Hustle culture as a creator is real. Constantly feeling like you have to be working to keep up with other creators and land brand deals. But the truth is, you can and should be taking breaks.

Don’t worry, your audience won’t leave you and the brand deals won’t come to a stop because you decide to take a break for the holidays. In fact, it can actually benefit you and your audience. You just have to prepare ahead of time and have a plan that helps make the most of your break.

Today, we’re diving into why you should schedule time off and how to do it so you can truly rest and come back as your best self.

The idea of negotiating with a brand on rates may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be. I’ve heard it all - you’re worried you’ll scare brands away with your rates or you don’t think you have enough value. But neither of those things are true.

I’m not expecting you to be an expert negotiator right away, it takes time to build confidence and believe what you’re telling brands. You just have to be willing to start small and trust that the confidence will come.

Today, we’re diving into five strategies you can implement into your negotiation strategies to start getting paid what you deserve.

We all have things in our business that we put off that we know could take our platforms to the next level. 

Whether it’s lack of time or doubt in our abilities , there’s always something in our way from taking that next big leap and making things happen. But today, I’m calling ALL of us out - myself included. Because it’s time we stop making excuses and start making serious moves in our creator businesses. 

I’m taking some of the most common excuses I hear from other creators and reframe them so you can take action instead of getting stuck. Being a creator is overwhelming, but I have no doubts that you can overcome any excuses you’re giving yourself and build a successful creator business.

Understandably, there is a lot of skepticism surrounding AI. I was unsure at first, too.

But it has been an absolute game-changer for me and my business as a creator and coach. It has saved me time, made me more money, and allowed me to connect with my audience on a deeper level - all because I learned how to harness its incredible power.

From creating rough drafts to brainstorming for partnerships, AI has the ability to take your business farther, no matter what your niche is.

Today, we’re diving into actionable steps you can take today to start utilizing AI so you can spend more time doing what you love and less time doing mundane tasks.

I talk to countless creators every week who are completely overwhelmed with work. They know they need to outsource, but there is some hesitation.

Some are afraid to let go of control, others don’t know where to start, and others fear that it will be even more work than just doing everything themselves. But there’s just no way you can do it all without getting burnt out.

Building a team has been one of the best things I’ve done for my business. It allowed me to take some time back for myself and focus on the things that I’m actually good at.

Today I’m joined by Alex Porterfield, a business strategist and mentor for influencers and virtual assistants. She has successfully built a VA business where she has worked with top influencers and now she teaches women how to achieve their goals of supporting creators.

We’re giving you the scoop on all things hiring a team for your creator business.

Last year, around 50% of people started their holiday shopping in October, which means now is the time for creators to take advantage of the brand deal opportunities.

Brands are relying on creators to help drive their sales more and more each year, with over 60% of consumers saying that they discover brands and products from social media.

Your influence is valuable, so you can and should be reaching out to brands to work with this holiday season.

We’re giving you the scoop on all things brand outreach.

We’re at the end of 2024 and I can’t believe how much my business has grown and evolved.

I have transformed the ways I approach my business and I can tie it all back to three major lessons I’ve learned. These things have been the key to building a successful, sustainable business that I truly love.

Today, we’re diving into each of these lessons and I’ll give you some actionable steps you can take right now to level up your business as a creator.

I’m giving you the scoop on all things business.

Short-form vlogs are some of the most common types of content. Audiences just love to see how other people live and what they do every day.

But there are right and wrong ways to vlog. You want to tell a story that hooks your audience and keeps them engaged in not just that video, but all of your content. To do this, you need to understand how to tell a story.

Today, we’re diving into how to create vlogs that are engaging to watch and easier for you to film. We’re giving you the scoop on all things storytelling and vlogging techniques.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re just not quite in sync with your business, you aren’t alone. I, too, have had times when I’ve felt like I’ve been a content machine, and other times that working has felt like the absolute last thing I wanted to do.  

If you’ve been here before, you know I preach having a diversified source of income, especially in a career as volatile as being a creator.

There is nothing worse than spending hours on a piece of content, like an Instagram Reel, and getting nothing in return. No new followers, little engagement from current followers, and nothing to show for all of your efforts.

So many creators are just throwing up content and hoping something sticks and results in higher engagement and more followers. This leads to frustration and burnout.

Luckily, there are proven strategies that you can use to create content that converts successfully.

Today, we’re diving into everything from the Reels algorithm to analyzing the performance of past content so you can create more intentionally.

We’re giving you the scoop on all things Instagram Reels.

