Franglais27 Tales

*This post is part of a collaboration with Intellifluence

2020 has certainly been a whirlwind year, with lockdowns and a pandemic, but it has also been the year in which the first year anniversary of Franglais27 Tales arrived. Whilst there was a Twitter quiz on the day to celebrate, some readers were also interested in a round up of my blogging journey so far. So, here it is, but this will certainly not be a definitive account as I will mention that I am constantly learning whilst embarking on this journey and there is always something new arriving to keep us all on our toes!

Whilst there are so many articles that may assist with the technical side of setting up your new blog or website and how to write that first article, there are not as many articles mentioning the level of marketing that will also be required to help achieve that growth that we are all seeking. Ultimately, it may depend on your goals for starting your blog but many of us will be checking those follower counts on social media and viewing our website statistics willing them to grow!

When I launched the website Franglais27 Tales, it was on a Sunday when most people’s schedule is slightly more relaxed and I was being interviewed that day by Travlyng on Twitter. Twitter is a great resource for posting details of those articles that you have written and there are communities, brands and others with which you can liaise easily.

Since the launch, I aimed to be producing content consistently at least once a week but you may find that life gets in the way sometimes and so some content creators will batch produce content and use third party applications to send out marketing notifications about the new articles. However, I have also found that in addition to producing your own content regularly, it is helpful to build up your network within social media by engaging with the different groups on Twitter, Facebook and commenting on the work of others on Instagram, Pinterest and the other platforms. The use of hashtags may also help to find others within a similar niche but also using relevant ones for your niche will help your articles to be viewed by others beyond your follower count.

Additionally, the use of those hashtags and tagging any brands or organisations that you may have mentioned in an article will also help with any future pitches to work with those brands or any campaigns that you may wish to be part of. During the first year, I had attended quite a few of the London based film festivals, with press accreditation, and so I would reference such organisations when posting my articles and would use the specific associated hashtags which also helps with networking as well. I found that being part of such events also assists with increasing the growth of your following to your website and social media platforms.

Similarly, whilst out socialising with family and friends, if there are events that you are attending that are connected to subjects that are being covered on your website, you may also wish to post those events on social media. For example, at one point, I was attending afternoon teas virtually every month over a three-month period and so I wrote about one of those occasions, which therefore made it easier when approaching a brand regarding an afternoon tea experience. The brands will quite often review your previous content for synergies when considering using influencer marketing for a collaboration or campaign.

From a travel perspective, I found that becoming part of the traveller’s community through attending travel specific industry events also helps to build that growth and more networking opportunities. They are ideal for meeting brands but also other content creators who will be doing similar work to that which you are doing and will therefore understand why you may be taking 10 photographs of the same item from different angles! Knowing other content creators will also assist in that growth as you support each other’s work, share knowledge and tips learnt along the way and complain together about the latest social media algorithm changes.

This first year’s blogging journey has presented so many opportunities to meet others and to be part of occasions that always seemed a distant dream. Above all, I have made some good friends along the way from the various film, travel and lifestyle communities which has been one of the greatest lessons that I have learnt so far on this blogging journey.

There are still many more experiences and challenges ahead in this blogging journey and more lessons to learn and more marketing to do to encourage that growth for the website. But, it is key to continue enjoying what you are producing and to keep learning along the way.

How has your blogging experience been and do you enjoy the marketing aspect? Let me know in the comments below.