Hi all :)
Happy Wednesday! I hope you all are having a great summer.
Today’s featured creator is Dominique (@aussiedomxo), who is a very passionate health, fashion, and beauty content creator based in Australia. She has worked with many brands including Glossier, Ana Luisa Jewelry, Saint Jane Beauty, to review their products! Her trendy, edgy style and aesthetic content are definitely worth checking out for inspiration :)
Sections:
About Dominique
Tips + Advice
Working with brands
About Dominique
Tell us a little about your background. When did you start creating content? What got you to start?
I started creating content for Instagram officially about 2 years ago, but I’ve always been really into social media. Back in the early 2010s, I spent a lot of time creating a following on Tumblr, and before that.. MySpace of course!
I’m a fanatic when it comes to fashion and beauty and I found that my friends/family often asked me for my recommendations on different products. I wanted to share this love for testing out new things with a wider audience, and that is what brought me to where my Instagram is today.
Do you see creating content as your full-time job or more of a hobby that you do in your free time?
I’m actually an engineer at a large tech company, full time - so for me, content creation has become a “second job” / something I’m doing on the side. I love it, but the income consistency just isn’t there for me, and I don’t want to give up my day job!
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced or you are facing as a creator/influencer?
Transitioning from product exchanges to paid collaborations has been pretty difficult. There isn’t a guide that says, “Here is how much you should charge for XYZ” and while more creators are taking courses etc, I’m not interested in paying someone else to tell me how I should ask brands to pay me for my work. So it’s been a bit of a guessing game, trial and error.
Tips for other creators:
What kinds of tools do you use to stay consistent and active on your social media?
Planoly is my #1 tool when it comes to planning out my feed in advance. This app is free to use and is definitely essential for me to keep my Instagram organized and managed.
I also love using Unfold to create stories and I use it mostly for sponsored posts.
I also try to spend 30 mins each day engaging with people that I follow, both prior to and after posting!
What are some of your favorite editing tools? (If you use them)
Lightroom took me a minute to figure out but now that I’ve got it down, I can’t live without it! They have the option of a free trial so I definitely recomment you trying it out.
Retouch is also a great tool to remove items or people from shots I’m taking when I’m out and about. The easy paint tool is super easy to navigate and it is totally worth the small fee of the app.
What are some tips for creators who are just getting started?
Be consistent and build relationships! If you aren’t providing consistent value to your followers, why would they follow you? I see a lot of people out there wanting to start content creation but only posting once a month. You’ve just gotta fake it till you make it and get inspired by your own content - sponsored or unsponsored!
Do you have any specific goals set for yourself for the coming months?
Not in particular, but I do want to be more consistent with reels. I’d perhaps like to post one or two per week.
How do you balance your personal and work life?
I’ve found that setting priorities helps me balance my personal and work life. To me, my personal life always comes first, then my day job, then content creation. Although I do my best to achieve what I have planned in all aspects, I try not to put too much pressure on myself and am pretty open to moving around deadlines if I must.
How did you “learn” the ways of content creation? Are there any resources you see as absolutely necessary?
I joined a lot of groups, whether on FB or IG and just in general, asked a lot of questions to bigger and more experienced creators who were always willing to talk about their experiences and advise! I’d say, never be afraid to put yourself out there and ask. That being said, pitching to brands is still something I struggle with but I am working towards improving.
What kind of advice do you have for creators who are not seeing any progress or success?
Don’t give up! Create content that YOU love, and don’t do it for anyone else or it won’t be worth it. Enjoying content creation is the most important if you want to grow because you need to stay motivated.
Be consistent but don’t be too hard on yourself.
Don’t compare yourself to others. Do whatever works for you, being different is great!
What are some of the biggest misconceptions that people have about you that you’d like to address?
There aren’t many so far in my experience, however, I do want my audience to understand that I don’t promote anything I don’t genuinely love or believe in, whether it is sponsored or not! This is important to me to keep my content authentic and genuine.
Working with brands:
What have you found to be the biggest challenge in working with brands?
Many brands don’t understand the time and effort that goes into content creation. Or they just simply don’t care. I only enjoy working with brands that are understanding of this because I want to create the best content I can. I’ve turned down some cool partnerships from large brands because they were product exchange only and free earrings just don’t pay the bills.
What brands have you worked with in the past? What are some that you would like to work with?
I’ve worked with Allure Magazine, Shop LC, Saint Jane Beauty, Ana Luisa, Merit Beauty, ModeSens, Velour Beauty, Monica Vinader, Wantable and Rellery to name some recent ones!
I’d love to work with Mejuri, Summer Fridays and Reformation!
Takeaway:
If you love creating content, do it for you. Don’t do it for money or free products (though both of those things are super ideal if this is your career!). If you don’t love what you’re doing first, you’ll never get true enjoyment out of it! I’ve made so many amazing friends from creating content and for me, they inspire me to keep creating daily :)
Love,
Corcus Team
If you are interested in being part of this series, please email creator@corcus.io.