My Journey to Influencer Marketing

I get lots of questions on my journey to influencer marketing. How did you get started Ashley? How long have you been doing influencer marketing? The answer is influencer marketing just fell into my lap. I accomplished a lot in my first year of influencer marketing. However, I did so much prior that really helped to prepare me for where I am today. Here’s my story.

I graduated from Virginia State University, cum laude, in 2010 with my Bachelors degree in psychology. After graduating, I entered the field of children’s mental health as a community counselor. I loved my job, but something in me wanted more. I wanted more income and more freedom of time. I’ve never been the person that wanted a 9-5 type of job. So I decided to do what everyone tells you to do when you want more income. I enrolled into a program for my Masters degree. I felt like as soon as I got my Masters degree, doors would open that would offer more money and I would have my ideal career.

The Master’s Degree

In 2014, I completed my Masters degree in education. Around the same time I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl Madison. There was a shift in what I wanted out of life after having Madison. I wanted to be home with my daughter full time. I had no idea how that would happen, but I began praying and searching online for work from home jobs. For the next two years, I worked as an elementary school behavioral counselor while my daughter went to daycare.

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In 2016, I stumbled upon a college friend on Facebook. She was talking about how she worked from home doing a direct sales business. After a couple hours of speaking with her on the phone, I felt like I would give this direct sales business a chance and see where it takes me. For those of you who don’t know what direct sales is, it’s a business where you sell products to customers and you get a commission off what you sell. This is something you can do in person. However, in today’s world of social media, most people do direct sales on their social media platform.

The Hustle

So for the next two years, I was completely dedicated to working in the field of education. At this point I was working as a high school teacher and also working my direct sales business on my social media platforms. I was making over 3k per month from my direct sales business. So I decided to leave my job as a teacher and just work my business full time. This was definitely a leap of faith.

During my time working my direct sales business, I had so many highs and lows. There were months of me making 3k+ and lows of me making $200. I learned so much about entrepreneurship and how to run a business from my direct sales business. My direct sales business was taking a toll on me and I asked God for guidance because I knew the season of me working a direct sales business was coming to an end.

The Leap of Faith

In 2018, I had a beautiful water birth with my son. It was such a beautiful experience. The power that I got from having a no medication water birth, made me feel like I could take on whatever was next in my life. So I listened to God’s guidance and I left my full time direct sales business to see where God led me. I was so nervous because I did not know where God would lead me or if I would have enough income. Nonetheless, I trusted that God would lead me in the right direction.

The First Collaboration

Through all of this, posting lifestyle photos on my social media platforms was something I always had a passion for. I love the aesthetics of a beautiful instagram feed or a blog. Around March 2019, I received a DM from the brand Delta Children. They were offering me some products for my son in exchange for a post. I was really excited, but I didn’t really know anything about influencer marketing. All I knew was that I loved posting beautiful photos on social media. 

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After completing my first product in exchange for post collaboration, I started researching influencer marketing. I signed up for several influencer marketing platforms and bought courses from Mattie James and Julie Solomon. I also attended influencer marketing events and I found ways to level up on my social media platform. During this time I also launched The Ashley Nicole Blog. After putting in this work, I began seeing some immediate results. I was getting so many paid collaborations and I truly loved what I was doing. Then in January 2020, I received two blogging trips. I was asked to go on a paid trip to Colorado with my husband and a couple weeks later I went on a paid solo trip to Ohio! Another major accomplishment in 2020 was me making 5 figures in one month. Giving God all the glory.

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As I look back, I am completely in awe with my journey to influencer marketing. I had no idea this is what I would be doing at this moment. I had to go through a lot of ups and downs, lots of research, lots of investing in myself, and always asking God for guidance on my journey! 

In conclusion, always remember that your journey is your journey. Don’t compare yourself to other people. This journey is not easy. It takes a lot of work to get to the point of 4 and 5 figure deals, paid trips, and all the other perks of being an influencer and blogger! Stay consistent on your path and embrace all the ups and downs.

XO,

Ashley