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Prayer Journal Feedback

2.4.2014 • 21 Comments

journalsHi y’all! I would absolutely love your input on the journals!!

You’ve heard me say a million times, this little product was designed for myself to keep my thoughts together. I had know idea how much others would love it as well! I was obviously not prepared for the kind of response we would get! We’ve already sold out of about 4 rounds of printing and are currently awaiting our next round right now! If you ordered blush, it should be arriving to me any day, but will be shipping out no later than February 10! (See my instagram for a photo of them! Just got the first copy this morning! @valwoerner)

As I prep for next year I would love your feedback on how I can make improvements and streamline things.

1. OPTIONS – I love offering options but sometimes they seem to confuse people more than they seem to help to offer choices. Two specifics?

UNDATED OR DATED?

We currently offer two options, a dated set and an undated set. The dated set has the month printed. The undated set has a line to write in your own month so you can start anytime of the year and not just January or July. We get quite a bit of questions about what it means to be undated or dated. I originally thought giving both options would help so people could choose what they prefer but I am second guessing this idea. If we go to one style, do you think it should be dated? Meaning you could purchase at any time of year, but might have to leave a few months blank, for example, if you buy the July – December journal in September. Or should it be undated so you can start whenever you like, but don’t have the month name or little tagline underneath?

COLOR OPTIONS

Also, I love having color options but some have confused a color option for a different timeframe (i.e. ordering Bermuda now thinking it’s for the first six months even though it starts in July). Would you prefer to see one color for each year having both journals the same color? One color and a kraft option??

2. OTHER JOURNALS – I have received suggestions for other journal ideas and I am considering adding a few to our line. Examples of already suggested are pregnancy journals and a more masculine prayer journal option for men. How would you see these looking?

3. FORMAT CHANGES – Are there any changes you would make to the current format?

4. REASON FOR NOT PURCHASING – If you have seen the journals and have not purchased, what stopped you? Something with the Design? Format? Price? Options?

My goal is to shape this product to fit y’alls needs and what would be most effective for actually using them. I don’t want these to sit on shelves!!

Leave a comment or email me at val (@) valmariepaper.com with feedback with answers to any of the above questions. You don’t have to answer all of them if you don’t have a strong opinion, of course!

I will pick one winner from the feedback at random and give (5) 12-month sets for you and friends! Deadline is Sunday at midnight. I’ll pick a winner Monday morning! 

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Comments (23)

I love these journals! So beautiful. I would most likely buy an undated version either kraft or blush 🙂 I also love the idea of a men’s version and a pregnancy one. What about a peak, pit, praise and prayer format also? I will be ordering soon!

I love the font for the dated versions, it makes me feel more pulled together in my journaling. However, I also like the undated option for those starting the journals at a different time. I’m a brand new follower (just came across your beautiful journals today!) and so I may have missed the answer to this but I personally would prefer a 12 month journal as opposed to a 6 month journal. I feel like it would provoke a bigger commitment to prayer journaling and would be much more helpful in looking back over the previous year’s mentions.

I’m not a big fan of the kraft option but that’s just me. I am sad to see I missed out on the coral color and that blush in the undated option is all that is remaining on etsy. I’m hoping you’ll have the dated options back soon (and still in coral!).

Unfortunately as well, I have to agree with a previous poster that $15 + shipping for a 6 month journal is outside of my budget. I may be able to purchase it once but may not be able to keep up with it. I’d love to give it as gifts but it’s more than I can likely spend. I could likely spend that full a 12 month journal but couldn’t do it twice a year for a 6 month journal.

I want to emphasize that I think this is a beautiful and unique product and I’m thrilled to have stumbled across it. We need more pieces like this in our lives to encourage and motivate us!

first of all, can i just say, your design style is gorgeous! a friend passed along a link to the journal and i instantly fell in love! i don’t have one of your journals, but i can offer some potential consumer feedback. hopefully it helps! i would love to win the journal!

(1) a-the undated made perfect sense to me, but i did hesitate buying it because i wouldn’t have the lovely typeface to look at. i think it would be completely feasible to put the month only and then circle back around to the month you start the journal. for example, if i start the journal in March, i could get the next journal in July and finish out my year by coming back to the first journal i purchased. wouldn’t that be a great way to see where my heart was when the year began?! i would personally prefer 1 journal with 12 months that could be started at any time.
b- the color options are gorgeous! please keep those! if you continue to have them released twice a year, a color collection that coordinates with the season would be beautiful. and it would also be a way for the user to visually identify which time of year the journal was used – great for looking through old journals to see God’s hand!

