Home » blogging

Tag: blogging

5 more authentic Instagram accounts

A few weeks back, I shared 5 creatives who use Instagram in authentic, inspiring, and original ways. This week, I’m back with 5 more content creators whose examples we can certainly follow as digital creatives.

Again, these accounts are consistently sharing unique content in a way that allows you to get to know them and what they offer on a deeper level through a relatively simple format. They frequently and freely share helpful information and advice; allowing them to build trust with their community. This way, when the time comes to make an ask or sell, you’re more willing to take that step.

I hope this inspires you to switch things up a bit with your online content. Let me know in the comments what you’re thinking about trying yourself!

Shona Vertue, Creator of the Vertue Method and Yoga Teacher (@shona_vertue)

I came across Shona via the BBC’s Fit and Fearless podcast and the lovely “Girl Gains” ladies. Shona was so honest and ‘tell it like it is’ with her wisdom during their episode about weightlifting as a female, that I was an instant fan.

THE PUSH UP THAT EVERY QUALITY PERSONAL TRAINER HATES SEEING ON INSTAGRAM vs. THE ACTUAL PUSH UP – TUTORIAL (sound on!) | Hey IG Family, there’s something that’s been getting on my nerves (for a while now). I call it the INSTAGRAM PUSH-UP: when girls or guys have excessive lordosis in their lower back during a push up, not because they have spinal issues, but because it gets more engagement when they execute it that way. Here’s the thing: it’s not good for you. DO: ✅ Tuck your tailbone ✅ Draw your belly in ✅ Squeeze your glutes! ✅ Push the floor away (particularly at the top of the plank position) ✅ Keep the ribs in DON’T ❌ Stick your butt up in the air ❌ Hyper extend the lower back ***Pilates teachers and other trainers might disagree with the hollow body, suggesting that a neutral spine is safer, but I feel as though the hollow body position is better for avoiding winged scapula and flared ribs. It also helps to prepare people for handstand spinal positioning in which case you definitely don’t want to perpetuate the natural curves of the spine. #vertuemethod #vertuecrew

A post shared by Shona Vertue (@shona_vertue) on

But, what really amazes me is how well Shona is on top of her online content. If you follow her regularly, you’ll see that she is constantly putting out blogs and yoga tutorial videos on YouTube, but also shorter form videos for her Instagram posts and Stories. She puts quite some effort into items that will simply ‘disappear’ in 24 hours. She knows, like few others, that it’s all for good reason! If you focus on bringing out quality stories throughout the week and have a solid schedule in place to make this happen, viewers will keep coming back to see what you get up to next.

NEW BLOG: 3 Reasons you’ve stopped seeing results. Check my stories to read the blog | DISCLAIMER: I realise that this photo possibly insinuates or denotes that ‘ab-checking’ is a method through which one should measure their results – but that is in NO WAY my intention. Abs aren’t even a measure of health – you can HAVE abs and be extremely unhealthy – something the fitness industry does NOT like to tell you. This photo IS however click-bait aimed at luring you into engagement – because based on previous posts and most posts on the interwebs us humans are more willing to engage with Fitness content that involves nudity or abs. It’s sad, but true. And I know that there are some of you more elevated beings out there that aren’t dopamine stimulated by nudity and if that’s you; good on you. Hopefully I can become a spirit light being with no-ego one day too. ANYWAY – Now that you’re here and you’ve scrolled this far down, you may as well read the blog. At the end of the day I want you to get results, be it for aesthetics, strength or mobility and this blog might provide the key to breaking your training plateau. Go to: www.shonavertue.com to read the blog or check my stories #vertuecrew #vertuemethod

A post shared by Shona Vertue (@shona_vertue) on

Andy J. Miller, Illustrator and creator of the Creative Pep Talk podcast (@andyjpizza)

Andy is another podcast find of mine, but this time with his own show: Creative Pep Talk. Andy’s goal is to help all artists make a living while creating their art (a mission I stand behind, too!). His podcast is brilliant for creators who want to get better at the business side of things, but his Instagram is also a beautiful example of an artist taking their work and turning it into beautiful, daily content.

