The Remarkables Group

Café Remarkable catch-up with Beth, BabyMac

Lorraine Murphy — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 22:00:49 +0000

Taking a seat at Café Remarkable today is Beth Macdonald at BabyMac.

My café order is…skim FW and anything with bacon in or on it.

I started my blog because…I wanted a way to stay in contact with my sisters who were living in the UK and Melbourne at the time. There was no Facebook so a blog seemed like a good solution.

My favourite blog post ever was…http://www.baby-mac.com/2010/07/to-left-to-left.html

I think my readership is growing because…of the changing nature of blogging in Australia. It’s popularity is growing and I’m along for the ride.

My blog in three words would be…country home life

The best thing about being a blogger is…the freedom to discuss whatever it is that takes my fancy. The ability to work with brands, in a unique way to produce user generated content and being able to work from home. Having a highly engaged and instantly responsive and supportive audience.

The worst thing about being a blogger is…nothing outweighs all that good, even being called every name under the sun!

The biggest highlight of my blogging career so far is…creating a quarterly iPad magazine BEVERLEY

The most common question my readers ask me is…what do you clean your floors with?

My advice to up-and-coming bloggers would be…just keep blogging. It’s one of the only things I’ve been REALLY dedicated at. It must be because I actually love it. Keep at it, keep at it and then keep at it. Boring but true!

In five years, I hope my blog will be….still a place where people can come for inspiration on home entertaining, an escape and insight into country life and a place for people to come and have a laugh.

My dream brand partnership would be…Australian pork!

Please welcome our three new Remarkables!

Lorraine Murphy — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:02:00 +0000

We’re very happy to announce three new Remarkables this morning, bringing our group of talent to 15 blogs.

The fresh faces are:
- Carly Jacobs – Smaggle
- Matthew Ross – Dad Down Under
- Laura McWhinnie – This Island Life

Carly Jacobs has been blogging for six years and has built a large following on her blog, where she shares health, beauty, fashion and lifestyle advice. As a freelance writer, her work has appeared in Cleo, Cosmopolitan, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Newer to blogging is Matthew Ross, having only taken his first online steps in early 2012 to document his experiences as a stay-at-home father. He defines himself as a Modern Man, and his community has already grown rapidly to the point that he is receiving numerous brand approaches each week.

Laura McWhinnie is a digital copywriter and social media specialist who has built her aspirational blog This Island Life around the motto “it’s always summer somewhere”, where she shares a tropical mix of travel, fashion, beauty and culture. A This Island Life YouTube channel is in the works for the near future.

Lorraine Murphy, Head of Relationships at The Remarkables Group, says:
“Their Gen Y appeal and wide range of content make Carly, Matthew and Laura very exciting additions to our group. Matthew’s perspective as a stay-at-home dad is a strong draw for brands who don’t want to solely speak to mothers, while the Smaggle and This Island Life communities of savvy, aspirational 20-something women are an audience much in demand by the brands and agencies we work with.

There have been a number of campaigns relevant to these audiences in recent weeks, which offered us the ideal opportunity to invite Carly, Matt and Laura to come onboard.”

The Remarkables Group will turn one year old on 16th May, having built our stable of bloggers from five to 15 and our HQ team from one to four bodies in that time. Recent campaigns have seen our group of bloggers partnering with brands across a broad spectrum of industries including Woolworths, American Express, Tourism Australia, Gumtree, Commonwealth Bank, Howard’s Storage World, Maybelline, NIVEA, Lastminute.com.au and Aussie.

Please welcome Carly, Matthew and Laura!

Café Remarkable catch-up with Lorraine, Not Quite Nigella

Lorraine Murphy — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:00:27 +0000

Taking a seat at Café Remarkable today is Lorraine Elliot at Not Quite Nigella.

My café order is… A cup of Earl Grey tea

I started my blog because… I wanted a creative outlet as I was bored with my corporate job.

My favourite blog post ever was… The Oceanic Cafe, Surry Hills. I spent quite a bit of time researching it and the comments that came at the end of it were so heart warming: http://www.notquitenigella.com/2009/01/13/oceanic-cafe-surry-hills-sydney-a-step-back-in-time/

I think my readership is growing because… I really work hard to keep the blog interesting for readers.