As a creator, we all dread burnout. You feel completely stuck creatively and have no motivation to keep posting. Don’t worry though, this happens to everyone who is consistently cranking out content, day after day. 

The key is to not let it lead you to quit. You have the power to push back and figure out how to make actionable changes that lead you to creating content in a way that works for you. 

Because burnout doesn’t mean you’re done, it just means you need to make some changes and redirect your path to reignite that passion. On today’s episode, I’m joined by a group of creators as we chat about what burnout means and how to manage it when creating content is your full-time job.

When your job is dependent on something as unpredictable as the internet, you have to be comfortable with changing and evolving. It’s scary to embrace change when what you’re doing seems to be working okay, but if you don’t grow and evolve, you’ll be left behind.

Not to mention that you’re not just a creator, you’re a human - you change and grow, so your content should reflect that. Stepping outside your comfort zone will help you reach new audiences, feel more inspired, and ultimately make more money.

Today I’m sharing why change is necessary to create a long, sustainable career and for you to navigate these times of transition successfully.

This one thing has made all the difference in my business as a content creator: building and maintaining a strong personal brand.

The internet is huge - with over 200 million content creators. So it is crucial for you to become an expert in your industry. After all, you’re not just posting videos for the sake of posting videos, you are building a creator business.

Having a strong brand will help you build credibility, stand out among the crowd, land you high-quality partnerships with brands that make sense for you, and so much more.

In today’s episode of Soulcial Scoop, I’m diving into why I believe you should work on building your own personal brand to become successful in this career long-term.

I know there’s something that you love so much that you could talk about it for HOURS. For me, that’s creating a creator business. I had so many ideas and thoughts, and after finally pushing aside all of the thoughts of doubt, I decided to just take the plunge and start a podcast where I could talk all about creator monetization.

If you think the podcast market is too saturated or you don’t have enough to say, let me be the one to tell you that neither of those things is true. You have so much value and expertise to offer your audience and can absolutely create a successful podcast.

Having a podcast gives you an outlet to engage with your audience on a deeper level and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.

I’m giving you the scoop on exactly how you can build your podcast from the ground up - covering everything from your technical setup to growing and monetizing.

As a creator, there’s nothing more exciting than getting to work with your dream brands - the ones that align with your audience and let you create the type of content you want to create.

And when you get to the point that you’re working together, you want to do everything in your power to make sure things run smoothly.

Unfortunately, like any relationship, there will be times you have to have difficult conversations with them.

But don’t worry, I’ve seen it all and learned exactly what you should and shouldn’t do so you can keep positive relationships with your brand partners while still getting your point across.

I’m giving you the scoop on how you can prepare for and handle any hard conversations you might need to have with your brand partners.

User-generated content is one of the best ways that creators can diversify their income and create more reliable sources of revenue. But you have to pitch it to brands differently than you pitch regular partnerships.

You need to tell the brand what they need and why you’re the creator to do it. Since they’re posting the content on their platforms, it requires a different approach on your part.

So how do you effectively reach out to brands about creating UGC content? Today I share the biggest mistake I see creators make when doing UGC brand outreach and how you can avoid it.

According to studies, you have seven seconds to make a lasting first impression. When the first thing people see from your Instagram is your bio, you need to make sure that it leaves a positive impression about you and your brand. It should explain who you are and what your audience can expect to see from you.

Your bio is also where you can use keywords that increase your discoverability to reach a wider audience that is actively looking for the content you create.

Today, I’m giving you the scoop on all things Instagram bios and how you can optimize it for the maximum impact.

As a content creator, you’ve definitely been told that to be successful you need to create content that has value. And when you’re pouring your heart and soul into the content you create, you obviously want it to resonate with your community.

It’s already overwhelming to consistently create content, week after week, so worrying about whether or not it has value is just another layer of stress that you shouldn’t have to deal with.

So how do you achieve the mindset of knowing that your content is “valuable enough” and you are offering something that will benefit your audience? Today I’m giving you the scoop on how to feel like your content has value.

PR packages are one of the most well-known perks of being a creator. Everyone loves free stuff and it’s so exciting to get a package from a brand you love.

Unfortunately, free products aren’t going to pay the bills. And if you’re sharing products that align with your brand, your audience will be more likely to actually buy them, which is *so valuable* to brands.

Your content is valuable and you should be compensated for endorsing products.

But how do you make that jump from just getting PR packages to getting paid brand deals?

Today, I’m diving into exactly what you can do to turn your PR packages into paid deals and make more as a creator.

I’m giving you the scoop on all things paid deals. This my Biz BFF is Soulcial Scoop.