Episode 71May 30, 2025· 44:08
From Blogger to Facebook Viral - a Chat With Dawn of Cutefetti
About this episode
Ever wondered how a love for cute things and creative snacks can turn into a Facebook following of over 250,000 fans? Join us as Dawn of Cutefetti spills her secrets to building a viral brand, staying true to herself, and making social media success look downright adorable—even without a playbook!
Where to Find Dawn of…
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Full transcript
00:02
Welcome to the Bloggy Friends Show. What's up,
00:25
my Bloggy Friends? Famous Ashley Grant here,
00:26
and I just want to welcome you to the Bloggy
00:28
Friends Show. We're so excited to have you join
00:30
us on this journey of sharing our knowledge and
00:32
experiences with you. Whether you're a blogger,
00:35
a content creator, or just someone who's interested
00:37
in learning more about the digital world, we've
00:39
got something for you. So grab your notebook
00:41
and a pen to take some notes, or just sit back
00:43
and take in all the amazing information and ideas
00:45
we're about to share with you. Let's get into
00:47
it. So yeah, Dawn, I'm so excited to jam with
00:51
you on Cutefetti. Now, where in the world did
00:54
you get the idea for Cutefetti, and how did your...
00:57
your whole journey with it begin? Well, my whole
01:01
thing started with just couponing. Surprisingly,
01:04
I was just really big on couponing. And then
01:07
one day, a friend of mine who like online friend
01:10
of mine that was couponing and talking in forums,
01:13
I found out she had a website and I saw what
01:15
she was doing. I was like, oh, I really didn't
01:17
even know that existed. So next thing you know,
01:20
I'm like, let me try this for myself. And I started
01:23
a coupon blog. And then I started seeing, oh,
01:25
people are sharing recipes online and doing this
01:27
and doing that. And I was like, you know, I got
01:30
so busy doing the blog that I wasn't even couponing
01:32
as much. So I kind of lost interest in that blog,
01:35
generally speaking. And I saw what everyone else
01:37
was doing with like recipes. And I'm like, let
01:39
me try that now. So I switched to like, it was
01:42
called Homemaking Hacks, actually. So I did that
01:46
for a while. And then eventually I was like bored
01:49
of that. And then I was like, you know, I just
01:51
started, I just really. like cute things I'm
01:54
like what can I like what kind of name what can
01:56
I do to kind of rebrand that really just feels
01:58
like exactly what I'm feeling in this moment
02:01
and a little brainstorming session cute Fetty
02:03
was born that's awesome I love that so did you
02:07
how did the name come to you for it um I kind
02:11
of find myself being someone that likes like
02:14
quirky cute like catchy names like I'm kind of
02:17
dare I say, kind of good at coming up with them.
02:20
So I just kind of like, I was like, let me just
02:22
put my thinking cap on what are like, you know,
02:24
some key things that I'm trying to convey here.
02:26
And then I just put them together and came up
02:28
with that. And as soon as I did, I was like,
02:30
yes, that's exactly, exactly it. That's awesome.
02:34
You know, and it's funny that you mentioned the
02:36
coupon blogging because A lot of people may not
02:39
remember this about me, but I actually ran Tampa
02:41
Bay freebies for a while. And so it's interesting
02:43
that you and I have that that kind of in common
02:45
about like how to save money and things like
02:47
that. But I agree with you completely. I started
02:48
getting so into it that I was not taking advantage
02:51
of the freebies anymore. And I was so busy writing
02:55
that it was like, OK, well, what am I doing here?
02:57
So I totally get the idea of. of needing to rebrand
03:00
and do something that feels a lot more fun. So,
03:03
and all of your stuff is super fun. Like, I mean,
03:06
how did you get the ideas for like the color
03:08
schemes and the things that you would use to,
03:11
to make your brand pop? Um, that's a really good
03:14
question. I don't know I think I'm just like
03:17
really particular about certain things and like
03:20
when I see the right color combination it just
03:22
like I'm like I know it's right like I it's hard
03:25
to even put to words but just you know when I
03:27
see the right things come together I and I just
03:30
get a feeling like yes this is it and that's
03:32
kind of That's kind of it, really. There's no
03:34
science behind it. Also, my husband is kind of
03:38
a graphic designer and stuff like that. So it
03:40
was really easy at the time for me to like kind
03:41
of put things together visually. And he kind
03:45
of helped me with that logo and the colorings
03:48
and things like that, putting it all together.
03:49
He doesn't really do that anymore, side note.
03:51
But at the time, it kind of came together beautifully.
