Cassey Ho of Blogilates shares secrets for success ahead of SXSW
As the world grapples with the possibility of recession, many are seeking ways to protect themselves, including creators of content. In the process, they are beginning to come to the conclusion that having only brand-related deals or sponsorships to earn revenue isn't sustainable..
With the possibility of a recession, brand agreements and similar aren't known to be reliable even with artists that have gained large fan bases. Incorporate a recession in the mix and brand deals might disappear entirely as an income option for several musicians.
Solutions to the ongoing issue are being developed, such as the development of social media-based funds, such as TikTok's. As great as they may seem, they've come under criticism for their small payouts because of the wide variety of creators who want to share of the funds. This has led to the fact that TikTok is actively exploring ways to create a different model of the Creator Fund that gives creators higher payments, however it's too early to determine if this redesigned version of the fund will be successful in the same way that the 2020 version might have failed in.
To better understand the fundamentals of creating sustainable businesses free of the social network restrictions In order to understand the fundamentals of this, we spoke with the reigning queen of business maverick Cassey Ho, better known as Blogilates.
Nearly 12 and a half years ago, a small Pilates at-home YouTube video helped elevate Cassey to the status of an influencer. Cassey has inspired more than 14 million people through her videos that were watched over two billion times.
At the end of the day, Cassey could focus on her passion for fashion. She now has not two multi-million dollar portfolio brands: Blogilates and POPFLEX, as in partnership of 24 Hour Fitness, where her unique format POP Pilates is being taught in gyms across in the United States. It is also her trademark POP Pilates online certification course that Cassey is running in conjunction with .
Through leveraging her followers and adjusting to the needs of her customers by providing a variety of products Cassey has the ability to build a successful business that is in high demand for more than 10 years.
Explore the Q&A of Cassey to find out more about the ways she's diverse her sources of income via digital and physical merchandise as well as various other avenues.
Note: These responses are slightly edited to ensure clearness.
How can you make your elevator tune you choose to use?
You could argue that I'm a style and fitness businessman. My initial venture was on YouTube to teach for pilates. On all platforms, I am over 14 or 15 million followers , as well as 2 billion views. The way I got my business started by offering free instructional videos for users, though it wasn't my principal objective. My dream has always been to be in the forefront of fashion. I started teaching workouts that led to the creation of a community when I returned to my initial love of fashion. The people I taught to began looking for yoga mats, clothes, as well as clothing, so I decided to outfit my students. And it's just been such wonderful journey as social media has brought me to return my initial passion for yoga. Yoga mats are placed in Target beneath Blogilates. POPFLEX is my clothing company.
We'll look deeper and discover the lessons you have learned from your social media experience. What inspired you to start the YouTube channel?
I worked as an instructor for pilates as a freelancer in the university, POP Pilates specifically. It is taught to music but at the time, there was no teacher of this type of Pilates. Pilates was taught to the lack of music or only to classical music. It's the reason I worked in the 24 Hour Fitness, and I graduated, and at the time I was offered a job teaching in Boston and knew that I had to leave the city to travel across the nation and there was no method to teach this type of pilates any more. So I decided to film an exercise of ten minutes and upload it to this YouTube website in 2009. The goal was to show only 40 participants in the training facility. That's it. After I had uploaded it, I never looked at it until a couple of months afterwards. It received thousands of views and hundreds of comments asking for more, and that's the primary reason behind Blogilates!
How has your method in utilizing social media changed to suit your needs since starting Blogilates way back in 2009?
In 2009, YouTube as the format of video. Facebook was the place to create communities. It was an excellent platform back in the day. Through the years it's been interesting to see different social networks come into play also, and frankly it's been extremely exhausting, but you have to keep up with the ever-changing channels. You must figure out the best way to get in touch with people that are using them, and also how you can create content on each one. You must continue making progress, but remember that social media, at the end of the day, everything is a tool. So, it's contingent on whom is watching you on this tool. But, in general I consider it to be beneficial because it puts barriers to your door, and there is no one who will hinder you from your accomplishments. It is possible to keep testing until you come across an approach which is efficient, however it's not over until you try it , and get better at it each and every time.
What's changed since you first started in 2009? As an artist of content on YouTube?
It's been a long time since we've seen any change! In 2009 , it wasn't something that was popular; earning profits by partnering with brands wasn't something that was popular; AdSense wasn't even a concept back then. YouTubers made videos for YouTube as a way to showcase their knowledge, hilarious moments and also creating their own content. That was it. It wasn't about becoming popular or being a YouTuber. Now, in 2023, things are different and in many ways, I'm convinced that there's more authenticity.
