Becoming a Content Creator

I’ve realized that some people may be curious as to how I became a content creator.

I wasn’t the best student in high school and scraped by with a 70% average. I didn’t really enjoy anything that I was learning and to be clear, I didn’t even show up to class half the time.

Perhaps I was distracted by my first online business, a website called “Rock Star Mag”. Very creative name - I have no idea how we came up with that haha.

It was 1999 and I was 15 years old. My mom bought us a computer that she had to pay for over two years because A. we had no money and B. computers were expensive back then and you could only order them from Dell.

My friend Sheena and I worked with local record labels to review new albums and interview the bands/artists that visited Calgary. Really, it was a guise for free CD’s by the box load and a way for us to network with some pretty cool musicians.

We were self-taught graphic and web designers.

I would go to concerts and my passion was photography.

I would make friends with the photographers from the local Calgary newspapers with their fancy cameras. I felt very serious with my disposable camera (yes this was before digital cameras and camera phones) and extremely committed to getting my angles ‘just right’. Oh, how I loved picking up that envelope of images from the photo lab, to see if I captured any ‘magazine worthy’ photos. I went through A LOT of film.

I also had a blog back before blogging platforms existed, and was featured on a Canadian TV show in 2002. I believe my blog had over 1,000 daily visitors at it’s prime. Always raw and myself, looking back I’m a bit shocked at just how unfiltered I was! This was back before being authentic was trendy.

I tell you this because while I wasn’t the best student, likely uninterested in Chemistry and Social Studies, I was motivated and eager to make a place for myself in the world. I applied to get a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary but was quickly rejected due to my sub-par high school grades.

I started taking a few university level courses at Mount Royal College (like Calculus ugh) while working full time at Blockbuster Video.

I finally settled on a Marketing Management diploma.

Would you believe that this girl, the scraped by in high school, university reject was at the top of her class? It was like every light bulb in my brain lit up. Who knew how much you could enjoy school when you’re learning about something you’re passionate about.

I graduated with a 4.0 average and even collected some scholarships on my way out the door. If only my high school teachers could see me now!

After graduating from College, I moved across the country to be with my now-husband Steve. I began work in the Manufacturing Industry as Marketing Assistant and spent the following 12 years getting engaged, married, and having two kids. I had a side business back then as a local child photographer and was even certified in child photography by the Professional Photographers of Canada.

The reason I share this back story with you is because my passion is and has always been creating and connecting. I enjoy branding, marketing, results-driven, rewarding, creative work. I love seeing others achieve their goals and am always eager to share my knowledge. Actually, helping other people succeed fills my cup!

By the time I was 32 I found myself 70 lbs overweight.

In an attempt to find accountability, I started an Instagram account to share my weight loss journey.

I had always enjoyed following other people weightloss journeys and seeing their successes. Why not share mine? It was a return to sharing my life again. Raw, real, and unfiltered.

I didn’t set out to be a social media personality and I had no idea what an influencer was. People make money off Instagram? How is that even possible? In 2017, I commissioned some video work for my Marketing job and I met someone who had gained a large following on the platform Vine. It was through a conversation over lunch one day, that he opened my eyes to content creation and working with brands.

He explained that there were agency’s with rosters of content creators. Similar to models or actors, and that these agents would work on your behalf and send you jobs. I was completely oblivious but super intrigued. It was from that day on that I started looking at my social media, Instagram specifically, as a place to flex the skills that I had learned over the years.

I knew how to take a great photo, through my years of self taught photography experimentation and work. Though many of my Instagram photos fall very, very short of my potential (I’m super critical!). I was always comfortable sharing my life publicly and authentically, it actually brings me so much joy when someone reaches out and says “You’re just like me!”.

I had spent a few years blogging, so I was comfortable writing and sharing my story.

After my Instagram grew to 30,000 followers, I acquired my first paid Instagram collaboration. I reached out via e-mail to one of my favorite brands who had played an integral role in my weight loss journey and they were interested in working together. From then on, I’ve been able to collaborate with a number of really wonderful brands and people!

Since December 2016, I’ve posted almost 2400 instagram posts, likely more than 10,000 instagram stories, 860 TikToks, and 242 youtube videos. I’ve also sold thousands of copies of my Keto Diet for Beginners e-book! The best part is knowing I’ve made an impact on the health and well being of so many other women all working to improve their overall health and wellbeing.

You can check out my posts, images, and videos at these social links!

Running KetoinCanada as a content creator is a passion project for me in so many ways.

It was like a lot of things in my past all combined to bring me to this role as a content creator. I am eager to create content and share it with the world. It’s a creative outlet, a place for accountability,a place to help, a place to connect, and a place to share.

When I have the opportunity to work with brands that make sense for my community, it’s simply the icing on a really beautiful cake.

Though my experiences over the past 3 years, I think I have some valuable insight on working as a content creator and would love to touch more on this subject . If you have any questions about being a content creator, I’d love to feature it in a future blog post. Feel free to shoot me a message on my contact page or leave a comment down below.

I’d love to hear from you!

Joanna