Six Things That Bloggers & Influencers Should Know
Photography by:
Sharon Litz (@sharonlitz)
www.sharinaone.com
Outfit Details:
Top: Free People
Skirt: Thacker NYC
Flowers: The Bouq Co.
Shoes: Shop IPPO
Hairstylist:
Lyssa (@hairbylyssa_)
1. Sit down, be humble.
Nobody likes entitled, and nobody likes overly cocky. Nobody cares if you have 100k if you act like a cold-hearted bitch. In this competitive industry, numbers won't get you as far as a powerful voice and influential platform. Be humble, be appreciative, and be thankful. Trust me when I say that being thankful and genuine with both your colleagues (aka business owners, PR managers, etc.) and your followers will really thank you in the long run.
2. Your hustle determines your paycheck.
A lot of bloggers ask me, "How do you get paid when companies won't reach out to you?"
The answer is simple - I reach out to them. Don't wait for the opportunity; act on it. If you have a brilliant and creative idea, find one (or multiple companies) that you would love to involve in this project and craft a proposal around your idea. More often than not, companies are interested in creating content with passionate influencers and the worst they can do is say no.
While rejection may hurt, feelings of regret and not trying new things hurts even more. So what are you waiting for? It's time to get out a pen and paper - let's get them creative juices rollin'.
3. People follow you for your influence and your voice, not your numbers.
With the shitty Instagram algorithm becoming more and more intolerable by the second, I continue to hear an endless amount of complaints about how nobody is growing.
However, I learned a long time ago that complaints get you nowhere and change does. Instead of asking "Why aren't I gaining any followers these days?", why not ask yourself "How can I help out my community? How can I create content that will stimulate my readers' minds?"
When people see that you're focused on your goals and actively pushing to become a more effective influencer, you will naturally attract an audience that will continue to support you endlessly. This will be the same audience that will translate among multiple platforms and will follow you wherever you go, whether it's on Instagram or the next trending app years from now.
4. Don't feel obligated to work with every company that is interested in your work.
I'll admit that past Michelle used to jump on every collaboration that she received. However, times have changed, young blogger Mish has grown up, and now she knows better.
For anyone who has a clear mission statement for their brand or blog, I would highly recommend NOT working with every company that wants to send you complimentary products and/or a paycheck. The more companies you work with, the more confusing your brand becomes to other companies and your followers. And along the way of accepting collaboration after collaboration, you may lose the trust of your followers in the long run if you cannot explain to them what your brand is really about if you are saying yes to every company.
Only work with brands that align with your blog and push your brand's mission statement even further. Stay consistent, and don't venture off too far from your own personality and comfort zone. When you reject brands that don't fit your style, aesthetic, or feed, you only leave room for better opportunities ahead that do fit your brand.
5. If you want to be treated like a professional, stay professional.
If you ever receive an email where a company undermines your work or value, do not send an angry email back. Not only is it a waste of your time, but it also just comes across as unprofessional. Simply ignore them, or tell them your honest thoughts in a calm, but effective manner and leave it at that. As I always say, anger and unnecessary sass never help communicate your point any better than addressing things rationally.
Also, this is a pet peeve or turn-off to me, but to each their own. If I attend a media event that involves gifting or goodie bags at the end of the night, I would NEVER open it at the venue or in front of the host/hostess. I personally don't think it looks good to be gushing over your gifts in public, nor is it necessary to open your gift the very second you receive it. Save the unboxing for Instastories at home, and don't forget to thank the company for their generosity!
6. Be aggressive - but in the right way.
In the past and even today, I would craft an extremely detailed proposal of a project I would love to work on with a company, only to receive no response - multiple times.
I thought they were interested? Do they hate me? Did I say something wrong?
More often than not, the employee who manages the public relations or marketing side of the company most likely missed your email. If you think about it, hundreds of other influencers are reaching out to the same company so there's a high chance that your specific email will be lost in the mail. After all, the world is saturated with content creators, and same with the email inboxes of every company that exists.
But you know what I learned while being an entrepreneur? You NEED to be aggressive if you want to get your point across, or if you want to be noticed. Think of it like a recommendation letter or job interview situation - you need to follow up constantly with a professor to make sure that they've sent in your letter or call the employer if they are interested in hiring you for the job. Whether we like it or not, the ones in power may not be the ones who control our future - it's us.
Here's a fun story to remind you to stay positive and focused when your follow-ups are being ignored - it took me at least SIX follow-up emails (one sent every 2-3 days) to finally work with a company that I collaborate with on a regular basis to this very day. If I had given up after the first one or two emails, where would that have left me? Back at square one. If you want to get ahead, you have to think ahead. Be fearless, work hard, and your results will show.
I hope that these tips resonated with you guys & I would love to write more articles similar to this one - after all, inspirational tips and tricks are one of my favorite topics to share with you all! If you want me to write about any additional topics, please share with me your requests in the comments below or feel free to DM me on Instagram!
Much Love,
