If you’ve been following me for a while you will know that this was never my plan, my intention was never to have thousands of followers on Instagram and get collaborations with amazing brands and actually make money from this, this world was SO new to me. I didn’t even know making money from Instagram was possible when I started my page. There are so many things I didn’t know, that I wish I had; maybe it would have made me think twice, maybe it wouldn’t, but at least I would have been prepared, you know?

I wish an article like this had been available when I started, and that’s why I’m writing it, not to put anyone off, but just so anyone who is thinking of starting something is prepared, so it won’t be so much of a shock to them and hopefully doesn’t affect them as much as it would if they had had no idea.

I just want to make it very clear that I’m NOT COMPLAINING, I love my page, I love posting, I love writing, I love creating content, I love collaborating with brands, and I loveee interacting with you guys. The points below are not complaints, and are only reflective of my own personal experience, I know many bloggers who have also experienced the same things but that doesn’t in any way mean you will, just that it is a possibility you might, but again not complaints, more just things I wish I had known I would have to deal with before I made the decision to make a public account and before I started taking on collaborations etc… I just see them as part of it, like you might have a job you absolutely love, there are parts of it you hate doing, but you still love the job, that’s what this is! So here goes, 10 things I wish I had known before I made my account public:

1. Not everyone who follows you, likes you.
This was a big eye opener for me, I could never in a million YEARS follow someone I didn’t like, but other people DO. Sure I have people on Instagram who’s content doesn’t appeal to me, or there’s just something about them that I don’t particularly like, so I make SURE to stay AWAY from their page. Following them? That would be stupid, but unfortunately not everyone thinks the same way. There are probably thousands of my followers who follow me even though they don’t like me, or they hate my style, or my face, or whatever, but they follow anyway, sometimes leaving the occasional bitchy comment, or DM’ing me to tell me they hate me, and sometimes I might be bothered to put them on blast or roast them back if I’m bored and need some entertainment, but usually they are silent haters that can’t be blocked. Fact is you will never please everyone, no matter how amazing you are, someone somewhere probably has a picture of yours they screenshot just to roast in the group chat and that is ok. For every ONE of them there are probably a thousand screenshots wondering how you got your hair like that, or how you find these amazing places to eat, or how you put these cool outfits together, or how you think of these cool shoot ideas, focus on that. Pretty much everyone has someone who doesn’t like them, just be sure to pray for protection from evil eye, and remember that you will never please everyone, don’t be disheartened by a few “I hate you” comments, they really just hate themselves!

2. Manners are rarer than you might think.
In the beginning this SHOCKED me, unfortunately I am now used to it. The questions without a “please” or a “thank you”. The DEMANDING for product links. The unwanted negative opinions. The throwing advice at you on things you don’t want advice on. “WHERE IS THIS???” “POST THE RECIPE???” “WHAT IS THIS PLACE???” “SEND ME A LINK TO YOUR JACKET.” “YOUR FACE LOOKS WEIRD HERE.” “IF YOU USE THIS CREAM YOU CAN GET RID OF YOUR BEAUTY MARK.” Would it kill you to say, “This place looks nice can you tell me where it is?” “Your food looks good can you please post the recipe?” “Your jacket is pretty please can you send me a link?” I see my face every single day do you not think I know if it looks weird? MAYBE I LIKE MY BEAUTY MARK. It’s almost like you are no longer looked at as a human by some people, but as a toy, a robot, a character that is there to be judged and used. There isn’t really any excuse for it, but unless you have time to reply to these people one by one and educate them on manners and general etiquette there isn’t really much you can do other than let it go.

3. Brands will ask you to lie if they have paid you.
Your morals need to be HIGH unless you want to be a scammer. It is HARD telling a company who has paid you to promote a product for them that it didn’t work for you, believe me I KNOW. It is especially hard when you offer to refund their fee and the products, and they say they do not want a refund they want you to reword your caption so it sounds positive. Change the “it didn’t work for me” to “I love this product.” Yes I have been asked to do this before and yes it is horrible, but you need to SAY NO. Why? Because you are not a money hungry scammer, you are not a billboard for people to use for advertising, you are here to share with people things YOU actually like and believe in, not scam them into buying shit that doesn’t work. SAY NO. And yes I know there are a LOT of bloggers who will lie, so these companies will go there instead, but should you care? No. Why? Because you are not that desperate.

