The Art of Storytelling – Tips from Ayngelina of Bacon is Magic

Toronto Travel Massive just held our holiday event in December with special guest speaker Ayngelina Brogan of Bacon is Magic. Ayngelina has been a member of Toronto Travel Massive since 2010 and is an award-winning storyteller. Self-proclaimed as a terrible writer with no credentials she joined us to share some of her tips on blogging and how to be a great storyteller.

Storytelling for Terrible Writers

When she started her blog Bacon is Magic the idea of travel blogging was just a hobby. She loved food and travel so she decided to write about it. She also quickly learned that you don’t need to be on every “top blogger” list to be successful.

#1 The internet is big – You will find your tribe of followers!

#2 Give Yourself Time – Find Your Voice

Ayngelina encouraged us to take our time and search for our voices. She said that it was after a year of blogging that she actually found her own voice. Her tips for finding your blog’s voice included:

Readers want to identify with you not your writing
Share your journey and your story and people will relate to you more

#3 Define Your Readership

Knowing who you are talking to is important if you are going to be able to build an audience, however knowing who YOU are and what your blog’s niche is will also make a big difference.

#4 Explore Other Outlets – It’s not Just About Writing

The blog is not the only place for you to tell your story. Take your story beyond your posts out to social media. Ayngelina told us to remember that our own audience may be different from one social media channel to the next. Cultivate each community and use these channels as another means to share your story. This includes photos and video can tell your story in a way that your writing doesn’t.

#5 Don’t Worry About the Rules – People Will Find You

#6 Evolve

Ayngelina opened up about her own blog’s evolution from a single foodie lover to someone who found love. Did she lose readers? Maybe but, she may have gained new followers. “You grow up … so does your site!” She told us not to fear the changes in our lives, that our website can change and grow with us.

#7 Write What You Love!

Her advice was not to try to read professional manuals on how to write or to follow all the rules put in place by other bloggers. Instead, forge your own path and focus on your own passions and write what you love. The readers will come!

#8 How to Work with Brands

Ayngelina recommended having an open discussion with the brands you work with. Tell them what you readers like and want you to write about. Since you ultimate goal is to have a brand that wants to invite you back your best course of action, is be honest and find mutually beneficial content between you. This means that “sometimes you are going to have to say no” be prepared to define who you are and who your readers are.

#9 Poll Your Readers

Reach out to your readers with a short survey and ask them what they like, don’t like and what they would like to see more of. Knowing what your readers’ expectations are will help you with your writing.

#10 Look to Your Peers

Find your network of blogging peers. Share each other’s stuff, talk about blogging and form strong groups. Remember when building these networks that even the newer blogger will grow into the next generation of bloggers.

Tips for Brands on How to Work with Bloggers

Answering a question from the audience, Ayngelina spoke about what brands can do when working with a blogger. Her tips include:

Need to read the site – actually understand the blog and what they are writing about. Look beyond just the numbers and make sure the blog is actually a good fit.

Be comfortable with the blogger – choose bloggers you find easy to work with that don’t intimidate you.

Don’t just Follow the others – If you are just using the same bloggers as everyone else how are you going to stand out from the rest? Take a chance on a blog that is a right fit vs one that is on the list of the most popular blogs.

Follow Ayngelina on Travel Massive.

Sharon Mendelaoui is a co-organizer of Toronto Travel Massive and has been a member since 2013. She is a travel writer, and photographer based in Toronto and founder of Dream Travel Magazine, an online travel magazine dedicated to sharing dream travel destinations and experiences.