When I started blogging last February (February 2019), I literally had no clue what being an influencer meant, and to be honest kind of cringed at the thought. I pictured myself eating at all the restaurants, cooking in my kitchen, travelling the globe, sharing my life with the world and being motivated to keep going every second of the day. In reality, being an influencer has a lot of behind the scenes work that nobody really likes to discuss, and starting out - I wish I had known these things.

I’ve decided to share my top 7 things I wish I knew when I first started blogging to hopefully help you guys be the best influencer, blogger you can be - or give anyone who doesn’t know, a little more insight into what’s behind the Instagram feed/website.

1. Do I need a camera?

If you are purely interested in sharing Instagram and Facebook content, the answer is no. If you are interested in working with brands, creating content for more than just online sharing, or want to position yourself as a content creator AND influencer - then the short answer is yes. I know, you’re probably thinking “That’s going to be a huge investment, I’m not sure I’m ready/can afford/need it yet.”

Well… you’re so right for thinking that. The long answer to whether you need a camera to be an influencer is that it depends how ready you feel to make an investment, albeit, could be a small investment if you go second hand (I’ll save my second hand camera purchase for another time). Brands will assume that if you are creating content in partnerships that your content will likely be shot on a camera (90% of the time this is the case) and they may request to use your images for more than just your own content. If that’s the case, they will ask for high resolution images and unfortunately, phone photos don’t always cut it.

I’ll write another post on how to find the perfect camera, etc, as this was something I knew nothing about before content creating, but just remember, do what feels comfortable money-wise, experience-wise and think about if you NEED to make the jump to camera yet, or if your phone has proven to be excellent for content creation.

There’s more than just buying a camera, but purchasing lens’, SD card, wires to transfer images, editing software, etc. Take a step back and assess where you are, because there is never a rush, but when you are ready to take the leap, you’ll know.

ANSWER: If you only want to create Instagram content, NO. If you want to go on to create more than just Instagram content in the long run, YES.

2. Someone just asked me to share my media kit. What is a media kit?

Clueless Gemma received an email back a couple months after first starting @gemtakesfoodpics that said: “We’d love to work with you, please can you send over your media kit?” I panicked - what in the world is a media kit? Is there something I need to buy? No, no, no, I needed to relax because all that a media kit is, is a showcase of YOU and it’s so easy to make.

The most important part of a media kit is finding out who you are and how you want to position yourselves to other brands. This may take some time, but write out a blurb that describes what you do, any credentials you have that may appeal to a brand looking to work with you, and some information about your account (how long have you been blogging for, where you’re based, what kind of content do you enjoy creating).

Once you have your ABOUT blurb, you’re ready to go and the rest is easy to fill in as it’s mostly stats, and may include some images to showcase you or your work.

If you’re ready to make a media kit now, or already have one that you want a little more guidance on, I’ve put together a template for free here in Google Drive (template here) that is super simple so you can check it out to see exactly how you can make a media kit. As you grow, and mold into more of who YOU are as a brand, you can edit, adjust, make tweaks or scrap altogether and build a new one from scratch.

It’s as simple as that, and this is something I wish I knew when I first started out as it is super useful, essentially a CV for brand partnerships.

3. How can I manage my finances?

One word: Quickbooks. Well, Quickbooks self employed. This has been a LIFE-CHANGING move for me. This is not sponsored in any way, I’m literally obsessed with the platform. You can send invoices, chase payments, track all your spending (once you connect your debit card), and even see how much tax you could potentially owe. Honestly, signing up for Quickbooks Self Employed was the best decision I have ever made and is the best £5 I spend every month.

4. How can I partner with brands and make money on Instagram?

This is all down to you, continuing to share your content, engage and grow. Brands will reach out to you, BUT YOU CAN ALSO REACH OUT TO THEM. Is there someone you’ve always wanted to work with? Find their email and reach out, include your media kit, your ideas and then let them get back to you. I know a lot of influencers who say that they would never contact a brand, but if you have the passion and are the perfect match, why stop yourself from potentially having the partnership of your dreams (and make money from it)?

5. How much should I charge for a feed post? For my stories? For a blog post?

KNOW YOUR WORTH.

This is one thing that even I still have to tell myself every time I work with a brand. I am a self-doubter, a questioner, a worrier - and why? There’s no reason to be as I am proud of my work and confident in the content I produce. Everyone has self-doubt, but do not doubt the worth of the work you are doing.

When you first start setting your pricing, look at your engagement, your content quality and how long the work will take and then establish your price. If you are curious to find out pricing, you can always message influencers that are larger than you and ask what they would recommend - I found this really helpful.

You can also use something like this Instagram Money Calculator which will give you an estimate, but definitely work out what feels comfortable for you to charge based on what the points above (engagement, content quality, time spent).

As you grow, your fees will change and that is 100% normal and brands will understand.

6. How can I keep up with posting? Planning content/engaging?

When I first started out, I thought I could go out with my phone, snap a photo, edit a little and upload it straightaway. I didn’t think about what my Instagram feed would look like, and after a while - although I always edited similarly, it felt disjointed and didn’t look to me how I wanted it to. I realised that my upload as I go (which I learned probably after about 2 weeks) was not going to work in the long run to create a consistent and creative feed that was aesthetically appealing.

I used Preview (a free phone app) to organise my photos, but the actual UI was limiting and eventually I decided to upgrade and pay for Planoly. I’ve tested multiple platforms and have found that Planoly is the most accessible, and allows me to schedule posts, add filler blocks when I don’t have a photo yet and save drafts that I can go back to later on. If you are scheduling all of your posts, they also let you leave a first comment on your own posts, so you can add hashtags or anything really there. It’s changed the way that I plan my feed and has often inspired me when I’m feeling unmotivated as I can go and see what I have coming up and fall back in love with my feed again.

*If you sign up using this link or any of the Planoly links in this post, you earn $10 toward your plan and I will also earn $10 to use toward my plan payment.

7. How often should I be sharing content?

Ultimately, every day. Content creators are often sharing everyday, constantly creating or finding ways to stay relevant and this is important to Instagram and the algorithm as well as to keep your followers engaged and interested

Having a full time job prior to going freelance, I was working from 8am to 7pm everyday with barely a break for lunch, so when I first started on Instagram I was really struggling for how to be online constantly. I was grateful for my previous interest in food and food photography as I had a bank of photos to pull me through when I couldn’t be creating content everyday. If you can do this, I would definitely recommend it as it will make your life easier (and plan ahead using Planoly).

That being said, some days are more difficult than others. I remember days when I would run to a restaurant on my lunch break, order food, take photos, eat quickly and run back to the office. Everyday. For weeks. I was worried about not having content to share and was not sharing everyday and totally stressing out. So with that being said, although I do recommend sharing everyday - only do as much as you can.

The last thing, that isn’t a point - but is one of the most important pieces of advice, and it may sound super cheesy, but be your genuine self and only share what makes you happy as ultimately this platform is what you make of it.

Hope this was helpful and if you ever have any questions, feel free to drop me an email or send me a message on Instagram.