My blog in three words would be… Humourous, fun and hopefully tasty! That’s four technically…

The best thing about being a blogger is… having editorial freedom to write about and explore whatever interests you.

The worst thing about being a blogger is… the hours. They’re long!

The biggest highlight of my blogging career so far is… The whole five plus years has been a wonderful high. Too many to name and I’d offend if I singled out one experience over another.

The most common question my readers ask me is… where to eat!

My advice to up-and-coming bloggers would be… Stay true to your own personality. Write as yourself, not as anyone else.

In five years, I hope my blog will be…. just as pleasurable to write.

My dream brand partnership would be… an airline

Café Remarkable catch-up with Caz & Craig, Y Travel Blog

Lorraine Murphy — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:00:26 +0000

Taking a seat at Café Remarkable today are Caz & Craig Makepeace at Y Travel Blog.

Our café order is… a large soy flat white (We lived in the US for 4 years and can’t stand the small sizes of coffee in Australia. We like it BIG!)

We started our blog because… after 15 years of experiences living and travelling around the world, we felt we had too much to share and we weren’t doing anything with all we had learned. We really want to inspire people to get more travel in their life and to show them how they can do it.

My favourite blog post ever was… 31 things we’ve never told you
Craig wrote that post on our 1 year blogiversary. It was a fun post that our readers loved. They really enjoyed learning more about us, I often have readers mention things from that post now, 18 months later, and when we meet in person.

We think our readership is growing because… we have a story our readers can easily connect to, we are travel experts and provide relevant and helpful information, we are friendly and down to earth and we inspire people to live a life that involves more travel.

Our blog in three words would be… inspiring, informative, and friendly.

The best thing about being a blogger is… the freedom to spend our days doing what we love and sharing with the world what we feel can make a difference to other people’s lives.

The worst thing about being a blogger is… the huge amount of work that has to be done and brands and companies feeling that you should be promoting their products for free.

The biggest highlight of my blogging career so far is… both of us kissing goodbye jobs we hated to work on our travel blog full-time. We’ve never worked harder, but now we wake up each morning with a huge smile because we are doing what we love.

The most common question our readers ask us is… how have you been able to travel the world for so long? Where do you get the money???

Our advice to up-and-coming bloggers would be… to work hard at building your authority in your niche. It won’t happen overnight. It takes months of dedication and commitment. Focus on producing excellent content and building an engaged community. Make sure you do not forget to put just as much effort into the offline tasks, like networking, which will have a huge impact upon the opportunities that will present themselves to you.

In five years, we hope our blog will be… the most trusted source of information and inspiration for those wanting to have more travel in their life. We hope that it is continuing to provide us with a travel lifestyle and other opportunities such as book deals and speaking gigs.

Our dream brand partnership would be… with a travel company such as Expedia or Flight Centre. We envision a partnership whereby we would travel the world sponsored by them as a way to showcase destinations for for readers and the services these brands offer. A win win win.

Café Remarkable catch-up with Stacey, Veggie Mama

Lorraine Murphy — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:00:50 +0000

Taking a seat at Café Remarkable today is Stacey Roberts at Veggie Mama.

My café order is… A pot of English Breakfast

I started my blog because… I wanted to make a career of writing online, and the blog would serve as a portfolio.

My favourite blog post ever was… When I announced my second pregnancy – I had misdiagnosed myself thanks to Dr Google!

I think my readership is growing because… So many more people are making more conscious decisions with their lives and they sometimes need a little help along the way. They can see I’m just a regular kid like them doing my best and sharing what I learn.

My blog in three words would be… Dude, it’s rad.

The best thing about being a blogger is… the network of inspiring bloggers.

The worst thing about being a blogger is… not having enough time to blog as much as I would like to!

The biggest highlight of my blogging career so far is… securing a 12-month blogging ambassadorship with Gourmet Garden and having them sponsor me for the BlogHer ’12 conference – which I then had to cancel, thanks to question 3!

The most common question my readers ask me is… How do I get my husband to eat more vegetables?

My advice to up-and-coming bloggers would be… Write lots. Take the best photos you can. Be an active part of the community.

In five years, I hope my blog will be…. Helping a whole new generation of people.

