Monty Dogge

Pet blog spotlight with Monty Dogge

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Monty Dogge is the superstar Newfoundland that stars in the Adventure of Monty Dogge, which was recently named in the Top 10 UK Pet Blogs. Written by ‘hooman’ Mark Sanders, the blog covers Monty’s adventures with his family of doglets – and also features the latest books Monty appears in. We caught up with Mark to find out how he manages posts with Monty’s personality, Monty’s hilarious opinion of cats and how the pair work with brands and PRs.

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
I started back in 2011 with a series of Facebook posts called Life according to Monty Dogge. It was about the life of a very big puppy in his own words and it’s fair to say things have changed quite a bit in the past seven years. Though the Facebook page and group still runs regularly, the blog is via the website and features articles from Monty and me. I have collected every post from 2011 as I plan to write a book next year and the first posts were very basic and were mainly Monty talking about his toilet habits on that particular day. People have followed him for years and now it’s very much a conscious effort to offer new content that is entertaining, informative and fresh.

What’s the best thing about being a pet blogger?
For me I get to spend all day with the dogs, and it’s been a huge adventure. From posting on Facebook I have now published four children’s book and spend most of the week in schools with Monty or Cookie reading stories about my best friends. I have done book signings at Waterstones, attended the Edinburgh Fringe and blogged live from Crufts. To be honest, at the age of 59 and supposedly retired, everything is great about being a pet blogger.

Monty Dogge

How conscious are you of the animal’s personality as opposed to your own when writing?
This is a great question because this is something that has really developed over time. As Monty has gone from a puppy exploring the world to a seven-year-old adult Newfoundland, his personality and understanding of the world has changed as has my writing. It sounds a real cliché, but I actually think it’s made me a better ‘hooman’.

To be constantly looking at life through the perspective of an animal really makes you realise how good, honest and full of love they are. I love the relationship we have on the page, Monty views me as quite odd and really struggles to understand most of the things I do as a furless biped. We end up having this loving battle between our personalities and it’s a fascinating writing process.

What’s better (and WHY) cats or dogs?
I’ll let Monty answer this one. Well it’s obviously dogs isn’t it? Cats do all this aloof independent act, but they don’t fool me. Really, they’re needy and desperate to be dogs but they know if they go paw to paw to get the hooman’s attention they’ll lose. And clever? Really? A friend of ours locked themselves out of the house as the door slammed behind them. They looked through the letterbox and could see the key so they asked the cat to pass it to them… Well, the only thing this supposedly intelligent pet could say was Me? Oww?

Do you dress up your pets for Halloween?
We are a bit of a crazy house with five dogs, four children and four adults so there is always something going on around events such as Halloween and Christmas. The dogs always join in, but I think it’s one of those things that can get overdone and for us it’s occasional rather than daily costumes on Instagram. I think it comes down to knowing your dogs. Believe me Monty wouldn’t do anything unless he wanted to so yes, we do.

Did you have a pet growing up?
My parents didn’t really like animals, so I only ever had a hamster, just the one. I really got obsessed with animals after visits with my Grandad to Paignton Zoo in Devon where I grew up. My first job after I left school was as the Curator of Birds at a Bird garden which was an interview where I had to be quite imaginative about my previous animal experience. I then spend some time as a Giraffe keeper and kennel manager, so I think not having a pet as a child probably pushed me further in that direction.

Monty Dogge What’s the best top tip you have for pet owners (management/maintenance/behaviour)?
I’m by no means an expert and anybody who has seen my You Tube character ‘Absolutely Barking’ – the world’s most incompetent dog trainer would, I’m sure, agree. I think any advice I could offer is about socialisation. I personally think if dogs are really socialised well, have firm but kind boundaries and are treated with respect you won’t go far wrong.

How do you work with PRs and brands?
We have some good relationships with brands and like to build that relationship on a mutual respect. We do get contacted by lots of companies but I really like to believe in the product and welcome the chance to really try it out before featuring it in a blog. Luckily the good brands also have this philosophy, so we have done some good work with those. At the moment working closely with PRs has been in my thoughts more and more. I am really keen to get to the next level with our books particularly and see the blog as a great way of attracting a larger audience and following.

What are the best collaborations you’ve worked on?
We have been very lucky to been asked to get involved in some really exciting projects over the past 12 months. 2018 saw the very first Dog Lover Show at the SCC in Glasgow and we were asked to be the guests of honour, which was amazing. We set up a separate blog page for the show and were given our own ‘Monty Dogge’ area complete with branding and bean bags for the children. The show attracted a very big public attendance and we were very busy for two days. Monty was also asked to be an Instagram model for Lintbells who are a major brand in the Pet industry and this has been a lot of fun. I think each of the collaborations that we’ve worked on have been interesting and unique and we’ve certainly had a packed 12 months.

Do bloggers need their own industry association?
I really think this needs looking at as blogging becomes more of a respected and realistic occupation. Monty and I have recently been asked to be author/s in residence at a school for young people on the autistic spectrum and one of the things they are really keen on is blogging and writing on social media. I think several years ago when you mentioned blogging people thought it was just something you did as a bit of a geeky hobby but boy has that changed! So if I was asked for a short answer it would be Yes.

What other blogs do you read?
I have to be honest and say I really don’t read at all as much as I’d like. When I do get a chance my go to blogs are Guido Fawkes, DIY Daddy and the wonderful Paw Post.

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Becky Excell

Interview with the No. 1 Baking Blogger: Becky Excell

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Becky Excell writes the number one baking blog in the UK. Originally started as a way to share gluten-free recipe ideas, the blog has become a major resource for a vast audience with its tasty treats and practical advice. We caught up with Becky to find out how much the blog has changed, the joy of her grandma’s ugly cake and all the different channels PRs need to know about.

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
It’s changed loooooads since I first started. At first it was just a little project I did to keep me sane in my final year of university. I’d review products, restaurants and sometimes create recipes instead of revising (oops). Now my blog is my job and while it’ll always be a passion project first and foremost, it’s taught me a lot and it’s grown with me.

These days, I love creating recipes more than ever (especially baking!) but also foodie travel guides, gut health discussions and light-hearted lifestyle pieces too. The blog is more about me and what I’m interested in these days – not just about reviewing products. I like to think that the quality has improved too, just from experience. Sometimes I do go back and read old posts, look at the photos and think ‘gosh, that’s awful!’.

Why baking?
I’ve always loved baking and I’ve been baking since I can remember. I would stand on a step-up as a young girl when I couldn’t reach the kitchen worktop and help my Mum make cupcakes. Fortunately, I can reach the worktop all on my own now!

