The Creative Edition Podcast

In this episode, we dive into email communication. If writing emails feels daunting to you or if you’re trying to get a brand or person’s attention via email, this podcast episode is for you!

Email Tip #1: State your purpose in your subject line

If you’re a blogger or influencer trying to pitch a brand for a potential collaboration, state your purpose with a verb. Here are a few subject lines I’ve used in the past:

·       “Requesting a Brand Collaboration: Brand Name x Emma’s Edition”

·       “Instagram Collaboration Request: Brand Name x Emma’s Edition”

Social media managers, marketing managers, and public relations agencies are running various campaigns at different times. You can help make their lives easier but stating why you’re reaching out in your subject line.

Email Tip #2: Make your email readable 

Most people (including PR agencies and brands) skim their emails. Many people also read their emails on their phones. You have to make your email easy to read and easy to skim. Writing in long paragraphs doesn’t make your emails easy to read.

Email Tip #3: Use bullet points

Bullet points are effective to sharing dates, options, and break down ideas. For example, if I’m trying to schedule a time to speak with a brand or PR agency, here’s what I would include in the email:

 “May you please let me know if this time/or date would work for a phone call?

·       Friday May 22nd at 2pm

·       Monday May 25th at 3:30pm

·       Tuesday May 26th at 4:00pm”

Email Tip #4: Keep paragraphs short

If you are using paragraphs in your emails, I’d recommend keeping those paragraphs 3-5 sentences. It helps to envision what 3-5 paragraphs looks like on your phone. If you send yourself a draft of the email, you’ll be able to see how long it looks on your phone.

We share 4 more tips to help you with emails!

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy | Pinterest: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

If you are just getting started with your blog, Instagram, or social media accounts, this podcast episode is for you. 

Here 8 tips for new bloggers and influencers:

 1. Define your purpose

If you’re just starting out or have recently started a new blog or new Instagram, I would recommend taking the time to define why you’re starting you’re platform. 

·       Are you passionate about cooking healthy meals at home on a budget?

·       Are you wanting to share your financial expertise with other women? 

·       Are you excited to share what drug store make up products are the best?

2. Create a clear point of view

Creating a clear point of view helps your audience understand what type of content they can expect from you. It also helps your audience understand what type of content they can go to you for.

3. Choose a channel that works with your communication style 

• If you’re comfortable taking photos, maybe you should start an Instagram.
• If you love writing, you should start a blog.
• If you’re not comfortable speaking in front of a camera but want to be conversational with your audience, I would recommend starting a podcast.
• If you’re comfortable speaking on camera, start a YouTube channel. 

We highly recommend thinking about what sounds most fun to you and what your strengths are. 

If you choose a medium that DOESN’T fit your communication style, it’s going to be difficult to show up every day.

We share 5 more tips to help new bloggers and influencers get started on their journey!

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy | Pinterest: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

If you're just getting started with Pinterest, this podcast episode is for you! We share 8 Pinterest tips for beginners.

What is a Pin?
Pins are photos, videos, and stories that you can bookmark and save on Pinterest.

What is a board?
A board is where you save all your pins. You can name your boards and arrange them on your profile. Some people create “home inspo” or “style boards. Some people also use Pinterest to create their “wedding” boards to collect their ideas for their weddings.

Why is Pinterest important?
Pinterest is another platform, like Instagram and TikTok, to help you grow and build your brand. Depending on your brand’s goals (like driving traffic and awareness to your website), Pinterest can be a powerful tool.

A few Pinterest tips we share in this episode are...

Tip #1: First, you need to connect Pinterest to your blog.

If you have a blog and want to make it easy to pin your images to Pinterest, you need to connect Pinterest to your blog.

Tip #2: Convert Your Pinterest Profile to a Business Account
We specifically use the analytics to see which our top performing pins are. 

Tip #3: Commit to Pinning Every Photo from Your Blog Post
One thing we'v learned about Pinterest is that Pinterest loves fresh, original content.

We share 5 more tips in this podcast episode!

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition
Pinterest: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy
Pinterest: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

Are you looking for ways to increase your engagement on Instagram? In this podcast episode we share share few ways to increase your engagement on Instagram.

We’ll be talking about how much time we spend on the app and different tactics we use to make sure we use our time wisely.

Here are a preview of the tips we share in this podcast episode:

Tip #1: Evaluate how you are currently spending your time on Instagram

• Check how much time you’re spending on the app. 
• You can click on “Your Activity” and see the average daily average you spend on the app. 
• Next, observe how you’re spending your time on the app. 
  ·      Are you passively scrolling? 
  ·      Are you searching through the explore feed? 
  ·      Are you setting time aside to engage with your audience?

Tip #2: Figure out how you add value to your audience

A lot of people think that you have to post content (photos, videos, and captions) consistently. While that’s true, you also have to post content with value.

Tip #3: Spend 30 min engaging after you publish a photo

If you’re looking to build a community and an engaged following on Instagram, please don’t post and ghost. Your content should spark some conversation or some action.

 We share 5 more tips to help increase your engagement on Instagram!

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

Meet Austen! She's the Beauty Content Director at Jumprope and blogger at Keep Calm & Chiffon.

Austen shares her career path through the magazine industry as well as her year and a half as a freelancer and writer. She decided to launch her blog in 2012 and her YouTube channel in 2017. Austen discusses the different niches she tested on her YouTube channel. She also discusses how she became the Beauty Content Director at Jumprope.

