A couple of years ago, when I was starting college, I knew that I wanted a creative platform to express my love for fashion and all the life transitions I was making. As I was toying with this idea and figuring out how I could bring it to life, I came up with the idea of starting a blog. The more I sat on that thought the more I wanted to do it, so I hired a graphic designer to build my site, planned for a year and then launched in 2016!

For starters, I made a Pinterest board with typography pins, color palette pins, design pins and everything in between. It helped solidify my vision for the feel and aesthetic I wanted my brand to have. I also spent a lot of time making sure I had a clear picture of the audience I wanted to reach. Then, I honed in on what they did for a living, what they do for fun, where they like to eat, etc. I wanted to really narrow down my ideal audience so I could reach them directly, rather than have a more generalized group of people to try and connect with.

Yes! There are certain colors I stick to for my site (white, black, and lavender) and then I also try and keep my photos similar as well by shooting in city scenes more so in the daytime rather than golden hours.

Instagram, hands down! I’ve been able to build such an awesome community on there and love the story and live tools that are offered.

Being authentic! People really connect with others when they recognize that they’re being 100% themselves. I also stay away from big loop giveaways, comment pods, and excessive #FollowFridays. They’re not genuine and your audience can see right through them, so I never want to look fake or like I’m in this just to gain followers.

I love to ask my audience questions in my captions, answer DM’s about business/social media inquiries on my stories. So more people can gather my insight on varying topics, take time in the week to do lives, and make sure I’m sharing more than just the highlights. I always want to keep it real, and when I show up for them, they always show up for me!

That it is EVERYTHING! Haha, what I mean by that is this: So many people are caught up right now in trying to gain followers. Which, granted, is important. However, everyone is trying to achieve that one “certain amount,” and it becomes, “if I just had “x” amount of followers then I could do this, or do that, or I would be here” etc. Which is simply not the case. The thing is, there are people out there with that “x” amount that want MORE. Everyone is always going to want more because the numbers will never satisfy us. With all of that being said, my endpoint is to make sure you prioritize your passion over your platform. Think, if Instagram was gone, what would you have to show for your life?

Lots and lots of research! Mostly just plugging in different word combos into the Instagram search bar and seeing what kind of results they have. I aim to stick with hashtags that only have about 50,000 to 500,000 results so I have more of a chance to land in the top 9 of those tags. That way more creatives can be exposed to my content!

I have all of my photos taken professionally! Since I mostly post pictures of myself, I prefer to have a professional get the shots rather than me taking the time to try and set up a tripod and what not. I content batch to make this effective, which means that I shoot 3 outfits every time I get with a photographer instead of just one thing at a time.

Grab inspiration from magazines and Pinterest! These things serve as one of the biggest tools for me when it comes to snapping a good shot. I try to not be repetitive in poses (still working on that, ha!) so whenever I’m unsure of how to position my arms or legs, I’ll hop onto a poses board I’ve made on Pinterest to get inspired!

In Orlando, I loved to shoot in Winter Park. There are so many cute stores, nooks and alleys that are great for photos! In St. Pete, I love the downtown area for the same reason. And, possibly because my favorite gelato place is there as well…

Oh goodness, that’s a hard one. ???? ???? and ????

I am super blessed and grateful to work with an amazing designer named Macey Miller. She has helped me build all of my websites and create my digital products. I don’t know what I would do without her because I am SO not tech savvy. I like to change my website at least every year (if not twice) to keep it fresh, I get bored of how things look easy, so I’m always wanting to give things a little facelift!

Ah, so many! I would have to say my top three though are PLANN, VSCO, and Snapseed. I use PLANN to track my growth and plan my photos for Instagram, and then VSCO and Snapseed to edit them!

Don’t be afraid to test things. What may work for someone else, make not work for you. And vice versa! I’m an avid believer in trying things out on my own rather than just listening to what everyone else says or taking that one article’s word for it. So test, test, test! The best things are learned from trial and error.