Scott & Frank: Man of Many
Three years ago two housemates started a Men’s fashion and lifestyle blog. Three months ago they quit their jobs and began working full-time on the blog. With now hundreds of thousands of readers and followers, how did something that began over banter and beers blow up so quickly? Co-founders of website Man of Many, Scott Purcell and Frank Arthur, explain to us how they became Head Honcho’s in the mediasphere.
Creating a male orientated, online platform to help guys discover the latest in fashion, grooming, culture and technology, Man of Many rapidly evolved from a humble blogspace to an influential publication, featuring everything from extensive product reviews, notable interviews, buyer’s guides and video content.
Co-founders of manofmany.com, Frank Arthur & Scott Purcell
When explaining how it all started, co-founder and self-proclaimed ‘tech head’ Scott Purcell said,
“We use to email each other products we liked a lot and discussed what we thought was trending at the time. We decided to make a blog for ourselves and it took off quite naturally from there!”.
Fuelled with creativity and a passion for innovation and style, the mission for Man of Many was simple: help guys just like themselves discover what’s ‘cool’.
Source: Instagram
Here is Scott and Frank's Head Honcho tips to success:
PREPARE, PUBLISH, POST
When asked what they attributed running a successful blog, Scott indicated, above everything, “the nature about online publishing is about being consistent. Don’t wait. Post regularly, plan, promote yourself and repeat the process”.
TRIAL AND ERROR
Despite boasting an incredible readership on social and online media platforms and a range of eloquent articles, neither founders of Man of Many came from a background in journalism or the media. With Scott working in finance, and Frank working as an industrial designer, an uncompromising passion and learning from trial and error were key drivers for Man of Many cementing itself in the media sphere.
“Learning how to manage the advertising industry, PR, media, publicity and everything was a big lesson to us. It took a lot of time, trial and error and quick thinking” Scott says.
“We were unsure and scared even at times. But it was best to give it a go than die wondering... and I think we ended up pretty happy with the result!”
Source: Instagram
POINT OF DIFFERENCE
With the proliferation of wordpress.com accounts and Tumblr’s popping up all over the internet, competing in the saturated blog sphere was handled with Man of Many’s major point of difference - creating an approachable men’s fashion blog.
“We didn’t start this blog to make money or become famous, but because we’re passionate."
"We wanted to find the latest and greatest gadgets for guys like us, but whenever we looked at other men’s blogs we found it just focused too much on the blogger and was really narcissistic.” highlights Scott.
“By avoiding that, I think we were able to engage with our readership a lot more effectively and could compete with other established platforms with our niche point of difference.” adds Frank.
Source: Instagram
REMEMBER YOUR ROOTS
As recipients of the 2014 Pedestrian.tv Best Media Blog award, mentions in the Sydney Morning Herald and over 300 000 page views per month across Australia, New Zealand, the UK and USA, Man of Many is a leading pioneer in men’s fashion and lifestyle blogging.
However, starting as a small media entity themselves, Scott and Frank’s participation in the American Express campaign “Shop Small Movement” allowed them to show their support for fellow local businesses, by creating a personal favourites map of boutiques and shops to visit around Sydney’s dive-bar decorated suburb Darlinghurst.
“We started out so small in a huge fashion and lifestyle media world, and it’s only with support and exposure that you can really get yourself seen, which is why the Shop Small Movement and promoting businesses just like us was so important.
Source: Instagram
Making the curated cut of Man of Many follows a simple formula: original, useful and quality products will always feature on the site.
“We look for things that are functional, not just copycat products that aren’t helpful to the guys we’re targeting” Scott adds.
As men that have succeeded in telling others what to wear, how to groom and what’s ‘cool’, it begs the question, what would you expect to see Scott and Frank wearing, walking down the street?
“I love my sneakers and street style” Frank responds.
“Frank is more eccentric than I am. I tend to go for something basic and versatile. I like pieces that can be dressed up or down.”
Built on passion and drive, Many of Many's pioneer's, Scott Purcell and Frank Arthur, are Head Honcho media moguls that prove passion and hard work can overcome any business hurdle, with a successful online publication that informs an international audience on how to stay stylish any time of the year.
Read about the latest in men's fashion and lifestyle at manofmany.com or follow them here.