Good Morning Kayla, tell us a bit about your background?
My name is Kayla Alligood and I was born and raised in Washington NC, where I currently live! I am 21 and I work in insurance sales full time and start blogging on the side in October of 2020!
How did You get your start as influencer?
I had been wanting to start a blog for a long time and worried too much about what others would think to start it. When I moved out on my own last summer I had started buying a lot of stuff for my first house and decided I wanted to show my finds and that was how I started my page.
I quickly realized that fashion was something I had loved for a long time and had lots more to share about fashion and wanted to mainly focus on sharing and finding affordable items for women and teens.
How do you choose which brands to work with?
I only share things that I think are reasonable and that I would buy myself. I am not going to share a $300 dress when I wouldn’t buy it myself. This is how I pick brands to work with. I pick brands that are affordable, show a good image, and try to be size-inclusive. I want women of all shapes and sizes to be able to find something and relate to what I share.
How has Your life changed since becoming an influencer?
I have grown my channel by being authentic and real which has also gained my followers loyalty. I don’t sugar coat anything, I try to be my real self 100% of the time and that has been the best way I’ve found to grow and stay true to myself.
Do you feel that your online life reflects who you are as a person, or do you feel like you have an internet “persona,” to a degree?
I do feel that my online life is a good reflection of my in-person life. I try to be kind, bubbly and encouraging online and in-person in my day-to-day life. I think the most common thing that’s misunderstood about influencers is that is “easy”.
Before I started influencing I had no clue how much work it was to find links, create content, be consistent, and so much more. It is a lot more work than I ever expected but I have enjoyed every minute and can’t wait to see what the future brings me blogging!
What is your advice for creating an authentic audience on social media? How did you get the ball first rolling?
For me to get the ball rolling when I first started, I just did the dang thing! You will never be successful with something if you don’t give it a try! I really didn’t plan on being as serious with it when I first created my Instagram page, and then I was very quickly spending a few hours a day at least on my phone creating content. My advice is that if you want to try it, go for it! Whether that’s a new job, a hobby, or blogging. I’ve had so many girls message me and ask how I got started and that they’ve been wanting to start blogging for a while but we’re worried about what others would think like I was.
