Letter from Kaydi:
So, Saturdays has been taken and now Sunday as well. Should I take it that eventually all the day will be taken and there wont be any daily message?
Response from Susan:
Hi Kaydi,
Thanks for weighing in on the changes to the weekend editions of the Daily Blessings. I’m sorry you’re unhappy with the new Saturday and Sunday formats, but I can assure you I have no plans for anything but more and better Daily Blessings Monday through Friday, and inspiration seven days a week.
Prayables is my passion project. There’s no big corporate publishing house behind it, no religious institution, no staff writers, or professional graphic artists. Just me. I started this journey eight years ago. Every single day, I wake up fresh with inspiration to share, and each night I go to sleep dreaming of ways to bring more prayer to more people.
And then, one of those life-changing events happened.
On December 4th this year, my dad died. He was 89 years old and lived 89 happy years. I am grateful to God for giving me a loving father, and for giving him a blessed life.
Three nights days prior to his passing, I’m sitting sat on the pullout couch in my father’s hospice room. This was long after my mom and brothers had left to go home and get some rest. My dad’s breathing was doing the “death rattle” and I was waiting. I had my tiny Google Chromebook balanced on my knees, type, type, typing, out the next day’s edition of Daily Blessing. I was calm, but determined that no one would be disappointed when they woke up in the morning expecting a little prayer, scripture verse, their daily blessing.
I never let you down. Through every single trial and each celebration, I have been able to continue spreading prayer to our prayer community. Yet, that night on December 1, 2016 there was a Godly nudge. It was time to re-think my approach. To stick to a five-day-a-week writing schedule. To increase my inspirational reach. And that’s how the “Week of Blessings” was born.
I could reach more people by offering a once weekly edition for those who found the daily email too much too often. There had been requests by some daily readers for a “cue card“, a summary of all the week’s inspiration in one place – I couldn’t do this before, there simply weren’t enough hours in the day, but now I could. Best of all, with a weekly edition on Saturday I could build a place on the website where all the content could live and be available free, to share and print for any individual or group who wanted to. What a bonus!
Next, after taking a hard look at the metrics, I saw that Sunday’s edition had the lowest open rate. Maybe a day of rest was in order? But that would leave a big gap and I eliminated that option. Instead, I began to share my favorite stories on Sunday and called it the “Seventh Day”. Sunday readership shot up by 20% immediately and hasn’t lagged since.
Kaydi, the signs were there and I read them. I will continue to improve Prayables for the greater good and my personal good. I hope you’ll continue to support your prayer community – and know, seven days a week, we are here for you.
Blessings, Susan