Influencer, blogger, content creator; what the heck are they? While navigating all 3 roles since 2018, I thought it was high time to share some insights into what I’ve learned along the way. Things I wish I knew before I started this exhilarating, exhausting and ever evolving job.
Four and a half years….wow! That’s when this website and my first social media accounts as With A Touch of Luxe went live. With high hopes to positively influence and reach women across the globe, I started sharing little tips and tidbits of my life on the world wide web. What an adventure (and steep learning curve) it has been. By no means am I an expert on all things social media. But I have learned a few key elements that I wish I knew in the early years of influencing and blogging. If you are a brand new influencer or are thinking of starting a blog or just want to hear about my experience (or lack thereof), settle in because this post is for you.
Blogger Or Influencer
A blogger can be an influencer but an influencer is not a blogger; are you confused yet? Bloggers have a website and consistently write articles called blog posts. Depending on their niche, bloggers write about their personal experience with travel, recipes, diys, beauty, etc. Influencers use social media to promote their lifestyle or products and provide personal insight on how it works for them; no website required. So what am I? I started out as a blogger and quickly realized having an active social media account was essential. Especially if I wanted to start earning money. So I aggressively worked at establishing my role as an influencer. I still have a blog with a small, but loyal, army of subscribers and followers. The majority of my time and energy however is focused on being an influencer.
Stay Away from the “Hey Dear”s
If you receive an email, DM, or message request that starts with “hey dear”, “hey babe”, or “sweetie” , proceed with caution. This is a mass marketing message that is being sent to any influencer or blogger who came up in the brand’s search terms. If the message is truly from a brand you would be interested in collaborating with, I would respond expressing interest. Do not agree to posting, gifting, or any type of content creation. Usually the second time around you get a real human being communicating with you and then you can discuss terms. Definitely pass if this is a brand you are not interested in.
Don’t Pay Anything
I made this mistake my very first collaboration. I was approached by a sunglass company to post about two pairs of sunglasses they would send me for free. All I had to do was pay $10.99 in shipping. I had zero experience with collaborations at this point so this sounded like a great deal. I mean, who says no to two free pairs of sunnies? Never, ever, ever, pay for anything in a collaboration. It is a scam and a way that brands take advantage of new influencers, like myself at the time.
Check the Email Address
Email scams are not new so it’s no surprise scammers have hacked into the world of influencer collaborations as well. When a brand reaches out to me via email I ALWAYS check the email address. Most brands have their name at the end of the email address. For example, I am in regular contact with the shoe company Sarah Flint. All correspondence comes from “brandambassador@sarahflint.com” If I received an email from “ambassadorsarahflint@gmail.com” it would definitely be a red flag and an email to report and ignore.
Commission Only
This final lesson applies later down the influencer and blogger road. Once you’ve established your personal brand and have curated a repertoire of content creation through gifted campaigns, it’s time to start earning money. Commission-only payment is another way some, not all, brands take advantage of beginning influencers. Influencers are asked to create quality content, market and advertise for the brand on their social media, and earn pennies for their time and effort. To film, edit, and write a quality caption for a single post takes me 3-5 hours start to finish. A 5% commission on selling a few bottles of $30 face wash does not cut it. Honestly, a few of my brands are still commission-only. But that is by choice. Either these brands have supported and have been with me from the beginning or I trully love and support the brand and would share about them no matter what.
Like most things in life, there is no “one way” to success. The blogging and influencer world is an ever evolving industry and I am learning and evolving with it. But if I had known these 5 tips in the beginning of this journey, I definitely would have benefited.
