Take a virtual tour with a professional pizza enthusiast
You might think you love pizza, but Miriam Weiskind truly loves pizza. She has given pizza tours of Manhattan and Brooklyn for Scott’s Pizza Tours for over eight years, runs a website and blog at the ‘Za Report, is active on Instagram at @thezareport and now makes her own pies for her local community — with a month-long waiting list. And while Miriam also runs a Brooklyn-based creative studio called mdoubleu Design, she is clearly a professional pizza enthusiast.
To help people around the world learn a bit about Miriam and her passion for pizza, the Google Web Creators team partnered with her on a Web Story showcasing a virtual pizza tour of Brooklyn.
The story’s title page draws you in with a mouth-watering video of a pizza being tossed and baked. The personal introduction makes you feel like you’re right there with her. She also appears throughout the Web Story, offering her opinions on what makes each pizza great.
Video shot in the pizza shops brings this Web Story to life. Instead of reading a blog post mentioning coal-fired pizza, you see a pizza with melted cheese emerging from an oven with red-hot coals.
The Web Story also has summary pages, featuring Miriam’s favorite pies at each pizza shop. It ends with the names of the three places visited in the story, and features photos and a link to locate these places on Google Maps.
We recently chatted with Miriam about her love of pizza, and how that’s given her success on the web and social media.
How did you find your audience?
I began working with Scott’s Pizza Tours, giving tours once a week while working as a freelance art director in advertising and branding. My passion and love for pizza grew from that.
How did you figure out what you wanted to sell?
During the pandemic, I began to bake [pizza] pies for free to help those out who lost their jobs, were first responders or essential workers, or who were feeling sad or isolated due to the pandemic. Word of mouth quickly spread that I baked amazing pizza for free, and people began to donate to keep me baking. I now offer a limited menu of wood-fired pizzas and Sicilian pies that sell out 30 days ahead of time.
Tell us about your brand. How do you want it to be perceived by followers and fans?
I’m a pretty simple woman, working to make it in the pizza world while leaving a lasting impression to inspire others to do good and be good to others. Followers and fans love my story and the amazing pizza when they try it.
How do you come up with ideas for content for your blog?
On a whim. I let ideas come to me, but I do have a certain algorithm I stick to in order to keep my audience engaged. Also, I do everything on my own. I want my voice to stay true to who I am, and if I were to have someone else do it for me, I don’t feel it would resonate as well with my audience.
How do you manage your content calendar? Any suggested tools or resources you rely on?
I use a text editor on my phone. I should really use a calendar.
Please share some of your most successful posts/content. Why did they work so well for you?
Anything related to my mom and how she inspired me followed by beautiful pizza shots. I was being myself and allowing people to connect to my story.
Do you have tips for recycling your content across platforms?
I shoot multiple things for one post. I like to do a teaser, then a post a day later. I always shoot video, and share snippets in stories. Stories are the fastest ways to catch eyeballs these days on Instagram.
What advice would you share with your earlier self when you were starting on this journey, based on what you’ve learned along the way?
Set up a good website, and be ready for anything. Get organized and partner with people who want the best for you and your product.
Any other advice or tips for success that you’d like to share that we haven’t already asked about?
Never ever use a knife and fork to cut your pizza!
