Exclusive Interview with Talk Nerdy With Us Creators Hillary and Rachel

Hillary and Rachel are the ladies behind the online entertainment website Talk Nerdy With Us. They are nerdy fans of TV, movies, books, music and virtually anything entertainment.

I recently discussed with them how they came up with Talk Nerdy With Us. Read on to find out the answer to that and other Talk Nerdy facts.

What made you want to create Talk Nerdy With Us?

Rachel: “I’ve always loved pop culture and television, especially. I was sick a few years ago and binged through too many shows to keep track of. It was a great escape! But, it also made me realize I had A LOT of my own opinions when it came to TV shows. I cared maybe too much about these fictional characters. The same thing happened with books. I binged read and went through series like there was no tomorrow.

I went to a fan convention and met a TV journalist named Claudia who told me I should pursue this field. When I got home from the convention I talked to Hillary about it. We both ended up writing for another site but it just wasn’t the right fit. Hillary came to me with an idea to start our own site.

I thought she was crazy and had no idea how she physically could build a site. But lo and behold 24 hours later (I kid you not) she had built a functioning site for us to use.”

Hillary: “Rachel and I dabbled with the idea of creating our own site but had no idea where to start. She told me that if I put together a site she would run it with me. 24 hours later (and a ton of google searches on how to make a website) we were up and running! Our first few posts were quite embarrassing. I think our first was a video blog about Justin Bieber. (Laughs).”

How did decide on the name for Talk Nerdy With Us?

H: “Honest Reviews Corner (our previous site) had died down. So we had the choice of giving up our dream of running a site, or completely re-branding and re-creating our site. I think we were at a concert brainstorming new names. It needed to be awesome and stand out. It also needed to represent who we were and who was going to write for us.”

R: “We knew we didn’t want to focus on just recaps or reviews anymore. We wanted to be original and different. We went back and forth when it came to choosing the name. Honestly I can’t tell you exactly how we chose TNWU, because I don’t remember. I think Hillary suggested we use the word “nerd”. And I do think it had to with Jason Derulo’s song (was that playing at the concert Hillary?) … Instead of Talk Dirty to Me it became Talk Nerdy With Us. It just fit. It seemed perfect.

A lot of online blogs focus on primarily one thing i.e. fashion, sports. Why did you decide to have Talk Nerdy With Us include posts on different mediums, entertainment and books.

R: “For that reason exactly. We wanted to be something new and different. Plus we don’t only love one category. There are days we love bands more than books. Others we love books the most. Etc. So we decided to focus on the things we “nerd” out over, which happen to be TV, movies, books (comics & graphic novels included), music festivals, conventions, and gaming.”

H: “(Laughs). Yeah, we have a busy life.”

Who came up with the Talk Nerdy With Us logo?

R: “That’s all Hillary!”

H: “Haha, yeah! I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like the instant we picked our name.”

What do you look for in selecting contributing writers for Talk Nerdy With Us?

H: “A BIG part of our site is our writers. Without them, we’d have a pretty looking website with little to no content. (Laughs). We look for writers who love working with us and who we can count on. It always makes me smile when our writers collaborate and help each other come up with ideas for posts!”

R: “We also look for passion. Passion in a category. Passion of writing. Just passion. If you’re passionate about what you’re writing your writing is good. It doesn’t matter if we agree with what you’re saying or not, because of your passion you’ll write well. And like Hillary said we really pride ourselves in being a team and collaborating together. TNWU isn’t just about one person. So we look for team players and team supporters.”

Is it difficult running an online website like Talk Nerdy With Us?

R: “Short answer? Yes.( Laughs).”

H: “Totally! It’s a huge learning experience too.”

How many hours would you estimate you spend working on Talk Nerdy With Us?

R: “It’s a 9-5 job and then some. You’re basically always working. Every minute of every day. Even weekends! But I do really love it. So I don’t mind the hours.

What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced with Talk Nerdy With
Us?

H: “We’ve had some growth related issues. Without getting too technical, our site had a handful of downtime this year because we are too big to be on a regular hosting plan. Basically we were taking up 90% of the server that we shared with a couple thousand people. Our site has been updated and fixed at this point…. I hope”

R: “Finding the right team. Like we said earlier the TNWU team is what makes us or breaks us. So one of the biggest challenges has been finding the right people to make TNWU successful.”

How do you decide on the interviews that Talk Nerdy With Us has done?

R: “I think it starts with who we’re interested in at the moment. (Laughs). But also who our teams into, and of course what clients we are being pitched. I don’t know if there is a real answer for this – since most days I don’t think we actually do decide.”

H: “There are times I’ll be listing on Spotify and find an awesome band and reach out for an interview, but other than that, Rach basically summed it all up.”

Where do you envision Talk Nerdy With Us in 5 years?

H: “I’ve thought a lot about growth. We’re currently working on expanding our specific categories, so we can truly cover all things “nerdy” and growing our team. If I had it my way within 5 years TNWU would profitable enough that we could compensate our writers for their hard work.”