03:54
And there it is. And yeah. So how long have you
03:58
been running QFeddy? That's a really good question.
04:01
I was like, I really need to figure that out
04:03
before I get on with you. And then I got totally
04:05
sidetracked to spend like around 15 years since
04:08
I've been blogging in general since I started
04:10
my first blog. But QFeddy, I want to say, is
04:14
maybe eight, nine years old, something around
04:16
those lines. It's the same blog. I just basically
04:19
rebranded everything. So QFeddy, technically
04:22
about eight years. Oh, wow. So, I mean, 15 years,
04:26
though, as a blogger, that's not something you
04:29
hear people say anymore these days. I mean, I
04:30
personally have been blogging since 2009. But
04:33
when I talk to most people, they're like, oh,
04:36
yeah, I just started it a couple of years ago.
04:37
I'm like, no, we're the OGs. We've been doing
04:39
this a while. It's a whole different thing. It
04:43
really is. And so you've kind of been here with
04:45
me with with all the changes and the ebbs and
04:48
flows. And and so you've been through Google
04:51
Panda with me. You've been through the Google
04:53
helpful content update, which, let's be honest,
04:55
was anything. But but so I'm curious with the
04:59
with all the algorithm changes in the and the
05:02
content changes and all that jazz. What have
05:04
you seen as you've started your blog from then
05:07
to now? That's a really good question. Generally
05:11
speaking, I could just say like no other thing
05:13
like career or hobby or whatever has seen so
05:18
many changes. So I just feel like at this point,
05:20
I'm kind of an expert at picking up the pieces
05:23
and redo and starting something like new within
05:26
the same grouping. You know, like I just feel
05:29
like I'm so versatile now. Like it's just insane.
05:32
You know, like obviously I have. rewritten you
05:35
know along the way to kind of go towards my likings
05:38
um but yeah like just one minute you're making
05:41
great ad money in the next minute you're not
05:43
and then you are again and then okay this is
05:45
completely not happening anymore and then you
05:47
get a new opportunity it's like one door closes
05:50
another opens and I just feel like it's like
05:52
this continuous then that always keeps me on
05:54
my toes but it's kind of just amazing how much
05:57
opportunity there really is if you just if you
05:58
really stick to it and you're really just like
06:00
dedicated and like committed to it so um Yeah,
06:04
nothing has really been steady except for change.
06:08
That's a really good way to put it. And I mean,
06:11
I was speaking to an agency owner on Monday who's
06:13
actually closing their doors because of AI. And
06:16
the big thing that we were talking about in that
06:18
meeting is, it used to be that with blogging
06:21
and with business, you had to pivot about every
06:23
six months because about every six months is
06:25
when things were happening with Google. Now it
06:27
seems like it's every week. So what would your
06:30
advice be to people who are trying to keep up
06:32
in the age of AI? That's really tough. I think
06:38
the bottom line is just really stick to what
06:41
you believe in. If you like to share real food
06:45
and not AI food, just keep chugging along. Keep
06:48
pushing it. Keep talking about it. There really
06:51
is no right or wrong. It's really just commit
06:54
to it and just follow through. That's really
06:56
the only main advice I can say because everything
06:59
else is just... You know, I might fail next week.
07:02
I don't know. But I just know I'm committed to
07:05
continuously just pushing forward and trying.
07:09
That's awesome advice. It really is. And, you
07:11
know, the funny thing is, I think what we're
07:13
going to see, because, you know, a lot of us,
07:15
a lot of the consumers, they're getting tired
07:17
of seeing AI generated recipes. And the food
07:20
images that are put on these AI blogs, sometimes
07:23
you can tell without the shadow of a doubt that.
07:26
that is not what they cooked. They did not create
07:29
that, especially when it has like additional
07:31
fingers that are not supposed to be there in
07:33
the image. Or you see it's talking about like
07:36
an apple pie, but you can tell that that is not
07:38
apple, it's pear. Like just things like that.
07:41
And I think what we're going to see as the days
07:43
come is we're going to start really craving more
07:47
authentic content. And so I think that's why
07:49
people resonate with your stuff is because it
07:52
feels more authentic than all that AI generated
07:54
crap. So now I noticed that you're on Instagram,
07:58
you're on the Facebook. What was it that made
08:02
you start getting on social media and how is
08:04
it that you're promoting yourself and your brand
08:06
on those platforms? Well, I will tell you, like
08:10
when Instagram came out, I really did not want
08:13
to get on. I'm not really like one to jump on
08:16
any type of bandwagon because I. Just for no
08:20
reason other than I'm always so busy and wrapped
08:23
up in like what I'm currently doing that like
08:25
sometimes I'm just not ready for that. So, you
08:31
know, but like, OK, at some certain point, everyone's
08:33
doing it. And now, you know, brands are hiring
08:35
to do that and they're looking for that. And
08:38
it's, you know, everyone's like, it's really
08:39
important. So eventually, like I'll cave in.
