How She Started From 0 and Grew to 40k in 1 Year (Feat. Ariel)

How She Started From 0 and Grew to 40k in 1 Year

GUEST-STARRING Ariel

Have you ever thought about starting from fresh? Maybe your account health has suffered or you decided to change niches?

Well, a brand new account might actually be the answer you are looking for. We sat down with Ariel of @ariel.land, a student of my Full-Time Influencer program, so she could share how starting over on Instagram, coupled with the lessons from FTI, were the gateway to her social media success. Ariel’s account expanded like rapid fire and in just a year, she managed to grow from 3K to 10K and is now at 40K!

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Ariel is a Taiwainese-American that is living in Tokyo, Japan. Thus, her niche is all about traveling within the country she resides. She is an expert in all the best spots in Japan and her account is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to beautiful destinations.

However, Ariel’s current account is fairly new. Back in 2016, she found herself traveling in Hong Kong and Singapore and was posting content based on global travel. She managed to grow to almost 40k followers but in 2018, Ariel’s account suffered. She became a mother and naturally, she started pivoting towards parenting content. Unfortunately, her followers were confused and her engagement plummeted.

Ariel knew she had to do something and starting a new account seemed extreme but a viable solution. I sat down and picked Ariel’s brain on how she managed to achieve success and how the Full-Time Influencer program helped her along the way.

1. Take a leap of faith.

Of course, Ariel was incredibly nervous about completely starting over from scratch. What ultimately made her decide to take the plunge was when she joined the Full-Time Influencer program and started going through the first couple of modules that focus on honing in on your brand and niche.

This inspired her to audit her old Instagram account and she realized that no matter what she did, she just wasn’t getting the results she wanted. Thus, Arial took a leap of faith and created her brand new account and it paid off!

2. Take advantage of your passion.

Finding the perfect niche for her new account was something that didn't happen overnight. However, Ariel knew from the Full-Time Influencer program that it was imperative to take time to figure out what she was most passionate about. She thought deeply about what she wanted people to come to her for as a voice of authority. Once she established a firm niche, she was ultimately setting up a strong foundation for success.

3. Listen to your audience.

For the first 6 months with her new Instagram account, Ariel tuned into her core audience and what they responded to the most. The Full-Time Influencer program is constantly pushing students to show up in stories, so she did exactly that. This allowed her to build a sticky, supportive audience that eagerly looked forward to the content she puts out into the world.

4. Focus on maximizing Reels.

With Instagram focusing in on Reels so much, Ariel set out to master short-form video. By repurposing old content and experimenting with different types of video styles, she managed to have 3 Reels go viral which boosted her growth and she gained a wider global audience as a result. She realized it is important to test out different types of Reels so you can see what your audience responds to. From there, she was able to double down on what works to get her proven, stellar results.

5. Stay consistent & be persistent!

Ariel prioritized staying consistent because she knew that the more you get out there and do it, the more you get used to it, and the better you become. In fact, she made it a point to continuously pitch to brands and it paid off. Her first campaign was when her account was only at 3K followers and it included a luxury hotel stay in Kyoto!

6. Invest in your education.

There is a lot of free information out there about growing on Instagram but it is usually gimmicky and does not provide the full scope, thus Ariel decided to invest in herself and her education and became a Full-Time Influencer student. She actually comes from a marketing degree background and was pleasantly surprised to see the similarities between her college courses and the Full-Time Influencer program. She came to realize FTI is not just about pretty pictures and there is so much more than meets the eye.

7. No better time than now.
For those who are afraid to start (or afraid to start over), Ariel wants you to know that it never hurts to try. It is totally possible to gain confidence over time and with consistent practice. The Full-Time Influencer program helped to provide a multi-dimensional approach to Instagram that led Ariel to success.

In the end, whether you end up deciding to be an influencer or not, Ariel shares that you will leave the program with important transferable skills that can be used in plenty of other roles. Plus, you actively create core memories you can look back on in the future. That alone made the Full-Time Influencer program a worthwhile investment for Ariel.

Doors open for enrollment for the Full-Time Influencer program on April 9 but for a limited time! If you are serious about growing your account and monetizing your following, consider joining me!

FIND ARIEL’S SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS HERE

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