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You\u2019re going for it. You decided you\u2019re going to rebrand yourself.\n\nHow will you go about it?\n\nYou have options. One is what I\u2019ll call \u201cTrial Run.\u201d Next time, we\u2019ll talk about \u201cIntegration.\u201d Then \u201cSlow Transition\u201d followed by \u201cCold Turkey.\u201d Only the second two represent a true pivot\u2014a total change in direction, where you\u2019re moving on and not going back.\n\nToday let\u2019s talk \u201cTrial Run.\u201d One way to find out if a total change is in order, is to give the new content a trial run.\nPublish New Content on Website\nTry dedicating one day a week or once a month to writing and publishing new content in the new voice on your existing website and other spaces while maintaining the old content.\n\nGauge reader response. How responsive are they and is it positive or negative?\n\nSee how you feel, too\u2014decide if you like creating and sharing it as much as you thought you would.\nWays to Measure Reader Response\nBack when I wrote about family and faith, I felt inspired to write regularly about food. This was in the early days of food blogging. In fact, a lot of the biggest names had not even launched their websites yet; food photography was far less formal or fancy than it is now, so it seemed like a reasonable idea.\n\nI started a Friday feature focused on food and added one of those link-up tools bloggers use so others could write about food at their own websites and link their articles to mine.\nEvidence Through Linkup and Comments\nThe response to my trial run confirmed a strong interest. Other bloggers loved linking up posts that had something to do with food and thanked me in the comments for creating it. Usually their posts included a recipe, but I didn\u2019t insist.\n\nWhen I launched Food on Fridays, I didn\u2019t know if I would continue\u2014it was an experiment. But the number of enthusiastic bloggers joining the linkup and the cheery comments from readers encouraged me to continue. I kept that up for years, posting about food every Friday, even when I was on vacation.\nEvidence Through Social Media Shares\nAlso, when Pinterest became a thing, some of my recipes were pinned and shared numerous times. That, too, provided useful data further solidifying my decision to change up my existing brand a bit and add in food. It didn\u2019t clash with my content and it brought in new readers.\nEvidence Through Correspondence\nDepending on what kind of experiment you\u2019ll be conducting, people may hesitate leaving a public comment under that article. Those who feel they know you well may send you an email, instead. Some may offer a thought on a social media platform, when you share a link to your article there. All of this can help you decide if this is the direction you want to go.\nPublish New Content on Social Media\nYou can distance the experiment from your existing content by sharing nuggets in a new style or tone on a social media platform.\n\nWrite about the new topic or in the new genre and publish it on Facebook\u2014in fact, maybe you push it out on your personal profile instead of your professional page. See how your friends respond without committing your primary website to hosting that content right away.\n\nIt\u2019s a low-risk approach that still gives you helpful input as you consider rebranding. I\u2019ve seen friends post about cultural or political concerns in these spaces before they publish similar content on their blog. They get a chance to express their concerns and see if they want to completely switch. I\u2019ve seen writers post in a different tone, as well, to see how friends respond with likes or comments.\nPitch Other Publishers\nYou can also pitch other publishers in hopes they will feature your new passion in another space altogether, like a magazine with a narrow niche that aligns with your new brand.\n\nThey\u2019ll already have a built-in audience interested in the kinds of ideas or tone you\u2019re leaning toward. See if those readers love your contribution. That can give you hope you\u2019ll find new readers if you lose your existing base in the switch.