But when I found out that I couldn’t tolerate gluten, my mission was just to simply recreate all those cakes I used to love as a kid – but 100% gluten free. I find baking really therapeutic too. I’ve had a bit of a rocky relationship with food but baking always reminds of being a kid and being totally care free.

Plus, you then get to eat it at the end!

Baking bloggerHow do you make your blog stand out?
Hmm… probably a combination of injecting my personality into my writing – along with sharing my life experiences and improving my photography. That’s been the magic combo for me.

I always think to myself ‘anyone can buy a WordPress theme exactly like mine, so how am I going to make my blog unique?’ and the answer is always… me.

So, I worked on my photography, wrote my blog posts in the chatty way I’d talk IRL (complete with terrible jokes) and shared experiences from my own personal life. My blog is basically me!

What’s the best bake you’ve ever made?
I’d have to say my gluten-free Battenberg cake, but probably not for the most obvious reason! Basically, I’d tried to make a Battenberg at least three times in the past and it had always gone horribly wrong. Half the time, the pink sponge would come out as if I’d never put any colouring in it in the first place or just I’d fluff up assembling it (then curl up in a ball and cry).

But literally like two years after swearing I’d never bother baking one ever again… I did it! And not only did it turn out well, but it gave me the confidence that I could actually make cakes that look nice. If it wasn’t for that Battenberg victory, I don’t think I’d ever have attempted to make half the cakes on my blog today.

What’s the best bake you’ve ever eaten?
This might sound really boring, but I’d have to say my Grandma’s Victoria sponge. She wouldn’t mind me saying this, but it was such an ugly cake! Sadly, I don’t think she’d ever be able to have a baking blog, but it tasted absolutely out of this world. It didn’t even have jam in it, just the buttercream alone was amazing!

For a long time I thought that making ugly cakes that tasted amazing ran in the family… but I think making that Battenberg might have managed to break the curse for me!

Who will win The Great British Bake Off?
It’s got to be Rahul, right? I can totally relate to being a nervous baker with zero confidence, so I feel like if he can just keep it together then he’ll smash it!

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I guess that I’m a passionate creator of all different types of content, not just blogging. I’m not sure that most PRs even know that I’m really into videography and often I create recipe videos, travel guide videos and vlogs. I also often speak in public about my gut health and I’ve done tons of baking in front of the camera and at live events too. I was on BBC radio a few times in the last year talking about gluten free food!

Basically, I’m full of ideas and no matter what the medium, I’m always up to the challenge. Baking and beyond!

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What are the best collaborations you’ve worked on?
Oh wow that’s tough. I loved travelling to Palma earlier this year with Jet2 to experience the food of Majorca. I’d love to do more things like this and create content for those going on holiday who are in need of allergen-friendly places to eat.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
It would definitely be useful. There is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to this industry and it would be nice to have a place to go where all the ‘rules’ are laid out clearly and updated regularly.

What other blogs do you read?
I tend not to read a lot of food and baking blogs really. Instead, I read a lot of lifestyle blogs. I really enjoy Hannah Gale’s blog for her down to earth realness – it’s so refreshing, relatable and funny all in one.

Want to work with content creators like Becky? You need the Vuelio Media Database, which lists thousands of bloggers, vloggers and Instagrammers alongside journalists, editors and broadcasters. 

Influencer Marketing

How to get the best results with influencer marketing

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Last week, Vuelio hosted influencer marketing expert Scott Guthrie for an exclusive webinar covering best practice and fraud in the industry. A lively Q&A showed that PR and comms is still finding its feet with influencer marketing and Scott has generously reproduced his expert answers from the session for this Monday PR Club post. 

Is it possible to work with influencers for free?
Yes, it is possible. It depends on how you approach the influencer and the value you can bring to the relationship. Perceived value will differ relationship to relationship. It might be the offer of giving an influencer advanced access to a new product, or a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the production process, for example. It might be free access to an event or the prospect of the influencer growing their authority with a new audience.

Sipsmith is a proponent of this influencer relations approach. The artisanal gin distiller has a policy not to pay influencers, instead they hold events for influencers that help these content creators create great content. The company is also willing to trust the influencers’ approach to producing content that resonates with their joint audiences, handing over control of the content creation to the influencers.

If influencers buy followers, can their inflated size then attract organic growth? And would that be a good thing?
It is human nature to want to belong to something which is thought of as popular or successful. High follower counts do act as a signal of social authority. Some practitioners work with influencers knowing they have bought followers or engagement. They weight the spend to the influencer, reasoning that if, let’s say, 30% of the audience is fake they’ll reduce the payment structure by 30% or use incentive payment success criteria which includes impact metrics.

Ultimately, influencer fraud is an ethical issue. If the influencer is lying to their audience and brand partners about their follower count or engagement rate, what else are they lying about?

What about influencers with agents, are they more likely to be genuine?
There are good agents and bad ones – just as there are good and bad barristers and baristas. In the past, media agencies and agents have been known to game the system through buying followers and engagement for the influencers on their rosters. They’ve also ‘amped’ influencers via paid promotion in order achieve the impression numbers they’ve promised clients. A thorough vetting process will eliminate selecting an influencer who turns out to be a poor fit for you or your client.

What’s the best way to vet new influencers?
When finding the most appropriate influencer to work with, always follow the 4S Filter of Search, Surface and Screen before you Select an influencer. The Select phase is at least as important as the Search and Surface phases; it is where you vet the prospective influencer and determine whether they are the best-fit for you or your client. This involves identifying nuances such as brand values and tone of voice as well as whether they have recently worked with competitors. These vetting skills rely heavily on the ability of the communicator, though there are tools, like Vuelio, to help at every stage of the process.

Scott Guthrie 4S

If we use smaller influencers we won’t hit some metrics – how do we sell the benefits of micro influencers back to our clients?
This question tracks back to the communications and business objectives you identified during the planning phase, and the KPIs you set out to measure them by, along with the budget and time available. Proportionally, micro influencers offer higher engagement rates than influencers with large audience followings. Marshalling micro influencers at scale can be more cost-effective than using an influencer with a large audience – which usually comes with a large tariff attached.

One approach might be to extrapolate results to build a better business case for influencer marketing to your clients. You could argue that you’ve achieved X results working with three micro influencers. Scaling to nine influencers is forecast to more than triple the ROI.

However, effective influencer marketing campaign measurement should move beyond vanity metrics and include outcomes – and ultimately impact.

Ready to start your search for the brightest and best influencers? Vuelio lists thousands of bloggers, vloggers, Instagrammers, podcasters and content creators on the Vuelio Influencer Database.

 

Digital radio

Are you taking advantage of the digital radio boom?

