Hey guys! I’ve been doing more research than ever on branding, marketing, blogging, influencing, etc. If it’s in the realm of building an online brand I’ve been trying to get my hands on it!

I’ve received a fair amount of questions about this topic in general. How do I start an IG? How do I start a blog? What equipment do I need? I want to start, but don’t think my photos or site look good enough. How do I build an audience? These plus many others are questions I’ve received. While I have several other blog posts up that cover specifics about getting starting (head to my blogging tips section), today I want to talk about some of the biggest mistakes you can make as a blogger or influencer. This is one topic has come up several times as I’ve been doing research, and I feel like these are important things to take note of!

1. Not Being Authentic. So I’ve touched on this before but this is the NUMBER ONE thing that I always hear talked about. Authenticity is plays such a huge role in being successful. No one wants to follow a fake person. #amiright? I mean, DO NOT try to be someone else; you need to find your own voice!On that note, this is something interesting I’ve also heard recently. In finding your own voice, not everyone may like you. In fact, many branding experts say that you actually don’t  want everyone to love you. You want people to either LOVE you or really have no interest in you (I don’t want to say hate you because that sounds harsh haha). But point being, is you want evoke some strong emotions in your readers; these are the ones that will be devoted and engaged in your content! Some examples. Anyone here watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? Erika Jane/Girardi. Or I’m sure everyone knows Chrissy Teigen. You probably either love them or “hate” them lol. They are both women that have strong voices, and opinions. But the people who do love them, love them. Meaning, if you’ve watched or listened to them, you probably have an opinion on them one way or another. But, what you can say about them is that they are genuinely themselves. They have their own voice. And they are successful.
2. Launching too late. I hear people say that they want their website, IG, YouTube, etc. to be “perfect” before they launch. Or they say it just doesn’t look as good as other’s so they don’t want to launch yet. A few things on this. Guys, do you think when most people started they had all the same tools and resources they have now? No! If you look at the content that a lot of bloggers and influencers posted in the very beginning it looks nothing like what they post now. I mean, I go back and see the first things that I posted LOL. And if you could see what my website originally looked like…eeek! BUT at the time, it was what worked for me. Your brand will always be a work in progress. Remember that everyone has to start somewhere. Yes, you want to put time, effort and thought into your launch, but don’t wait for things to be “perfect.” You just have to start, and get feedback from people so you know what to tweak moving forward. Plus, there is no such thing as perfect anyway 😉
3. Not thinking long term. What is your long term goal? This is important to think about in the beginning because you want to start building a brand with your end goal in mind. Is what you’re doing everyday helping you reach this? Maybe you started on IG and have grown an audience on there, but for the rest of your life are you just going to be posting photos on IG? Think of building your brand as a WHOLE.
   

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4. Saying yes to everything. Guys, just because someone offers you a paid collaboration please please do not just say yes. Think, does this campaign help me build my brand? Does it align with my brand? Does it reinforce my message? Is this a reputable company? I turn down collaborations weekly and not because I necessarily think their product is bad, but it just doesn’t represent me and my brand. And plenty of these potential collaborations are within the realm of fitness and I’m sure I could  make work on my page. But I know in my heart that it’s just not me and my brand. So I don’t accept it. Bottom line is this. Be selective. Think, is this collaboration helping me get to where I want to me? Is this helping me reach my long term goals? Is this helpful to my readers?
5. Not knowing your audience. Last but certainly not least! This is so important guys; you need to know who you’re talking to! This is a big reason I did that giveaway recently asking you guys what you were interested in. As my brand has evolved, I’ve started sharing more than just fitness and I needed to know if these other topics were ones you were interested in. Yes, some people may say “just post what you want!” But guys, if you’re looking at this as a business, you have to use some strategy. For example, I love taking more editorial style photos with my photographer and while I’d love to share more of those on IG, 95% of you said you like the more candid, mobile photos when posting to IG. So why would I go against that? And vice versa, 90% of you said you wanted me to post more about macros. So why would I ignore that? Yes, my brand is for me in a sense, BUT my purpose is to help and connect with OTHERS.Now, some of you may say, well what if you want to branch out as your brand evolves? Well, that’s fine! But just keep in mind, that your audience may or may not grow with you. I think a good rule of thumb is to introduce that new content for about 6 months. Give people time to see the kind of new content you add on, and then let them make a decision. Not that this is the only approach, but this is just what I’ve learned through research and my own trial and error. So, about six months ago I started incorporating more style, beauty, and my personal life with Stephen…and then asked you guys your opinion on this. I can also gauge a sense of this through what people engage with most on my IG and blog posts. Make sense?!

Alright guys, I think that sums up the 5 tips of what not  to do! Anything else you guys have come across that you think is a “mistake” people can make?! I’d love to hear and I’m sure other people would too. We are all in this together 🙂 Happy Tuesday! xx C