Want to give your brand instant access to a highly engaged online audience of locals, visitors, and relocators to Raleigh?
Would you like to leverage the credibility and respected voice of a key social media influencer?
As one of the world’s top travel content creators, there are many skills and services we can offer to brands, destinations, and individuals looking to increase their brand awareness and key messaging!
Hi,
We’re Craig and Caroline Makepeace, the founders and publishers at ThisIsRaleigh.com and yTravelBlog.com, one of the world’s largest family travel blogs.
We have been blogging since 2010 and are considered some of the world’s top experts in travel, travel blogging, and social media marketing.
Due to our “extraordinary ability in the art of travel blogging,” we were awarded Green Cards by the US Government and in 2014 were invited to attend a travel summit at The White House as a top digital influencer.
We’ve been featured by media companies such as Lonely Planet, Forbes, The Today Show, Cheddar TV, and Fox Business News.
After 24 years spent living in 5 countries and traveling to over 50, we chose Raleigh as our permanent home. That’s significant CRED for our City of Oaks, especially since we come from Australia – home to the best beaches in the world, a fantastic climate, a fun culture, and of course… kangaroos!
THIS IS RALEIGH is dedicated to sharing the vibrant Raleigh lifestyle. On our channels we share: what to see, do, eat, play and where to stay in Raleigh, Wake County, and the Triangle region.
We don’t believe in confining your lifestyle to the borders of your hometown.
One of the reasons living in Raleigh is so great, is the easy access we have to incredible destinations surrounding us. For that reason, we also share easy getaway and vacation destinations for those living in our area, typically within a 4-6 hour drive away.
Who do we reach and help?
- Residents to discover hidden gems and reconnect to the vibrancy of their home.
- Visitors to discover the best of the city with easy-to-follow itinerary guides and suggestions.
- Relocators: to see the benefits of our lifestyle, and feel confident in making a big lifestyle change. As licensed real estate agents we also connect those moving to Raleigh with qualified agents, partners, and resources to help them settle more comfortably into their new home. We even have our own community meetups to help them form new friendships.
Why work with us?
We have an engaged, loyal community eager to explore Raleigh and getaways from Raleigh within a 4 hour drive and learn more about what you offer. They are looking for businesses and experiences that help them create memorable moments, make their day to day lives easier, and save them time and money (which means more capacity for fun!)
Through our travel blog, we have worked with the biggest names in travel including Marriott Bonvoy, Expedia, Allianz Travel Insurance, Canon, Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Globus, Visit California, Visit Florida, Tourism Australia, and many other international, state, and local tourism boards. (Many have been repeat clients.)
We carry that professionalism, content creation skill, and expertise in creating win win partnerships to This Is Raleigh.
We know how to tell an authentic and relevant story that incorporates your key messages and gives you maximum reach.
As many clients have said to us, “you are the gift that keeps on giving.”
People turn to us for advice on what to see and do in Raleigh LONG after our content has been published.
People are reaching out every day to ask us about the best places to eat, play, stay, and local services that can help them. We share our top tips based upon personal recommendations – the ultimate form of CRED. If we haven’t experienced you, we can’t share you!
Our global travel influence and expertise is often called upon to share travel insights and trends. Raleigh is a destination frequently shared by us in interviews, conference stages, and industry events bringing even more potential exposure to your business.
Many top travel influencers in the world now know of Raleigh (and have visited) as a result of our passionate advocacy. And we have inspired hundreds of people to visit and move here!
This is Raleigh has successfully partnered with Nextdoor, Kane Realty (North Hills guide), Bluewater Spa, The Village District, The Outer Banks, Visit Myrtle Beach, The Crystal Coast, Visit Virginia, Marriott Bonvoy, and more local businesses.
We have a multimedia platform that gives greater reach for your messaging via our social channels, podcast, email community, and blog.
- Blog: reaches 84,000 people every month
- Instagram: 37K followers with an engagement rate of 3% and our Reels receive an average of 8K-30K views. Our Instagram posts reaches on avg 65K accounts a week.
- Podcast: average of 160 – 200 downloads per episode
- Newsletters: 3,500 subscribers, with an average open rate of 30% and click through rate of 3%
What our clients will tell you about working with us
- We are professional enthusiastic communicative, friendly, and easy to work with.
- We create authentic and compelling stories that engage our audience and have a high level of trust, due to our expertise and passion.
- We offer practical and personal insights while positioning your business, brand, or destination with a unique and reflective global perspective.
- Because of our strong knowledge of SEO your content continues to rank high in Google, offering long-term return of investment when most influencer partnerships have stopped producing.
Bottom line: In a world where the word influencer partnerships have stopped delivering results, we are known for delivering consistent and long-term ROI finite results and exposure.
People follow us because:
- The genuine passion and love we have for sharing Raleigh is evident and contagious.