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Radio Joint Audience Research (RAJAR) has released its quarter-three listening report, which shows that digital listening is at an all-time high.

At the start year, digital listening reached its tipping-point when just over half (50.9%) of radio listeners were tuning in via digital channels. The latest report shows digital channels rise further, with 63% of the population listening each week – that’s three in five adults.

Overall, almost 50 million people switched on their favourite radio station each week. This equated to a total average of just over a billion hours listening each week in quarter three.

Of those, 34 million people selected BBC channels, 51% of those now listening through digital means – the highest number on record.

Bob Shennan, Director of BBC Radio and Music, said: ‘While millions continue to listen every day we’ve also been reinventing radio to expand our digital offer for the increasing number of online listeners’.

Digital listening hours across all radio stations has reached 538 million, up 5% year-on-year. Following the increased popularity of smart speakers and the availability of radio apps, listening to radio digitally is extremely accessible.

This change in listening habits prompted the Government to consider the future of the FM frequency. Reported earlier this year by The Guardian, it is proposed that there will be a complete switch-off of major FM radio services in the 2020s.

For comms professionals, the shift to digital could offer more targeted opportunities to reach your audiences. There are hundreds of national and regional radio stations available on DAB devices, which means you can be more selective of channels and still reach large audiences.

And it’s not just large audiences that make radio an exciting medium. Some 44% of 15-24 year olds and 32% of adults say they follow their favourite presenters and radio stations on social media. People are not just listening to radio but also engaging with it, especially younger audiences.

Radio is often overlooked when it comes to integrated campaigns or award-winning PR but with 50 million people listening across the UK each week, now is the time to reconsider your strategy.

Planning a radio PR campaign but lack the right contacts? You need the Vuelio Media Database. 

Britt Box

Baking Blog Spotlight: Britt Box, She Who Bakes

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Britt Box is the author of She Who Bakes, a new entry in the Top 10 UK Baking Blogs. Britt started baking as a means to tackle depression and has now turned it into her business, which includes the bestseller book Cakes, Bakes & Business. We caught up with Britt to talk about turning your blog into a business, improving her bakes and making magic with brands and PRs. 

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
When I first started, I didn’t have a proper blog website, it was just a page of information. I was also making commission cake at the time and most of my blog posts were documenting whichever cake I was working on that week. Now I concentrate more on recipes and tutorials.

Britt Box

Why baking?
I accidentally fell into baking in 2010. I was suffering badly with depression, anxiety and septicaemia after an operation. I was signed off work and not having a great time. A friend of mine was running a charity bake sale and asked if, as I had a bit of spare time, I wanted to make a cake for it. I bought a packet mix and a block of icing and made an (inedible) mess. BUT I enjoyed it so much I kept doing it, I kept going, started a blog about what I was doing and years later here I am. I baked my way out of depression and now I help others.

How do you make your blog stand out?
My blog is aimed at beginners. I talk about the highs and lows of baking. I keep it completely real. I felt it was important that people should know cakes don’t always turn out how you planned and that’s ok!

What’s the best bake you’ve ever made?
Caramel blondie cups. It’s all of my favourite flavours and I ate most of them just to myself.

She who bakes

What’s the best bake you’ve ever eaten?
A madeira cake. I can do it in my sleep now and I always get great results with them.

Who will win The Great British Bake Off?
Kim-Joy.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
Creating recipes, tutorials and writing articles about baking is something I love doing. Get in touch and let’s make magic together.

Britt Box

What are the best collaborations you’ve worked on?
Working with Homepride Flour & Macmillan Cancer Support. I lost my mum and nan to cancer so that was a job close to my heart.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
I think so, yes. Nowadays bloggers are making up more and more of the people who write reviews, collaborate with brands and we are who people turn to for advice in specific industries. I think bloggers as a whole need to be taken more seriously.

What other blogs do you read?
Iced Jems, The Baking Explorer and BakingQueen74.

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Tortoise

Will slow news benefit PR?

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Tortoise is the new publishing venture from James Harding, Katie Vanneck-Smith and Matthew Barzun, which aims to disrupt current journalism models with a focus on ‘slow news’. Backed by private investors and a very healthy Kickstarter, Tortoise seems to have caught the imagination of its audience months before it launches. But what does a slow news organisation mean for the PR and communications industry?

Harding, who was previously director of BBC News and editor of The Times, says he began to feel overwhelmed by the news agenda towards the end of his tenure at the BBC. Tortoise aims to cure this modern-day condition by focusing on fewer stories in more depth, giving context without the need to chase the highly-prized ‘breaking news’.

Tortoise will have three offerings for members: a five-story ‘Daily Edition’ for smartphones each morning; a daily ‘ThinkIn’ conference from 6pm to 7.40pm that members can attend; and a quarterly print magazine. All of this work will be split into five broad topics: technology, finance, natural resources, identity and longevity.

Does this mean slow news will become the norm?

No; not least because breaking news is vital in the information age and needing to know what’s happening as it happens is necessary for individuals, businesses and organisations to function correctly.

In the short term, Tortoise is unlikely to take a big enough slice of the pie to disrupt the industry that much, though if its membership models are successful, other news brands are likely to take notice. They will have already spotted Tortoise’s big-name financial backers including David Thomson (from the Thomson Reuters family) and Saul Klein, from the venture capital firm Local Globe.

They will also be looking at the Kickstarter, which, with 25 days still to go, has massively overfunded. The project was aiming to raise £75K but already has some £350K pledged by 1,370 backers (that’s a whopping average of £255 each!). Tortoise has the backing to hit the ground running when it launches in January, but what does this mean for PRs?

Opportunity.

Above all else, every new development in news and media should be seen as an opportunity. Slow news means an audience spending more time on a topic, which potentially means more time with your product, service, brand or spokesperson. It means more than a passing mention and more time to develop concepts and ideas – why have one comment from one expert organisation for a piece about climate change when you can have ten experts from ten companies?

There’s also the daily ThinkIn events, which are intended to inform an audience and produce regular long-form content. These will need expert advice and opinion too – another opportunity for PRs to help journalists and reach an engaged, dedicated audience.

As BBC’s Amol Rajan reports, Tortoise will have 10 editors who will each have a budget for freelancers, which means there will be dozens of opportunities to build relationships with the new brand. And as ever with media outreach, relationships will be at the heart of every opportunity. While Tortoise’s methods may be disruptive, the old rules of relationship building still apply and good PRs can easily be part of a slow news revolution.

Want to build relationships with the right journalists? With Vuelio, it’s easy.

