Take My Advice (pt 2)
Super proud I did not forget to do this part two on how to make it as a content creator in a small, rural area.
And again, I can’t really tell you how to “make it” because I feel like I am just in the throes of getting my foot in the door. But I can tell you some things to help you along your journey, from my experience and knowledge in this arena.
My last 4 lessons were essentially: you’ll have to work for free for a bit, be realistic about your pricing, cold call or get over it, and hustle culture owns us all.
The next couple lessons are going to be straight from tried and true experience, so here we go:
Opportunities won’t find you until you start seeking them.
Let me explain this. A lot of people ask me how I get to cover some of the things I do. Refer back to part one, about hustling, offering to work for free, and cold calling. Simply starting an account and resharing others content is not enough to be seen, known, or successful in this realm. If you want it, you have to ask for it. This how I am given the majority of my partnerships, I look up events and I message those hosting them if they are interested in trading reels, stories, blogs, and promotion leading up to the event in exchange for free tickets. And let’s be real - the amount of work I put into all of this is hours and hours, for free. But no one is going to come knocking on my door to invite me to events unless they see how I cover events. They won’t feel inspired to sponsor or donate tickets until they see others are doing it, putting that faith in me. It also all goes back to part 1, where I mentioned building up your portfolio.
But if you’re looking to work with brands or businesses that are in your rural, small town, you need to be aware of how and what to ask for. This is true across the page in content creation and influencing. Don’t ask for anything without expecting to give something in equal value in services. Be realistic about what the ROI (return on investment) is for a business to give you a $50 ticket or product, and your content reach less than 300 accounts on Instagram, especially if you have less followers than they do.
So, if you are super small and no one will give you free tickets, products, etc. what do you do? You go to events anyways, and you showcase local products you need and use. You’re strategic in what you go to. Again, if you are a small account you are probably not getting media passes to a major league or probably even minor league game. Even your local fair may be difficult to get free tickets to.
But, it’s not valuable for you to cover these things anyways! You have to start thinking “is there potential for this business or one similar to hire me if I post this?”. If you are a small, new account - stop trying to cover major events at first. Sports teams have their own photo and videographer, and they may like or reshare your stuff (maybe), but it is very unlikely they will accept as a collaborator because their Social Media Coordinator has a very clear vision of their grid and aesthetic. You are not going to make a reel from the upper decks of Busch Stadium that is so amazing that the Cardinals immediately hire you and your 800 accounts you reach.
If you are low on funds, let me suggest a Farmer’s Market. It’s free entry, you have a dozen vendors with staged tables in front of you, and plenty of opportunity for candid video of folks mingling. Turn all of that content into reels and photos, invite the businesses, city, and farmer’s market page (if applicable) to collaborate. Stop and actually talk to the vendors about their products, give them your business card, and then follow up with them about doing some content work or establishing a social media for them.Grace and Gratitude, a.k.a. Mind Your Manners
I think I’ve went on rants about this on my stories before, so sorry if this is a repeat for some of you. Something that drives some of us in the Creative Community nuts it the lack of understanding of industry manners, conduct. There are unspoken ways of doing things, there are unspoken no-no’s. Some folks come into this industry ready to shatter the illusion of what a marketer, influencer, or content creator looks like - so they refuse to play by any rules.
But here’s the thing; you just signed up to work in an industry that relies heavily on the kindness, grace, and giving nature of others. Even by coming in to make content and talking to the owner a bit, you are taking away time from them.
We have to show grace not only to our clients, but to each other in this industry. We have to express gratitude. We have to follow some of the manners. Like tagging a photographer in a photo of theirs you share, crediting another account for helping on a campaign, acknowledging who consistently refers business to you and thanking them for believing in you. You have to take the time to stop and say thank you to everyone who has a hand in your business. Your followers even deserve thanks, because there is no account without them. So you have to remember to practice grace and gratitude, to thank others for the opportunities they provide for you and the followers who continue to show up digitally for you.