4. Your content will not always be appreciated. 
Being told “you’re just wearing it and taking a picture” or “why should we pay you when you’re getting a free dress” or “other bloggers charge less than you” No, no, no and NO. If you are a business reading this, it is incredibly rude to suggest that a bloggers work is not worthy of the fee they are charging, if you can’t afford it, then go elsewhere, this is not Green Street or Southall market for you to be saying “This stall sells it for cheaper than you can I have a discount.” It’s a person’s PERSONAL page, if you can’t afford their fee, kindly ask if they could go any lower, and if they can’t, don’t be rude and bitter about it. The blogger market is SO saturated now, surely you can find someone else. Don’t degrade or belittle someone else’s work just because your budget isn’t high enough. I know my content, and my reach, and how much value I generate, and I advise every blogger/influencer to make it their business to KNOW this information; ask for feedback when you work with brands, check how many followers they have received since you posted, track your links, know what your content is worth. You can get apps that help you calculate what a GOOD fee for your page should be, try FOHR, or INDAHASH.

5. Your time will not always be respected.
*Date was set and agreed with the brand for content to go live*

Two weeks before said date:
“Hi when will you be posting?”
“Hello???”
“Hi where is our post??”
“Hi can you post tomorrow??”

One week before said date:
“Hi I need this post to go up tomorrow.”
Me: “Sorry I can’t do it tomorrow as we agreed next week.”
Them: “Why?? It’s just a picture.”
Me: “Yes but I have a schedule and other collaborations due first.”
Them: “But we’ve paid you, can we have a discount then?”
Me: “No sorry it does not work like, that if you were not happy with the date you need to let me know from the beginning”
Them: “Wow it’s just a picture no need to be so difficult.”

Date of post going live has arrived and post has been posted:
Them: “Hi we only received 10 orders from your post we were expecting at least 20, can you delete your post and re post it again tomorrow so we get more orders.”
Me: “No sorry that won’t be possible.”

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH PATIENCE I HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THESE YEARS. Honestly I sometimes think I have transformed into a saint because of how much disrespect I took from some companies in the past just trying to be professional, I am SO selective now with the companies I work with, I make all my dates and terms and the type of picture that will be shot very very clear from the beginning, I always try accommodate to any changes they want if I can but not if they are disrespectful in the way they ask.

6. You are not allowed an opinion.
If you follow my Instagram you will know I often share my (strong) opinions on controversial topics, because it’s my page and I have every right too. I know my page is public and I have the means to influence a lot of people which is why I only share opinions that I am very certain/feel very strongly about and I do not think could affect people negatively – but I have lost count of the amount of times I have been attacked for having an opinion different to someone else. Don’t get me wrong I don’t actually care for what they say but I know many other bloggers who have completely stopped sharing their opinions or views on anything controversial because they fear being completely picked apart and they can’t deal with it. I get it, I have times where I can’t be asked too, but stay strong, remember it is YOUR page, if you really believe in something then share it, if someone disagrees they can speak about it on THEIR OWN PAGE, no one has any right to tell you what you should and shouldn’t post about.

7. People REALLY listen to you.
This is a positive and a negative in some ways, I never actually realised how much influence I had on people until I started tracking my interaction on link clicks and purchases. It was such a nice feeling knowing that people actually trust my opinion and try things just because I told them it worked for me, but it is also a responsibility, not only for purchases, but for ways of thinking. If you were to post saying you really dislike a certain page, or a certain place, or a certain type of person, there will most likely be a large percentage of your following who will automatically now dislike the same thing, or at least QUESTION whether they like it or not, so just be a little careful, be honest and share opinions on whatever you want but just try not to spread hate, try to avoid putting people on blast unless they really deserve your thousands of followers going to attack them, and try avoid public feuds, we’ve all seen the James Charles drama, you don’t want to be on either side of THAT.

