Busy Marketing Strategists Seek to Inspire Real Women, Leading Real Lives

SARATOGA SPRINGS– Kimberly Hickok and Angela McFarland, long time Capital District media and marketing professionals have launched FoodHomeLifeStyle.com, an online resource offering practical and doable lifestyle tips to women ages 25 - 54.  The start-up, launched in January of this year, is presently in a web and social media stage and will evolve into an online and wireless service for digital TV channels.

Food and lifestyle blogger, Kim Hickok (www.kimversations.com) of Ballston Lake, is the CEO, Executive Editor and Strategic Content Creator. She is a 20 year marketing expert and business strategist and has served a number of national and regional brands. Hickok has owned her own graphic design business, lent support for a national nonprofit agency and has been a top sales performer in the print and web development industry. She was also recently featured in the Times Union's Women@Work July/August 2015 issue.

Hickok stated "About a year ago (Fall, 2014) two well-respected lifestyle celebrity web brands were ‘feuding’, Martha Stewart and Gwyneth Paltrow. What we learned from watching the spat unfold, and listening to the fallout in the media and online was this: people, women in particular, are looking for practical information they can use – information from a source that they can relate to."

"We all eat, have a roof over our heads, deal with life’s challenging situations and wear clothes – Ang and I met and the name FoodHomeLifeStyle just 'clicked'. If we had to dream big, and we do, we’d love to see our site eventually be the Huffington Post for all things related to food, home, life and style" she continued.

Since the site’s launch, Hickok and McFarland have been experimenting with the site’s content to see what resonates most with readers.

"To be honest, we didn’t expect our site traffic to increase the way it has. That just proves that there is room in the marketplace for our brand of content," said Hickok.

"It’s been a period of trial and error and we are learning that people not only want tips to help make their lives easier but they also want to be entertained. We were surprised when a post, about the importance of making sure your backside is covered when you wear leggings, went viral," added Hickok.

Angela McFarland, of Ballston Spa, is the COO, Creative Director and Brand Strategist.  A lifetime Capital District resident, she has over 20 years in advertising and marketing experience, is the former owner of several print hyper-local publications and current Publisher and partner in Newzmedia Holdings LLC, parent company to the Ballston Journal Online, a digital news media formed in 2013. McFarland is experienced in all facets of media and operations including traditional print, direct mail, radio and billboard to the newest forms of digital message delivery. She has held advertising sales leadership positions, targeting small to medium sized businesses, for most of her career.
 

"Kim and I have known each other for several years; our career paths in media are almost identical from working telephones at small newspapers many moons ago to diving in full steam with everything digital media has to offer.  She's the yin to my yang, the "Martha Stewart" to my "Oprah".  We share humble beginnings, a common passion for information and an equal desire to educate and have fun doing it with like-minded women," said McFarland.

The website features a range of topics from DIY home decorating, fashion and beauty, food, health and finance.  McFarland expects to see a dabbling of pop culture, relationship discussions and more travel added to the lineup by 1^stquarter, 2016. The content is generated by a small team of relatable women. Each are committed to inspiring the FHLS audience with easy to manage tips and great ideas.

The two continue to seek good content providers and are looking to incorporate more DIY tutorials. Eventually, the pair also plans a regular form of interactive media with their followers.

"We’re not sure what this looks like yet but once we figure it out, we’ll give it a try," said Hickok.

FoodHomeLifeStyle.com's current launch is focused on the Northeast region consisting of NY, VT, NH, ME and MA. The partners have identified five additional target regions across the country that will replicate the business concept, with content specific to each region.

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About FoodHomeLifeStyle.com

FoodHomeLifeStyle.com Real Tips for Real Life is based in Saratoga Springs, NY offering resources, tips and information practical for the every day woman.  Visit the website at http://foodhomelifestyle.com and follow the brand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+.