We recently connected with Kelly Dobroski and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kelly, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I’m on a mission to get more people to explore our costal places – like beaches and waterfront cities – but it might not be why you think.
I started Coastal with Kelly with two goals in mind: get more people to the coast, and increase the visibility of sustainable travel initiatives. At the end of the day, my goal is to protect our oceans by getting more people in and near the water, so they understand why we need to protect these places. We do that by having memorable, remarkable experiences in these beautiful places – and doing so with the goal of having a positive impact on the places we’re in.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve been in love with the water since I was a kid – I was always the last to want to leave the beach on family vacations, and was hard to pull out of the neighbor’s pool in the summer. This love led me to Washington College and Duke University to study how we manage our ocean’s resources. What I learned is that we have enough science to know what to do, but we need to work on how we communicate the need to protect these places to the public and businesses. Because the ocean is SO big, many of us think there’s no way we could really make an impact on it – but the science shows us this is not the case, and we DO have an impact on the ocean and our coasts every day.
We also know that people love what they have a connection to, and people protect what they love. This is why I encourage get-wet coastal activities, like snorkeling and paddle boarding. For example, if you’ve never seen a coral reef, how do we get you to care about protecting them? We have to get people to see these places, build a connection to these places, and encourage them to raise their voices to protect and celebrate these places. And that’s what I do at Coastal with Kelly.
Coastal with Kelly is a platform that shares coastal lifestyle and travel information to inspire more people to visit the coast, with the underlying mission of supporting ocean conservation efforts. At the end of the day, Coastal with Kelly is your one-stop for all things coastal: you’ll find inspiration for where you should take your next vacation, things to keep at your beach house, how to host a seafood boil, and more.
Coastal with Kelly creates digital media across social platforms to inform people about coastal destinations, activities, and products that make life at the coast and traveling there better. Services for brands that align with Coastal with Kelly include content creation, content amplification, social media promotion, email campaign sponsorship, and more.
I have worked with brands across industries, including skincare, luxury fragrance, regenerative ocean food, and more.
Coming in 2024, Coastal with Kelly will be launching its first season of the Coastal with Kelly Podcast – so stay tuned for more ways to get involved!
How did you build your audience on social media?
While I’m still growing, the best advice I can give is this: don’t forget to play, and stay true to your mission.
I’ve found my best performing posts are those that I felt true joy while creating. It can be hard to not get swept up in following the latest trend, but at the end of the day people can tell if what you created was made with your heart or not. Keep creating what feels good for you to create, and your people will find you.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I think the biggest thing has been sticking with what I’m the most passionate about. I could have branched out to include ALL travel on my blog, but what I’m most passionate about is our coastal places.
What I’m known for, and hope to continue to grow as, is the best resource for waterfront destinations. While that can always ebb and flow, continuously coming back to my roots of focusing on waterfront locations has continued to help me grow and cultivate a loyal and engaged audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.coastalwithkelly.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/coastalwithkelly
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/coastalwithkelly
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kellydobroski
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOPZhefEVRa8tLXJA0OsTaA
- Other: Sweet and Salty Book Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sweetandsaltybookclub
Image Credits
Kelly Dobroski