In an effort to be transparent and helpful to new bloggers, I’ve put together this post! It’s all about my experience with being a new blogger and micro-influencer on social media platforms.
There are a lot of people with questions about how it all works and others who want advice getting started with influencing and blogging. So, I’m sharing about monetizing social media, blogging, organization, apps, working with brands, paying taxes as an influencer and more! I also cover WHY influencers should even get paid in the first place and what exactly goes into a sponsored post.
If you’re interested in the biggest lessons I learned in the first 6 months of blogging, I have a whole post for you! Plus, learn about why I even decided to start a blog!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are your favorite apps for editing pictures and videos?
Free Apps for Editing Pictures
I love using the free version of Lightroom as my main editor with my presets. I occasionally use the Snapseed app to remove distracting objects in my pictures or add a blur to the background.
Free Apps for Editing Videos
I mainly only use the InShot app for editing all of my videos. If they are for Instagram Reels, I edit (crop, splice, add audio, record voiceovers, speed up or slow down) in InShot first. Then, I add them into Instagram to add some IG features like captions, stickers and titles.
What have been your favorite podcasts, courses and trainings to learn the ropes?
My all-time favorite podcast that I listen to every week is called the Six-Figure Influencer by Allie Reeves! Another good one is The Influencer Podcast with Julie Solomon (who taught my favorite course).
The most influential course I’ve taken so far was called Pitch it Perfect by Julie Solomon. This is such an awesome program for anyone who’s looking to work with brands in any way (social media, events, podcasts, travel, etc.). She walks you through the whole process and gives you so many good starting templates for emails.
My most recent favorite courses is called Pinterest Accelerator by Becca Martin. This course is perfect for anyone who is looking to master Pinterest to direct more traffic to your content. That content could be anything from your blog website, to Instagram, LTK.it, products you’re selling in a shop and more!
If you’re looking for basic info on a lot of different topics, I’d definitely look into purchasing a bundle of courses. I bought two last year and learned a LOT of basics about a lot of different things. You have lifetime access, as long as you sign up and create an account within the allotted time. Now, I just do them one at a time as I feel like I’m ready to master a new skill.
Which social media platforms do you focus your time on?
I spend the majority of my time on Instagram, my blog, LiketoKnow.it and Pinterest! It’s hard to spend too much time on too many platforms, or I feel like I’m spread too thin and my efforts are just mediocre.
Generally, I post my reels on TikTok as well. But I don’t post every reel, and I don’t spend more than maybe 5 minutes per day on TikTok.
In addition, I have a Facebook page, where all of my Instagram feed pictures are posted automatically and I share my blog posts from time to time. I also have a private Facebook group for moms to join! To be honest, Instagram has been much more responsive and reactive, so I hardly spend any time on Facebook anymore.
What are your favorite platform to use for collaborations?
I generally use AspireIQ for the highest-paying collaborations. I’ve also done much lower-paying collaborations on Heartbeat and WeSponsored.
*Honestly though, reaching out to (pitching) the brands directly is your best bet! It shows them that you’re a serious business person who takes this seriously as a job, not just a trendy hobby.
Do you usually reach out to brands to collaborate or do they reach out to you?
Mainly, I directly pitch (or apply to collaborations on platforms) for brands I already use or am interested in trying. I have had brands reach out to me as well, but a lot of the time, they seem like spammy offers. I’m very careful about who I work with and don’t generally work with the majority of brands that DM or email me.
How did you know what to say to brands when reaching out?
I actually took a course a year ago, before I even had a website or had really established all of my Instagram basics. It taught be everything I needed to know about pitching brands (and responding when they contacted me). Plus, it gave me email template ideas, talked about money negotiations, and more.
Do you make money or is it just for free products?
Very, very rarely do I ever exchange my work and time for free products anymore. Unfortunately, there are a lot of brands that are only offering free products, but request a LOT of work in return. Many try to get full usage rights of the content you create (which would normally cost their marketing department thousands of dollars to produce).
Why do bloggers and influencers expect get paid money to promote stuff on social media or to create marketing content for brands?
When you’re planning for collaborations, you have to keep in mind all of the things that are required and how much that’s worth to you. Besides the amount of time communicating with the brand about expectations, signing contracts and negotiating pay and deliverables (usually via email, Zoom calls, phone calls or even in person), there is a lot of work put into producing content.
