A phrase I’ve been hearing lately from every corner next to questions like: Are you “The Greylayers?” and next to “Can we take a selfie?” (Which is rather flattering, and something I’ll never get used to, dare I say).
I wrote GREYLAYERS.COM and started it in the basement of my second retail job at 11 am on a slow foot traffic rainy day in town, whilst juggling three other jobs, one of them being McDonalds). The quiet beginning grew into something bigger than imagined. A creative outlet turned career.
Now Juggling non-Mcdonalds / Abercrombie and Fitch work hours, a load of emails and clients, weekly shoots and hourly meetings (which by the way I am forever grateful for, for believing in me), I also juggle the thoughts of 1. how on Earth I missed x amount of meals because of photoshoots going on for hours. 2. How much sleep I’m getting tonight. 3. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. 4. Content.
To simply put, Quality first before quantity. I will never just write, simply just to go through the motion of it. hard no. This space started out as my creative solace, and will remain that way whether it be for business or for pleasure. You Simply cannot force inspiration and to be inspired, one must stop and smell the roses along the way, no? But luckily I’ve written down over 500 blog topics that I’ll be sharing substantially with you every other day and on newsletters too! For now:
A few tips on how my outlet was monetized below.
1. Start.
I never had a beautiful template when I started. It was a free one from blogger that I had to learn and navigate. It was terrible. But it was a start. You’ll want to change things along the way, this is a human trait we can’t rid ourselves of.
2. Niche.
Know it. Breathe it. Live by it. Whether it’s Parenting or Fashion, you’ll have an audience specifically that shares the same interest as your posts. Target them and stay consistent. Give yourself the discipline of creating visual and substantial content every week. Then change that into every other day. More readers = more eyeballs on my content = more business. Your blog will be your portfolio, so make it count.
3. Invest.
But Invest smart! Take advantage of courses, web themes, tools and conferences. The industry has grown since I started Greylayers and you have the full advantage of learning from more tools now than I had before (which was close to none).
- Invest in conferences in order to network
- Invest in a professional look for your blog and platform aesthetics.
- Invest in working with great people namely, photographers, graphics designer and agents.
4. The 20 minute rule.
Ever since I started blogging, the key was creating a strong relationship with your clients and soon-to-be-clients. An act as simple as responding to emails right away within a span of 20 minutes makes the biggest difference! It shows proactivity, discipline and the willingness to work together. Would you want your boyfriend to respond 24 hours after and let you wait? Didn’t think so.