Hello everyone, today I’ll be delving into something very personal. Let me start by saying that at the beginning of 2025, I was not in a good place mentally. I struggled with severe PPD and identity loss. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be, but I just knew that I wanted to be something. I wanted people to see me, and quite honestly, I wanted their validation. This will sound vain and probably a tad narcissistic, but I wanted to be told that I looked good, that I was beautiful, and that I could earn the attention of others. Of course, as I have learned, I don’t need any of that, but it was still a learning curve for me.
So, in the beginning of 2025, I started an account under a pseudonym, and started making content. My main goal was to make content about lifestyle, but make it romantic and a little spicy. Just enough where it felt a little bit taboo, but never NSFW. I did lifestyle, fitness, bookish, and more intimate content. I never showed my children or husband. I never even mentioned them. I always took off my rings. I never showed any identifying features, and yet, someone still found me, even with a VPN and other internet protections. I used platforms such as Instagram, Reddit, X, and briefly, Tumblr for advertising because who knew that 75% of making content was actually marketing yourself?? In the end, I mostly used Reddit and Instagram for my promotions and marketing.
I also want to note, the biggest ways influencers make money are through brand deals and affiliate links. Do not let them trick you into thinking otherwise. If you are considering the path of a content creator, just keep this in mind.
I’ll go more into the followers below, but I ended up with almost 500 followers on Reddit, about 50 on Instagram, and made almost $5000 over the course of the year. Keep in mind, I started in February 2025, but really focused from July to October. I stopped advertising as much in October, and petered out by November/ December to maybe one post a week.
One of the biggest pieces I learned is that people will follow you, and expect way more from you without wanting to pay. They will spam message you, sometimes even try to call you (did you know that was a feature on Instagram?), and occasionally berate you for not messaging them back. People looked at my content, and commented on things, primarily my body, without looking at the actual content. I had, predominantly men, ask me for things that I was not comfortable doing, and then got upset when I said no.
Another thing I learned was that getting brand deals were incredibly difficult; especially because some of my posts were more NSFW than others. I would argue that they were borderline, but agree to disagree. But because the posts were even borderline, brands didn’t want to work with me. It was something I hadn’t considered or thought I wouldn’t have a problem with, but it was an unfortunate lesson to learn considering that brand deals are the primary way that content creators make money.
Reddit was probably the most difficult platform to understand. Reddit has incredibly strict rules. I was banned from a number of pages for supposedly “breaking the rules” even if I thought I was actually following them. If you are choosing to advertise your content on Reddit, make sure you read the rules VERY carefully. I had about 500 followers on Reddit, but it wasn’t significant enough to make much money. I had many followers on Reddit messaging me because they too wanted attention, but not enough to pay me. I had people messaging me to send them intimate content over unsafe pathways and I absolutely suggest NOT doing it. I never did. Venmo, Snapchat, CashApp, and Paypal all have very strict rules about content. I ended up closing my DMs and lost a lot of followers.
With Reddit, you have to post at different times of the day depending on the subreddit. For some, the best time was around 6pm. The only problem? I was having dinner with my family then, and instead of engaging with my family, I was spamming reddit with content. This became a huge contention for me and T; which I’ll get into later. Other subreddits thrived in the morning. So I could give up my workout time to…post? Make content? There were a lot of sacrifices and choices I had to make.
I also suggest, making sure that you only post SFW content on ALL social media platforms, and gain a following that way because—this leads me to my next point—
The Instagram algorithm is wacky. No one really understands it. No one really understands how to make money on Instagram. I posted some borderline SFW/NSFW content, and I wasn’t banned, but my content wasn’t shown to anyone other than my current followers. I was only allowed max five hashtags because of this, but for the longest time, I didn’t know why. When I finally checked my settings, it was because Instagram blocked me from the explore page and from content to anyone younger than 18. I was fine with the adult only content, but I was so confused about getting blocked from the explore page. But because I was, it limited the interactions I was able to garner and was capped at about 50 followers. Instagram has very strict rules about any content that is even borderline NSFW. Even using certain hashtags will get your account blocked
For Instagram, a lot of these influencers are posting several times a day. I had to post multiple stories every day, I had to post at least three regular posts a day, and make daily reels. The constant grind of creating content while essentially lying about my life was daunting. I couldn’t make videos most of the time because of the kids’ voices, and I didn’t want them associated with the account. I couldn’t take cutesy photos around my home because we have photos all over the walls, and my home is completely covered in children’s toys. It was hard. I had to move around mirrors. I had to take down things in my room, and was essentially sequestered to two areas of my home.