08:42
But with Facebook, I think it was kind of immediate.
08:45
I don't really remember when I even signed up,
08:47
to be honest with you. But it was kind of something
08:49
I did very shortly after I ever started a blog.
08:54
And I've let it kind of linger sometimes for
08:58
years at a time. Nothing was happening. I wasn't
09:00
getting traffic. I wasn't getting much interaction.
09:02
So I'll just be like, put that on the back burner.
09:05
So it's just up and down. Sometimes I'm putting
09:07
all my energy there. Sometimes I'm putting it
09:09
somewhere else. I don't know. I think I lost
09:13
track of the question, but generally speaking,
09:15
yeah, I try to be a little bit all over the place,
09:17
but not to drive myself crazy because honestly,
09:19
you know, working on social media, as you definitely
09:21
know, can be extremely taxing. So you have to
09:24
be kind of cautious and careful and pick and
09:26
choose where you're spending your time and energy
09:28
to keep your own, you know, sanity. Yeah. And
09:32
I mean, in looking at the numbers, it's clear
09:33
that you're doing well because you've got more
09:35
than 40 ,000 followers on Instagram. You've got.
09:38
Goodness, 254 ,000 followers on Facebook. What
09:41
would you say led you to those kinds of numbers?
09:44
Like, was it just consistent posting or what
09:46
was it that kind of drew people to your page?
09:50
That's a really good question. It's hard to say
09:52
because, like I said, there's just been so many
09:54
different things that have worked and hadn't
09:57
worked right now, like with Facebook. I'm sending
10:01
a lot of energy on there because of the creator
10:02
program. That's really why I started to try doing
10:06
different things over there. And I'm kind of
10:07
just using that as a guide to know what to do.
10:11
You know, it'll give like Facebook actually will
10:13
give you tips if you kind of listen to them,
10:15
like how to get on their rising creator list
10:17
and how to, you know, what you should do this
10:20
week, like weekly challenges and stuff like that.
10:22
So when I started to see like, oh, this is actually
10:24
like. worth looking into I started to just like
10:28
you know what every day I'm going to post this
10:29
many times I'm going to look at the analytics
10:32
see exactly what people like and try to like
10:34
keep posting that kind of stuff and keep creating
10:36
that kind of stuff but like everything else it's
10:41
been really a learning process but I kind of
10:43
like use this always comes to mind when I'm trying
10:46
to do the things like the more you know the less
10:48
you know so it's kind of so true One of those
10:50
things where it's like one minute I'm like flying
10:53
high. I'm like, oh, this is totally working.
10:55
This is amazing. And the next week, you know,
10:56
it's just down. But I just try to look like,
10:59
look, if you just keep being consistent, that's
11:01
really just like all that matters. So I just
11:02
kind of stick to that. Keep plugging along. As
11:07
far as Instagram, I gained those followers like
11:09
a really long time ago. So I really don't have
11:11
any like current tips. I kind of I don't want
11:13
to say gave up on Instagram, but I don't. I don't
11:17
put a lot of energy there at the moment, except
11:19
for like a couple of side projects that I'm testing
11:22
out. So I kind of if I do spend time on Instagram
11:24
now, it's kind of like a little bit more on the
11:26
side with, you know, kind of like testing different
11:30
things to see what works and what doesn't work.
11:33
So I think from what I see on social media, I
11:37
think definitely being very consistent is really
11:41
what. what really matters and being very, you
11:44
know, very much fine -tuned into what you're
11:46
doing. I'm not really like a fine -tuned person.
11:49
Like I really like a variety of things and it's
11:51
hard for me to like hone in, but I definitely
11:53
see people are having the best success when they
11:55
are very consistent and very specific about what
11:58
it is that they're posting all the time. So people
12:00
know exactly what to expect with them. That's
12:03
what I'm seeing. That's awesome. So I can't help
12:07
but notice that most of the content that you
12:09
post is static images. And it does seem like
12:12
with Facebook, they seem to cater more towards
12:14
people who are looking at static images because
12:16
they just want to look at the content and kind
12:18
of keep scrolling. But with Instagram, it does
12:20
seem very reels heavy and very focused on, oh,
12:23
well, videos that are the only way you're going
12:25
to get any traction. Would you agree with that
12:27
assessment? Or are you thinking that like, oh,
12:30
well, static images will work wherever? I would
12:34
say for me personally, I'm definitely having
12:35
the most success with static images on Facebook.