People want to be famous or to be creative, due to the desire for recognition and fame. They are driven by numbers, and it makes me unhappy to think of this because some of the founders who started in 2009 were looking for connections. That's why I was there. I was looking to instruct POP Pilates. That is the reason Blogilates was founded for fourteen years. The company didn't die as you can see occurring frequently when it comes to new creators. The market is shifting and more than competitive. It's also fantastic for entrepreneurs as it doesn't rely on traditional media and advertising to get your name out there; you can start communicating with your target audience by simply with your phone and create the TikTok short, YouTube videos or an Instagram Reel.
What was your experience when you first started earning money via YouTube? Did you have a system that you could use to generate a consistent income? If yes, please provide us with details of your system?
To be honest, I'm not sure that it was a real notion or it wasn't. I always had a job as a side hustle. I never had a plan to become a full-time contributing member to YouTube. I was working behind the scenesin whatever it was that was selling products or my last and first work as a corporate employee. Therefore, I did not create a strategy. At first, I started to realize that bloggers and YouTubers had been receiving brand contracts however, I was unaware the possibility of having an agent, or an manager was even possible. One of my bloggers told me to me "Don't stress about it; there's no need to get out. Keep building your followers and they'll eventually be there.' This is exactly what I did. I'm not sure whether I thought that was an appropriate strategy, however, I tried my best to concentrate on my readers and helped them out by sending out amazing content I was deeply passionate about. All else was born from this. AdSense, brand agreements, and all are my main source of income however, these days, it's just a tiny part of the total I earn because the product is the most important thing.
Did that happen consistently with you? It could have started via social media?
The initial period was more divided since I would always create bags or yoga mats that had brands. Brand deals were ubiquitous and would grow in the beginning, however as they grew, I was unhappy. I wasn't a fan of them brand deals because the majority of times when signing in for brand deals they bind you to a firm who doesn't know or respect your ideas The way it works is that you read through the entire details on the brief, but you submit the content that is a complete rewrite of each bullet point and they're then looking to adjust the content since they aren't happy with how it's delivered. It constantly felt like that people were telling me what I should or shouldn't use my content along with my viewers. I became so unhappy doing brand deals and it's my goal over the past several years to opt out from these contracts , and focus more on speaking about my personal branding.
Let's discuss the algorithm. Do you think algorithms affect your ability to earn money through social networks?
Since I began creating videos a year and a half ago, it has been the same manner in which was the TikTok algorithm or YouTube algorithm performed, and possibly not that of the Instagram algorithm. However, it can determine the future of an item , and also how fast it's likely to be sold out. For instance for one, we've seen one of our leggings videos increase in traffic to more than at least 25 million or more views in a matter of minutes. We also we sold out of the item in just a couple of hours. However, sometimes a post will go viral on one platform, but not on another, and it's exactly the identical. It's fascinating to see the way it works it's not clear if that it's due to my target audience being distinct on every platform However, I suspect it's because, as an example, TikTok has a higher chance of going viral because of the fact that it is able to be a platform that serves the same people regardless of its audience. it's interesting. The algorithm is a key element in the way videos perform as well and that's why it is a major factor in the selling process. However, when you remain focused on creating a high-quality product, which is what my team and I do every day, you don't need to look at the videos which go to the top of the charts. These are nice, but my company does not rely on being viral. It relies on an excellent product.
As time goes on the creators will understand that they need to use social media as more of an audience-building tool and traffic source rather than a direct monetization tool as you've previously been able to achieve. What do you think of this latest trend?
You must be able give something worth while to those watching you. It's crucial to give something of value, be it for entertainment or education. It's not possible build an audience if you're only trying to make profits from them. That's why whatever you're doing for those of you listening to this moment: What is that idea you're able to communicate to your audience that they're going to bring home to remember? Just keep trying to aid your target audience after which, when you're in the process of launching your product, they'll recall the instances when you've been able to help them. They'll want to take part in your journey as you launch that product. My experience was that, even though this wasn't my intention, this was the way it went.
Free YouTube videos that span the course of 10 years while creating merchandise and having fans see how the product is developed and want to be a part of the process. Then, by including people in the process of designing, I've made this thing truly a community.
Most creators out there think that their only option to earn cash is through affiliate agreements on social media. Where are the most effective places to suggest creators diversify their income streams?
There are many ways creators can diversify their income streams. Naturally, there are brands and you can also make use of AdSense on YouTube as well as TikTok's creator fund. Creators can also think about the creation of products and items in addition to digital products like a service or online class on . The point is it is your responsibility to assess the value you offering. What are the things that consumers are willing to spend money on? You must be asking this question as you could create free content however, you should not be offering all the world's content for free. If you do, you'll get exhausted. In addition, research is a proven fact that when someone decides to buy something, they're more likely to complete what they've decided to do than if the item is offered for free.
It's essential to identify what value it has before putting it in a form such as the item or service, or an article of content.
What strategies did you employ to increase your reach on social media to benefit POPFLEX in addition to your Blogilates range of products at Target? What strategies have you used to funnel visitors from social media onto your site?
