Show Notes
What does it actually take to build a platform that changes the way people see their city?
In this episode of The Localist podcast, host Carrie Rollwagen sits down with Hattie O’Hara, the creator behind One Week in Birmingham, a weekly Instagram series that has become essential viewing for anyone who loves or wants to love Birmingham. Over 60 episodes in, Hattie has built one of the most genuinely beloved local platforms in the city and recently launched Your Week in Birmingham, a curated weekly newsletter that helps readers plan their own weeks in the city.
Hattie talks about the night one comment at a bar inspired the whole series, why she started on a Wednesday instead of waiting for Monday, how she makes every decision based on her own values instead of social media best practices, how she shoots and edits everything on her phone using the free version of CapCut, how she thinks about what to share and where to draw the line, and how she is beginning to build a real business around the brand she never set out to create.
Topics Covered in This Episode
- What makes One Week in Birmingham feel like a story rather than a collection of sponsored posts
- Why starting on a Wednesday instead of Monday changed everything
- How Hattie keeps making decisions based on her own values rather than what the algorithm wants
- How she shoots and edits every episode entirely on her phone using the free version of CapCut
- Where she draws the line on what to share about her personal life and why
- What is in the Your Week in Birmingham newsletter and how does she keep it curated and manageable
- Why she includes nonprofit spotlights and why knowing Birmingham’s nonprofits matters
- How she thinks about brand partnerships and why being selective costs her money but protects the brand
- What the business side of a local platform like this actually looks like
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Connect with Hattie O’Hara
Hattie O’Hara is the creator of One Week in Birmingham, a weekly Instagram series that tells the story of her week in the city, and Your Week in Birmingham, a curated weekly newsletter that helps readers plan their own week in Birmingham.
Website and newsletter signup:https://www.hattieohara.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hat_ohara/
Mentioned in This Episode
- One Week in Birmingham (Instagram series): https://www.instagram.com/hat_ohara
- Your Week in Birmingham newsletter: https://www.hattieohara.com
- Carrie’s episode on Word of Mouth Podcast (referenced by Hattie): https://open.spotify.com/show/1icxBH4UjcZFSrtKIJ4rDi
- Birmingham Education Foundation (Hattie’s first job): https://www.bhamef.org
- Breakthrough Birmingham (Hattie’s current day job): https://breakthroughbham.org
- Railroad Park Foundation (nonprofit spotlight example): https://railroadpark.org
- Balance Wine Club (Hattie’s brand partnership): https://www.balancewineco.com
- The Little Red Print Shop (newsletter sponsor example): https://www.instagram.com/thelittleredprintshop
- FuckUp Nights Birmingham (event referenced at the start of the One Week in Birmingham story): https://en.fuckupnights.com/city/birmingham
Follow Carrie Rollwagen
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/crollwagen
Website: https://www.carrierollwagen.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/crollwagen
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@crollwagen
Listen to The Localist on Spotify & Apple Podcasts
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01dHWZxkHaguyawbXzrzwU
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-localist-with-carrie-rollwagen/id1482221936
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Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia
The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia, a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company that helps small businesses get big results online.
Contact Infomedia: https://infomedia.com/contact
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Join Us at Localist Lab
Localist Lab is our free live marketing event series for small business owners, held on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Each session features practical strategies you can use right away, plus free tacos and coffee.
See upcoming events and register https://infomedia.com/events
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