12:40
I don't really bother posting on Instagram. They
12:42
kind of made us think static images were done,
12:47
so I kind of gave up on that. And then they're
12:49
like, oh, they're back. And I'm like, I haven't
12:51
jumped on board with that. I'm too busy with
12:54
Facebook, I think, to even do too much over there
12:56
right now. But yeah, for Facebook, static images
13:00
are really performing for me. Reels for other
13:04
people are working really well. For me, they're
13:05
kind of average. I'm not getting like major viral
13:08
hits when I post Reels there. I still do, you
13:12
know, like a few a week, I would say. But other
13:15
people I know are having great success with Reels.
13:17
And I think it just they're trying to tap into
13:18
maybe multiple kinds of viewers, you know, readers.
13:23
and fans so they have like things they're trying
13:25
to like see like you know this is maybe for these
13:27
to keep the younger people involved and this
13:30
might be for like older people because actually
13:33
that this make this reminds me of something i
13:34
just noticed recently with my facebook analytics
13:36
that my age group of audience has actually shifted
13:39
upward um as older fans um i always was kind
13:44
of like you know have like a younger audience
13:46
but like now I'm noticing over over these past
13:49
I don't know when it shifted but I'm like oh
13:51
like it seems like like an older not I want to
13:54
say like old but I'm like an older group of people
13:57
are interested in my static posts so I think
14:00
that the videos might be just like more appealing
14:02
like the TikTok people who are interested in
14:04
TikTok and that type of thing you know they're
14:06
tapping into that younger audience on Facebook
14:09
but so in other words there's room for for everyone
14:12
it seems like there's content They are available
14:15
for different age groups and a video for one
14:17
person, a static for another. I mean, your your
14:21
page definitely gives vibes of like nostalgia.
14:24
And so I think that could be one of the reasons
14:26
that you're seeing so many, like you said, not
14:29
old, but older crowd, because we're all looking
14:32
for something to connect to. And a lot of the
14:34
things you post are so. Yeah, they're just nostalgic,
14:39
man. They just they get you excited about about
14:41
like fun stuff. It's so much more positive than
14:45
the doom scrolling that most of the people are
14:48
posting these days. Well, not most, but a lot
14:51
of people. I promise myself I would not do any
14:55
like rage baiting or anything like annoying,
14:58
like even if it could do. you know wonders like
15:02
I'm just like I have to stick to these basic
15:04
things because actually I accidentally posted
15:07
a waffle sorry a waffle recently and I accidentally
15:11
called it a pancake and oh my goodness I got
15:14
so many comments on that post and now I see why
15:16
people are so into that rage bait because everyone
15:18
just had to say like that is not a pancake that's
15:21
a waffle and I'm like oh oops but I'm like you
15:23
know what yeah I get it um but I'm like I just
15:27
see people doing that intentionally. My mom just
15:28
sent me a video. She was like, this video makes
15:30
me so mad. And it was somebody just calling things
15:32
the wrong thing, you know, like it's a bowl,
15:34
but they're calling it a plate and they're doing
15:36
this and that just to get that obvious engagement
15:38
and just annoy people. I'm like, I do not want
15:41
to be that kind of person. So I'm sticking to
15:43
my, like, just keeping it the way it is. Real
15:46
foods, real things, no rage baiting, no nothing.
15:51
Just keep it real. It makes sense. Cause I mean,
15:54
you know, but. Because the rage baiting gets
15:57
so exhausting, right? Like to start going down
15:59
that path. Oh, my goodness. I can't even imagine
16:03
how these creators are handling the psychological
16:05
aspects of it. Because if you know you're intentionally
16:08
going online just to piss off your audience because
16:10
you're hoping they'll click. At some point, don't
16:12
you get tired of it, man? Personally, I just
16:16
couldn't even handle it. I can't even handle
16:17
the little bit of negativity that I do get on
16:20
my page. So I don't even know how they mentally
16:22
do that. I really don't. Wow. Yeah, it's interesting
16:25
because it reminds me of a story I've been telling
16:27
my husband recently. There's this girl that posted
16:31
on Reddit and she was talking about how she could
16:33
not get anybody to help her with a problem. And
16:35
so what she did is she created a second account
16:37
on Reddit to answer the question that she was
16:40
asking the wrong way. And then as soon as she
16:43
answered it the wrong way, everybody wanted to
16:45
correct her and actually gave her the helpful
16:47
advice that she was looking for because she said,
16:50
no one wants to help you, but they'll tell you
16:51
all the reasons you're wrong. Yeah, well, it's,
16:54
you know, it's good. It's such a thing to know.
