. I rarely listen to podcasts.
I am committed to continuing this blog five days a week. The question is what to add to reach the younger folks.
@Paul – That’s really good to read (that you plan to continue the blog.) I should have been more quick to mention that your work has been a blessing and a positive influence on my marriage. Thanks for what you do.
And I hear you about reaching the younger folks; that’s a challenge.
If you want clicks you have to have commercial appeal (generally young and good looking) or say controversial things and/or have a production team level media format.
If you’re just teaching couples how to love one another and not slam on one gender over the other in a non flashy format you just don’t have mass market appeal these days.
As someone who has coached and counseled people and also read marriage blogs for 20+ years I cringe at any thought of coaching people without speaking to both spouses and also see the whites of their eyes (and preferably see them live and interact). The blogs that have done this it is unprofessional and terrible at best and downright negligent and incredibly harmful likely.
I’ve always found success in doing things the old school way of just good quality to a niche market of those looking for quality. I’m not really interested in mass market appeal. The narrow road.
Maybe the problem is not necessarily the ministry (the old format before this year spoke to me more but that is just me) but the monetizing of it. Maybe some tent making is in order.
@Bob – Much of what you say is valid.
When we speak to one spouse, we are always aware that we are getting a curated version of the truth. Even if they are trying to be fair, it’s not accurate.
We did mostly tent making for many years, and still do a good deal. But the amount of time we put into all of what we do online makes it necessary to raise some income for that. And a worker is worthy of their wage, right?
Thanks for taking the time to share!