Metro

Journalist Spotlight: Jess Austin, Metro

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Jess Austin was recently appointed communities producer at Metro. We caught up with Jess to find out how she is getting on in her new role, why it’s important to provide a platform for people’s voices to be heard, how to scour social media for interesting opinions, working with PRs and her party tricks!

How are settling in to your new role as the communities producer at Metro? What’s a typical working day like?
Really well, thank you. I work on a brilliant team of three with communities editor, Aimee Meade, and her deputy Qin Xie.

We discuss the big stories of the day, first thing in the morning, and then brainstorm unique angles and voices that we would like to hear discuss these topics.

We then approach people to write, publish pieces we already have lined up for the day and respond to pitches.

Largely, we are searching for unique perspectives on the back of news stories or personal stories intertwined with opinion. Consequently, we are constantly on the lookout for people we’d love to write for us.

We’ve also recently launched our ‘Labels’ series – my first project for the site, which is pretty exciting – that hears from individuals who have been labelled – whether that be by society, a job title, or a diagnosis.

Throughout ‘Labels’, writers share how having these words ascribed to them has shaped their identity – positively or negatively – and what the label means to them.

Working on the series has been a fantastic learning experience, and I dedicate some time each week to planning and commissioning for the series.

MetroHow did you first get into journalism?
My mum used to be a journalist and as a child I always thought it sounded like the coolest job, although I never thought I’d end up one too.

I went from dreaming I’d be an astrobiologist throughout school (until I realised science wasn’t my strongest subject) to having my sights set on being a history teacher throughout university.

It was becoming an editor at the Tab Leeds in my final year that really made me want to go into journalism.

As much as I enjoyed writing, I loved reading other people’s stories, so when the job of Blogs Assistant at HuffPost UK came up as I was approaching the end of third year, I knew I had to apply.

Right after my last exam I skipped clubbing to stay home and apply for the job with a can of Strongbow Dark Fruits to help me write my application. Despite nearly falling over as I left the first interview – I’m fairly clumsy – I got the job and had two amazing years there.

What do you enjoy the most about your job? What are the main challenges you face?
I love to read, so getting to read such a diverse range of opinions every day on a whole host of topics is the dream.

I’d say the most challenging bit is getting everything perfect and ready to publish at a time where it’s still relevant.

How do you decide what content to focus on? Are there any particular trends you are noticing?
While the news largely shapes what we commission, we are interested in a whole range of topics. One of the things I’m most passionate about is giving a platform to those whose voices aren’t usually heard.

I have a background in lifestyle, style, parents and tech, so I do find myself naturally gravitating towards these topics. I ran a project back at HuffPost UK about the end of the world, and existential risk really fascinates me.

Some of the pieces I am most proud of commissioning over the years have been from people who aren’t professional writers or journalists and are just people who have a message and really want to share their story.

Good examples that spring to mind are: the lady who found the nurse who treated her childhood cancer 30 years ago on Twitter, the organisation working to tackle space junk, the charity asking us to no longer call the historical unnamed murderer Jack the Ripper and the lady who invited a girl whose life she saved by donating her stem cells to be the flower girl at her wedding.

What role does social media play in your work?
A lot of our time is spent on social media. Our team are constantly using it to find people to talk about certain issues, scouring Twitter and Facebook for interesting opinions. We’re also keen to make sure the pieces we commission get the attention they deserve so we actively share all of them on our social channels.

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Do you have a good relationship with PRs? What advice would you give to PR professionals who want to work with you?
We do. My mum went from journalism to PR and I spent a lot of time in her office when I was a child, so I like to think I have a meaningful understanding of her day-to-day.

While we do mainly go directly to individuals for comment, we’ve had many op-eds that have come through working closely with PRs.

The best advice I could give to PRs who would like to work with us is to read over our comment section to get an idea of the kind of format and tone of what we publish, and to make sure the topic hasn’t been covered already.

We love strong opinion-led pieces from people with expertise or experience in the field that they want to write about, so making sure their client is the right voice would be ideal.

And lastly, we won’t run anything too promotional, so it is essential that every pitch has a message and argument that doesn’t just exist to bolster the writer’s company or product.

What type of press material are you interested in receiving?
We’re interested in a myriad of press material:  book releases, comment on news stories from charities and organisations, information on upcoming research and reports, line ups for talks and festivals etc.

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directional signs

Is your digital strategy diverse enough?

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With news that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is ‘actively considering’ launching an investigation into the digital advertising market, is it time to reassess your digital strategy?

The Guardian reports that the comments were made by the CMA’s chief executive Andrea Coscelli, who was speaking to the House of Lords communications committee.

Coscelli said: ‘A month ago, this committee asked us to look at digital advertising. That is something we are actively considering, subject to Brexit in the next few weeks, because it has a big resource implication for us. It is certainly something we are interested getting involved in.’

The UK’s digital ad market is estimated to be worth £13bn, and Google and Facebook are thought to be responsible for over half of this. With Facebook advertising set to be worth almost as much as the entire commercial TV ad market by 2020, there’s strong grounds for the CMA to investigate.

But what does this mean for you?

As any great PR knows, putting all your eggs in one basket is unsustainable. If you work in travel and rely on a travel editor at a top newspaper to get your story out – what are you going to do if they move on, retire or leave the profession?

It’s the same with any platform or outlet you don’t control – ask any Instagrammer what happened when the shadow ban hit, or YouTuber when Google changed its revenue rules. Just because there are new platforms and methods of reaching your audience, it doesn’t mean the rules have changed:

Diversify or die.

You can’t rely on a single successful source for your ROI. Sure, Google or Facebook ads may be scoring you huge results right now, but what will you do if the platforms are regulated or change their algorithms?

Great PRs have a diverse portfolio of contacts and outlets – leveraging relationships everywhere to ensure their coverage and results are spread out. That means using journalists, newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, websites, bloggers, vloggers and even tweeters. And that’s just earned (and possible paid) media; great PRs also have owned content – both on social media AND their own sites, blogs and materials.

By ensuring you have a diverse route to your audience, you can survive if one channel takes a hit. Build more relationships, use more platforms and weather the storm – it’s what PRs excel at.

Planning to diversify? Vuelio gives you access to every contact, opportunity and channel you need on one platform, in one place. Find out how we can help.

University of Westminster

How Vuelio improved the University of Westminster’s media outreach

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The University of Westminster has an international reputation and strives to ensure the very highest standards are met and maintained. We spoke to Poppy Crispin, Head of Communications at the University, to find out more about the university, why it needed an integrated platform and how Vuelio has improved its media outreach and reporting.

The University of Westminster
The University of Westminster boasts a vibrant learning environment attracting more than 20,000 students from over 150 nations and we continue to invest in our future with new developments, research projects and new ideas.