16:58
Yes, but yeah, I agree with you completely that
17:02
I would rather go a more positive route and an
17:05
enjoyable route because I just wouldn't want
17:07
the, you know, the headaches and the stress that
17:11
would come with intentionally putting something
17:13
doom scroll worthy. But so back to your content.
17:17
It is all very positive. It's very colorful.
17:20
It's very fun. Like it is very cute. Where do
17:23
you get all of the amazing content that you post
17:26
on there? You mean like on my Facebook page,
17:29
for example? Yes, on your Facebook page, for
17:31
sure. Well, a lot of stuff is, you know, obviously
17:35
my own things that I've created and things that
17:38
I'm actually intentionally creating while looking
17:40
at what people like on Facebook specifically.
17:43
And then other times I am getting things from
17:47
Pinterest. That's a really easy way to find like
17:49
popular content, you know. I would say that's
17:53
probably mostly it or like. you know I do repost
17:56
a lot of my content so I kind of like go back
17:57
into my own archives and from prior to when my
18:01
page was it really even popular and I'll grab
18:02
things from there and I tend to just like repost
18:05
or recreate um things you know like I said I'm
18:08
kind of just really studying the analytics and
18:10
just kind of going by what people are really
18:13
liking and trying to like either recreate that
18:16
or just repost that or find similar um images
18:20
like that that people want to see you know and
18:22
see if that works um so it's all kind of just
18:25
you know kind of the things that i think they've
18:27
been people have been saying all along where
18:28
like you know um guests will really know your
18:32
audience and like give them exactly what they
18:34
want and that's what i'm trying to do i think
18:36
all this a lot of time in the path of kind of
18:38
just did what I want to do which I think was
18:41
fine in that time and space but now it's a little
18:43
I think it's a little more demanding when you're
18:44
online like people really just they you know
18:47
you have to kind of give them what they want
18:48
um so I am just really steady looking at my analytics
18:53
and just seeing what performs and trying to recreate
18:55
it in different ways like oh they like this then
18:57
let me see if I can make that differently and
19:00
make it stand out or um Are there other images
19:04
available like that I can share that will inspire
19:07
the same reaction, hopefully? So one thing I
19:10
like about the content that you share that isn't
19:12
your own is you're very good about if you can't
19:14
find the source, you'll say the source unknown,
19:16
but you will actually credit the original creator.
19:19
And that's that's something that I actually respect
19:21
about you is because, you know, so many people
19:23
that I've seen will will copy content and just
19:26
put it on their pages and they don't add the
19:28
credit. And I'm loving that more people are calling
19:31
those creators out like, hey, This is not yours.
19:34
You need to say that, you know, and so it's very
19:36
it's very cool that you actually credit the people.
19:38
But so one of the things I can't help but notice
19:41
is some of the food that because, you know, you
19:42
do post a lot of food, some of the food that
19:45
you post that I can tell that you posted that
19:47
you created in the world when you're in the kitchen.
