Blogging Bristol

As well as being European Green Capital for 2015, Bristol is a blogging city. But why are we so blogging mad and what makes us special? Gina Jones investigates

The Office for National Statistics estimates that 6% of UK adults have created a blog and outside of London, it’s probably a safe bet that Bristol ranks highly when it comes to largest concentration of blogs in one area. Certainly Time Out thought so – it recently announced that it’s launching local online editions using content from blogger networks in six UK cities: Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds, Glasgow, Birmingham and, yes, Bristol! 

But if anything, they’re behind the curve. Bristolians have been blogging for ages – on all sorts of topics. The South West Bloggers Network has over 500 bloggers among its membership, with 96% of them based in Bristol. And those are just the ones who’ve signed up – there are countless others blogging from their bedrooms, from coffee shops, bus stops…and pretty much anywhere else you can go around here that has Wi-Fi.

“I’d say that Bristol may well be the blogging capital of the UK,” said Dan Martin, editor of BusinessZone.co.uk.  “I think that’s down to the immense creativity of the city, whether it’s Wallace and Gromit statues, giant water slides or fountains full of cranberries! Bristol is a place where things happen and that means there’s tons of stuff for bloggers to write about.

 “Blogging has grown significantly in the last few years, and as a major city with two universities, Bristol just tends to have more people wanting to get their thoughts down,” said Hayley Constantine, founder of Bristol based blogger education site BonjourBlogger.com. “We’re quite an inventive city, and blogging helps people get their work out to a wider audience.”

Jake Johnson, founder of the social media project Bristol52, agrees: “Blogging gives the city its great character and helps aid discovery of its best elements. Without blogging, and the people behind the blogs, we would just be left with what’s in the generic guide books and who is best at SEO,”

Blogging for business

As well as celebrating Bristol’s uniqueness as a city, blogging may also be having a significant impact on the local economy by showcasing it as a tourist destination and promoting local businesses. 

“Blogging is good for Bristol as it encourages people to talk – not just to each other but also about the city. It encourages others to come here and experience it for themselves. Even with the few reviews I’ve posted on my blogs I’ve heard from readers wanting to come here as a result. Your opinions can influence so many more people online,” added Constantine.

“If you’re a small business owner, a blog can be a valuable tool,” said Martin. “It helps to raise the profile of your brand and ensures your website constantly has fresh content, which search engines love. It’s also a good way to demonstrate how you are an expert in your field and communicate to potential customers that you know what you’re talking about. It’s a fantastic way to build a personality around your business. That’s a big advantage that small companies have over large ones and you should exploit it. While large corporates have to go through legal departments before anything can be posted, entrepreneurs can publish content whenever they want”.

“Blogging has definitely been good for my business,” said Virginia Allwood, founder of Bristol-based photography firm Le Shop UK. “It’s a great way to connect with other local companies to network and exchange tips and I have gotten work through it. For example, I am a regular customer at Café Revival and, after they noticed that I had blogged about them, the owner approached us to take some photos for their new website. I also then went on to host an exhibition of my photography work there. All of that happened through blogging, so it really is a valuable tool for local businesses to come together.”

Get blogging – tips for starting out

Thinking of blogging for business or pleasure? Here’s some advice…

Follow your passion
“If there’s something you’re passionate about that you can talk for hours about, then most of the struggles that people have blogging won’t exist for you. Anyone can start a blog, but the hardest part is keeping up the momentum after a few posts. Find what you’re passionate about and use that as your starting point,” advises Constantine.

Be provocative
“Posts need to engage the reader,” adds Martin. “That could be by making them laugh, providing advice on how to do something or encouraging them to respond because they disagree with your view. Bloggers can sometimes get too hung up on what to write and assume that people won’t care about what they have to say. But you’ll be surprised. Write about things you care about.”

Add value
“If you’re blogging for business, the key thing to remember is that it’s an exchange. It’s not just a platform for selling your services – you need to give something back to the reader. I blog about cultural things in Bristol that readers might be interested in, and through that they can discover my work. It’s a much friendlier way of approaching it rather than just selling outright, which can put people off,” said Allwood. 

Be yourself
“Don’t be afraid to have an opinion. Without character and opinion, blogs are pretty boring. It can be very narrow or very broad, as long as you love it your enthusiasm will help your writing,” said Johnson.

Be social
“We use social media to spread the word about our blog. Twitter and Instagram are great platforms for us to showcase our work to a wider audience and drive traffic to our blog. It’s also a place where you can have conversations with people and help each other, which is great for business,” added Allwood. 

Stay connected
“Use your blog to its full potential – why not give readers the option to sign up to an email list so they receive a link to your posts in their inbox? That way, you can stay connected and keep them coming back to your site,” said Martin.

Whatever the future holds for Bristol, it seems that its bloggers are certainly here to stay. What’s your favourite Bristol blog? Share your recommendations below or tweet @Bristol247 with your ideas.

Gina Jones is head of the South West Bloggers Network and runs Bristol-based social media consultancy, Style Tribe.

Photo courtesy of Bristol Fashion Week at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway