Anapauxm: Digital Creator

hello grasshoppers on today’s silly talented tales tuesday we have a very special guest 🤭, Ana Pau is 21 years -old, she is originally from Mexico City and moved to Miami at the age of 5 years - old. After starting college in Miami she realized it wasn’t a fit for her so she put her big girl pants on and decided to apply to her DREAM school which was in the other side of the world, we should all take notes from this and put on our big girl pants and go after what we want, tysm Ana Pau for this lesson💋. She’s now currently living in Madrid and attending IE University (her dream school)in which she is a business major, we love to see a girlboss!

“Safe to say, best decision I have ever taken! It really showed me how taking a huge leap of faith in your dreams and in yourself can be so rewarding…I love living in Madrid, I love the people, the life here, everything just seems like the perfect fit for this stage of my life!!”

Ana Pau started a personal blog on her instagram back in 2020, she has grown so much since then, her content is a mix of fashion, lifestyle, traveling and f o o d! :p, she has been able to collaborate with great brands such as merit, good molecules, bamboo and more.

Personally, her content is in fact one of the most genuine I’ve seen, also, her feed has neutrals, earthy, pastels color theme and I think that also adds even more to the organic/genuine vibe, everything just looks so clean and pure it’s sooo satisfying.

OK so now that you now more about ana pau’s background let’s move to the Q&A 🤭

Q&A

How did you started?

A/”I started @anapauxm during the pandemic because I felt like I had a lot of time and I wanted to do something with it. Originally, the account was created for traveling purposes… I have always had the privilege to travel since I was very young and I have had the opportunity to go to many amazing countries so I wanted to share my experiences (things such as food, the places I stayed in, the places I recommend going, etc) in my account - hence the name anapauxm which stands for “ana pau x mundo” (but also m for martinez), but who would have imagined that covid and lockdown would have lasted so long, so eventually since we really couldn’t travel anywhere my account turned more into a fashion/everyday lifestyle page in which I grew my passion for the media world.”

How would you compare your account from when you started vs where it is now?

A/ “It’s definitely very different…things such as the way I edit my pictures, which filters I use, how I organize my feed, all of that changed as both me and my account grew in Instagram. But it’s definitely something I am proud of, I always love to go all the way back to my first posts and scroll to my most recent ones: I think it’s a cute way to see my personal growth as a creator on Instagram. Once again, I also feel like now my account is based more on everyday lifestyle and not so much traveling. My editing skills have obviously gotten better and believe it or not I learn more and more things everyday!”

Do you have a routine when it comes to posting?

A/ “Yes & no!! To be honest, I try to be as consistent as possible but sometimes with college and my social life in Madrid it’s hard to really have a “routine” for my account. One of the best things I have learned since I started has been that there is truly no “right way” to post on Instagram. I think people value creators being more “organic”, more original, and more of themselves than like a structured feed. Take the pictures you want and post them even if they won’t look so aesthetic on your feed, or post twice in the same day if you want, or don’t post in a whole week but be active on stories…things like this are a great way to alleviate that “pressure” of a posting routine but still giving your account an opportunity to grow & I would say that’s more of the “routine” I follow!!”

What do you enjoy the most about blogging?

A/ “Honestly I just love taking pictures of everything during my day and editing them, so sharing them on my account/blog just sounds like the best of both worlds for me. Since I started @anapauxm I have also gotten so many cute messages from people that follow me (totally random) telling me that I inspire them and that they love my content and that is definitely one of the best things I enjoy most…sharing my insights on my life with people to make them feel less alone or to also inspire them. Creating content is also just something I am so passionate about, I love that aspect of my blog.”

Would you like your account to eventually become a full time job?

A/ “Yes, definitely!! That is my goal actually (along with having my own clothing line one day), I want to be able to live off my blog as a creator.”

When did you started getting sponsorships?

A/ “I started getting sponsorships probably around the year 2022 , so two years after starting my account in 2020.”

Do you think your eye for aesthetic things has changed over time?

A/ “Definitely!! and it is still changing..I have also noticed that depending on the season the “aesthetic” of my account changes too.”

What has been the toughest lesson you had to learn on this journey of being a digital creator/ blogger?

A/ “I think the aspect of “followers”. I would be lying if I told you that at some point the amount of followers I had didn’t affect me…it definitely did. But as time passed I learned that they are literally just a number and that it does not define how good your content is or it doesn’t make all the efforts you make into the account useless. Sharing what I love with others, genuinely and organically while being the best version of myself is THE goal, not having 10k followers or working with millions of brands.”

TIPSY TIPS

Now on this section ana pau will share some tricks she has under her sleeve 🤭 about posting on IG and all the social media world.

What’s the most effective way to engage with your followers?

A/ “I think it’s being consistent in posting, it creates more of a deeper bond between you and the other person. There was also a point in which reels would create the most engagement on Instagram but now it’s like a 50/50 with posts and reels. Posting consistently, for example around 2-3 times a week also helps with engagement.”

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start posting?

A/ “Just be you. As cliche as that might sound, I promise that if you stay true to yourself posting won’t feel like such a hazel and you will actually enjoy sharing your lifestyle on the account. Maybe also if you are a beginner to help with your engagement levels you can set reminders twice a week to post…but if you are busy and have this as a side hobby then probably the easiest way to stay active is through stories!!”