19:50
Do you come up with these ideas to take a piece
19:53
of like, let's say, watermelon and turn it into
19:55
a flower? How do you come up with that? Well,
19:59
I have noticed that flower shaped things are
20:02
in like flower platters and like flower things
20:05
made out of flowers is really popular in the
20:07
spring. So truthfully, I've noticed that caprese
20:14
salad has been a really popular in all shapes
20:16
and forms. So like in Christmas, there was like
20:19
a Christmas tree one, a stocking shaped. caprese
20:22
salad and people have just been going kind of
20:25
bananas for that kind of thing so I keep trying
20:28
to think how can I make that like for different
20:30
holidays and different seasons um so I was just
20:34
like thinking spring you know flowers everyone
20:37
likes the flowers everyone likes the caprese
20:39
let me see if I can like put it together um I
20:42
don't think that one really came off so successfully
20:44
yet but sometimes you know I can post it like
20:46
a second time or a third time and then it will
20:48
like pick up so um Yeah, just the idea that people
20:52
are really liking flower -shaped foods right
20:54
now because it's spring, I think. And going into
20:56
summer, I think it's a good fit, too. So those
20:59
two things, I'm just like, let me put them together
21:01
and see what happens. So do you have like a content
21:05
calendar or do you just kind of watch the trends
21:07
and post based on that? I will tell you, I am
21:11
probably the sloppiest content creator on the
21:13
planet. Like I really have no plans and I'm so
21:16
inconsistent as a person, I think. And I just,
21:19
I get bored so very easily. So I really do not
21:23
have a content calendar. I mean, some days I
21:25
wake up and have a plan and I cancel it and I
21:27
don't do anything for the day, like today, maybe
21:29
yesterday. And then other days I just get, I
21:32
have this tremendous energy and I'm just like,
21:34
I'm going to nail out three or four things and
21:36
then I'll just do that. So no, I mostly do not
21:39
plan. anything at all literally i'm not even
21:41
exaggerating like literally almost nothing i
21:44
do is planned it's just if i'm feeling it that
21:46
day i'm gonna just nail it out like literally
21:48
like okay i'll play with my pancakes how can
21:51
i take this pancake and uh do it three different
21:53
ways using similar ingredients um and i think
21:57
that's the beautiful thing right now about facebook
21:58
is it's like kind of it's working to do that
22:01
at the moment in the past i haven't needed to
22:04
really do that you know i'm more i was more focused
22:06
on creating blog posts or creating just videos
22:08
for instagram but now i'm just like how can i
22:10
just like make the same thing but make it different
22:11
and and i just need one image and it's so much
22:14
actually easier than making a whole entire video
22:16
with a recipe um i'm sure Yeah, so I'm kind of
22:19
just like trying to get the most things in my
22:21
box when I do my hands -on work. And like I said,
22:24
really not much is planned unless I'm like, oh,
22:26
I want to make a cloud out of like cheese. Like
22:29
I have to order a cloud cookie cutter, but that's
22:32
the most planning I probably do at this point.
22:35
That's good to hear though, because I think that
22:36
people that are hearing this will... be a little
22:39
bit relieved because, you know, it's shoved down
22:40
our throats constantly that we have to have all
22:43
this planning in place and all this, you know,
22:44
we have to have a content calendar. You got to
22:47
live and die by the content calendar. But it
22:50
sounds like literally you are getting paid to
22:52
play with food. A little bit. I think you're
22:56
right. Well, not to do a hard. segue into the
23:03
money but you know that's obviously one of the
23:05
things that people think about is when you're
23:06
putting this kind of time and effort into something
23:09
as as time consuming as what you're doing um
23:12
they all want to know how much does someone get
23:15
paid for stuff like that like what kind of things
23:17
can they expect from brand deals and sponsorships
23:20
which is what many influencers are trying to
23:22
go after yeah that is a very very difficult question
23:25
because i don't really sorry make you know, a
23:29
set amount of money from one certain thing, you
23:32
know, like it fluctuates so much. And I have
23:34
a little bit, you know, I have money coming in
23:35
from here, from here, from here, various different
23:38
things. And I don't just only do like only just
23:41
the things that we're talking about. Obviously,
23:42
I do like some sometimes like photography work
23:44
on the side to like a brand, brand photography,
23:47
specifically for the brand where it's never,
23:49
you know, it's never going to be on my Facebook
23:51
page or my blog. So I do that too. So it's hard
23:53
to say like, oh, you can do just this and make
23:55
this amount of money. But I can definitely say
23:58
that I do make a full time living and I don't
24:00
know, like, will that last forever? I've been
24:02
doing it for, I would say, like at least 13 years
24:07
of what I'm doing. I've been able to like make
24:10
a full time income, meaning I do not work out
24:12
of the house. I do not work for anybody else.
24:16
So it's been fairly lucrative. I'm not going
24:19
to say what I do is like. tremendously like lucrative
24:23
at this point. Um, you know, it's kind of been
24:26
hard to say a float switching gears all the time,
24:29
but somehow I kind of have managed it to be like
24:31
somewhat doable. So, um, yeah, I, I don't really,
24:37
I can't really give a number, but I can, it's
24:40
fine to give a number, but I, I think people
24:43
just want to hear that it is still possible,
24:45
even in the age of AI, that they can make money
24:47
as a full -time content creator, because, you
24:50
know, Let's face it. A lot of us, yes, there
24:53
are some people who are born and bred that, you
24:56
know, you work for a company, you stay with that
24:58
company. And yeah, you may switch from company
25:00
to company over time to try to, you know, raise
25:03
your income level and whatnot. But so many of
25:07
us have that deep desire to be an entrepreneur,
25:10
to be a creator, to not have to work for one
25:13
specific brand. And so I think it's so fun that
25:16
you get to work with more than just one company
25:20
and you get to call the shots and if you think
25:22
like hey this brand sucks I don't want to work
25:24
with them you don't yes exactly and I'm sure
25:27
you've gotten some of those horror stories oh
25:29
yeah and I mean I ignore a lot of my emails and
25:32
I actually reply so I'm pretty pretty bad at
25:34
that but I'm just like the kind of person I just
25:36
I just get so overwhelmed so quickly I really
25:38
just can't do it all and um just understanding
25:42
that about myself has is just the best thing
25:45
that I can do to like make this work for me.
