An Interview with Australia's Largest men's lifestyle site Man of Many co-founder: Scott Purcell

Firstly, can you introduce yourself?

My name is Scott Purcell and I'm one of the co-founders of Man of Many - https://manofmany.com - Australia's Largest men's lifestyle site. 

What are your secrets to success and how did you turn your passion into a real job?

Frank (Man of Many's other co-founder) and I used to email each other products we'd find online and we thought instead of sharing the cool things we discovered amongst ourselves, that we should put it on a public forum for everyone to enjoy. Frank came up with the name and I built a really simple website. Our initial goal was to feature one product per day and we just had a short 50-100 word description on it. Aside from the curation and product selection I don't think there was anything too special about the site, but it was definitely the consistency which helped us succeed. Establishing that routine with our readers that they knew each day they could come to the site and discover something new. We quickly grew an audience and today we publish over 10 articles per day with over 4 million readers. 

At what point did you begin to gain tons of followers, and how did that feel?

It was fairly quickly to be honest and no one was publishing the sorts of content or products we were interested in. At least here in Australia. A lot of the other men's magazines such as GQ and Men's Health didn't really have an online focus either so we quickly gained traction amongst Aussie and overseas men. It always feels great to hear people enjoy reading out content. 

What is the most common misconception about what you do?

A common misconception amongst people is that because we essentially run a website for work that we don't work too hard. It takes a whole lot of planning, time and dedication to produce regular engaging and enriching content amongst the team. 

What has been your favorite campaign so far & who would be your dream brand to collaborate with?

I think some of the favourite campaigns we've run have definitely been some of the videos or photoshoots we've produced ourselves for some of the bigger brands like Moncler or Nike. Interviewing local artists or telling untold stories is always the most exciting thing to me. 

I don't think there's a brand we'd like to work with which we haven't already in some way but I think a dream collaboration would be where we can have a serious positive impact whether it's something in the men's mental health space that saves lives, climate change or community engagement. 

What do you do when you are not writing or working on social media?

I love just hanging out with my friends and family, watching sport or youtube, and running and working out at F45 most mornings. 

Why do you think people follow – and continue to follow – your blog and other social media profiles?

I think it comes down to our product selection and curation as well as the approachable tone of voice we use when we write about premium products. The last thing we want to do is be exclusionary or elitist. 

And lastly, some words for your fans and our readers out there who aspire to be an influencer like you!

As I said earlier, consistency is key. Establish a routine with your followers so you can set expectations, even if it's just once per month or once per week. Don't set the bar too high initially as otherwise you'll quickly burn out. Just try set an achievable goal and routine and you'll quickly build a loyal audience who know when they can come back to your channels to find new content.