Steps on how to take an aesthetic pic!

A/ “Lighting. This is THE MOST important thing for me. Believe it or not the lighting of your pictures can make the biggest difference plus since it’s a natural element it gives that feeling of originality to your pictures. Play with the shadows, that makes everything much more aesthetic. I would also recommend to not use very harsh filters, I usually just play around with the options on my camera (like the brightness, exposure, brilliance, shadows, highlights, etc.)”

Is it hard to get brand deals/sponsorships?

A/ “As a small content creator, I think it can definitely be a little tricky to start to get noticed but the biggest advice I can give is to also work with small brands!!! Start small and once you work with less recognized brands, more world known brands will probably reach out to you!! Also don’t be scared to reach out to these brands, it’s not the end of the world if they don’t answer you can just try again in the future. Don’t just expect for brands to contact you: it’s a two way street and you need to put yourself and your brand (or account) out there!! It’s always worth it to give it a shot.”

What is the most effective technique to grow your following?

A/ “Definitely interacting with other creators in your own account feed and once again, staying super active!!! Consistency is key!!”

Have you gotten hate comments ? if yes, how do you deal with them?

A/ “Thankfully, I don’t really get much hate comments. One time I did get a comment of someone criticizing one of my reels in which I showed different ways to style the same piece and she was pretty rude about it…I just deleted her comment and blocked her!! I don’t think it’s even worth fighting with people that give off bad energy, my advice would be to just ignore them because at the end of the day they don’t really know you enough to judge you…social media is a way for us to show a side of our lives but we control what we post. Most of the times when I have a bad day, I won’t post about it so it’s so easy to think creators have the “perfect” life and hate on them just because they don’t share it. It’s definitely not fair but I just choose to focus on the good.”

How do you deal with lack of inspo and not knowing what to post?

A/ “I actually struggled with this when I first moved to Madrid. I didn’t post on my actual feed for months…probably because I was so overwhelmed with so much change. I wish I could tell you a secret to suddenly feel inspired again but the reality is that sometimes you aren’t inspired and I have learned that it is okay to feel like that. If anything, I would just take that as a sign to take a little break and focus on other things. If you force it too much, you might create content that feels fake and we don’t want that. So sometimes stepping back is actually what you need to feel inspired again!!”

Tips on how to keep an aesthetic feed

A/ “I use this app called “The Grid” to arrange the pictures of my feed and it is a game changer. I love it so much because you can play around with everything and move pictures, this way you can also plan your posts ahead. The app “Tezza” is also a game changer because you can edit one picture and copy that same edit onto other pictures so everything looks more coherent and it’s less work for you!!”

FUNSY QUESTIONS

these are now the juicy questions I would love to know and I know you guys would love it too 💋

Has a brand taken advantage of you? (EX: posting them and not getting paid)

A/ “YES! It was such a frustrating experience, especially as a small content creator. It was probably one of the first deals I received for my blog so you can imagine how excited I was. Looking back, there were definitely many red flags. Like for example they asked ME to pay for the shipping, something of which if you are a creator you know you don’t usually do (because even if you don’t have many followers, you are already agreeing to put in the work for the brand and create good, content - you shouldn’t be paying for anything). But I still did what they told because well I thought it was “normal” and I never ended up getting the product. I kept on contacting the brand and the worst part is that THEY WOULD ANSWER me and just lie and say that the shipment was pushed back week after week. It was definitely so infuriating but thankfully I didn’t recommend it to anyone and as you can imagine the brand is not blocked and canceled for me.”

Have other creators taken advantage of you?

A/ “Nope!”

What has been the wildest Instagram DM you’ve gotten?

A/ “Definitely all those desperate ass men out there…asking me if they could be my sugar daddies. As if I needed one.”

What are your top 3 fav digital creators

A/ “Okay I love this question because I get so much inspiration from other digital creators and I love the community Instagram has. My top 3 would be: @samiclarke (Sami is someone I look up to because she is the perfect example of a genuine content creator - always gives off the best vibes and I have been doing her at home workouts for two years now which I totally recommend btw), @chelseakramer (I am also currently obsessed with her brand - like I want everything she makes), & @weworewhat (she just has my dream life - gives off boss women vibes with her brand & I love her outfits).”

If your feed was a flavor which flavor would it be?

A/ “Definitely vanilla…haha. I have always been told by people that I give off “vanilla/cinnamon” vibes. Maybe because I wear a lot of white, I am not so much into color although I try to add that to my feed every once in a while. ”

That’s a wrap!!! :D thank you so much Ana Pau for having the time to answer all of these silly questions, you are amazing!

She’s actually one of the most kindest and sweetest people I’ve ever known, and the content she creates is very her and truly authentic, I’m so proud of her and her big girl moves !! I’ll attach her @ below so all of you can RUN and follow her RIGHT NOW !!

I also hope this inspires whoever is watching this that has been wanting to start posting on their IG, stop caring about what others might say or think and post and create!!!!!!!!!!!

ily guys and see you next week :p #talentedtalestuesdays

IG

ANA PAU: @anapauxm

ME: @mariahcareysblog