It's my responsibility to demonstrate exactly the how I came to an idea. If I present the coolest piece of clothing, I'm certainly not declaring 'oh, this is a nice sweater. Buy it. We're not selling our product to consumers. We're educating them. I design products that address problems. I incorporate them into the process of design and help to include in the design process. They are involve in the process. Their design requests go to product development, after which we transform it into a reality. It happens, and we build confidence with my clients. They're not treated as clientsbut treating them as collaborators. This makes the experience enjoyable for everyone.
In terms of moving my followers away from my social media profiles on my site I try to focus on what is obvious, for example, putting links onto my Instagram. For example, tagging your products. Linking is a way an attempt to redirect my followers from social media onto my web page. Additionally, I use different content creators to showcase my merchandise in a way that shows how my clothes are suited to women of all shapes and sizes. Sure, the content we create will draw my customers towards my site. Furthermore, I use newsletters to generate a significant amount of sales.
Where did you begin on ? The reason you decided to design Your Pop Pilates courses on ?
I'd been searching for a site that would give me a teacher training program, and at the top of this show, I discussed with the possibility of offering POP Pilates at 24 Hour Fitness. The next couple of years, POP Pilates becomes the official Pilates program at every 24- Hour Fitness in the US. It is the reason I was trying to find an online application or portal that could host the entire list of the instructors, as well as share the choreography, and I could not find any. The incident occurred while I was listening Chalene Johnson's talk show in her show. The host was speaking in a casual manner regarding something, when she made a mention of . And that's how I learned about it! It was really the sole platform to let me do the tasks I needed to complete on the magnitude required to accomplish that's why I'm forever grateful for it.
Analyzing the world of creators all over the world. What are the most frequent mistakes creators commit in this situation?
There are many creators who make mistakes , but my most frequent issue experiencing is when creators gain a lot of recognition and a huge number of followers. However, when the time arrives when they have to sign agreements with brands and the content starts to become quite inauthentic. Naturally, they'll have to earn a living in order to make their payments and pay to pay their bills however, it's at this point where they're losing faith with their audience. This has happened to me. Content can degrade the image of the creators. Additionally, I'm curious to know how creating the career of a creator based upon an other career develops. As an example, a teacher is now an influencer. A teacher's entire success as a teacher is based upon being a teacher but what happens if they stop teaching since they've been so successful (as a creatoror creator?
Simple start a class about .
What is one thing the creators of the game aren't doing enough?
Everyone tells me every day that people want the same product you provide. The people want to build a brand so that they do not have to consider different brand names constantly. But here's the truth I'm of the view that to want that one must want to run an enterprise which is built on the basis of the products. I think every creator that has earned a following must be able to sell an item or service. This is definitely the place creative people should focus on, however, you must believe in and believe in your products. If not, your product will be a challenge to market.
What advice do you can give someone not familiar with this field and wants to start in the digital realm?
I think it's an allusion to the points I made earlier about figuring out the value you offer your customers at the beginning before figuring out the best way to make it available so people can purchase it. You have to be aware of the worth. If you're not convinced it's okay. Try to determine the concept with the free content. The key is to determine the people you want to reach. It is important to note that you should be cautious in not let your audience steer you in the direction you're not confident within. If you aren't paying enough attention to the numbers frequently and become too dependent on the views of others and you lose your own identity. You can lose your purpose when you lose focus of what you stand for anymore This is the primary reason that artists and creators get burned out. People who create this way become unhappy because they no anymore have a life for their own sake. They're living and creating in the service of another. Take note of every signal that you receive, not only your heart. In the end of the day, it's important to create content that makes you happy as otherwise, it's likely to last long.
HTML0Take charge of your destiny by purchasing digital products
The growth of the success of the creator relies upon diversifying the income stream so that they can create sustainable enterprises, just like Cassey did.
Through the use of digital tools, such as online courses along with physical items and brands, Cassey has been able to create a ripple effect across the globe, and eventually, take control of her destiny.
If the creators begin to follow suit, the way they utilize social media is likely to develop. They'll be using social media less for the purpose of monetization, and instead as a way to guide viewers to alternative, reliable sources of income for instance, digital goods.
"The greatest role HTML0 played was to assist me in building an instructor community that is vibrant for Pop Pilates." Cassey Ho Cassey Ho
It has helped over 55,000 creative entrepreneurs to make a total of $4.9 billion. This number is growing every second.
We're ditching the middleman to allow you to keep 100% of your profit in addition to owning your company's model, your customers, and your brand.
If you're interested in learning more about how to master your potential and be successful as creative or an entrepreneur, catch Cassey and Matt Steffanina, 's President/CPO Sean Kim, and Jim Louderback in the sponsor stage of SXSW in the coming month..
If you're looking to begin making more money by selling digital goods, give the possibilities using the no-cost trial period for fourteen days.
Article was first seen on here