8. The brands you promote, represent YOU.
I feel personally accountable when a follower has a bad experience with a company I recommended to them, I actually get angry when a customer that a company got through MY page, is treated badly, because your followers trust you, and that bad experience is almost like you’re breaking their trust. You should feel confident that the pages you are promoting will treat your followers with respect, give them good service, and products that they are happy with. Research everyone and everything you promote, it’s SO important to me and it is part of the reason why I don’t do shout-outs, I don’t know how good what you’re doing is so I don’t  feel comfortable sharing it.. If you watch my Instagram stories you might have seen my little rant about influencers promoting appetite suppressants, multiple influencers messaged me after that post saying they had NO idea they were so dangerous, and I actually felt bad because I had just ASSUMED they knowingly promoted potentially life threatening products. It just didn’t cross my mind that anyone would promote something like that without researching it first. We all make mistakes, I have made MANY, but make it your business to KNOW what you are promoting, research research research, the money isn’t worth it if you could hurt someone.

9. People WILL copy you.
You are an influencer, whether you want to label yourself as that or not, the reality is, if you have a large following and post regular photos, reviews, or opinions, you are influencing people, and are therefore an influencer, which by definition pretty much means people will copy what you do – unfortunately that also includes OTHER INFLUENCERS. There is no copyright for Instagram, let it go. Honestly. Let. It. Go. I knowwww you work hard on your content and I knowww you try to be original and fresh and new and do things no one else has done yet, and I knowww how incredibly frustrating it is for someone to take your original idea and use it without crediting you, it is SO annoying, but unless they have outright copied a blog post word for word, calling them out will really do nothing other than irritate you more because most will NEVER admit it. Your followers will be able to see and notice who is copying you, I know mine do, but confronting the “copiers” (is that a word?) is not worth the drama. Just see it as confirmation that you are a very good influencer LOL.

10. Beware of the fakes.
When I found out that this was a thing I was shocked, I don’t know why because you should really assume that whenever a new way to make money comes out there will for sure be someone trying to find a way to cheat the system, Instagram is no exception. It’s sad because it makes people who actually work really hard on their content but don’t grow as quickly feel like shit. It’s also sad because there are people who do this for a full time job and are honest about it but then the accounts who buy fake followers and likes get the same collaborations as them. I have a full time job and do this on the side and even I get irritated by it so I can only imagine how it must feel for someone who’s only source of income is Instagram, but DON’T give in. Firstly the world is getting more and more clued up on this type of thing, brands are becoming more and more aware, it is only a matter of time before they find a way to filter out all the fakes and when that happens you don’t want to be in there with them when you could have built a real authentic following from the beginning, 1000 real followers is WAY better than 10000 fake. Secondly it is pretty much illegal, buying your followers and engagement then collaborating with companies promising them that level of exposure is FRAUD. It is no different from advertising an authentic Gucci bag and sending your customers a fake one. If you do decide to go down that path then remember that it is illegal and if you are ever found out (which most likely you will be) companies you have worked with could actually SUE you, is it really worth it? I think not.

BONUS POINT.
I just wanted to add “last but definitely not the least” – remember you are very very loved.

Despite all the above, despite the small percentage of shitty people or unprofessional businesses, at least 90% of your following love you and 90% of your interactions will be so so positive. I get down A LOT, it is very easy to let Instagram affect you negatively, I get really bad anxiety, not over Instagram in particular, just in life in general, and an overwhelming feeling of never being good enough (that’s for a whole other blog post) but if you ever remember me doing those “Why do you follow me?” questions, they are really just to boost and motivate myself, partly to know what I’m doing right and keep doing it too, but also to remind myself that my page is GOOD and that people DO appreciate it. If you think oh I only have “1000” followers, that is ONE THOUSAND individual people who CHOSE to follow YOU, that’s pretty amazing.

People develop a connection with the people they follow, you show them so much of your life and share so many things with them that they end up feeling like they know you personally, and they kind of do! They will fight your corner when someone else attacks you, and support almost any venture you go on, it’s like having a second family. There are companies willing to pay you, or send you products for free, just because they believe that you having that item will positively affect their business. It’s not always about the followers, there’s always going to be someone with more followers than you, but this brand/person chose YOU. So no matter where you are in your journey and however small you think your account is, you’re so lucky! Despite all the negatives you can think of, you can actually make a difference to people’s lives, it’s kind of scary but kind of powerful, just be prepared for a few negatives, “not great” days, and try be a little careful what you do with your “power”.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post and found it informative or helpful if you are thinking of starting something like this! Comment below if you have any questions or other tips to add and remember to like and share! Love you always!

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