Poll: Negative/Neutral Product Reviews

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

I’ve been having a great behind-the-scenes discussion with someone in our DIY community about how DIY Bride approaches product reviews. She mentioned that the vast majority of reviews here are positive and wondered why that was. We couldn’t possibly love everything that comes through the office, could we?  It’s a perfectly valid question and one I’d like to address and then get your input.

It is true that most of the product reviews here are indeed positive. Why? Because I like sharing only the products I truly like, am enthusiastic about, and can personally recommend without reservation.  I can see how it looks like “Khris loves everything!” to DIY Bride’s visitors and how that can seem disingenuous. Here’s the deal: there’s no shortage of awesome products coming through my office (both that I buy with my personal funds and/or that are sent to me by companies for review) so I’m electing to spend time my limited blogging time talking about the good stuff.

In short: I find products I love, share those with you, and ignore the rest. It’s that simple. Or is it?

There’s also the issue  that I accept money for “sponsored posts” which highlight a company or a product, often written in review format. (ALL sponsored posts are clearly marked as sponsored in the body of the post.)  Those are always positive and, I believe, fairly written. I only accept sponsored posts from companies I can truthfully and honesty recommend. I regularly turn down sponsored opportunities because the product/company isn’t a good fit.

I feel that posting a less-than-positive review can invite a negative element to the site. After 9 years of doing this, I know how quickly something negative on the internet attracts even more negativity and I don’t have patience for that stuff. And, on a more personal note, I’d rather send a personal note to a vendor saying “Thanks, but it wasn’t a good fit for us” than pointing out a product’s faults publicly.

You’re free to browse the product review policy: http://www.diybride.com/about-2/editorial-policies/product-review-policy/and the editorial policies: http://www.diybride.com/about-2/editorial-policies/ for more info.

So, now it’s your turn. Would you like to read reviews about products or services that we don’t like? Is that helpful to you? Sound off in the comments or in the poll below.

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Oh, heck! Our community was offline.

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Hey DIYers,

Thanks to Diana I found out that our community was not open for registration for over a week. That deserves a big ol’ DUUUUUUUH from me and huge apology to those that’ve tried to register since we’ve launched. I turned off registrations while I did some updates and neglected to turn them back on. Sorry, sorry, sorry!

It’s fixed now.

-Khris

Cover Peeks: The New Book and Bookazine

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Hey DIYers!

As this year comes to an end, I wanted to share a couple of nifty DIY things coming in 2012.

DIY Bride: An Affair To Remember

The first is my next book, The DIY Bride, An Affair To Remember. Like my other 2 books, it’s a 40 projects of crafty wedding goodness. In Affair the projects are organized by style: Sun & Sand, Fairy-Tale Wedding, Exotic Destinations, Winter Wonderland, A Touch of Country, Bright Lights, Big City, Into The Garden, and The New Modern.  It’s a fun mix of projects, techniques, and styles that can be mixed and matched to your own personal tastes. Look for it on shelves in January.

DIY Bride BookAZine 2012

The other bit of goodness is my 2nd “bookazine”, a 22-project magazine based on the content from my 2nd book, the Crafty Countdown. It’ll be available at fine magazine stands, book stores, grocery stores, and other places that stock cool magazines. It is also available in January.

I’ll be opening up shop here for pre-orders next month and, of course, you know I’m gonna be doing some booktastic giveaways!

Upcoming Online Classes

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Hey DIYers,

Got that not-so-crafty feeling? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered with our inspirational and educational online classes!  Learn new skills, make some nifty new friends, gather some swell ideas, and get your crafty mojo back with:

DECEMBER

• Photoshop Invitations: Join us as we show you how to create professional-looking invitations with Photoshop.

JANUARY

• Budgeting 101: Everything you ever wanted to know about wedding budgets. Join our experts as we have some very frank discussions about creating (and staying on) realistic budgets.
• DIY Printing Techniques: Get the how-to on screen printing, block printing, letterpress (we’re using the L Letterpress), rubber stamping, and stenciling.

FEBRUARY

• Scrapbooking Your Wedding
• Non-Pro Wedding Photos: Using Adobe Photo Elements to make the most of photos given to you by your guests.

Sign-ups begin on Monday. Full class details will be posted along with the sign-up forms.

Join Moments By Wayne For An Engagement Party

Posted by Khris in Events + Soirees

Hey lovelies!

If you’re in the Los Angeles/Santa Monica area, be sure to join the utterly wonderful Wayne Gurnick from Moments By Wayne for an engagement party for engaged couples on Tuesday 10/25 at 7 pm at the Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar! Taste wine (compliments of Pourtal), meet wedding professionals and just have fun. http://engaged.eventbrite.com/