Full-Time Influencer Q&A

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately on Instagram and here on the blog about my journey to being a full-time influencer/content creator so I thought it would be fun to share a little bit more about it with a classic Q&A! From getting started to hiring a team, and everything in between, I hope you enjoy this Q&A!

Full-Time Influencer Q&A

How do you stay disciplined and not get distracted?  

Even after years of being in this industry, staying focused is not easy! I get distracted daily. Working from home is one of the best things about my career, but it’s so easy to get distracted by household work and everyday life in the midst of a workday. The key is to come up with a plan and stick to it. Even if you get off track sometimes! Motivation gets you started, but discipline keeps you going! When you set out to accomplish something, write down why you are doing it. That way, when it comes to potential distractions, you can look back and remind yourself why you’re doing this.

How do you stay consistent with content?

If I’m being completely honest, consistency has been my biggest struggle since having kids. When I plan out content in advance it’s a lot easier to keep up with. However, when you have kids you always have to be prepared for things not to go exactly as planned so I try to remain as flexible as possible.

Routines are also a big part of staying consistent. They take a lot of guesswork out of the day and prevent decision fatigue.

Check out some of my routines here.

Do you have a team that works with you? Editing, shooting, etc.  

I absolutely do! There is no way I would be able to manage every single aspect of my business at the capacity that I do without help. My team consists of –

Photographer

I shoot with a photographer weekly and she helps me shoot upcoming campaign photos and organic content for Instagram and TikTok. 

Virtual Assistant

My virtual assistant helps manage and create content for LTK, Pinterest, and the blog. The capacity at which she does these things changes depending on what I need at the time, so her role flexes with my business. 

Management Team

Within the last few years, I have also added a management team to the roster. Until 2020, I pitched myself directly to brands and agencies for sponsorships. While it’s something I could definitely still be doing, it was very time-consuming. That’s why I took the leap and decided to add on a management team to free up some of my time and the creative space in my brain. They take a percentage of my earnings from each sponsorship they bring in, but I have found it to be worth it! They have not only freed up all of the time it was taking to constantly pitch myself and negotiate on deals, but they’ve also helped me learn to price myself better and earn more.

Attorney

I have an attorney on retainer that I use to look over all of my contracts. Don’t ever sign anything without having an attorney look over it first!

That’s pretty much the team as of right now! Anything really creative, like editing, I like to do myself because that’s where my passion lies. When I started outsourcing I chose the things that took too long or didn’t bring me joy. Before I was at a place in my business where I could hire help Colton would lend a hand when I needed help filming a video. He still helps out if I need it. So if you’re at a place in your business where you can hire help, don’t be afraid to ask friends and family!

Is being a content creator too saturated to get started now?

The short answer is absolutely not! The world of social media is still very new and right now is honestly the best time to start building a community.  People are constantly searching for entertainment, information, and new skills. However, if you are starting out now I think it’s important to niche down. Having intentional content for a specific subset of people helps you grow faster and become an expert in your field. Now, you don’t have to niche down, but I do think it will make a difference in the speed of your growth.

How do you decide what content to focus on?

I try to focus mostly on what my audience wants to see from me. The analytics say it all! My main YouTube channel consists more of cleaning, lifestyle, and routine videos because, based on the analytics, those are the videos that my audience is the most interested in and those videos have the highest audience retention rate.

How do you balance your family while running your business?

I make sure to dedicate time to solely be with my family. It’s important for us to eat dinner as a family, so we make the time to do that together daily. I also disconnect from social media often in an effort to be more present. I don’t get caught up in having to post every single day which can be tough, but after building a community you do have a little flexibility there. I usually dedicate my weekends to not doing much work so that I’m able to be completely present. 

When did you first get started and how much money did you have to put into it?

I got started in 2010. In the beginning, I didn’t put any additional money into it. I used an old camera that I had sitting around or my phone and I had a laptop that I was using for college classes that I would edit on. Although that was many years ago, I still believe that you can get started without having much money. Pretty much all phones nowadays are being made with great camera quality so you can film with what you have. There are even apps you can use on your phone to edit. You can also get ring lights and tripods on Amazon for less than $50. It might not be exactly what you want to start with, but in the beginning, it’s all about just starting. 

What is the best way to break into the industry? 

Just do it. Don’t overthink it. Pray about it and go for it!

What is the process for sponsorships and posting ad content?

The process begins with either you pitching yourself to the brand or the brand reaching out to you. If the brand is reaching out and it’s not an item or brand that you’re familiar with you would want to try the item first and make sure you’re comfortable promoting it. From there, you and the brand would agree on the deliverables, terms, usage, due date, and compensation. A contractual agreement is made. Both parties sign. The brand will either send you the product or sometimes you might have to purchase the product yourself. It depends on what you and the brand agreed on.

From there you try the product, create the content according to the brief, and send it over for review. If there’s anything that the brand would like changed, you would then go in and do a round of edits. Once everything is done you would agree on the upload date. After content is posted payment is usually issued 60-90 days later. 

How has your life changed since becoming a full-time content creator? 

I became a creator very early on in my adult life. When I started posting consistently on YouTube I was 20 years old!! That’s so crazy to think about. In general, my life has changed a lot since then. However, I’m not oblivious to the fact that being a creator has opened a lot of doors for me! It’s created financial freedom for myself and my family. I’m able to help so many people and organizations because of this. I thank God for bringing this opportunity to my life every single day and I thank you all for your support throughout this journey. 

How do you go about getting sponsorships and what are some ways for smaller accounts to start getting them?

In the beginning, you can pitch yourself to different brands or you can join a platform that connects creators with brands. There are a ton out there! The more your platform grows, the more businesses will reach out to you.

How many streams of income do you have?

Right now I have three main streams of income as a content creator; sponsorships, ad revenue, and affiliate links. In the past, I’ve also sold physical products but this isn’t currently a revenue stream for me.