Ariana Pezeshki, Hannah Gay and Sarah Woodcock have launched TELL ME ABOUT IT, a website for people on the generational cusp, in their late 20s to 30s, where no topic is off limits.
Think of TELL ME ABOUT IT (TMAI) as your friend of a friend, the one with the juicy stories. The one with the great advice. The one you aspire to be more like. From lifestyle, beauty and fashion to relationships, parenting and finances – TMAI is here to spark conversations, share ideas and make content that’s simply, real.
BD sat down with co-founder, Ariana Pezeshki to chat all about the launch, what inspired the site, and why Substack is bringing back the nostalgia of the good ol' blogging days.
Congratulations on the launch of TELL ME ABOUT IT! Where did the idea come from?
Thank you! We’re excited to finally share our passion project with the world. The idea was sparked like any other grand idea, at a girls night about nine months ago over pizza and wine.
We shared a passion for creating a safe space to write about meaningful topics that we knew readers like us could relate to.
The three of us have really varied experiences and combined all of our skills to launch TELL ME ABOUT IT a few months later. We’re so proud of it and the response has been so well received, we couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.
Can you share a little about each of you and your backgrounds?
Ariana and Hannah both have industry experience as journalists, namely in the beauty space.
Hannah’s experience extends to digital content production for consumer magazines and brands alike, while Ariana’s experience extends across both digital and print magazines having written beauty, lifestyle and entertainment content for several national titles.
Sarah’s background is in corporate marketing and most of her experience has been in the travel, fashion and lifestyle sectors, she also moonlights as a writer.
TELL ME ABOUT IT has become our space to bring together our different backgrounds, skills and experiences and share creative, long-form content, media and social media to build a community, start conversations and tell readers about things that are important to them.
What sets TMAI apart?
We felt there was a gap in the current Australian market for the generation we like to say is “on the cusp”; that “in-betweener” generation that doesn’t really feel they have a place or feel that they can identify with traits from more than one generation, ie. that sweet spot between Gen Z and Millennials.
We all loved the blogging golden era of the 2000s and have heavily been inspired by the nostalgic content style but we’re also taking a modern approach with trends and tech.
Who is your audience?
Our audience are people mostly between the ages of 26 and 39 – but we also don’t want to put a limit on our demographic.
We like to think of TELL ME ABOUT IT as your internet bestie. Have you been through a friend breakup too? Let’s discuss it. Are you worried you’re earning less than your peers? Time to open up about pay transparency.
We want to tell you about topics that will drive conversations to spark change or create a space where you can connect and relate, but we also want to have some fun along the way.
What drew you to Substack?
Going back to the feelings of nostalgia and early noughties 2000s, blogs are back!
We love that Substack is driving that original blog-like feel where longer-form content can live and look good all in one place. Substack is growing in popularity as written media is having a resurgence, people are seeking real connections so are looking for content outside of the usual social channels.
Substack feels comforting in a way – in a world of ever-evolving trends, we can put our mark in long-form content first before it comes and goes on socials all in a day.
Our readers are seeking our content intentionally because they want to carve out time in their busy week to read the articles, interviews, and relatable advice. That sense of agency is lacking on Instagram or TikTok because it moves so quickly.
We want our content to feel more like a magazine; stacked with stored memories you can always refer back to in this fast-paced digital world.
How will you be working commercially with brands?
First and foremost, it’s really important to us to share content and stories that add value and resonate with our audience. We truly believe that authenticity is our key to building that trust for the long term.
That ethos extends to our philosophy around partnerships with brands and we are really excited about opportunities to work with brands that we (and our readers) love and trust.
We are very much a start-up but are so pleased by our immediate growth and can feel the excitement and enthusiasm from across the industry.
How can brands get in touch?
Email us at: asktmai@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram: @tellmeaboutitaus.
What's to come for 2024?
We’re kicking off the year with our first-ever reader event in February – stay turned for more on that soon!
We’re also excited to keep evolving and expanding to give more to our readers and are looking forward to building partnerships with brands and collaborators. There will be a lot to tell you about in 2024.
You can check out TMAI via Substack here, and follow along on Instagram here.