Some other things I learned: If you’re a content creator on instagram, you can schedule your posts. If you are a content creator on Reddit, you cannot schedule posts, and have to post in all the different subreddits manually. You, also, cannot post the same content in different subreddits, or you will be labeled a spam account, and be shadowbanned. If you do try and use a bot on reddit to post, you’ll be banned.
Reasons why I stopped:
I wasn’t enjoying it. Creating the content itself was fun, but I felt like I was lying, and I couldn’t be myself. I had to hide so much of who I was, that it didn’t feel real, but what is real on the internet? I wasn’t getting from content creation what I thought I was, and quite honestly, I was so tired of talking with whiny a-holes. I remembered my worth, and it was more than the internet could provide.
I was getting absorbed in my phone. I had to spend an average of 4 hours a day on my phone; whether that was creating or editing content, engaging with followers, posting or scheduling posts. It was draining. It was taking away time from my family, and my other interests. It was taking time away from writing. It was too much for too little joy. I think if I were to try again with content creation, I would do my real life, so it would be easier to show every aspect. I would also have to set hard boundaries of: this is family time, and this is content/work time. With that said, it caused some conflict for T and I. Phone and screen time have always been a contention in our relationship. He has ADHD and often gets absorbed. But, this time, it was me. I was spending time on my phone instead of focusing on eating dinner with my family, or enjoying the family walk, or engaging with my three year old when he just so desperately wanted attention and connection. I made a lot of mistakes, and the reason I slowed down in October was because I was looking for something for me, but started to lose my family in the process, and I couldn’t let that go.
Some of the positive things I learned:
I learned how to pose in photos better, which may sound silly, but it really did help with my confidence.
I learned how to edit video content. I learned how to make viral reels, use many different apps, and make photos look aesthetic.
I did a ton of research on viral-ity, and when/how to post content. The best time to post is Monday at 9:30a, after people have come into work, and are settling in. The best DAYS are Monday-Thursdays, with Friday-Sunday having the least engagement. If you are going to post at night, it has to be really good, or it will get lost.
I learned that instagram and TikTok are some of the best ways to gain followers. TikTok will pay you for views, but only if you have at least one viral video. Instagram doesn’t pay you for views, not anymore. No one really knows what to do to get paid. But, it is linked to Meta, and Meta will pay you IF you have a Facebook page–not a profile, a creator page.
If you look on new content creators’ pages, you’ll often see that they post the same video several times in a row with a different pinned picture at the front. This is because they are trying to go viral, and using the “viral tactics” to do it.
Reels/videos need to be under one and a half minutes, or they won’t be shown to new followers.
The first few seconds of a video catch the viewer’s attention and determine if they will stay and watch the rest. There were many times where I created videos with slightly different beginnings, but the rest of the video was the same to see if it changed engagement.
Amazon will reach out if you are a successful influencer, and ask you to join their influencer program. I’ve seen so many influencers talk about how they make money from Amazon by making videos about products they already have at home, but what they don’t tell you is, they were invited to join the influencer program. It is only then that you can begin making videos about things you already have at home to make money.
Most influencers have an Amazon Shop or LTK or a LinkedTree. If you click the link that brings you to their shop, they will make a commission off anything you buy—even if you buy nothing from their shop. If you went to Amazon through their link, they will make a commission.
Posting stories gets far more engagement than it used to. Same as carousel posts, but only if they are aesthetic and are the kind where the images blend together/look like they are a part of one image.
Many of these influencers have been trying for YEARS. I did it for almost one year, and felt completely burnt out. I also wasn’t doing it for the right reasons or being completely honest. But many of these people are doing this for so long, just hoping it will be successful, but I suppose that is what you have to do when you REALLY want something.
I learned many other things as well, so if you’re interested or have any questions, please reach out to chat. Thank you for reading my little blurb of what I learned as my brief time as a content creator. Below is an Instagram-specific algorithm shift that recently came out.
Xx Marcella