I actually started in Multiply (now extinct) in 2005. Back then, I shared photos of my nail art and favorite makeup brands such as Shu Uemura which has an Avante grade approach to makeup. But it was really official when I created my Blogspot, with the same type of content: makeup and art, and was called blogger when days after the launch of my site, I got contacted by Estee Lauder for a paid partnership.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
After graduating with a course in Management of Applied Chemistry, I worked for the marketing department of different multinational companies in the beauty industry in The Philippines like NIVEA and L’Oreal as I was very interested in Product Development/Marketing. It was during this time that social media was at its rise like Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube so all my projects leaned towards digital marketing and I also evolved during this transition from traditional to digital.
In 2011, I resigned from my job and started my own beauty blog, breakmyspell.blogspot.com which is now 10 years old, with more than 12M views now transferred to my blog with content that I have constantly produced on my own and changed through the times, with topics such as travel, pop culture, style, and cosplay. 3 years ago, I got verified on Instagram and expanded my audience and content to multi-channels and different formats such as Youtube. Currently, I have an audience size of around 350,000 combined, coming from South East Asia, UK, USA, and still making content on new platforms such a Livit, a live streaming platform from California.
2. When did you first decide to create Digital Content and how did you start?
I actually started in Multiply (now extinct) in 2005. Back then, I shared photos of my nail art and favorite makeup brands such as Shu Uemura which has an Avante grade approach to makeup. But it was really official when I created my Blogspot, with the same type of content: makeup and art, and was called blogger when days after the launch of my site, I got contacted by Estee Lauder for a paid partnership.
3. Is it financially sustainable to be a digital creator these days?
With me being still both a digital marketer/ PR practitioner - I am currently the CEO of www.digifycorp.com, and a content creator, I shall say that being a Digital Creator, especially with good working relationships with brand partners and your ability to convert or lead sales (e.g. Affiliate marketing and conversion campaigns), it is financially stable, especially since more than 60% of the marketing budget is now placed on Influencer marketing. Aside from branded content partnerships, you can earn commissions from products you endorse, which means this can take longer time especially when advertising ROI is met always.
I have worked with companies such as Luxasia, Coty, Estee Lauder wherein they have paid me to do makeup workshops and recommend products to my audience but now, aside from that, you can get 2-10% commission from the links and codes. This has been the model for me for the past 2 years as an affiliate or ambassador of Sephora, Shopee, ZenRooms to name a few.
4. How can someone become a successful content creator?
However if your goal is just to create content and not consider income generation (which for me defines you as “Influencer”), high engagement and relatability are very essential. Nowadays, anyone can become an Instagrammer but relevant content planning, sophisticated and multi-channel execution, and gaining trust from your audience will not only give you success now but also in the long term.
5. How and where do you find inspiration to churn out content?
I usually get inspiration from video games, pop culture, comics, anime, and my personal life experiences. Travel as well. These have always been my source for the past 10 years and moving forward especially since I want to tackle educational and tech/gaming content moving forward.
6. Who is your favorite creator and why?
My favorite creators are the OG’s Michelle Phan in beauty and Peary Pie from Thailand. I love creators who grow with their content and shift from different topics and maintain their relevance and truth.
7. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring creators?
Be true. I know it may sound cliche and in a world like Instagram where everything has to be picture-perfect, make sure you resonate with your audience and continuously build that through videos where you show your personality. Banking not only on the fleeting moments of success, fame, or money, make sure you solidify your stance on the industry which excellence, relevance, and ability to pay forward.
Mikki Galang
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