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I'm so excited to share a new series I am starting here on my blog called #TheMomBlogCollective. Twice a month, I've teamed up with 10 other influencers and we will be sharing a blog post on the same topic -- related to blogging, instagram, working with brands, making money, photography, motherhood and more. More than almost anything else, each of us get asked how we started blogging, what tips we have for someone looking to start, how to work with companies for sponsored posts and more, so those questions are the starting point for our series.
Each month we will feature different guest bloggers in addition to our core 10. My favorite part is that while we will all be answering the same questions and writing about the same topics, it will give each of you a wide variety of perspectives. We each have a different blogging style, photography style, schedule and more so it will be a great opportunity to read everyone's posts and then figure out what works best for you. And if you have a topic you'd love to get an answer to in our series, search the hashtag #TheMomBlogCollective on Instagram and comment on any one of our photos under that hashtag to let us know! You can also leave comments on our blog posts.
A little about me.
After I left my crazy busy, 80hr a week, 15 year career in fashion and moved to the Bay Area of Northern California I needed to find something to do with my time. I had no job, I was new to the area so I had no community of friends and I was newly married with a husband who traveled a ton. When I would talk to my friends about my life changes, and my transition from sales manager power house to unemployed house wife and my future goals of having babies and doing yoga daily, they would listen intently and they would all say, "you should start a blog!"
I didn't have the first clue about how to be a blogger and it scared the crap outta me to start something new when there was already so many other influencers out there doing it in such a successful way. I mean, do people really want to hear my story? Speaking truthfully, I wasn't quite sure what my actual story was even going to be focused on but, I knew I had a story to tell. I wanted to share my passion for newly married life, fashion, trying for babies, life changes from leaving my career and just life in general so, that's when I started my Instagram acct just for insta-blogging. Now, I feel like I need to admit that I'm still kinda lost when it comes to SEO, affiliate links and everything else involved with the actual blog part of social media but, I do know I've learned a tremendous amount in the past 2 years of being an Instagram influencer.
So, besides the typical first steps that you may already know about being an influencer like choosing your account name, or finding the perfect photo filter, or choosing between square space of Wordpress for your domain, here are my top 5 tips when starting a blog or Instagram account (but really it's just what I follow when I think about my own personal Instagram process and I hope it helps you)!
1. Progress over Perfection.
Here's the truth, when I first started my Instagram, my posts sometimes would take me up to an hour to write. I constantly found myself being too wordy, and then not knowing how to edit. What do people really want to hear, or not hear? And then the images, are they the right color or brightness? Does it fit in my aesthetic? Is my picture good enough to make people stop scrolling? When I first started, this was my problem, constantly over thinking everything! I would find myself not posting for days because I was waiting for the perfect post, or the perfect time, or the perfect image. If it wasn't perfect enough to post, I wouldn't post anything. But, I quickly found out that progress is better than perfection. The more your engaging and sharing your heart, the more followers will find you. If you want to start a blog or become an influencer, just start now. What are you waiting for? I promise someone out there needs to hear your story because they can relate in some way. If you are true to yourself, and you share images that make you happy, I am sure it will make others happy too. Just start somewhere, don't think too hard about it and just begin.
2. Be Authentic.
It is all too easy to get caught in the comparison game when scrolling aimlessly through influencers feeds and blogs. It's important to always be yourself and not try and be what you think people want you to be. There are so many gorgeously curated feeds out there with mamas who have the perfect top knot, clean kitchens, with fresh flowers cut on the table and the cutest baby in tow...but honestly, that's not always real life. One thing that I know helped me grow is to stop following people that I compare myself to or made me feel less than. Believe it or not, when you are scrolling through other peoples feeds, these images are making a huge impression on you. Those images you stop and double top or screen shot can start to have an effect on your own content. It can start to affect what you post or don't post, they can affect your confidence in your own creativity and it can even affect the way you are feeling about your life. As they say, Comparison is the thief of joy and I believe that is true in this process. If you try to stay focused on your own creative journey and be authentic in that journey, it will bring you joy and success.
3. Know who you are.
Finding your own voice and your own vision and staying true to that is super important for growth. Staying focused on your brand and image with every single post has a huge effect on your success. My number one thing is to make sure you are sharing your full self, but also try not to be everything to everyone. If I asked your closest friends to describe you in 5 words what would they say? What part of you do you really want to share? Your fashion style, your foodie outings, your mama tips, etc. Instead of sharing every single thing you like, which makes it hard for people to connect with you, focus on a couple things and really expand on those topics. When people come to my page, I want them first to see that I'm a mom, second, I'm a wife, third I'm a sweatpant loving momtrepreneur who works from home and is struggling to balance work/home/parenting life. I try and use those few things as anchors in each of my posts. If my posts don't talk about one of those things, then I am missing sharing my real brand image and finding my true community. I find people connect with other people for a specific reason; whether it's because they love their home style, or they are vegan, or because they are working from home moms, etc... So let your account reflect a few things about you so people can really find something to relate to on your page. Finding your niche is going to be an ongoing process but the idea is to post images, ideas, and stories that resonate with your true community, and if you can do that, you are totally winning.
4. Be ready for change.
In order to monetize your Instagram feed, it's important to keep up with these constant changes. What worked for me when I first started has changed so much with each day, week, and month. As this little app evolves, and algorithms change, you have to be ready for that. You need to make sure you find time to keep up with the changes and always be on the lookout for how you can evolve and do things better. It's a never ending battle to keep growing despite the ever changing process of it all. I remember when I first hit that 1k, and then 5k, and now I'm stuck at 8k and it's killing me. But honestly, I'm sure once I hit 10k, I'll just want more. And with that comes hard work and new ideas of how to make it all happen. I use my community to stay up to date with things and we are constantly sharing other techy blog posts that keep us informed of changes on Facebook or Instagram. There are tons of influencers out there who are willing to share their knowledge, you just need to take the time to research it.
5. Join a community of creatives like you.
When I first started this journey, one of my main goals was so to find a community of like minded people and love them hard. Ya know, like find your tribe and you will thrive thing? Having a community of other momtrepreneurs, or creatives I can bounce ideas off of or share a win with is exciting and necessary for my continued success in this influencer journey. Yes, I have my friends and my husband I can talk to about it but, it's not the same. Don't get me wrong, Jason loves a good celebratory dance session when I get a check in the mail for a collab, but does he really love hearing how my photo just got 500 likes for the first time ever, or how this huge brand just reposted my photo, probably not. I know he supports me, but does he really get it? I've met some amazing friends through this journey and we chat daily. I have to say, these conversations can mean the difference of me feeling completely lost at sea or confident in my ability to do this.
I'm gonna end it with this. HAVE FUN!! Don't take things too seriously and try and have a good time. If posting in your feed becomes a stressful part of your day, take a break, and I promise your true followers will be there when you get back.
Please leave me comments below or questions so I know I'm not just only talking to my computer screen.
You can find all the other blog posts linked below:
A Blessed Nest | @blessednestblog
Cultivate Motherhood | @cultivatemotherhood
Kole Impressions Blog | @steph__pollock
Hello Baby Brown | @hellobabybrown
The Love Designed Life | @thelovedesignedlife
All photos in this post were sponsored by someone I am happy to have in my community of creatives. Amelia Protiva is wonderful and amazing and just got her doula certification and is based in Silicon Valley. If you are expecting or if you just want some gorgeous family photos, you must reach out to this beautiful and creative soul.