(2) i’m actually in the process of developing a new ministry for our church that deals specifically with new (not necessarily first-time) mothers. a few of the things i’m building into the ministry curriculum are, among other things, help during pregnancy, miscarriage, birth trauma, adoption, bringing home baby, single mothers, and postpartum depression. it’s a proactive ministry designed to fall under the “helps ministry” umbrella to provide Jesus-centered mentor relationships and resources to women in all stages of motherhood. the thing i love most about your prayer journal is that it’s simple and gives lots of room for personal customization and doesn’t direct too much. if the journal were less about “pregnancy” and more about “motherhood” (and all the things that entails: both the good and the hard), i think it would be powerfully impactful. i would call and bug you every day if it meant you would design something like this!! i can say with certainty that we would use them in our ministry.

(3) i can’t say a lot on format because i’ve only completely devoured every photo that you have that gives a clue to the contents 😉 and i don’t have one in my hands to critique, but it appears to be wonderfully laid out.

(4) reluctantly, i put the blush (i love the color!) undated journal in my etsy cart because it was the only one left to purchase and mourned the loss of the beautiful month typeface. then, i saw the price for shipping. that, plus the cost of the journal ($15) caused me to leave it my cart to think about it. i haven’t purchased it yet, and my reasoning is that, for something i’d have to fill in and have to buy again in 6 months, $20.25 was outside my budget. i’m still thinking about it, but i’ll likely set a calendar reminder for June 1 to look for the next batch. i hate that that’s what i’ll probably have to do, but it’s the reality of finances.

I definitely like the idea of the undated if you had to pick one! It would allow people to be flexible with when they order their journal. I think some people might not buy it if they knew they were going to be skipping a couple of months (wasted money and paper). Hope this helps :))))

Lesley

1. I ordered the undated because I didn’t find out about them until January was almost over, but I realized the dated had the cute month name and tag line under it and was kind of sad to miss out on that. How about selling 2 undated journals together (12 months total) with a sheet of 12 stickers – each month title and tag line? That way, you could purchase any time of the year and still use it for a year. Might increase your sales of those products since they wouldn’t be time sensitive. I like the color options and did not find them confusing.

2. I would be interested in different journals possibly as gifts for brides or new moms.

3. No format changes.

4. I did buy! Almost bought 2!

Love the undated (just got mine and was happy to not have to skip a section) I like the format, titles of sections were great. Really got me to think hard about what i wrote in each section. Really liked the subtitle descriptions too.

The journals are beautiful! Love the Kraft so please don’t get rid of it. All the colors are pretty too thou. Like the idea of having shades of the same color for the year so they look like a pair (light pink paired with a darker pink, etc) for the 6 month versions.

Other journal ideas: Maybe a baby first year journal, pregnancy journal

Nothing stopped me from purchasing 🙂

First off, I’m very excited to get the blush colored one! First reaction would be dated bc I love the typeface. However I would love to give these as birthday presents through out the year.

I also agree to have a manly option to give out!

I just emailed you my feedback! Hope it is helpful! Hooray for prayer journals!!! 🙂

1. OPTIONS –
I think both styles are GREAT–but if you’re going to go with only one style, it should definitely be undated.

Please keep all of the color options too! My favorite is the kraft paper, but they’re all great.

2. OTHER JOURNALS –
I think a masculine one would be awesome. Probably in a darker color like black or brown–or even the craft paper. The cursive also makes it look more feminine. A more masculine font would be great.

3. FORMAT CHANGES –
I think the format is GREAT.

4. REASON FOR NOT PURCHASING –
I immediately bought a journal once I found out about them on Instagram–I wanted to see what they were all about. I currently have a 6 month undated journal and am in the first month. I think I’ll likely be back in 6 months. I also would REALLY love to buy some for friends, I’m just on a tight budget right now.

Thanks for a beautiful product!
xoxo,
Leigh Ann

1. Dated for sure. I love the kraft option and say color and a kraft is great. I don’t know why this part is confusing
2. I think that the prayer journal for men is an excellent idea. Same format just different words (i.e. not “my loves”)and different font on the outside
3. I love the current format
4. the only thing that paused me from purchasing was the fact that I couldn’t order the entire set dated after january had started. I really wanted a dated prayer journal

Hello!

First, I’d love to say how much I enjoy your blog and your passion for the Lord and family. I just started following but have thoroughly enjoyed reading the New Years posts and have taken something away from each post.

As for the journals, they are beautiful. I think I have looked at your Etsy page everyday since finding your blog and have contemplated purchasing one. I haven’t gotten my own yet because the price is out of my broke college student budget.

I think there’s a lot of value in a dated version because it helps with accountability but I would personally prefer the undated. With (hopefully sooner than later) starting mine after the year, I would like to be able to use all of those wonderful pages reflecting on God.

I was so overjoyed when you mentioned to make a more “guyish” version. I know my boyfriend would enjoy this. I really adore the colors that you already have now. I think you have a great product here and am excited to see future versions.

Thank you so much for creating such a great piece!

My friend just posted her new journal and I am obsessed! I personally like the non dated! I can’t wait to get one! I would LOVE to win but even more I’d love to share them with my friends!