We offer highly attractive practice-based courses that are independently rated as excellent, many with international recognition. Our distinguished 180-year history has meant we lead the way in many areas of research, particularly politics, media, art and design, architecture and biomedical sciences, and our position in the city of London allows us to continue to build on our close connections with leading figures and organisations in these areas as well as in the worlds of business, information technology, politics and law.

Our commitment to educating graduates for the needs of professional life attracts high quality students from within the UK and around the globe.

Internationalisation, employability and sustainability are key elements in the University of Westminster’s vision for the future and we strive to ensure the very highest standards are met and maintained.

The PR department uses the Vuelio Media Database and Media Monitoring to support our reactive and proactive media engagement work to promote the University and to create PR Reports shared across the University to demonstrate our outreach and impact each month.

The Challenge
Before using Vuelio we were unable to create effective media lists, target the right journalists or report on our coverage in a holistic way. We wanted a system that would provide monitoring and database in one, that could accommodate international and national media and all the tags and categories we need to represent a large scale international university.

The Solution
The initial demo was really good and I saw features in all areas that would support our work.

Vuelio offered the best value for money, a single platform for our needs but also have a dedicated Higher Education team who understand the needs of a university.

Vuelio is our one stop shop for easy and accurate media outreach and reporting.

We get daily monitoring through Vuelio enabling us to stay on top of breaking stories. We are also able to create bespoke monitoring to cover major campaigns individually and deliver these to key stakeholders across the university. We are able to create media lists and issue statements to relevant journalists at home and abroad, creating an international reach for the university and strengthening our relationships with media at home.

Our account manager Katherine has been fantastic – she is always responsive and has been really helpful in troubleshooting issues that always occur when using a new system. She has also been instrumental in enacting changes we have requested that can be used across the Vuelio system.

Benefits and Results
Our reporting is now more accurate and detailed, and we are able to create individual reports for different people and campaigns.

We are able to quickly find the right contacts for quotes and campaigns and have expanded our reach in the media exponentially.

 

Find out more about how Vuelio saves clients time and money here. 

#AIinPR CIPR

How much of PR and comms will be replaced by AI?

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Last week, Vuelio and Lansons co-hosted an AI in PR event as part of the CIPR Ethics Festival. Sessions were led by a broad cross-section of industry leaders, who discussed chatbots, automating comms channels and the latest AI technology. Appropriately, though, it was ethics that was the dominant theme throughout every session, as it is ethics that sets humans and machines apart.

Paul Miller, head of digital at Vuelio, used his sessions to ask, ‘How much of PR and comms will be replaced by AI’? One answer, unsurprisingly, lies in ethics.

There are many areas of PR and comms that could benefit from AI – from content creation and content distribution to engagement and automating processes – and there’s little doubt that the AI revolution will change the way everyone works.

Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, has described the potential disruption of the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (the rise of the machines) as being on a ‘much greater scale’ than anything experienced during the Industrial Revolution, which lasted some 200 years. Tabitha Goldstaub, founder of CognitiveX and the chair of the Government’s newly formed Artificial Intelligence Council, echoes Haldane, warning there is a ‘huge risk’ of people being left behind as computers and robots change the world of work.

Both have warned of social tension and greater inequality, so we’re all doomed, right? Well, maybe not.

The argument that computers are going to bring extreme unemployment in coming decades has been made before in the 1950s and 60s, and again in the 1990s. Despite years of rapid advances in robotics, computer power, network connectivity and artificial intelligence techniques, there isn’t mass unemployment in society – in fact, the unemployment rate is lower than it was 40 years ago, and we certainly have a larger population. So, machines may take or change our jobs, but they also create new jobs and the market evolves.

Possibly of greater concern is the impact of automation on the structure of jobs themselves. Human beings and computers are going to be working together, more closely than ever, and we need to get the division of labour right.

The CIPR’s #AIinPR Panel has already identified irreplaceable work in categories such as creativity, professionalism and, perhaps most importantly, ethics.

Computers can’t do what human beings do naturally – they can’t turn information into knowledge or think creatively, conceptually or ethically. More than ever, in this world of FAKE NEWS, Cambridge Analytica and hacked democracies, we’ve seen that tech can be used for evil or for good, but that the tech itself is amoral. It needs strong moral guidance, from us.

AI, therefore, presents a huge opportunity for PR professionals, as the masters of reputation and communication, to play a leading role in the future of all industries and markets. AI needs a strong moral guide – AI needs PR.

If you’re ready to benefit from AI and use machine learning to make the industry a better place, you’re ready for Vuelio. 

Webinar

Pay to Play: fake followers, fraud and the ethics of influencer marketing

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Is your influencer marketing a hit? Or are fake followers plaguing your results?

Ethics in influencer marketing has never been so visible or discussed; just today the issue raised its head again, with Love Island’s Olivia Buckland the latest Instagrammer to have a post banned by the ASA for not clearly labelling it as an advert.

But disclosure is just one problem facing bloggers, vloggers and grammers, and the PRs and brands collaborating with them. There’s also fake followers, paid-for and earned media, and influencer fraud to navigate – and that’s before you create a killer campaign and measure its success.

That’s why our next webinar, with special guest Scott Guthrie, is going to guide you through the choppy waters of modern influencer marketing, so you know how to find the right content creators to work with to produce real results.

Pay to Play – Fake Followers, Fraud and the Ethics of Influencer Marketing
Date: Wednesday 24 October 2018
Time: 11:00 – 11:30 BST

Scott is the former Ketchum digital director – influencer relations, and now works with brands, agencies and platforms to generate meaningful results from influencer marketing. Scott is also a Top 10 UK PR Blogger, writing about influencer marketing analysis, insight and best practice guides at sabguthrie.info.

Sign up to this webinar to learn:

  • Top tips for spotting and avoiding fake influencers
  • What you need to measure to prove your campaign’s success
  • How to engage your audience to make your influencer marketing a success
Tandleman's Beer Blog

Thoughts on beer with Tandleman’s Beer Blog

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Peter Alexander was recently named one of the top 10 beer bloggers with Tandleman’s Beer Blog. Created back in 2007, Tandleman’s Beer Blog covers Peter’s love of the beer industry and pubs, especially those in the North West. A local CAMRA chairman and activist, as well as an experienced beer writer, Peter has a wealth of knowledge and experience that he shares with a loyal and engaged readership.

We caught up with Peter who told us about his favourite beer, the future of pubs and how he works best with PRs and brands.

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
Less frequent and now based on observations about the trade and pubs rather than ‘What I drank where’.

What’s your favourite ale?
Ah. Too many to say really, but if something is on the bar which is around 4%, pale, clean tasting, properly cask-conditioned and with a good dose of hops, I’ll be happy. I am fond of a really good bitter stout too.