7% JAZZED 7/100 Days of Creative Motivation . You hear me talk about creative career strategy all the time, right? Have you ever noticed your strategy getting in the way of your creativity? . Here’s my solution: separate them out into a process: . Step 1 – STRATEGIZE- What does this art need to do? What are your goals? . Step 2 – PARAMETERS – Use your strategy from step 1 and create constraints to create within. . Step 3 – PLAY – When it comes time to actually make something, keep it loose, play, get lost in the process. . Step 4 – EDIT – Refine the work with a critical eye that reflects your strategy. . I’m pretty sure this is just good brain science. They say creativity happens in our brain’s “open mode” AKA when we’re playing, and if we take care of the business in steps 1, 2 and 4 we can leave step 3 for our play. . Think of it like a sport. The team’s plan and rules of the game are decided beforehand, and the players play best when they lose themselves in the zone, ultimately leaving the “edits” to the ref! This process enables the strategy to be closed mode and the creativity to be open mode. . Sometimes I find myself white knuckling my way through personal work trying to get to the place where I’m paid to do that work, but don’t I want to be paid to do this work because I enjoy doing it? What’s stopping me from enjoying it now? . . NOTHING! . Don’t forget to loosen up and enjoy your creativity, EVEN when you’re trying to advance your career… no ESPECIALLY when! . This is part 7 of my 100 Day Project. Follow along #cpt100percentjazzed . #100dayproject #cpt100day #motivation #creativecareer

A post shared by Andy J. Miller (@andyjpizza) on

Andy is such a lovable, quirky, nice guy and you get the feeling that he would be just the same in real life as he is in his posts. He isn’t afraid to geek out over what he loves and takes the time to microblog on most of his captions about his experiences as a creative business owner.

And we wonder why we have such a hard time thriving 🤦‍♂️

A post shared by Andy J. Miller (@andyjpizza) on

Glossier, Skincare and makeup brand (@glossier)

I know, right? You were not expecting to see a company in this list. Glossier is definitely one of the exceptions when it comes to the thousands of other companies that share and promote boring, marketing fluff on Instagram (you know who you are, *maniacal laugh*). Granted, a lot of what Glossier shares is gorgeous eye candy. However, another huge part of it is promoting natural, born-with-it beauty through practical tips and inclusive products.

It probably has quite a bit to do with their philosophy of ‘beauty products inspired by real life’. At the end of the day, yes, they are selling a product. Yet, they are choosing to do it by being helpful and showing real, diverse women.

Boy Brow in action 🎬

A post shared by Glossier (@glossier) on

Alex Maclin, Nutrition coach & weightlifter (@alexqmaclin)

Alex is a friend of my family from our hometown of Memphis, TN. He offers nutrition coaching to athletes and anyone who wants to ‘create a lifestyle of habits that supports how they want to live’. He’s been weightlifting and coaching for years as well as dropping knowledge bombs on the Barbell Shrugged podcast. He only recently launched his website and revved up his personal, online content, but he is doing an amazing job and I think that deserves to be said!

No one ever said at the end of their life, well shit wish I could have tracked my macros better during Easter brunch (or any holiday for that matter). If you’re concerned about eating today, relax. I’m telling all of my clients not to worry about numbers, portions, etc and to just enjoy the day mindfully. One meal or one day out of thousands of meals and days isn’t going to do anything in the long-term. Enjoy the time sharing a meal with your family and friends. It means more than numbers. And in case you need help, here are some tips to help you navigate the day: – 1. Stick to mostly meat and veggies #greenshit and save a little room for fun things. – 2. Eat foods slowly and enjoy the deliciousness fully. – 3. Stop eating when you feel satisfied. – 4. Engage with the people around you. Be social instead of glued to a food app. – 5. Get right back on track the very next meal. – To those who celebrate, Happy Easter. Enjoy the day. I’m going to. Hands up if you’re doing the same. 🙋🏾‍♂️ #sustainablenutrition #healthyeatinghabits #nutritioncoach #nutritiontips #socialeating #easter #brunch

A post shared by Alex Maclin (@alexqmaclin) on

Like Shona, Alex gives tough love and true wisdom in his blogs and Instagram posts. He’s always sharing quick and genuinely useful tips or answering particular questions someone might have about nutrition. As you can tell from this list, I love anyone who takes the time to fill their captions with straight-up wisdom that I can put into play right away.

@_hunterelam with a slick 94kg snatch at a in-house comp. I’ve been helping Hunter with her nutrition since early March to get her ready for Nationals in May. So far she’s dropped several kilos while still hitting PRs and recovering strongly despite being in an energy/calorie deficit. Here’s some insight into her nutrition plan: – 1. First item of business was to help her be more consistent with her food intake and food quality. She was already logging and building a habit of pre-programming her food into my fitness pal quickly improved her ability to hit her macros more consistently. We also focused on improving her food quality by adding more nutrient dense foods. #greenshit – 2. Hunter’s technically in season and ideally would not be cutting weight and instead eating for performance at maintenance. But, we needed to hammer down and be in a deficit because the competition is soon. – 3. Although she’s in a deficit, we’re still using nutritional protocols geared towards recovery and performance. She’s doing a high carb (cyclic dextrin) + protein shake. She was doing a refeed 1x a week and now she’s doing 2 refeeds a week to help her get through her hardest days of training. She’s crushing carbs. – 4. We’re also placing heavy focus on sleep and relaxation. She’s getting typically 8.5+ hours a night while also working on lowering stress. – 5. Our goal is to get her close to weigh in weight in the next few weeks. We’ll then add calories back so she has plenty of food to finish the hardest part of her training cycle and not step on the platform immediately after wrapping up a cut. – Especially when working with athletes, you have to consider the long term goals before preparing a nutritional plan of action. Nutrition should to be periodized according to where the athlete is in relation to major competitions or the playing season. Most importantly, you must emphasize properly fueling the athlete. Constantly being in a deficit, not getting a proper balance of macronutrients, and not emphasizing food quality is not conducive to achieving great athletic performance. #feedyourathletes #nutritioncoach #athleticperformance #olympicweightlifting