1. I love the dated and undated options! I wonder if there would be a way to add a page of paper sticker headers to the undated ones (or just wrap it all into one product) so that the user could still incorporate the pretty typeface, but still have the flexibility of starting anytime! I LOVE color options….maybe even add textured looking options? Do a Fall color line and a Spring color line?

2. Pregnancy journals could include a page to affix an Instagram size photo for each month to track the baby bump? Masculine ones could incorporate anything outdoorsy? Wood grain, stones, trees, etc.

3. I love the current format!! I can’t see all the pages, but if there isn’t already an area, maybe add an area to include small things to thank God for?

4. So far it has been the price, but that is mainly because I have had quite a few unexpected expenses. I do like that you have the 6 month option for cheaper!

overall….I LOVE THEM!

Love these! I need to order one soon!

I would for sure keep the undated one because otherwise people who want one in March or something like that won’t order one and may forget about it by the time July rolls around. Maybe just have a dated full year option and the 6 month ones undated.

I love the kraft cover one but the colors are great too. I would offer 2 other colors for the year. It is fun to keep one color for each year so you can remember which journals go with which year.

Another journal idea would be baby’s first year. Have a few pages to write in major milestones and then a few lines for each day to record what baby is up to. I used a calendar to do this but it’s so huge. I would love a small journal to write it all down in that I could keep and pass down when they are grown.

I think one thing that has stopped me from ordering one is the shipping costs. Is there a cheaper way to ship them at all?

One of the ways I pray is through prayer “doodling”. I write God in the center of a page and then draw/write my prayers around the center. I think this is a good way to keep focused when praying and as another way to visually see what God has done or what He will do.

Beautiful work!

Honestly, I just came across you a few weeks ago on ig and haven’t ordered (yet) but I like the idea of undated. Dated journals always make me feel guilty when I miss a day or start late and I know that’s not the point, esp for these. What a wonderful resource, I’d live to get and give these to friends.

Yes! Completely understand! The journal is set up to fill out once at the beginning of each month and then pray through the month whenever you like. I definitely agree about daily dated journals!

I haven’t ordered… yet! Just found your shop yesterday & am waiting for payday 🙂 I think undated would be better, so you can start anytime. Also, if there are days I may not get to journal, I wouldn’t have to skip a page because of the date. I like the idea of having the same color for the year, or maybe same color in a different shade so you know they go together but can still tell a difference. I can not wait to order!!!

Hey Laura!! Thanks for the input! The journal is set up to fill out once at the beginning of each month and then pray through the month whenever you like.

1. OPTIONS –
I love the Dated Journal, especially the cute titles below each month, but I also ordered an Undated one, and I haven’t used it yet.

I love all the bright colors, especially once people start using them a lot and keeping them, they would look lovely on a shelf with a different color for every 6 months.

2. OTHER JOURNALS –
I would love to see a grief prayer journal.

3. FORMAT CHANGES –
More space in Family section and more space for Bible verses, and maybe add a section for other inspirational quotes.

4. REASON FOR NOT PURCHASING –
The journal I am currently using was a gift, and when you only had a few Mint left, I ordered one. All your other new colors are so pretty! I think I am hooked!

My first instinct is to tell you to go with the dated as I love the typeface and think it adds a lot to the page, but having the undated version may be better so, like you say, people can start whenever they like.

I love the kraft! I’m incredibly picky about colors, and I think it’d be nice to still have the kraft option if the color of the year isn’t one of my personal favorites.

I think it’s a wonderful idea to have a more masculine prayer journal. I know my husband would love it. I think the same size and layout would be perfect, and even the same verse on the cover, but smaller and in a serif typeface?

The only format changes I could suggest is maybe a section for “Church.” You do have those wonderful blank spaces, but I’ve found this is one I continually write in.

Thanks for sharing this great tool with us! It really has impacted my prayer life in such a positive way and I am so grateful!

I love my dated prayer journals. It helps me be focused, intentional, and specific. I’ve found that I have less “rambling” prayers. I also love to look back and see how/when/if I’ve seen an answer to a prayer be revealed. I think a pregnancy journal would include scripture excerpts about pregnancy, babies, parenting, etc. I think a journal chronicling prenatal development would help people prayer specifically for that system/body part/etc. a men’s prayer journal with more masculine colors, and fonts would be great. Maybe incorporate scripture about men, husbands, fathers, head of household, etc.

I purchased a few of these journals as gifts for Christmas. I think I’d prefer the undated version. While the dated is nice, if I would have given it as a birthday gift in April, for example, it would have seemed like a waste of several months. Undated would allow someone to use it to the fullest.

One color for the entire year might be nice as (after you’ve filled several) you could easily look at the journal and know which year it was from.

A pregnancy journal would be nice. Especially if it included a place to write symptoms (maybe weekly), hopes for baby, worries, exciting moments (each of these monthly).