My dream brand partnership would be… Royal Doulton. Then I’ll bubble-wrap my whole house.

Café Remarkable catch-up with Andrea, Fox in Flats

Lorraine Murphy — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:00:46 +0000

Taking a seat at Café Remarkable today is Andrea Zanetich at Fox in Flats.

My café order is… Skim flat white. Sometimes an extra shot depending on what the kids got up to the night before.

I started my blog because… I fell into a motherhood-induced style rut after having my boys and wanted to find a way to dig my way out of it. My usual go-to-fashion resource, ie. magazines, were serving up images of 17 year old giraffes wearing clothes that simply weren’t applicable to my lifestyle, so I decided to create a fun, friendly place to share tips and ideas to make it easier to navigate motherhood in style.

My favourite blog post ever was… ‘The Red Lipstick Dare’

Challenging my readers (and myself) to wear red lipstick every day for a week was a really fun way to motivate all of us to step out of our style comfort zones and try something new. I’ve since run nearly 30 style dares on the site, and tens of thousands of women have joined in, with many telling me it’s changed the way they look at their style, and themselves.

I think my readership is growing because… The content is fun, practical and relevant.

Or as Dannii Minogue said about Fox in Flats “It is always real. Real mums can be fierce, shy, funny, crazy, happy, hopeful and flustered, and sometimes all of these things at once. It is nice to hear from a mum who is trying to get the balance of life right and still having fun and feeling fabulous along the way.”

My blog in three words would be… Practical style inspiration

The best thing about being a blogger is… Finding out you’ve made a difference in someone’s life simply by giving hints, advice and inspiration about something you love.

The worst thing about being a blogger is… HTML gobbildygook:

…annoying, right?!

The biggest highlight of my blogging career so far is… Just one?! C’mon, how long’ve we got till the coffee goes cold…?

Flying to Copenhagen for Fashion Week and to hang with Princess Mary;
Regularly writing for GRAZIA magazine;
Appearing on Channel 7’s The Morning Show to talk about shoes;
Being featured in Campaign Brief for an e-mag I produced with ECCO shoes;
A reader writing that The Red Lipstick Dare helped her to recover her sense of self after a long illness;
Dannii Minogue saying “I love your blog”

Honestly, almost every single day, something fab happens.

The most common question my readers ask me is… What are the key style essentials each season? What’re the easiest ways to look great, fast? And, What’s the next Style Dare?

My advice to up-and-coming bloggers would be… Decide what your unique proposition is – what makes you different from everyone else – and stay true to that. Enjoy the ride. And get a comfy desk chair.

In five years, I hope my blog will be…. part of a broader brand offering for Fox in Flats.

My dream brand partnership would be… The Fox Entertainment Group: 20^th Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Broadcasting Company, 20^th Century Fox Television, FoxTEL…anything with the word ‘Fox’ in it…

Café Remarkable catch-up with Chantelle, Fat Mum Slim

Lorraine Murphy — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:00:46 +0000

Taking a seat at Café Remarkable today is Chantelle Ellem at Fat Mum Slim.

My café order is… Green tea

I started my blog because… I was crazy. I had a wee baby on my hands, was breastfeeding on the hour, every hour and that was through the night too. I was sleep deprived but craved something for me. My blog became my outlet.

My favourite blog post ever was… Oh gosh. How do I pick? I wrote one recently titled, “I don’t care” that I almost didn’t publish – but I truly love it.

I think my readership is growing because… people love connecting, relating and being part of a community.

My blog in three words would be… Creative, Readable, Fun.

The best thing about being a blogger is… being able to connect with people from all corners of the world. It feels almost magical.

The worst thing about being a blogger is… having to grow a thick skin. I’m a sensitive soul and having people be frank with their words to me is sometimes hard to handle, but I’m getting more used to it.

The biggest highlight of my blogging career so far is… going to Disney World to the Social Media Moms Conference. I met wonderful friends, learnt amazing things and created magical memories.

The most common question my readers ask me is… “How do I play photo a day?”

My advice to up-and-coming bloggers would be… Just do it. There are not hard or fast rules. Just create a blog, start writing and connecting with other people.

In five years, I hope my blog will be…. still my passion.

