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Gabby Blanton's avatar

YES to all of this April! I actually started my YouTube today and posted my first video 🥳 my goal is one a week! I share the same sentiment on IG reels 🥵🥵🥵

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Gabby Blanton's avatar

Here’s the plug 🤪

https://youtu.be/arn7ImQwt_c

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Rachel's avatar

Followed love that you have a bakery! I have one too, I mostly do holiday themed variety boxes of cookies and desserts hoping to do a few farmers markets this summer 😊

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Gabby Blanton's avatar

Fun!! I do a weekly farmers market April-December! I’m excited to make videos about it 🤎

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Justine Arechiga's avatar

followed!!

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Colleen's avatar

Followed!! I love your vibe!

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Belle Crawford's avatar

This convinced me to subscribe to the rest of the podcasts!! I have 3 year old and 2 year old boys and am obsessed with your content!!

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Merrit's avatar

I love this conversation so much! I’m only halfway through but wanted to share my thoughts before they fall out of my mom brain 😅 I have a similar history as you in that I’ve been creating content for over a decade in some shape or form. I’ve build small followings but never enough to actually become an income source, though I’ve seen the huge potential of online income.

Hearing you talk about TikTok has me so sad it’s going to be banned, as a Millennial I always felt a little intimidated by TikTok and kind of wrote it off as just not for me. But it sounds like such an amazing platform I wish I would have dove into it a little more!

I resonate so much with the difficulty to lead with authenticity on Instagram, the way to grow relies SO heavily on aesthetic curated content, which just takes so much more to create, and just feels less genuine. The need to find my ‘niche’ is what has lead me to kind of jump around creating new accounts, growing a bit, then not feeling like I’m able to be truly myself and thinking I must be in the wrong niche 🥲

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April Lynch's avatar

Really I’d so complex feeling! In a firm believer in not niching down and sticking to the same account 🤎

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Merrit's avatar

Ok finished the episode and coming back with more thoughts 😂 I loved hearing you talk about the best way to grow a community is to forget all the noise of what is trending, what everyone else is doing, and to just be yourself. That is exactly what I have been focusing on this new year.

I was previously trying to build up a social following for a digital course I created, put SO much work into every piece of content and marketing funnel. And I truly believe that online courses are a great business model, BUT I got so burnt out because I wasn’t creating content that I wanted, I wasn’t building a community, I was simply creating what I thought would get me the most views.

So this year I have taken all “pressure” off myself of focusing on building a profitable online space. It sucked all the joy out of it, and I believe held me back from actually building a community of like minded moms. So that is what I am focusing on this year, sharing about what I want, and hopefully connecting with others who resonate with that. I’m not going to have a ‘niche’ but just share whatever my life is at the time.

My username is @merritdaily, and I’m going to be sharing SAHM, homeschool, crunchy, home decor, homestead type content and I’m really hoping to find my tribe!

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Malory's avatar

I feel the same about misjudging TikTok for too long! I shouldn’t have held out as long as I did 🥲 I just made a TikTok when I started trying to grow my IG @malorysk in late September, when I also started my Substack and it has been brutally slow to grow but it’s been fun and I’m sticking to it because I like doing it and I don’t want to give it up. I’m excited to check out your YouTube channel!!

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N A T A L I A's avatar

Love this discussion! I think people will start posting on IG like on TikTok. Raw and authentic content on reels.

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April Lynch's avatar

I don’t doubt it, but the algorithm isn’t smart enough yet to be able to serve that content out the way TikTok does 🥲 I think the curated “reels friendly” content will still be the only way to grow, especially as a small creator sadly. Hopefully it changes!

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Nina Steffel's avatar

Love the way you approach content! I’m thinking of starting a lifestyle page under a name different than my own (sort of like you have “Four the Girls”.) do you suggest starting an IG with the new name, or posting from my personal page and linking out? Also curious if you think that getting consistent posting on IG is important prior to starting Substack, or if you’d launch everything at once. Loved this convo. Thank you!

