Blogger Spotlight: Veggie Runners

Launched in 2012 by mother and daughter duo Jayne and Bibi Rodgers, Veggie Runners is an award-winning blog. With a shared passion for marathon running, keeping fit, and delicious vegetarian recipes Jayne and Bibi use their blog to support and inspire their readers to be the healthiest they can be. In this spotlight, Jayne and Bibi talk to us about how they like to work with marketers and PRs, how they use social media to promote and share content and reveal what will be big in their blogosphere in the coming months.

Why should people read your blog? What makes it different? As a mother and daughter blogging together, we have a unique perspective on the fitness world. We’re both enthusiastic but ordinary runners and know what works for people like us.

How do you measure the success of your website? Our very favourite thing is when one of our followers gets in touch to let us know that they’ve fallen in love with running, or that they find us inspirational. We’ve brought people from no running to half marathons and beyond – that’s true success.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a blog? Think very carefully about what you want your blog to be about from the outset – readers like to look within genres, and so your blog really can’t be about absolutely everything that crosses your mind. This is especially true if you intend to work with brands – they want to know what audience you’re intending to reach with your writing.

How do you work with marketers and PRs? It has tended to be a mix of us being approached, and us approaching PRs and brands. There have been times when there is a product or brand that we have naturally found ourselves raving about, and so we have got in touch with their PR to make it more formal, and work out how we can help with their campaigns. Other times, we’ve been approached. We are very strict about only working with brands that actually align with our values, as a blogger, your authenticity is all you have.

How do you use social media to promote and share content? What are the challenges? We focus on quality content across only a few platforms. While there are new audiences through, say Vine or Periscope, there is a chance of diluting your message. The time pressure of trying to keep up with eight channels would mean a decrease in actual engagement.

What can PRs do in working better with you? Actually read up on us, would be the main thing. It’s crazy the number of times we have PRs get in touch with meat products. We’re very specific about not working on fad diets or meal replacements, and we wish PRs would get the message!

What has been your blogging highlight? We love working with big brands, and being ambassadors for our favourite clothing lines, but the really exciting part of being a blogger is getting to hang out with your fans. We organise large-scale art runs around the country where we get to explore an area and met new people. They’re a fantastic experiential marketing tool for brands, and a great way to have fun for participants.

What will be big in your blogosphere in the coming months? We are doing a lot of exciting work off-line at the moment, with the start of our next Roga Instructor’s training course. It’s carefully crafted classes combining running and yoga, and our instructors are so excited to start teaching the next wave of Rogis. We’ll be documenting the journey as we go along.