25:48
But I would say like right now, Facebook is doing
25:51
really great. You know, other people are more
25:53
successful, like on TikTok. I mean, people are
25:54
making hundreds of thousands of dollars, hundreds
25:56
of thousands of dollars making content, I think.
25:58
So I think the possibilities are absolutely there.
26:01
And as far as me, like I said, I'm making a full
26:02
-time income. You know, it's sometimes, you know,
26:05
that's just really not consistent. So I can't
26:07
say, oh, every single month this is happening
26:09
because it's not. I have enough reliable things
26:12
happening to make it work very well. I can't
26:16
complain except for the fact that I have to obviously
26:19
continuously look for future things to keep that
26:22
happening. But at the moment, I'm content. Now,
26:26
the traffic that you're getting to Facebook,
26:29
is any of that translating to your actual website?
26:32
No, not really. Very little, probably. The thing
26:38
is, is a lot of people have asked me this question
26:41
because I stopped posting links on Facebook because
26:44
I believe as far as like my audience goes anyways
26:46
in the creator program that I'm just getting
26:50
more. I believe that Facebook. I mean, they wouldn't
26:53
really be paying you, I guess, if they really
26:55
wanted people to leave. So my understanding and
26:58
translation of the creative program is that they
27:01
want you to create content because they want
27:03
people to stay and be interested and stay on
27:05
Facebook, not to leave Facebook. So quite a while
27:08
ago, I stopped really posting links outward.
27:10
And I'm just accepting that instead of blog traffic,
27:14
which was kind of not great anyways. It was just
27:17
like always a struggle anyhow, trying to get
27:20
people to go over there. i'm just replacing it
27:24
like so instead of like ad money that maybe i
27:27
was hoping to earn through facebook links now
27:29
i'm just like earning that directly on facebook
27:30
and that's just something that once i accepted
27:32
that i it just It just made more sense to me
27:37
and I was more focused and more in tune with
27:39
that because I know I mentioned this, like not
27:42
probably to you, but to a lot of people I did.
27:45
I started through really well with the creative
27:48
program on Facebook in about like November, October,
27:51
November. It just like really blew up. to like
27:54
a really big number that one month. And I was
27:57
like, oh my goodness. And that's kind of what
27:59
really pushed me into like really focusing on
28:02
what works here and what doesn't. It hasn't been
28:05
like as lucrative each month, but it's definitely
28:07
a big number, big enough to keep me playing over
28:10
there every day. Yeah. I'm curious, are you leveraging
28:16
those numbers on Facebook to gain other sponsorship
28:20
opportunities? I have to say, I really haven't
28:23
had it. I haven't actually done anything to seek
28:25
out sponsors because I really do feel like the
28:27
sponsored content over there really isn't going
28:29
to get as much action. I have done a couple of
28:32
things and it really just doesn't get like the
28:33
traction that just regular organic posts do.
28:39
But I am thinking like, wow, like I have a lot
28:41
more going on over here like than almost anywhere
28:43
else. And it's like, you know, I'm surprised
28:45
actually that I haven't had more interest from
28:47
brands just asking me organically. But I haven't
28:49
actually done anything to seek that out myself.
28:52
But it is an interesting avenue that to look
28:56
at possibly maybe in the future. So what other
28:59
things are you doing other than Facebook and
29:01
Instagram to promote your brand? I will tell
29:04
you not that much. I obviously, I shouldn't say
29:07
obviously, but I do Pinterest still. That's probably
29:11
one of the main things that I do. I try to do
29:14
newsletters. I'm really bad at it, to be honest,
29:16
but I'm like, that's something that I really
29:18
want to like pick up on, like being much better
29:21
about sending out newsletters, because I definitely
29:23
understand that having your own audience that
29:25
you actually have access to through email is
29:27
probably one of the best things you could ever
29:29
do. because anything can happen to these social
29:31
media platforms, obviously. So I'll sign up a
29:37
newsletter and do my Pinterest duties. That's
29:42
really it at the moment because I am so hyped.