In order to actually produce *quality* content, there is a lot of hard work and time. You’ll spend time brainstorming, planning, and setting up before you even begin creating.
Once you’re creating, you need equipment OR another person helping you to film or take pictures. Sometimes you also need props for your content. After capturing the content, you’ll have to go through everything and edit, which can take a LONG time, especially for video content!
After creating and editing, you then go through a whole process with the brand. Usually they need to approve any content you create before you are able to post it. Often times, the contracts you sign allow them to ask you to edit or recreate the content if they don’t love it.
If you’re also required to post the content on your platforms, you’ll then spend time doing all of the writing of captions, blog posts, hashtags, etc. After you post, there is also a lot of time spent engaging in comments and DMs about the product or campaign.
Once the collaboration is posted and completed, there is usually stuff to wrap up with the brand are more paperwork to fill out for payment and taxes. There is so much that goes into what might appear to be a simple little Instagram story or reel.
What do you do about taxes and money?
Since I’m still really new to this, I’m still learning and figuring out my process. Mainly, I have an excel spreadsheet where I have kept track of all of my income and all of my expenses.
I update my income spreadsheets regularly and plan to hire an accountant soon to help me figure out the whole tax side of blogging.
What are your new tips for new bloggers or influencers?
Engage with your community, reply to all of your comments and DMs. Make sure to keep up with them and their posts, and build real friendships with them! That’s the fun part of social media, but people often forget that it’s all about being SOCIAL for a reason.
Be sure to tag brands in your posts and stories and engage with brands you’d like to work with in the future! Like and comment on their posts, share your favorite products, etc. Reach out to them directly in emails and DMs and don’t wait for them to reach out to you!
Pick one thing at a time to learn and master. Don’t be too overwhelmed by all of the different platforms and apps. Learn from others who have gone before you and never stop learning! Just have fun with the process; I love the never-ending opportunity to learn something new and expand my skills online!
Join Facebook groups reach out to other bloggers or influencers about your same size. Share advice and experiences with each other. Mention and TAG others in your stories to help build a community, and maybe they’ll do the same for you!
How do you keep everything organized?
To be honest, I’m still trying to figure this one out. I’m a big lists person, so I write everything down, usually in my Notes app on my phone. Plus, I write things in my paper planner and keep track of my past and upcoming blog posts.
There are so many apps that exist for calendars, planning social media and organizing tasks. I’m always learning about new ones and trying to find one that works best for my with my way of thinking. Most recently, I’ve been using CoSchedule and have high hopes that it’ll work.
How do you come up with so many blog ideas?
Again, I write EVERYTHING down in my Notes app. Any time I have an idea for a blog post topic, an IG reel, a caption or a story topic, I write it down. Often, I start a note for a blog post topic and write down ideas as they come to me. Also, I keep my phone next to my bed, so that I can write down my late night thoughts as I’m falling asleep.
If I have questions or needed advice about something in the past, I know there MUST be others in the same boat. When people ask me questions on Instagram or friends ask me for my advice, I generally add that to my list of ideas.
Over all, I know that I have certain weeks where I have a ton of creative thoughts and ideas. On the other hand, I have to keep in mind that I always go through weeks with little to no inspiration and motivation. I try not to stress about it and take advantage of the times that I am feeling inspired.
Basically… WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN.
As a stay-at-home mom, how and when do you get work done with young kids?
This is a tough one. Life is so busy right now, and I’m learning to just run with it. I work during pretty much every nap time… every day. Plus, I work after he goes to bed at night, usually while watching a show in the background with my husband.
I’ve really been working on getting better at batching my content and using my time efficiently. If I already have emails scheduled and social media posts ready ahead of time, I can be more present with my toddler when he’s awake. If not, I’m always more stressed, trying to squeeze time in on my phone to post things.
Luckily, my mother-in-law usually watches Trussler one morning a week. I try to get as much done as I can in those prime 2-3 morning hours alone. I’m battling the idea of finding someone to watch him for another morning or two each week.
It requires me to be more organized and intentional with my time, even though that’s not my natural tendency. I still find myself throwing up content on social media when I feel sudden inspiration, but I also plan ahead a decent amount. (Though my IG stories are always in the moment and pretty unplanned).
RELATED POST: Best lessons learned from my first six months of blogging
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