DAY IN THE LIFE 24 Hours with… Shell Robshaw-Bryan of Camping With Style We join glamping ‘influencer’ Shell Robshaw-Bryan on a short trip away creating content for her blog which ranks first in Google PROFILE SHELL ROBSHAW-BRYAN Shell is a professional content marketing and SEO expert who started blogging following a serious snowboarding accident that left her with a broken back. Realising that camping in the back-to-basics way was no longer an option for her, she turned her attention to the emerging glamping trend, putting her marketing knowhow to use and starting the Camping with Style blog in March 2014. CAMPING WITH STYLE In the past four years Camping with Style has quickly grown to become the number one camping blog in the UK, working with many of the biggest names in the camping and glamping industry. With a commitment to helping independent site owners receive more publicity, the blog features reviews and features on UK glamping providers as well as articles, tips and advice aimed at inspiring people to get active and spend more time enjoying the great outdoors. www. campingwithstyle.co.uk THIS MORNING (a very rare Saturday morning at home!) I start my day at 8am, and the first thing I do is look out of the window to check the weather. Autumn can be a challenging time of year for photo shoots; no one wants to see a sad looking tent in the rain, but I’m relieved to see clear blue sky. I make a mug of cinnamon tea and, still in my PJs, settle onto the sofa with the cats to sift through dozens of emails from various brands asking us to work with them. Over the last two years the volume of product reviews I’m approached with has reached such a level that I’ve had to look for help, and now have a small team who work on a volunteer basis. I’m left with three promising sounding emails. One from a glamping site owner in Portugal looking for more exposure, one from a tent manufacturer that I’ve not worked with before and another from a new outdoor clothing brand launching on Kickstarter. Once my emails are done, I check my traffic levels and take a look at my top performing content in Google Analytics, then I have a quick look to see what our top search terms are. Occasionally I find topics that people are searching for that give me ideas for new content, and keeping on top of things from this perspective is one of the reasons why the blog ranks so well in Google and makes it easy for brands and glamping site owners to find us. I’ve already booked a one night stay at a local campsite, so it’s time to pack the car with my tent and large amount of camping gear, including the camp storage unit I’m reviewing. I’ve already used the unit on a previous camping trip, but due to poor weather and a duff camera battery, didn’t manage to get all the shots I wanted. Around lunch time I arrive at the site close to beautiful Delamere Forest in Cheshire and set up camp. Social media plays a big role in what I do, so I am constantly updating Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and I post photos of my tent and the campsite. Setting up always takes me a long time – I really do live and breathe the “camping with style” ethos, so rocking up with a tiny pop-up tent and sleeping bag really isn’t my thing! I stop and make lunch on my camp stove, a huge portion of leek and potato soup I made the other night, and think about the shots I want to get. Photos and video taken, by mid-afternoon it’s time to chill out and enjoy myself. I head into Delamere Forest to go walking, again taking more snaps on my phone so I can post on social media. One of the things about so called ‘influencers’ is that they are often accused of presenting a fake lifestyle, and I think in fashion and lifestyle blogging that can certainly be the case. I pride myself on being as authentic as possible though; I couldn’t find the energy or passion to put the hours in that I do if I didn’t genuinely live the lifestyle, and I like to provide a glimpse at my ‘real’ life. Not just the good or the fun bits! After a lovely walk I’m feeling calm and return to the campsite via the pub. I figure after lugging all my camping gear around and my walk I deserve a bit of a feast. After dinner I head back to the campsite and my cosy little tent set up the way I love. As night falls, I’m reminded of just how lucky I am to do what I do and share it with people who love the great outdoors just as much as me. 86 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM
Create your luxury retreat Handcrafted in Somerset, uniquely yours...