What’s the best brewery?
I’m very fond of my local brewery JW Lees. Good solid beers and lovely people.

Where’s your favourite pub?
My local, the Tandle Hill Tavern in Middleton. It’s where I meet my friends. I know everyone, and they know me.

Are pubs in danger of dying out?
No. But they are changing and not always for the better. While there may well be fewer and they may be different, plenty will remain. Pubs have always changed with the times though, so perhaps no need to worry.

If you were running a dream pub, what would you have on draft?
Brewsmith Pale, Holden’s Bitter, Porterhouse Wrasslers 4X stout, Pilsner Urquell and (my guilty secret) Hoegaarden. And one ever changing beer depending on demand and time of year.

What one thing should PRs know before contacting you?
Like most people I need a little advance warning. No point in contacting me the day before you ask me to do something or go somewhere.

What are the best collaborations you’ve worked on?
I’ve brewed stouts with Allgates and Rammy Craft Brewery. Both were bloody good beers which deserved a bigger audience.

Do you think bloggers need their own association?
No. Blogging has thankfully become diverse and the reasons for doing it vary so much. We have the internet to bind us together.

What other blogs do you read?
Most. Favourites though are The Pub Curmudgeon, Shut up about Barclay Perkins, Retired Martin and anything written by Matt Curtis.

Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database

Fred

How Vuelio improved Fred Marketing’s media outreach

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Fred Marketing is a full-service marketing agency based in Hull. We spoke to Mat Ombler, PR Account Manager at Fred, who told us how Vuelio is a ‘blessing’ for the agency’s media outreach, with accurate information in the influencer database and a responsive platform to help prove ROI to clients. 

Fred Marketing
One of our core services is PR and we distribute a lot of press releases as a result. We needed access to a database of media contacts that’s regularly updated with useful information to help us tailor any pitches accordingly. We also needed a responsive platform to help us pull coverage reports quickly and efficiently with as much detailed information as possible to show the value of our PR activity to clients. And we wanted to monitor keywords related to our clients and keep an eye on what other businesses in our clients’ sectors are up to.

The Challenge
We struggled with our previous media database supplier because the platform was very slow and unresponsive, making it very difficult to search for contacts as well as create and distribute press releases. We also found that contacts on the platform weren’t being regularly updated – in one case we discovered a reporter had left the publication we believed he was working at six months ago! Any problems we did report usually took a long time to get a response back to – at least two to three working days.

Since moving to Vuelio we’ve felt more in control of our PR and saved a significant amount of time. The team coded all of our press release templates into HTML, making all of our communications consistent and on-brand, as well as saving us time.

The Solution
The initial demo of the product was great and one of the main things that stood out to us was how detailed the information was on individual contacts on the platform. We were also surprised to see an editorial calendar containing feature lists for a variety of different publications, both offline and in print, saving us a lot of time for forward planning.

The account management and support overall has been fantastic, completely overshadowing our previous supplier. Any problems we do encounter on the platform are quickly resolved within a few hours. We receive a response within the hour for any enquiries we have– although it’s usually minutes! Knowing that there’s someone at the other end of the platform who is there to support you really makes a big difference and makes you feel valued. The onboarding process and training process for new staff members here has been fantastic too.

Benefits and Results
Finding the right contacts is now much easier than ever before and we no longer feel like we have to cross check every single contact with their social media platforms to ensure they’re still working at the place the platform says they are!

Because the platform doesn’t crash and works quickly, it’s saved us a lot of valuable time.

Vuelio is a blessing when it comes to media engagement, providing us with the information we need on who to contact, how to contact them and when to contact them.

 

Find out more about how Vuelio saves clients time and money here. 

Venue

5 influencer marketing tips from Vuelio Blog Awards finalists

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Last week, we announced the finalists for the first five categories of the Vuelio Blog Awards 2018. Covering Men’s and Women’s Fashion, Health & Fitness, London Lifestyle and Travel & Leisure, the categories represent bloggers at the top of their game and the forefront of the industry.

Ahead of the outstanding finalists being announced later this week (exciting!), we present top influencer marketing tips from finalists across each of the first five categories:

1. Be professional and forthcoming – Victoria Magrath, Inthefrow (Women’s Fashion finalist)
Victoria says: ‘There’s nothing that stands out more to me than someone who is professional and forthcoming with how they can see us working together and what the both of us can gain from partnering’.

Read Victoria’s interview here.

2. Allow bloggers to collaborate – Carl Thompson (Men’s Fashion finalist)
Carl says: ‘I like to be involved with every level of the campaign and have a vast amount of experience in what works and what doesn’t. I execute my deliverables to the highest possible quality, hiring the best videographers and photographers, often at my own expense.’

Read Carl’s interview here.

3. Be original – Elle Linton, Keep it SimpElle (Health & Fitness finalist)
Elle says: ‘I know it’s hard to come up with great ideas but original themes, something a little outside the box of what we’re all expecting, makes it interesting for content creators and then our audience.’

Read Elle’s interview here.

4. Develop a long-term relationship – Angie Silver, Silverspoon London (London Lifestyle finalist)
Angie says: ‘I absolutely prefer to meet face-to-face to establish a more personal connection. I also prefer to work on a long-term basis and develop a good working relationship and trust, rather than one-off campaigns or reviews.’

Read Angie’s interview here.

5. Be openminded – Lloyd and Yaya, Hand Luggage Only (Travel & Leisure finalist)
Yaya and Lloyd say: ‘I guess that we are pretty open minded and always flexible in how we work with people. No two destinations or brands are exactly the same, no two people are and so it would be unrealistic to expect two projects to be.’

Read Yaya and Lloyd’s interview here.

 

If you’re ready to take your influencer marketing to the next level, get in touch and see how Vuelio can help. 

Jeska Hearne outside

Interior design with Jeska Hearne of Lobster and Swan

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Jeska Hearne is the creator of Lobster and Swan, a brand-new entry to our ranking of  Top 10 Interior Design Blogs. With dark moody colours mixed with a  rustic style, Jeska brings the colours from outside, inside. We caught up with Jeska to talk about how the seasons affect her content, her favourite collaborations and the one thing PRs should know about her.

How has your blog changed over time?
Apart from the layout and my style evolving, not much. It’s still all about life, interior and home styling with the things I love and find inspiring thrown in too.

How would you describe your style?
Rustic, rescued, romantic and bohemian.

What makes a great interior design blog?
For me, the images need to be beautiful and engaging first, but I love all aspects of interiors!

What’s the split between your own creations/designs and featuring others’?
It’s a good mix of both depending on how much time I have to post. I love sharing new interiors books and small or inspiring businesses. When we manage to finish renovating the older rooms here, or new areas we’ve created, I always want to share them – but it is a juggling act to make time to shoot and style them in between running our online store, The Future Kept, and other freelance work we do.

Lobster and swan bathroomWhat’s your favourite room in the house and why?
At the moment, I am totally in love with our bathroom, it is all dark and moody with botanicals and a feeling of calm – on clear nights I can take a bath with the windows open and see the stars.

How do the seasons affect your content?
Very much, we are totally in tune with the seasons here, I love to garden and I love the tones that each season brings, so the palette of my images on Instagram gently follows a seasonal feeling.

What’s your favourite household object/item?
 This changes all the time – I love our rustic handmade shelves and our bed is definitely a happy place – so cosy and comfy – but I also love all the different artworks we have collected over the years too.

What one thing should PRs/brands know about you?
I am most interested in beautiful, functional products, made sustainably and ethically, or produced in the UK.

What are the best campaigns/collaborations you’ve recently worked on?
For fast room mood changes I love to re-fresh the paint colour of a room – Farrow & Ball and Cassandra Ellis have been great – I love working with them and their colours. Styling a bench three different ways with Sofa.com was fun, I also worked with Leesa when they launched too and theirs really is the best mattress we’ve ever slept on, we love it!

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
Probably, but that sounds stressful!

What other blogs do you read?
My top five in no particular order are: SF Girl by Bay, Apartment Apothecary, Littlegreenshed, Curate and Display and These Four Walls.

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Matthew Pike by a wall

Men’s Lifestyle Spotlight: Matthew Pike of Buckets & Spades

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Matthew Pike is the man behind Buckets & Spades, a brand-new entry into our Top 10 Men’s Lifestyle ranking. Matthew spoke to us about how varied his blog is, his must-have grooming product and the best campaigns he’s worked on recently.

How many different areas does your blog cover and do you have a primary focus?
Men’s style and lifestyle, design, travel, interiors are the main subjects, but design holds things all together.

What are the main differences between men’s and women’s lifestyle blogs?
Hard one to answer as each blogger has their own nuances and styles.

Who is your favourite designer?
Currently I’m really enjoying Drake’s, Saturday’s NYC and Beams.

What’s your favourite grooming product or service?
Currently that would have to be my Harry’s razor and post-shave balm by Aesop.

What’s the best night out near you?
Ha, there isn’t one. So, it’s a night in for us!

What’s your favourite travel destination?
Recently, New York or Berlin. All time favourite goes to Tokyo.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
Use a research and tailored approach. It’s all about building relationships.

What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on recently?
I’ve been very fortunate recently. To name a couple of the campaign I’ve worked on in the past 6 months; Burberry fragrance, Ace&Tate home try-on service, Majestic Athletic x Major League Baseball worldwide campaign, Eastpak x Raf Simons launch, Horizn Studios on-going content creation, Pinterest San Fran project.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
The whole thing is so loose and open to interpretation, so yes I do think a governing body would be helpful. Especially when it comes to producing content with and in partnership with brands.

What other blogs do you read?
At the moment; Jordan Bunker, Basic Apparel, Cate St Hill and Hannah in the House.

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three pints of beer

Talking beer with The Pub Curmudgeon

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Choosing to remain anonymous The Pub Curmudgeon shares their thoughts on all things beer and pubs. Recently ranked in the Top 10 Beer Blogs, The Pub Curmudgeon chatted about about whether pubs are dying out, the best brewery and whether bloggers should have their own association.

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
The biggest change is that a lot of the one-liners and links to articles have moved to Twitter, so it now tends to concentrate on longer, more considered pieces.

What’s your favourite ale?
Impossible really to name just one, but if forced to I’d pick Batham’s Best Bitter, a wonderfully complex, subtle and deceptively drinkable beer.

What’s the best brewery?
 One from the select band of independent family brewers that have survived the past forty-odd years and are still flying the flag for traditional British beers, such as Hook Norton and Harveys.

he Black Horse at Clapton-in-GordanoWhere’s your favourite pub?
The Black Horse at Clapton-in-Gordano in Somerset, which claims to date back to the 14th century and retains an unspoilt interior of great character. It continues to be a proper local pub and not just an eating house.

Are pubs in danger of dying out?
Not really, but various social and legislative changes over recent decades have made their appeal much narrower than it used to be.

If you were running a dream pub, what would you have on draft?
My dream pub would be aimed at a wide cross-section of people, not just beer enthusiasts. I’d start with Draught Bass and whatever “ordinary” bitter the locals were most keen on.

What one thing should PRs know before contacting you?
 The dishwasher. And the dyson. Anything that makes my life easier.

What one thing should PRs/brands know about you?
I have a good face for radio.

What are the best collaborations you’ve worked on?
I’ve not really gone in much for collaborations, but one memorable one was last Autumn when Martin Taylor, Richard Coldwell and I had a day out in Leicester and each blogged about it from our different perspectives.

Do you think bloggers need their own association?
No. Bloggers cover a huge range of standpoints and it can’t really be said that they have a collective interest.

What other blogs do you read?
I follow a wide range of blogs, but three I would pick out are Retiredmartin, Tandleman and Velvet Glove, Iron Fist.

Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database

Carole King from Dear Designer's Blog

Interior design spotlight: Carole King, Dear Designer’s Blog

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Carole King is behind Dear Designer’s Blog, which was recently ranked in the Top 10 Interior Design Blogs. From mastering the mood board to finding your own personal style, Carole helps readers bring their home to life. We spoke to Carole about her own personal style, her favourite room and the one thing PRs should know about her.

How has your blog changed over time?
When I first started blogging 9 years ago I was posting 7 days a week. I was still holding down a job at that time and the pressure was relentless. Consequently, the posts were short and covered all sorts of design aesthetics. These days I have a much more relaxed schedule, my posts are more in depth and I only post about things I absolutely love. I also include a lot more of my own photography now.

How would you describe your style?
Sometimes it takes someone else to sum up your style succinctly and this is what was said about me recently. “Her design philosophy mixes down-to-earth staples with high drama details to create interiors that are lush, luxurious, and liveable. Striking a balance between light and dark.” I love that.

What makes a great interior design blog?
Consistent posting. A genuine love of the subject and fantastic images!

What’s the split between your own creations/designs and featuring others’?
I probably feature others about 75% of the time. I wish I could renovate a room a week, but budget and time doesn’t allow that. Clients don’t always want their homes featured so that’s another restriction. I do try to put my own spin on posts though, by creating mood boards that are my own interpretation.

