Dear Facebook,
First of all, I’m not sure if I should thank you or complain to you.
Four years ago I was a brand new mum, not sure what her career was going to look like, I moved to a new country and it was difficult to settle.
I had this hobby ‘making cake toppers with sugar paste’ it was just a hobby but I loved doing it so why not publish my creations on Facebook.
My Facebook page had 300 likes (mostly friends and family).
Things took a turn when I posted my first Tutorial of three penguins playing in the snow. I believe the foundation of Facebook is sharing, because if no one would share anything there would be no Facebook.
Creating Content is not always business
I call myself a content creator. I create and share content for people to enjoy, I have build my page and followers from scratch based on sharing.
I felt encouraged because of Facebook, the support from people I received felt amazing and motivated me to create more content. At the same time I was making Facebook a more interesting place within my own little circle.
My page grew rapidly and I never had to pay for boosts to get seen. People were visiting my page just because they loved to.
After image sharing came video sharing and I saw my personal development because of all the features Facebook offered me, this was great. I was on a mission again and Facebook helped me to achieve these goals.
Going from 300 followers to more than 100.000 in less than 1,5 year felt like one of my biggest achievements, I didn’t earn any money at this time but I really felt I had some kind of purpose again and found online a community to be part of. I even made amazing friends in real life.
All thanks to Facebook. I started a business, it was time to get a bit more serious and my ambitions were getting bigger.
So long and thanks for all the fish
But the last 1,5 year things have been going down hill for us as content creators, we started to see the ‘boost this post to reach more people’ message under posts and little by little Facebook took away all that we worked really hard for. All that we did to make Facebook an interesting place to come back to, all my followers might not mean anything to you Facebook, except perhaps a way to moneytize them but they meant the world to me!
Out of 362.000 likes on my page my last posts only reached about 3.000 to 7.000 people and it weren’t posts to sell anything. It weren’t posts to make any money. It was creative content that I’m sure my followers would have loved to see but you are not letting me anymore Facebook.
So after all we have been through together I do feel you’re being harsh on me now. You helped me grow and I have done my best to make my Facebook page an interesting place.
But now I think it’s time to move on! Back to basics, by just sharing my creative content on my own blog and website.
Thank you for helping me grow Facebook, for making me the creative person I am today. However I’m sad we can’t really continue like we did, I feel our relationship is getting a bit one sided and you’re forgetting that the content creators have been a really big part of your success.
So if you are still reading this, don’t forget to check my blog regularly for new updates and tutorials!
Etty
Helia Whitaker
WOW what an amazing story…I’m sure this is only the end of one chapter and the beginning of a whole lot more. Thank you for sharing your talent for free and creating the most amazing modelling paste! Can’t wait for my tools mid year…
cakedutchess
Thank you so much Helia, that is exactly the way I see it! 🙂
Pauline smith
Gutted your leaving x
cakedutchess
Not really leaving, I will be here! 😀
Janny Pilarski
I have loved all of your creations. I am not creative and I appreciate your creativity. I would like to read your blog and see whatever else you develop in the future. Personally I think Facebook has lost the plot🤔
Loes
Zo blij dat ik je nog via jouw blog kan volgen 🙂 🙂
cakedutchess
Yay! 😀
Karen Mary Cooper
I’ll follow your blog too , I’ve loved your tutorials and your model paste , I signed up and waiting for sn email to confirm my email address but it didn’t come through:-(
Joy Nicholson
Sorry to hear that you are leaving FB, but you have to think about yourself first. Thank you for all the help you have given me. You are VERY talented and hope your new path is successful. I, for one, will visit your blog on a regular basis. Keep up the good work. 😍
Paula
A loss for Facebook and an enormous loss for us CD fans!!! On to your blog from now on as I don’t want to miss any of your inspirational creativity!!!
Estelle
Etty you have put your side very well. I have heard more and more people saying this about fb. I have loved finding and following you. You are an inspiration. I will definitely be following your blog. 😍💖
Mel
I love seeing your posts on Facebook always put a smile on my face and I am very sad that you are leaving it. Even though it’s not reaching as many people you should consider maybe not giving up on Facebook completely ! Iam a true fan of your works and will try my best to look at your blog ! Take care Etty and congrats on all the success you have had over the last few years !
Sherena
I feel the same way, even though I follow certain people or pages, I don’t always get to see what has been posted. I have been posting more on Instagram (which does allow me to share on Facebook, without even going onto Facebook). I’m sure it’s a lot harder to share things as a business
Dali Castaneda
I will still follow you. You are someone special and love your cretive sharing! Hope emails remind me of your new posts because thet will assure me to go to your blog frequently! Best of all and God bless you!
Paige Mobley
Thank you for all of your generosity. I will continue to follow your creations and inspirations as I am sure your many other fans. Good luck always.
Sandra Corral
Dear Cake Dutchess.I love all your tutorials and even though I don’t make many of them I enjoy learning from you.I will miss seeing you on Facebook but I will look for your baking.ThankYou for sharing all your wonderful talent
Colleen Hòldt
Thank you for sharing with your facebook friends now I need to find your blog
You are a talented lady and I have learnt so much from you
Take care x