- We’re friendly, personable, relevant and helpful. We’re stopped on the street almost every time we go out from someone telling us how we’ve made a difference.
- We know how to form connections with strangers and help everyone feel valued, included, and welcomed. (as long term nomads, this was a vital survival skill for us!)
- We have a unique and interesting story and global perspective. We 100% walk our talk, and in doing so inspire others to do the same.
- As we’ve spent 24 years traveling the world, living in 5 countries, and traveling to over 50, they trust our judgment and ability to show them how they can live a vibrant life in their own hometown.
- We know how to find unique experiences, uncover the personality of a city, and craft Excellent Days Out!
- Our content is informative and helpful and includes our personal perspective.
- Our vibrant photos and video (including drone footage) grabs attention and helps our followers feel connected to it. If we can do it, they CAN TOO!
- We don’t just focus on food, but outdoor adventure, festivals, events, family fun, local businesses, and fun things to do.
- Our podcast is real, light hearted and introduces people to the incredible stories of our Raleigh thought leaders, business owners, and changemakers.
What services do we offer?
As skilled content creators, we offer a range of services to suit your marketing needs. We LOVE and PREFER long-term partnerships with brands we know, like, and trust. That long term exposure always brings the best results.
As we are a multi-media platform, the best campaigns utilize our different platforms in order spread your brand and messaging further and in a more cohesive and comprehensive way. We can create packages that include several of our offered services.
Click on each of the following services to learn more and then head to the bottom of the page for how to contact us and get started!
Client TESTIMONIALS
“We were very pleased with our marketing campaign with This is Raleigh. Craig is great to work with – creative, a good communicator and always professional. Their content is top notch across the board and we were very happy with the engagement and impressions we received on social media thanks to their creativity and thoughtfulness in putting together an impressive and well-rounded 48 Hour Guide to North Hills. We look forward to working with their team again in the future!”
Hannah Smith
Marketing Manager, Kane Realty Corporation, North Hills
“In December of 2021, the Crystal Coast Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of working on with This Is Raleigh. We hosted Caroline, Craig and their children for a 3-day winter vacation and the results were just beautiful. Although winter can be a difficult time to promote a beach destination, Carolina and Craig handled the assignment with flying colors. Their stunning photography, expansive coverage and diverse exploration of our area was above and beyond. They truly captured how special our area can be at any time of the year and we couldn’t be happier with the results“
“Caroline and Craig are extremely professional, personable, and incredibly easy to work with. They also continued to talk about our destination through various other mediums long after the assignment had concluded. I personally recommend this duo for capturing any story and know they will exceed your expectations.”
Karen Gould
Director of Digital and Event Marketing, The Crystal Coast
“This is Raleigh is a credible organization, utilizing Craig’s passion in bringing the best of Raleigh to the community. Craig is a professional blogger, who not only shares experiences of your business to a community, he provides real life thought to how it benefits his audience. Craig is professional, thorough, and an incredible photographer and videographer. He created a video of his stay and restaurant experience at The StateView that displayed skills and value. He far exceeded our expectations. He is worth the participation to get your message out!”
Karris Deis
Director of Sales & Marketing, The StateView Hotel
“We recently had the pleasure of working with the Makepeace family on a multi-day project for Visit Idaho. From the first time we met with them for film planning to them arriving on location for the shoot, they brought enthusiasm, ideas, and professionalism. Whether it was skiing and snow tubing for the first time or experiencing an indoor waterpark as a family, their commitment to the quality of the project and the added exposure they delivered through their social channels are sure to have a lasting impact on Visit Idaho as a brand.”
Addy Coleman
VP, Account Director Madden Media | VISIT IDAHO
Reader Testimonials
“My wife and I moved to Raleigh from Arlington, VA and thanks to your amazing recommendations and
blog posts, have already had the best experiences in the Raleigh area, despite the COVID challenges!”
Nico
“Just wanted to say how impressed and grateful I am for your site. Hubs is English, I’m French, we’ve traveled the world and lived in 4 countries together (more before meeting) and we’re now contemplating a move to Raleigh. We’re currently living in Toronto with 2 small children, we came here just for a few days to scout the area and I don’t think we could have done it without you guys!!
A massive thank you!”
Caroline
“I recently just visited Raleigh and fell in love. I set up an appointment and met with a real estate agent while I was down there. I am hoping to move out of New York by next summer. That being said I found your blog really helpful in making this decision.”
Erica
Your Next Steps
Please contact us with all pertinent information in regards to how you’d like to work with us. Let’s talk through your ideas and create a win/win relationship. You can fill out the form below or send an email to cazcraig{at}thisisraleigh[.com]
Note: The email above needs to be written in proper email structure when you send us an email. We write it like that so bots can’t scrape it and send us endless spam.