Figure out your own system
The thing about us creatives is that a lot of us are neurodivergent, and that divergence is what fuels our creativity. That being said…creativity comes before organization and planning all too often. If I can implore one thing on my content creators, it is having a calendar at a minimum of one month out of even rough ideas for content. It will make life much easier on you when you create your own version of deadlines that are consistent with how you want your grid and engagement to look. A system also includes a photo library. Get as much content at a place as you possibly can, and instead of deleting whatever you don’t use, create a special Google or Apple album for that content. You can always recycle “b reel” footage. I encourage folks to take at least 5 shots without them in it, because your outfit will give away you are reusing footage. Just get some panning around, walking up to something, zooming in or out. You can repurpose these in compilation reels when you are feeling uninspired or do not have time to get new content.
Play Well With Others
So content creating, influencing, whatever you want to call it…it comes down to getting attention on the internet, period. Whose voice is the loudest. And that kind of job, the mindset you need to be successful in it, can start to wear at our personality. Suddenly we find ourselves reacting or thinking negatively out of a place of insecurity and even a hint of jealousy.
Some folks find themselves not wanting others to succeed because either that makes them competition, they didn’t achieve that level of success that fast and so they feel some sort of “dues” are owed, or just plain jealousy. I have seen these emotions play out between creators in a negative way. Relationships that should be yin and yang, should provide balance to each other instead trigger each other deeply.
This again goes back to the manners lesson; this industry is built on people liking, trusting, or finding you interesting enough to listen to. If you are exhibiting mean or negative behaviors towards others in your industry or area, people notice and will not want to work with you or even support you. Listen guys, thanks to Taylor Swift and True Crime docs, we have multi-generation internet sleuths out here. We have people that catch on very quickly at passive aggressive tactics, stealing/copying, or one-sided behaviors. We may not all have the same ideas, morals, aesthetics, niches, whateverrrrr but at least be grown enough to get along online. And if you can’t, take a breather to go outside and look at a beautiful tree to reconnect with what is in front of you. There is no place for passive aggressive cyberbullying on my pages.
How is this going to lead to money? AKA 60/40 mindset
I was talking to my friend Kat about this yesterday, and think it deserves a spot on this blog. When seeking work that is not paid or figuring out what to build up platform-wise, I use a 60/40 approach. I spent 60% of my energy on things that will be fruitful, and 40% exploring or experimenting with things that may not be.
Examples of this: When I’m planning where or what to make content about, I consider what the outcomes could be. If I film a park, I’m probably not going to have anyone from the Parks Dept or City hire me for content work. Additionally, other parks are not going to see my reel and hire me for social media. However, if it is a well-loved park (like Castle Park), I can get lots of engagement, shares, etc. So the park falls into the 40% - not priority, not fruitful, but still worth doing.
The wine trail, however, was a fruitful opportunity. Not only does it open the potential for 12 clients (each winery), there is also the possibility of continuing to create for the wine trail itself, and the content has amazing reach because of all the collaborations (multiple tourism bureaus) and tags. Additionally, I was able to save the video to upload on SHRPA which shows other tourism bureaus my range of work, and I can even reach out to wineries in neighboring states to see if they are interested in this kind of content. I was also able to build a relationship with some of the owners by meeting them in person, which made me comfortable enough to ask for hosted stays in exchange for content.
Now, the reality of this is the things you focus on that are fruitful…may only turn out to be fruitful a quarter of the time. Or they aren’t profitable immediately, BUT they do build the steps to getting there. I consider cold-calling to be under the 60%. Might lead to no response, could lead to the best possible response. It’s worth putting in the energy for that could be.
Building a trusted presence and truly engaged community takes time, dedication, and planning. So instead of wasting time trying out 10 different things and seeing what sticks, narrow down in your mind what could or will bring in leads or money. Focus on them first, then explore the other potentials when you have the time and energy. By doing this, you’ll also discover what your strengths are and save yourself a lot of time.
I was going to include growing your Instagram reach in here, but I think this is getting lengthy so I will save that for another day!
