How-To Support Content Creators & FAQs
Free & simple ways you can support your favourite content creators, whether it's on their blog, Instagram, Pinterest, Tik Tok &/or Facebook.
The online content world isn't always an easy one to understand. Content creators rely heavily on their audience to help them gain traction in this industry.
The more engagement (searches, views, likes, comments and shares) a piece of content gets, the higher it gets bumped up in the algorithms on search engines & social media platforms. This is why content creators often ask a question in their videos or captions and remind readers to SAVE, SHARE or HIT THE FOLLOW BUTTON.
I created this FAQ blog post as I get a lot of repeat questions from my readers about how I make money as a creator and what they can do to support me.
FAQs
What is the difference between a content creator & an influencer?
They are sometimes used interchangeably, but it really depends on the context of the work they are doing.
Brands will typically call a creator an influencer if they are working with them for sponsored content, as the creator is influencing people to buy that brands product.
Personally I don't love the term 'influencer' and I know a lot of creators feel this way too. Especially creators (like myself) who have credentials to back up our claims. There is a BIG difference between a registered dietitian & a self proclaimed wellness expert. The same goes for professionally trained chef & a self taught food blogger.
When I am doing freelance recipe development for a brand I am usually referred to as a creator as the content I'm creating is for the brand's use, not for use on my platforms.
Can you explain what 'Sponsored Content' is?
Sponsored content is when a brand pays an influencer to promote their brand/product or service.
Brands typically like to work with influencers that are considered 'Micro-Influencers' which is a creator with between 10K-50k followers on a single social media platform. This is why 'Nano-influencers' (like myself) will say things like "Click the follow button for more tips like this" in their videos/reels because the more followers they have, the more likely brands are to want work with them.
As a reader, how can I support my favourite content creators?
For content creators 'engagement' is king. 'Engagement' is any type of interaction with a piece of content.
On social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook & Tik Tok, the highest regarded types of engagement are SAVES, SHARES & COMMENTS.
The algorithms pushes content to more people if there is a lot of engagement happening on that post. Which puts that creator in front of the eyes of more people that might not have seen them otherwise. Which in turn could lead to more followers, sales, brand deals etc.
SAVES
Save delicious looking recipes, your favourite kitchen hacks or how-tos
SHARES
Share a kitchen hack or recipe you tried to your stories & tag the creator. Share a cool kitchen tip to your friends/family through a direct message.
COMMENTS
Comments encourage interaction among creators & other readers. It's a great way to show a creator that you're loving what they are posting. Even something as simple as "Omg def gonna make this!" goes a long way.
AFFILIATE LINKS
Creators/influencers will 'link' products in blog posts and/or Instagram stories and other social media posts. When readers purchase products using these links the creator gets a small percentage of the product purchase price. When I say small % I mean small, it is usually no more then 5%. These purchases typically don't add up to a whole lot, but it's still nice as a creator to get a little cheque every once in a while.
Some examples of my affiliate marketing blog are My Favourite Kitchen Tools & My Top 5 Cookbook Recommendations.
How do you make money?
Currently my main source of income is from my private chef clients. I work for them 4 days /week. My goal though, is to be a full-time creator by summer 2022.
I also make money through freelance recipe development & sponsored content for brands.
Once my blog starts getting enough page views, I will be able to monetize my blog through paid ads. This is typically where most food bloggers make the bulk of their income, but it often takes years to get enough traffic to your blog in order to qualify to run ads on your website.
How long does it take you to develop a recipe?
This really depends on the recipe. Sometimes it's only 1 or 2 tests and the recipe is good to go. Other times, especially when I'm creating recipes for brands you're testing 4-5 times.
The thing a lot of people don't realize is that to truly test a recipe properly, you should only be changing 1 ingredient or ratio of said ingredient per recipe test.
How much time do you spend on creating content?
Almost all of my spare time, if I'm being honest.
I'm I'm not working for my private chef clients, I am almost always working on something for my blog, social media or a brand partnership.
I do still spend time with my partner, friends/family but I am very strategic about how I spend my time and energy.
Even though I'm over a year into the content creation "game" I'm still considered a newbie, so like any new entrepreneur I need to put in the work/time to achieve my goals.
Do you have team members?
I WISH! haha.
I am currently a 1-women-show. All of my blog posts, Instagram reels, videos, photos, tik toks, captions, recipes, how-tos & classes are all created 100% by me.
I really appreciate you taking the time to read this post. I hope it helped to shed some light into the content creation biz and how you can continue to support your favourite creators.
Do you have more questions? Feel free to shoot me a message!
As always, I appreciate you!
