Why I Started The Noteworthy Edit

After creating content on the internet since '06...Why I started a Substack.

I've been creating content and sharing my life online since December 2006 when I published my very first blog post on wit & whimsy. I have published over 3,700 blog posts since then if you can believe it...

At the onset of this year I thought long and hard about how I was showing up across my various channels. To be honest, Instagram has sucked a lot of life out of me in the last few years. People can be nasty, the algorithm is so defeating and overall the app seemed to lack a sense of community I once felt. I recently learned that only 25% of Digital Creators' audiences on Instagram are seeing all the content they create. Think about all the effort that goes into every post!! And all for only 1 in 4 of your audience to see it? Pretty devastating. Pretty defeating.

I have long prioritized my wit & whimsy blog. It's what started it all for me! I love to write. I love to share. I think I have good taste and I like sharing what I discover. I first sat down to share blog posts because I wanted to share what I thought was great. I still feel that way nearly 19 years later. But, in order for my efforts to be worthwhile in that space, the blog has had to really focus on SEO in recent years. I've benefited greatly from that - but I've also been beholden to it at times.

And so, I realized after several weeks of thought (and some especially wonderful offline, quiet time during the holidays) that I wanted to be able to continue to share more of-the-moment curations and noteworthy edits and expand my existing newsletter offering.

The Noteworthy Edit

If you were a previous newsletter subscriber, this will replace that. I had hoped that FloDesk (my previous newsletter provider) would add a paywall feature and more community building elements (because I much prefer the aesthetics of that platform) but alas…they have failed to evolve along with the industry. And while all along I have considered my newsletter community my nearest and dearest - it was a community only to me. You all couldn’t benefit in ways to connect. Sometimes after personal essays I would send out via newsletter, I would wake up to 65+ email replies that had wonderful, heartfelt messages or advice. And oftentimes I felt they deserved to be seen and heard by others. (Not to mention it took a lot of time for me to reply individually to all those emails!)

That aspect of community, camaraderie and connection I feel lucky to experience wasn’t more widespread and that felt wrong knowing what I know about the gems of you in my w&w community.

So, of course, as with many things in life, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution but I am looking to adapt and do what feels like it is right for me, at this time.

Now, with The Noteworthy Edit, I'll continue to be in your inbox with what's going on in my life, what I am shopping, what I am reading and recommending and a variety of other things I think are worth publishing and sending your way. All edited through the lens of being Noteworthy enough to send to you.

What you can expect as a paid subscriber:

- 2-3 Seasonal Shoppable PDFs per year - this year you'll get the ever-popular Spring and Fall Essential PDFs exclusively as a Substack subscriber

- My Personal Essays and Updates - behind the scenes moments on my life, how I create content, life updates and series like my Year in Review and essays with personal reflections

- Noteworthy Acquisitions - Monthly Edits of What I’m eyeing and buying

- Beauty Empties and Discoveries

- The Little Things List

- The Weekly Edit delivered to your inbox per usual + a new Substack exclusive

- Annual Look Back Week posts (these will no longer be published on w&w)

- Priority notice of special event invites

- Access to the Noteworthy Edit Group Chat / Comment Access on posts

A few pieces of content I am already planning on for paid subscribers include:

- How I plan my outfits for traveling

- My favorite designer purchases to date

- How I'm celebrating my 40th birthday and what I am buying to mark the milestone

What you can expect as a free subscriber:

- The Weekly Edit delivered to your inbox per usual + a new Substack exclusive element

- Beauty Empties and Discoveries

- Monthly Edits of What I’m Eyeing

- The Little Things List

- Occasional other public posts

In addition to the newsletter, I will of course continue to post regularly to wit & whimsy. Here you'll always find my more in-depth style curations and detailed product reviews, travel guides, packing lists and more. The site will always be a destination for you to browse and you can still expect newness with my consistent cadence! You can explore it all at www.witwhimsy.com.

I will also always continue to post my outfits and style curations to my LTK Page so if you’re craving those daily outfit inspirations or looking for a link to something I wore on Instagram, this is where you can find it all alongside the regularly updated Shop on w&w.

This year my primary focus for this business was to prioritize value-added content. I think diversifying my content platforms and using Instagram less will allow me to better cultivate the w&w community I so cherish.

It is my hope, too, that I'll continue to protect my very valued privacy by having certain personal essays behind a paywall (not that doing so prevents any bad behavior of course - those bad apples will still exist but at least I will feel better about hitting ‘publish’) and I’m hopeful that the features of Substack like the chat functionality will deepen the community I so cherish and yet have been feeling a bit disconnected from due to algorithms.

Regardless of whether you're a paid or free subscriber - I want every post you see from me to be something that brings you joy or elevates your life in some way - whether big or small.

As always, I’m incredibly grateful for your support. Whether you’re a longtime reader or new to this space, your presence here means so much to me. Thank you guys for always being the best cheerleaders and always allowing me to dream big and grow. I'm so excited for what's ahead!

xx, Meghan