A post shared by Alex Maclin (@alexqmaclin) on

Anna Whitehouse aka Mother Pukka, Author, writer, & activist (@mother_pukka/)

Anna is the hilarious and refreshing voice behind Mother Pukka. Together with her partner, Papa Pukka, they wrote “Parenting The Sh*t Out Of Life” for “people who happen to be parents (or might be soon)”. Anna is brutally honest about what it takes to be a parent and what that looks like for hard-working, passionate people of the current age.

Being Sellotaped to another human being 👶🏻 through sheer love and leaky mammaries is a wonderful thing indeed. But a few things that helped me navigate the peaks (manic warthog-like snuffles by her left ear lobe) and troughs (whimpering alone in the bathroom at 4am riddled with anxiety and mastitis, fearing getting on public transport with her for the first time) are here if you swipe left. As many of you know, I’ve lived in @monki because you can whap a bap out swiftly in their jumpsuits and they offer up the comfort of an outdoor pyjama suit. (It’s the only style I’ve found to truly take you from day to night like the magazines promise). On the knackering night feeds, I found Adam Buxton’s podcast a saviour – his dulcet tones calmed my soul and his turn of phrase had me stifling laughter as I rocked Evie to sleep sounding like a wheezing Mutley off Whacky Races. I tried a few Netflix series to kill the early hours but got a little wired and frazzled so ended up with Blue Planet on repeat. David Attenborough has helped me in the darkest of maternal depths. For the 🍈🍈 a bargain £9.99 (for two) @hm nursing bra was a personal winner because it felt like wearing a supportive bandage with no pesky underwiring. Not sexy but so practical, which is basically the same thing now. To keep my milk up I’ve been ordering @motherslovecookies lactation cookies – Matt ate many, too and his moobs have never looked more pert. Then there’s the magical balm from @kitandkinuk which I slapped all over my face and neck (and Evie’s bits) to feel a little less like a worn leather glove, along with @elizabethardenuk Eight Hour Cream for nips (and other bits 👀). Other than that, it was getting outside a bit that helped. A little bit, every day, into the light – even if it’s a slightly grey-ish, foggy light, it staves off a little of the sometimes unavoidable darkness. If you have anything you want to add to the mix, please pop ideas below for those entering into the newborn trenches #postpartum #motherpukka 📷 @emilygrayphoto

A post shared by Anna Whitehouse (@mother_pukka) on

I’m not yet at the point of trying out parenthood myself; but, after watching Anna, I seriously look forward to the hilarity it will bring. Anna has also brilliantly found a way to use her comedic prowess in her activism work to promote flexible working through the Flex Appeal campaign. She’s proof that you should embrace whatever your talent is (a talent for words, performance, artistry, brutal honesty, etc.) and use it as a way to spread your message.

This 👆🏻 moment. Such a simple manoeuvre – get onto train. With two children, one prized toy monkey called ‘Boo Boo’ harbouring a death wish, a sticky, brimming buggy with 17 rogue rice cakes spilling out of every orifice, there’s much potential for catastrophe, pulsating eyebrows, tripping offspring, beaded upper lips and deep-rooted shame as a breast or other child-ravaged bodily part gets trapped in the door as you scramble aboard before “doors closing, stand clear of the doors. Doors closing”. Like a seasoned Olympic athlete, I mentally prepare myself for that 34cm lurch with sisterly quips of, “you’ve got this”, “every door is a gateway to a new opportunity” and “its always better to regret the things you’ve done than the things you haven’t”. Do not mind the gap, mind The Parent with a chariot of life choices and a swinging, lacklustre mammary that hasn’t been strung up properly 🍈👀 #mindthegap #publictransportangst #thegauntlet #standbehindtheyellowline

A post shared by Anna Whitehouse (@mother_pukka) on

 -A

Photo by Autumn Goodman on Unsplash

Subscribe to The Bi-Weekly Creative

Twice a month on the blog, I share fresh tips and techniques on how to keep your marketing authentic, fun, and focused. Subscribe below if you want to be one of the first to know when I post!