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megan jiacopello's avatar

been here with ya since the beginning and so glad you have stuck with it! will never forget the beginning when emily gemma made us all feel like we could be fashion bloggers. i legit thought if she can do it so can i LOL. now look at her. wild to see the evolution.

when insta changed to posts not being chronological was when i saw a shift (personally) and it was never the same after that. i also was tired of going to nordstrom literally weekly and posting outfits just started to feel so superficial. i wanted to provide more value but didn’t really know what direction to go in. started with an mlm, created a new insta account for it but prob should have just stuck with my original account looking back.

my blog was like my baby though. sometimes i think about bringing it back but rebranding is so intimidating especially being a perfectionist and i feel like that would be totally necessary since i’m in such a different stage of life now. but maybe substack could take its place just to have a creative outlet and see what happens??

now im totally off insta (hate the format of reels ie having to read the caption to see what the headline is talking about - like just list it in the actual video lol) except for checking in like once a week. no facebook. never got into tiktok bc china lollll and like you said perceiving it as more scrolling, brain rot, etc. but it sounds like it could be a great space!

just tired and true pinterest and now substack which has been such a breath of fresh air! never have been a youtube girlie but will def be watching your videos! sounds like a lot of potential there for you so wishing you success always xoxo

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Kela Boddie's avatar

I'm so excited for your YouTube content and also just being someone who's also going to be treading the waters of becoming a content creator during this landscape is so fun to me. I'm focusing on YouTube & Substack this year and just excited to create from a place of effff everything else lol

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ashten lanea's avatar

Loved this! I didn’t see myself going to IG because it seemed so fake and curated to me also and I couldn’t put my finger on it and you’re so right it’s because all the connection is through stories. But no way to get discovered that way 😭 plus they have no way to monetize. I’m leaning toward Youtube as well because YouTube raised me LOL.

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Kailey's avatar

Literally have been hesitant to make content for years. But I think this year is the year! I’m on all socials as kaileyathome_

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Colleen's avatar

Ok not going to lie. This made me feel like a real millennial 😂😂😂 I’ve been creating content for a bit but lately it doesn’t feel as authentic. My acct is small but I do love the relationships I’ve developed there so it’s totally worth it as a creative outlet. To be honest, I do want to actually make some money from it though since I often spend a lot of time working on it. I’m kind of at a standstill for this year though and haven’t really gotten back to consistently posting. My husband had a health scare over Christmas and it’s been hard for me to give the time to start posting so I’m trying to come up with a routine that would allow me to not only post Instagram and YouTube shorts, and hopefully someday Substack. I would actually love to know if anyone is in a similar boat and has developed any sort of routine or content schedule that allows them to be present in multiple platforms as well as actual home life😬😂

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Colleen's avatar

My Instagram is Joyfulcluster if you want to follow there and see the hopeful evolution 🙃

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Justine Arechiga's avatar

followed!!

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Autumn Thurman's avatar

I love how you know who Emily Gemma is 😂 I went to college with her and it’s still so wild to me how famous she got

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RF's avatar

As an og YouTube girly it’s been my comfort place for years and so excited to add you to my sub list.

I’ve dabbled with it myself over the years and actually prior to this episode decided that I want to try it again. If it means I get to stay home and spend more time with my kiddos then who cares what other people think. (Something that’s been a hurdle for me really jumping into it and putting myself out there)

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Molly Menning's avatar

Loved this episode!! I started creating fashion-related/some motherhood content on TikTok last year and it was the first time I had a genuine creative outlet as a mom and I was able to build the most supportive community I’ve ever experienced online, plus find great creators like you! I’m finding that I just don’t feel as inspired or excited about any other apps right now, especially since I’d be starting over. I’m thinking more and more about Substack since I’ve always loved writing so we’ll see! I’m so sad about TikTok but I know there will be other platforms to get excited about in the future.

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Charlotte Low's avatar

Love you April xox will listen later on but Scotland here and I’ll be following you wherever!!

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Danielle's avatar

Loved this episode! TikTok being banned really does make me so sad - I feel like I've learned SO much from the creators there and really found a place that had the content I wanted to consume. I've always wanted to get into content creation but I've always done it focusing on what's trending or trying to fit into the mold of what a content creator is, so obviously that hasn't worked/stuck. I'll hyper fixate for a sec and then move on - probably because it hasn't been authentic to me.

Like you I'm an OG YT girly and loved growing up with the beauty gurus. Maybe YouTube is the place for me to finally get into content creation. I love a chatty moment. Thank you for breaking down your thoughts and what you'd do if you were starting today!

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