(By someone who just became a content creator)
October 1st, 2022 marks the second year since I’ve made my first blog post (which led to my content creation career). A year ago, I remember not feeling “qualified enough” to call myself a creator. But after two years of filming, editing, creating virals and paid collaborations, that changed. Here’s an update on my journey, things I’ve learned and a few tips if you’re just starting out.
Beginning with a Blog
Sometime during the pandemic when I had more free time than I usually would, I came across a YouTube video that said you could get paid for blogging. Being caught in America’s working class world, I had no idea. People had been blogging and getting paid for it long before 2020. This was news to me. I’ve always been into blogs and creating on the internet. Tumblr was my shit back in the 2000s and I definitely went out the way to figure out coding for special effects on my MySpace page. Who remembers dancing lines and fallen stars? Not to mention I went to school for Journalism, Magazine Production. After three years of studying I dropped out. But I always had dreams of becoming a magazine editor for Glamour or Cosmopolitan. When I thought about making a blog I figured it could be a mini digital version of the magazine editor job I always dreamed of. So July 2020 I bought a site host, a domain and began working on the layout of my blog. I wouldn’t however feel like my site was somewhat ready or make my first blog post until October 1st 2020. Perfectionism and Procrastination is a real struggle out here folks.
Throughout the summer I made a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/lipsticklexxy a second Instagram account, just for my blog https://www.instagram.com/lipsticklexxydotcom/ and started being more active on TikTok (I had an account since 2019) http://www.tiktok.com/@lipsticklexxy . I knew that I would be able to link my blog on all of these platforms. On June 13, 2020 I got my first viral TikTok reaching about 10k views. I honestly couldn’t even figure out what people loved so much about the video but I had fun making it and felt like it was a sign to keep going.
Pins for the Win
Most creators will tell you that if you’re going to start a blog you need Pinterest. Pins on Pinterest link back to website or blogs and increases site traffic. So I made a Pinterest. Once I started making fashion and beauty related blog post, I knew my Pinterest would need that same “niche”. I fell in love with Pinterest. I could probably be diagnosed with OCD because being able to organize fashion and beauty inspo on a social platform was therapeutic. And there wasn’t the stress of followers like on Instagram. The Pinterest culture felt like it was more about inspiration and creativity than popularity. Apparently, people were just as excited as I was about my pins and boards because after about 4 months of being somewhat active I had 32k monthly views. Though it felt like a big win, I was still only getting about 100 views a month on my blog. I new that if I ever wanted to get any money out of my mini magazine I would need a lot more traffic. I continued to try and be active on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and on November 11, 2022 I added a YouTube channel to the equation. Visit my YouTube Channel .
While I was still in the early stages of my journey, I ended up moving from Atlanta to Miami. Lockdown holds were lifted and I had to get back to my “real job”. The holidays came and went and I was in and out of content creating optimism.
My First Real Viral
In July of 2021, I was booked to work the SHEIN popup store in Miami. SHEIN in an online-only retailer having only a few popup stores in the past. When they announced that they were having a popup store the summer of 2021 on Miami Beach, it was a big deal. While working the popup store, I filmed a video of the setup process and posted it on TikTok. Within 24 hours I had 500k views on my video.
I decided that I would subsequently film the store’s final setup, available outfits, try on hauls etc. However my viral video got back to the SHEIN team and they asked all temporary staff (me) not to record anything else on the popup. *enter side eye emoji here*. Although they killed my joy from making any additional SHEIN TikTok videos I wasn’t going to let that stop me from making a blog post. I knew that if that people were willing to watch a TikTok video on the SHEIN popup a few of them would read a blog on it.
I posted a SHEIN blog mid-July 2021. By October 2021 my blog views went from 200 monthly to 2000 monthly with 75% of the views coming from the SHEIN blog post.
Monetzation
One would think that after 2000 monthly blog views I should be seeing a some kind of cash right ? Turns out I only made a few pennies monthly. No exaggeration. There are many ways to make money with a blog but 2000 monthly views is not one of them.
Advertisement is one of the most common ways to make money on a blog. Signing up for GoogleAds and placing ads on your blog can you get paid per impressions (seeing the ad) or per ad-click. Over time, Google has changed it’s requirements for getting accepted in the GoogleAds program. You need a certain amount of blog post and blog views to be accepted.
Affiliate marketing is another way to make income. Companies pay bloggers and content creators to either post products on their social platforms (usually available to creators with high site traffic or engagement) or pay you a percentage for selling their products.
I could for example be contacted by a jewelry line. The jewelry line would pay me to make a blog post mentioning their jewelry maybe in an “Outfit of the Day” blog where I describes the details of my outfit. Of course I would highlight the jewelry line in that blog post and they would in return pay me a certain amount of money for that one time post.
The jewelry line and I could also make a commission based agreement. I would be given a discount code like “Lexxy20” and promote it to my followers. They will get 20% off their purchase and I would get a commission on sale.
Companies reach out to you for deals like this directly, perhaps through email or you can make an account on different platforms or collab aps. Each platform has different requirements. I myself have made money on a few aps including Insense, Apex Drop and Intellifluence. To make a profile on Intellifluence Click Here .
Learn More About Digital Marketing
In 2021 new creators, bloggers and influencers from everywhere were starting YouTube channels to… let’s be honest…get monetized. Other apps had to step their game up if they wanted to be the best social app on the market.
Pinterest started the Creator Reward Program sometime in late Fall of 2021 (which I was completely unaware of at the time). By April 2022 I signed up for the program and was accepted. The monetization program consists of different campaigns that require you to make idea pins and get paid for pin engagements. For example 50 likes on one Idea Pin payouts $25. The program is still in the beginning stages and campaigns change from month to month. Shortly after, I was invited to the Creator Rewards Program on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook accepted me in their creator program which pays per reel play. As of now October 2022, I am working on being monetized on YouTube and Tiktok.
Words of Advice
Doing research is probably the main factor that helped jump start my career. Before my first actual blog post, I watched multiple videos and read numerous blogs on how to be a successful content creator and blogger. I learned a lot about blogging from Sophia Lee https://bysophialee.com
I also followed creators and brands that I could either learn something from or be inspired by. I’m currently most inspired by the style and aesthetics of Monique Smith https://beacons.ai/moniqueesmithxo/ . Influencer Ali Levine is another creator who I learned a lot from. Read about Ali
If you’re nervous to start or waiting for the perfect time, start with just one post. Try out one platforms or try multiple platforms like I did. Consistency truly is key but until you can get into a routine of creating content regularly all you can do is all you can do and that is enough. I still haven’t got into a routine of regular blog posts but I received many wins in other areas. Slow and steady will win a race. Pick a topic that you are knowledgeable on or love and just start. The perfect time is now.