Our Ask the Creator series is back! Our first interview is with fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger and Creator Emily Roberts, aka The Lipstick Fever. Emily left her career in adtech to become a successful Creator and recently took over our Instagram account, posting from London Fashion Week. In this article she shares her personal tips on how to “transform your passion into your job”. Read about what inspired her journey and pick up some advice that might help you navigate your way in Influencer Marketing.
How did you become a Creator and how has that changed your life?
I’ve always had a creative side and been a lover of fashion, music, and all things beauty. When I was working in adtech, starting my blog and brand was the perfect side hustle / passion project to fulfill that part of me. Being able to do this full-time now isn’t something I thought was possible 4 years ago, so it’s a dream that it’s now enabled me to be a creator full-time as well as an entrepreneur. It’s also given me the flexibility to travel more and work remotely whilst living abroad.
What’s your favourite part about being a Creator? If you weren’t a Creator, what would you be doing?
My favorite part is ultimately being a creative director and bringing ideas to life whilst only really having to answer to myself (and of course the brands that I decide to work with). If I wasn’t a creator, I’d likely still be working in digital media, or perhaps a role within that industry working for a fashion or beauty brand that I love.
Do you believe anyone can be a Creator?
I believe that it really comes down to passion. If you have a passion or interest in something, you can be a creator. I do think it helps if you come with a creative muscle in some aspect. Everyone has a different skill set within creativity. Although I’m not an artist, and I couldn’t paint or draw if my life depended on it, I am strong in the sense of having a vision and bringing it to life in my photos and content. It’s all about finding your creative strengths and playing those up.
It’s all about finding your creative strengths and playing those up.
Where do you take your inspiration from?
I take tons of inspiration from whichever city I’m living in. From NYC to London, I get so much inspiration from people watching, their styles, and now the European culture. It’s given me a different angle, and one that I’m just absolutely loving at the moment. I also get inspiration from my travels, other fashion bloggers that I love, and fashion magazines. One of my favorite things to do is find a local coffee shop and pour over the latest issues to get inspiration for upcoming content.
What was the toughest stage in settling on your particular style and building a follower base?
My toughest stage was when I transitioned from NYC to London. At first, I felt a bit lost leaving NYC. My brand and blog was built there, my style was very NYC, and all my photos took inspiration from that city. Coming to Europe was amazing, but was a transition in the sense that I needed to find my new style, new backdrops, a new photographer. Everything needed to change, and essentially I just needed time to get into my new groove. I’m still finding my way, I don’t think it ever gets necessarily easy. We always need to evolve, grow and innovate. It’s a constant cycle. I try to enjoy the process.
How do you choose which campaigns to take and not take?
It varies depending on if we’re talking about fashion or beauty. When it comes to fashion, upon research and browsing I can get a very good feel for whether or not I’m going to like that particular brand – coming down to style, quality, aesthetic, and ultimately brand ethos. They must align. When it comes to beauty, things tend to get trickier. I need to try the brand before I promote on my social media channels. When it comes to skincare, makeup, haircare, it’s crucial to try the product out – I would never share with my audience unless I was absolutely loving something. From there, It’s usually an easy yes or no.
How do you prefer to work with brands and what are the best and worst experiences you’ve had working with a brand?
Ideally, the partnership is organic in the sense that I’ve either reached out, or I’ve already tried their product before. Or perhaps they are one I’ve been looking to get to know better for a while, so there’s already that foundation. Usually at the beginning it’s all about trying out their brand or their product, and building upon that. It takes time. One of the worst experiences I’ve had with a brand is being sent a strict brief and then having little communication thereafter until the post was due to go live. I believe Influencer Marketing truly is a collaborative process.
I believe Influencer Marketing truly is a collaborative process.
Did Emily’s story inspire you? Join our global community of content Creators and work with some of the coolest brands in the world!