Knowing Your Worth

Initially, I had another topic in mind for today’s post, but I decided to touch on something else instead.

You may or may not have noticed that there has been a lot of dialogue going around social media over these last few days. One of the main conversations sparked has been about the need for more diversity in this industry, especially when it comes to fashion marketing and social media.

I’m really happy to see this truth being brought to the light. Many women are coming together to make sure that their voices are heard. It’s been a powerful 48 hours.

Another huge topic making waves recently is “Knowing Your Worth.” I felt really compelled to touch on this today and wanted to share some personal thoughts.

I’ve said this time and time again. Numbers are not the be all, end all in this industry. Yes, they are important to an extent, but please do not feel as though you need to reach a certain following before you can ask to be paid for your hard work, time and dedication to your craft.

You have to know your worth. If you don’t know it, then you can’t expect brands to know it. And if you don’t ask, then the answer will always be no.

When a brand reaches out to you, it’s because they see something in you and your content. That gives you value, whether you are at 2K, 20K or 200K. It might not seem like a lot, but when you think about it, having 2000 people who choose to follow you and the content you create is still pretty amazing!

You are still reaching people, even if it’s on a smaller scale.

Something I know to be true is that those with less of a following sometimes have more genuine engagement than those who have a higher follower count. Focus on creating conversation, connecting to your audience and putting out your best work.

Too many times we allow numbers to define us and in the process we lose sight of our value.

I have been doing this for 6 years now and to be honest, it took me a long time to see my worth. I definitely did a lot for free in the beginning. In some ways it was beneficial as it allowed me to build relationships, but in other ways I got taken advantage of too.

Ultimately, you have to be the one to decide, but don’t sell yourself short and don’t be afraid to negotiate. It’s a conversation that you have to be able to have when working with brands. I don’t always receive the rates that I initially ask for, but I have gotten to a place where I’m comfortable negotiating.

I now know what I deserve and hope you do too.

Also – don’t hesitate to reach out and pitch brands for potential collabs. You don’t have to sit back and wait for an opportunity to pop up in your inbox. You can create your own opportunities.

I wrote an in-depth post about working with brands back in August and shared my own personal experience, how I got started and lessons learned. I encourage you to give it a read if you haven’t already and hope that you find my tips helpful.

I worked really hard over the years to build an encouraging, empowering and positive community here on Naty Michele and my social media channels. I always want this to be a space where we can have conversations that matter. I am more than willing to help in any way that I can by sharing my own personal experiences, both the success and the struggles.

Thank you so much for reading and feel free to chat with me below! ❤️