Jumprope is an app that helps creators create How-to videos for YouTube, Instagram, and more.

In addition to Austen's career experience, we dive into how to get started with creating videos for your brand, business, and social media accounts.

During our Q & A with Austen, we ask her:

• How would you prepare for your very first video? 
• What tips do you have for speaking to the camera? 
• What is a voiceover? What is b-roll?
• How much time does it take to film a 15 second - 30 second - 1 min - 5 min video?
• What equipment do you need to get started with videos? 
• What equipment do you need to get started with videos? 
• What’s one thing you had wish you’d known before you stated creating videos?
• What are your thoughts on TikTok?

Follow Austen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austentosone/

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

• One of our favorite things about her is her monthly color series. 
• Another reason why we love following her is because of her #colormeclassroom series. 

• She has a great eye for interior design and loves plants.

• She’s a part of the Influencer League – which teaches influencers how to maximize their influencer. 
• She works on executing influencer campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.

• In 2018, Les pivoted to use her platform to talk about her experiences as a Black woman in health & wellness. 

• Jasmine is style and career goals. You can see her passion for life!

• Ribicca was the VERY FIRST blogger Emma met. She has amazing travel content!

• You can see Jordyn’s enthusiasm and optimism through her feed. 

• Her smile lights up her entire feed and she's got great style.

• The Yusufs are probably one of our favorite fashion and style accounts. 

• She shares content strategy and social media tips 

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

Emma and Maddy give into 3 challenges they've face building their brands:

• The comparison game
• Figuring who they are as a content creators
• Figuring out how they were going to deliver value to their audiences

Challenge #1: The Comparison Game:

Emma & Maddy discuss how they've battled with feelings about not growing fast enough and how they stop that narrative. Emma opens up about owning her path and reflecting on her previous goals that she's set for her corporate and creative career.

If you're feeling frustrated and know you want to stop comparing yourself to others, Maddy shares a few questions to ask yourself like:

• What has your career, personal, and creative path looked like?
• What goals did you set last year? Last 3 or 5 years?
• How do you define success?

Challenge #2: Developing a clear idea of who we are + what type of content we’re going to create

Challenge #3: Delivering value to your audience

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

Kt. McBratney, the Chief Brand Officer and Co-founder of OwnTrail joins us to share her career journey plus a few tips on brand positioning.

Kt. shares with us how she wanted to pursue a career in storytelling. She discusses how she started as marketing specialist at the Omaha Zoo out of college and her career goals of reaching the C-suite. Kt. became a chief marketing officer in 2016.

Kt. also discusses how her and her co-founder Rebekah Bastian met. Together they launched OwnTrail in February 2020.  OwnTrail is a platform for self-guided mentorship that is powered by community and driven by data. "OwnTrail was founded for womxn to share their life journeys, find inspiration and solidarity from the unique paths of others to then blaze their own trail and inspire others."

In this podcast episode, we also ask and have Kt. answer:

What is brand positioning?

• Where does your brand sit in the eyes of your audience or customer 
• Where does your brand sit in relation to the rest of the landscape 
• Research & experimentation 
• And Emma & Maddy apply these points to the influencer world 

Why is brand positioning important?

For someone who is just starting out, what guiding questions would you share to help them figure out to position their brand?

How does a SWOT (strengths - weaknesses - opportunities - threats) analysis help you with brand positioning?

Follow OwnTrail on Instagram: @owntrail

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

Are you looking for tips to set up an indoor photo shoot at home? Here are the 7 steps to set up an indoor photo shoot:

Step 1: Pick a location in your home

• Emma and Maddy share how they're both in one bedroom apartments. 
• Emma shares how she moves her living room around to set up a backdrop. 
• And Maddy discusses how you can use your bathroom as a photo shoot location. 

Step 2: Clear, even lighting 

• Maddy talks about how she shoot near a natural light source like a window but she also shares how she's used a ring light for an indoor photo shoot. 

Step 3: Use a tripod or even surface to put your camera on 

• If you don't have a tripod, you can use a stack of books or a coffee table to put your camera on.

Step 4: Set up remote shooting or self-timer 

• Emma shares how she downloaded the Canon M50 app for remote shooting and it’s changed the way she takes photos!

Step 5: Gather your props
Step 6: Pick out your outfits/accessories/shoes
Step 7:  Shoot!

For more indoor photo shoot ideas you can also check out Maddy's posts:
https://madcrayy.com/at-home-bathroom-photoshoot-ideas/
https://madcrayy.com/15-indoor-photoshoot-ideas/
https://madcrayy.com/easy-photoshoot-ideas-fruit-edition/

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.

Emma and Maddy share a list of 10 common household items you can use as props. We’re all spending more time indoors so we thought it would be fun to share prop ideas you can use for your at home photo shoots! 

Here are a few props we share on this episode:

• Mirrors
• Pillows
• Bedsheets
• Magazines and books
• and more!

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition

Follow Maddy on Instagram: @madcrayy

Follow the Content Creatives Podcast: @contentcreativespodcast

Join the Content Creatives Podcast Facebook Group!

Follow us on Instagram: @creativeeditionpodcast

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmasedition | Pinterest: @emmasedition

And sign up for our email newsletter.