My dream brand partnership would be… one that feels organic. I’d love to work with Disney, do more family travel or something around photography or food.

Baby Mac Releases Issue 2 of Beverley Magazine

Lorraine Murphy — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 04:44:56 +0000

We are so proud of Beth for releasing the second issue of Beverley Magazine! Here is her press release.

Blogger Beth Macdonald of Baby-Mac.com released last Friday the second issue of her new magazine for iPad entitled BEVERLEY. The second issue focuses on the theme of “Harvest” this autumn and Easter. Beth has taken some of the most popular elements of her blog and developed magazine-style content around those themes for the interactive environment of the iPad.

After the success of the first abridged Christmas version released in November 2012, Beth is excited to release the full quarterly magazine which focuses on all aspects of entertaining in the home: including drinks, cooking tips, recipes and decorating. There is also a focus on local producers and artisans from Beth’s region of the Southern Highlands. Beth is looking forward to growing the content even more for the next issue due for release in time for winter.

BEVERLEY is completely self-published. All content and production is done by Beth and her husband Rob. They are leading the way when it comes to opening up new distribution channels for bloggers. While e-books provide a low-barrier to entry for bloggers wishing to self-publish, BEVERLEY demonstrates what is actually possible in today’s technology environment.

Beth started blogging in 2006, and her readership has steadily grown over the years – doubling in the last year. She joined blogger talent agency The Remarkables Group in May of 2012, and has featured in media including The Project, The Australian, Body and Soul and Bump magazine.

“BEVERLEY has been such a great extension of the things that people seemed to connect with on my blog” says Beth. “The first issue really threw some challenges at us but this time around we’ve really been able to focus on the quality of the content and production having negotiated many of the technical hurdles already.”

“I’m really proud of what we have achieved in this issue.” Beth continues “It’s really exciting to be able to produce what we believe is a quality product while maintaining much of the tone of babymac which in turn gives BEVERLEY a unique feel when compared to other magazines in the marketplace. I’m really excited and looking forward to working on and developing BEVERLEY even more for the next issue. We’re aiming to really grow the BEVERLEY brand over the next year.”

BEVERLEY is available initially for iPad only and is available in the App Store for download.

Find BEVERLEY on Facebook

Café Remarkable catch-up with Nikki Y, Bellamumma

Lorraine Murphy — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:00:15 +0000

Taking a seat at Café Remarkable today is Nikki Yazxhi at Bellamumma.

My café order is… Latte {with biscotti, a sweet treat or avocado on toast}

I started my blog because… as a way to stay in touch with the beauty world and to keep creative! And as a way to use left-over information from my freelance stories. As the freelance writing world started to dwindle, I put more into the blog and it helped me to get me writing work and a few endorsement deals.

My favourite blog post ever was… ‘100 ways to uncomplicate your life‘ - it was the post that really ‘launched’ bellaMUMMA to the world. It has been VIEWED over 1,647,396 times AND ‘LIKED’ 10K times – when it was first posted in April last year traffic was out of control {PAGE VIEWS were 612,367 and uniques were 544,069}

I think my readership is growing because… My readers and I have similar taste, we all like the same things, so they LOVE what I post. It’s a win, win situation!

My blog in three words would be… Informative, inspirational, beauty-full!

The best thing about being a blogger is… Being able to work whenever, wherever, writing whatever!

The worst thing about being a blogger is… Updating your blog and all your social pages can be like feeding a monster, it is relentless!

The biggest highlight of my blogging career so far is… There have been so many great moments during my blogging years but I’m thinking my biggest highlight may be in my future!

The most common question my readers ask me is… ‘how can they start a blog – and can they guest blog on bellaMUMMA?’

My advice to up-and-coming bloggers would be… Keep posting and stay passionate!

In five years, I hope my blog will be… my full-time occupation, supporting me financially and allowing me to do what I love!

My dream brand partnership would be… Hmmm, so many brands! {I would really love to do collaborate with a fashion label, like Witchery, Country Road etc, and create/sell bellaMUMMA pieces. Like Gwyneth has done on goop!}

The Evolution of the Blogger

Lorraine Murphy — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:00:49 +0000

So interesting to see how bloggers have evolved over the years.

Credit: Flowtown