Dear Designer blog bedroomWhat’s your favourite room in the house and why?
In my own home my favourite room is the bedroom. It’s large, light and has a dedicated dressing area.

How do the seasons affect your content?
Obviously I write things that my readers want to read. So, if it’s cold outside I like to offer suggestions for warming up the home. But those posts are occasional. I don’t dwell too much on seasons because we can’t change our decor that often.

What’s your favourite household object/item?
 The dishwasher. And the dyson. Anything that makes my life easier.

What one thing should PRs/brands know about you?
I genuinely do only work with companies that I love.

What are the best campaigns/collaborations you’ve recently worked on?
I enjoy all the collaborations I work on. See above answer! I’m starting to get invites for travel stories too now, which is my other great love.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
That would be great. And very helpful to others just starting out in the industry.

What other blogs do you read?
Loads! Too many to mention. But I’m obsessed with Scandinavian interiors so whenever I need a fix I head to My Scandinavian Home.

Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database

Kate Williams Crafts on Sea

Chatting crafts with Crafts on Sea

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Kate Williams is the face behind craft blog, Crafts on Sea, which was recently ranked in our Top 10 UK Craft Blogs. Crafts on Sea has hundreds of ideas for all seasons, from Halloween masks to Christmas gifts. We spoke to Kate about what makes the craft blogger community so great, her favourite campaigns to work on and why you shouldn’t pay her in paint!

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
It’s both more professional and more focused. When I started it was very much that I wanted to do some crafts myself, and use the blog as a way of encouraging myself to do more, but over the years it’s turned into a business as I started looking to what my readers wanted, rather than just myself.

In the early days I had photos in a national newspaper that I took on my dodgy old phone, whereas now doing a craft involves getting my rather large lighting kit and DSLR out!

What’s the craft blogger community like? 
Lovely. Almost every gain I’ve made with my blog has been due to someone else helping me out; explaining Facebook tips, helping with my photography or whatever. I tend to chat with the kid bloggers too – there’s a big international group who all chat and it’s fantastic to be a part of that.

Do you think crafts are more important in the digital age?
Well both my kids have a kindle that they love so I’d say yes – there’s lots of things like Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle crafts on my site which are a direct result of me trying to think of crafts my son would actually get excited about and want to do, so he wants to turn the TV off.

Having said that, my daughter loves Mister Maker and is always inspired by him so there’s definitely room for both. As a blogger I spend loads of time online, so acting like anything screen based is bad in front of my kids won’t really wash with them.

Do you have to be artistic to be good at crafts?
I don’t think I’m that artistic, I’m terrible at drawing and wasn’t even given the option of taking GCSE art (although as a dyslexic I was given the option of drawing my dissertation!) A bit of creativity and not being scared to make mistakes works well enough I think.

What’s the easiest craft you’ve made?
A paper plate hulk mask? Well actually my son made that one though, which made it even easier for me.

What’s the hardest?
Honestly there’s nothing difficult on my site that I can think of, my main issue is cleaning the paint off things!

What are the best PR/brand campaigns you’ve worked on?
I’ve loved working with The Big Shot on a couple of campaigns for children’s books. I’ve done crafts for Julia Donaldson, Emily Gravett and Sue Hendra’s books who I adore so it’s been a really fun challenge.

What shouldn’t PRs do?
Offer to pay you in kids paint.

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
To be honest bloggers talk to each other. There will always be people who are willing to do a sponsored post for £20 and if someone needs £20 then that’s totally their choice so I don’t think there needs to be set fees or anything. But if you fail to pay someone or treat them badly then it does get found out and talked about. In fairness I totally expect that the same thing happens amongst PR’s if they have issues with a blogger

What other blogs do you read?
Loads! I love Lulastic and the Hippy Shake and obsessively follow Glennon Doyle who used to write Momastery on Instagram and Facebook because she is all sorts of awesome.

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Maggy Woodley Red Ted Art

Getting crafty with Maggy Woodley of Red Ted Art

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Maggy Woodley is the creator of popular craft blog, Red Ted Art, which was recently ranked number one in the Top 10 UK Craft Blogs. Inspiring kids and adults to find their creative side, Red Ted Art has hundreds of craft ideas for any ability. We spoke to Maggy about the importance of crafts in a digital age, the hardest craft and what PRs should never do.

How has your blog changed from when you first started?
It is much slicker and “neater” than when I started out, but the underlying ethos remains the same: making crafting easy and accessible to all. Using every day materials and empowering parents and kids alike to ENJOY crafting!! But… over the years, I have become much better at photography and understanding what kind of crafts my readers would like to see!

What’s the craft blogger community like? 
I love it! It is a very supportive community and I am always working on collaborative projects with a variety of different bloggers.

Do you think crafts are more important in the digital age?
Absolutely! As kids become more digi-fied they spend less and less time in the “real world”. Crafting is a great way to hone those fine motor skills, develop your imagination and also an opportunity to make gorgeous things for friends and family. Homemade to me, is always more special than anything shop-bought!

Do you have to be artistic to be good at crafts?
No, absolutely not. I often say that I am “not arty” but “very crafty”. I would say it is a different skill set all together and that though they complement each other, you can be great at one and not the other.

What’s the easiest craft you’ve made?
The easiest… oh that is tricky… there are so many easy crafts on my website! I would have to send a poll out to my readers. But generally speaking – the Corner Bookmarks are super popular – as the materials are easy to come by and the designs are easy. Kids love to make them for their friends.

Crochet mermaid craftWhat’s the hardest?
The hardest are probably some of the crochet patterns I have on the site – they are all guest posts by expert crocheters. And though I don’t think the patterns are necessarily hard, you DO need to know how to crochet in order to make them! Having said that, the designs are so cute, you simply have to give them a go. Take a look at this adorable Mermaid!

What are the best PR/brand campaigns you’ve worked on?
Ooh again, I think that is a really hard one to single out. I do LOVE all the Movie related craft campaigns. Ie a new movie comes out and the PR challenges me to come up with a related craft. E.g. these Piggy Cupcakes for the SING movie are so easy and so cute!

What shouldn’t PRs do?
Assume that we work for free!! I know it is stating the obvious but so many PRs to try and get “freebies” out of us, or give us a free toy or DVD in return for a blog post. The problem is that it takes time and effort to create content and the PRs need to be mindful of the time it takes to create this!

Do you think bloggers need their own industry association?
That could be a great thing – especially to help provide guidelines around best practices (disclosure) and taxes etc.

What other blogs do you read?
Loads! I am mainly very closely familiar with all the crafty blogs out there, such as Hattifant, I Heart Crafty Things, Babble Dabble Doo and Hello Wonderful of course there are many more! But those are great!

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