The Raw Truth About Being An Influencer
Not all influencers are the same. We all have our own journeys. Our own stories. Our own philosophies.
Becoming an influencer is a process and it may not necessarily be for everyone and not everyone connected to you will understand it in the beginning, that’s why it’s important to find some influencer friends or join influencer communities.
See, being an influencer is an exciting journey. On paper it’s the ultimate occupation. As a lifestyle influencer, I basically get paid to live my life and share it with others on social media. I influence others to embrace self-care, so I basically get paid to take charge of my self-care and other things like going on dates, traveling, shopping, etc.
Let’s talk about going viral, it’s how some influencers (and even businesses) grow followers and become successful. I remember the first time I went viral: the thrill of success, the follower increase, my friends’ congratulations. It was a high I never wanted to come down from…until the trolls started trolling.
Trolls will do everything in their power to bring you down to their level and it takes courage to not say anything. Luckily, working in law enforcement, dealing with the worst of the worst in humanity (rapists, murderers, pedophiles, etc.), has taught me how to silence the noise and not say anything. I even try to make a joke out of their comments to deflect how it makes me feel.
The truth with trolls is that yes you can ignore them, yes you can delete them, but sometimes what they say can cause emotional damage, if you let them. I’ve been bullied since elementary school: my last name being Roach, high school acne, and my body being more developed than most.
To break this down, I was an H cup in high school but wore size 12. I could easily lie about my age and get away with it. People talked about me and it led me getting a breast reduction straight outtahigh school. But because I’ve invested in my self-care, I no longer allow comments to affect me. I’m not for everyone, and that’s okay. Neither was Jesus, but it didn’t stop him.
Speaking of Jesus, being an influencer is a ministry. You are considered a leader and expert in whatever field you choose and it’s important that you remain authentic in your ministry. Being authentic is sharing your HONEST review on things so people can know before purchasing. If you lie and say you enjoy XYZ product and your followers purchase XYZ product and it’s horrible, they’re not going to trust you.
In order to be a good leader, you have to be trusted so that means being consistent with your content, whether that’s once, three or 7 times a week. It’s okay if you slip up, especially if you don’t have a team, but don’t make it a habit. Be consistent even when the likes are low, even if you lose followers (trust, if the unfollow, they probably don’t align with your brand and that’s fine). It’s a process of finding your target audience, building your portfolio and attracting the right followers and brands.
Moving along with brands, you will be rejected.
Let me repeat, YOU WILL BE REJECTED.
Not every brand will want to work with you, not every brand will respond to you and not every brand will want to pay you. But some will. I’ve been rejected by big brands and accepted more by smaller brands.
No shade but almost every one of my favorite influencers work with Fablectics and so when they reached out to me, I was jumping for joy! I felt like I made it in the industry. I was so excited to create some cute and fun fitness content, but when I asked their budget for a collaboration, they ghosted me. I sent multiple follow up emails and no response. I guess they didn’t want to pay me, and that’s fine. They aren’t worth my time anyways.
If there are brands who can’t afford to pay you, you have to decide if you can afford time, effort and creative skills to create content for them. To me, time, effort and creative skills are expensive, not everyone can do it. Not to mention your very own budget and inventory to create content such as hair, nails, makeup, location, gas to get to the location to shoot content, props, etc.
With that being said, if a brand reaches out to you for a collaboration but they don’t offer compensation up front, politely respond, “Sounds great! What is your budget for me to use my time, effort and creative skills to help bring you more business?” don’t let them play you, because they will if you let them.
Anyways, that’s all I have for now. September is Self Care Awareness Month, focus on things that serve you, your brand and your finances. Being an influencer is fun, but’s work. Remember your why and let that be your motivation.
