Conversations with Erin Clay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Clay.

Erin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in Rome, GA, and I still live within five miles of where I grew up.

When my husband and I got married, we went on a cruise. While chatting with another couple, they asked where we were from. We told them Rome, GA, and they said they had vacationed there! We were like, “Wait, no… Rome, GEORGIA?”

They insisted they had, so we asked what they did while visiting. They told us they shopped downtown, walked the hiking trails, visited Berry College, and watched a minor league Braves game. After that conversation, we saw our town in a whole new light. We had always loved Rome, but now we saw it through a visitor’s eyes.

A few years later, while on vacation at Disney, a Cast Member asked us what our hometown was famous for. That was the confirmation we needed to finally start a blog about Rome.

As soon as we got home, I started researching how to build a website. I took online classes and absorbed anything that could teach me how to run a blog and manage social media. I absolutely fell in love with the process! In June 2018, I launched the When In Rome, GA website and social platforms, sharing articles about local history and fun activities.

We just celebrated 8 years, and I’ve loved every minute of it. We’ve grown so much from where we started, and we continue to learn and adapt. A few years ago, we started doing live videos. At first, every time we were fixing to go live, I would get sick from nerves. Now, I have so much fun doing them! Videos have really helped us connect with our audience.

Our main goal is to highlight Rome, especially our local businesses. I love meeting owners and telling their stories to help promote what they do. We have so many plans for the future and can’t wait to make even more connections in our local community!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We have had some bumps in the road. Mostly with growing social media. We want our audience to be people who have an invested interest and who will engage with us on posts. So we want to grow organically. Keeping up with the challenges of an everchanging soical media presence is difficult. We also need to make money to be able to keep the website going. Learning how to monetize the blog has been a learning curve for sure.

Keeping up with trends and finding time to video and edit content can be challenging. When I have the time to do videos, the weather is not always cooperating. I feel like I have a million ideas on the back burner just waiting.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Before I started When In Rome, GA, I was in college working toward a Human Services degree and running a small embroidery business on the side. I never imagined I’d become someone who writes blog posts or makes videos, but I found my passion in storytelling, and it surprised me more than anyone. It’s even led to opportunities where I’ve been honored to write articles for local magazines.

One thing I strive for above all else is positivity. There are so many social media accounts designed to bash, complain, and get everyone riled up. We make it our priority to keep things positive. If someone leaves a negative comment on one of our posts, we try to offer a different point of view, or we simply agree to disagree and move on.

My favorite part of this entire journey, and what makes me proudest, is when people come up to my husband and me in public just to say they follow us and love what we do. Hearing that directly from our followers makes all the hard work completely worth it.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’ve learned to be comfortable with who I am. I’ve struggled with self-confidence my whole life, and I think I have gotten a lot of confidence in who I am on this journey. On our videos, we are live, so if we make a mistake, we just have to go with it. There is no editing. I think that shows that we are real, genuine, and relatable. I think in a world full of “fake,” it’s good to be “real”.

I hated the sound of my own voice for a long time. It wasn’t until someone said, “I love your accent,” that I really embraced my southern “charm”. When we travel, I am always asked, “Where are you from?” My accent is a lot thicker than most. I just pretend that people find it adorable and not annoying.

Pricing:

• We keep our pricing affordable for all types of businesses. Those that have been established for decades and those that are just starting out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wheninromega.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wheninromega/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhenInRomeGa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wheninromega