29:45
If people wanted to sign up for your newsletter,
29:48
how would they find it? That's a really great
29:50
question. I don't think, I don't know if I have
29:53
a spot directly, but basically in each and every
29:56
blog post, there's like a section that will kind
29:58
of highlight that says, do you want this recipe
30:00
sent to your email, your inbox? And that's probably
30:03
the easiest, fastest way to do it. Other than
30:06
that, I think I do have a linked page. I just
30:08
can't remember where it is right now. Well, we
30:10
will find it and definitely add it to the show
30:12
notes. But what do you see for the future of
30:13
cutefetti? um that's very difficult um i'm every
30:17
day i'm trying to like navigate that because
30:19
i'm trying to just do my thing over on facebook
30:21
and keep riding that wave um but at the same
30:24
time i'm like okay no just like everything else
30:26
this is not gonna last forever so like what can
30:28
i do next um and i honestly just do not know
30:33
but one thing i am considering is doing like
30:36
kind of like ebooks maybe uh like themed things
30:39
like cute you know cute specific food types and
30:42
grouping them together. So I'm kind of thinking
30:45
of playing with that. But I know it's like you
30:47
kind of need social media to get the, you know,
30:49
to promote that too. So I'm not really sure.
30:51
But that is something that I'm kind of thinking
30:53
of doing at the moment. But really not much else
30:56
beyond that. I'm not really sure how to like
30:58
reinvent reinvent myself for the millionth time.
31:01
It's always like a little work in progress. Yes,
31:04
we're characters that are constantly evolving.
31:06
I have to say that. So now. One of the things
31:10
you had mentioned is that you do some photography
31:11
for brands that, you know, it never goes on your
31:14
own website. So it's almost like ghost photography,
31:16
like I do ghost writing. How do the brands that
31:19
want you to take photos for them, how do they
31:21
find you and how would something like that work?
31:24
I think 90 % of the time they have just found
31:28
me because they either did work with me on something
31:30
sponsored or... I would say 90 % that, that I've
31:34
worked with them and they liked it. And they
31:36
were like, you know, we want, we kind of want
31:37
more of that, but not like through you, but for
31:39
our own stuff. So what they did is contact me,
31:43
sometimes ask me, I don't even really promote
31:44
that about myself, but it's just kind of like
31:47
landed. I would say almost in my lap because
31:51
of the work that I've done with them previously.
31:53
So there's just. yeah I have like a handful of
31:57
people that just will come to me whenever they
31:58
need something basically like it's not really
32:00
like anything like long -term contracts but like
32:02
every time they just need something impromptu
32:04
or they want this or that they'll just contact
32:06
me and 90 % of the time I'm able to do it so
32:10
that's awesome because I can definitely relate
32:12
to that because I I never Like whenever I began
32:15
ghostwriting, that wasn't something I was seeking.
32:17
It it fell in my lap. It was a person saw that
32:20
I was writing for brands under my own name and
32:23
they were like, hey, I want what you do. But
32:25
for me with my name. So I completely understand
32:28
that. And it's it's interesting to think of it,
32:30
though, because as as creators, if we're trying
32:33
to come up with new ways to make money, you know,
32:35
looking at the different avenues of ways that
32:37
you can use what you're already using, the skills
32:39
you can already leverage. to make money outside
32:42
of just what you're already doing. I think it's
32:45
exciting to, to kind of figure out how you can
32:48
play the game so you can keep playing the game.
32:50
Yeah. Cause I think the one true thing is that
32:52
I do love creating some, you know, I just do
32:55
like, if I don't do it on a regular basis, I
32:58
just feel like. Like you just heard from me.
33:06
So like, yeah, at first I really didn't like
33:08
the idea of creating things for other people
33:10
like a few years ago. But then I'm like, you
33:12
know what? I don't mind because then I don't
33:14
have to like sit there. I don't have to like
33:16
post it. I don't have to schedule it. I don't
33:17
have to like write up something about it. I don't
33:19
have to like respond to all the comments and
33:21
take all this energy. I'm like, I just like do
33:23
what I like to do. And then like here, here you
33:25
go. Now you do something with it. And so actually,
33:28
you know, I ended up really liking it. It kind
33:30
of gives you the best of both worlds. You know,
33:32
you may not get the credit, but at least you
33:34
get the cash. Exactly. Yes. We can't complain
33:37
about that. That's awesome. So now if someone
33:40
came to you and they're like, hey, I love what
33:42
you do. I've never done anything like this before.
33:45
How do I get started? What would you say to them?
33:48
That's a good question. I mean, I started so
33:50
long ago, so I'm not sure exactly. But I mean,
33:53
I guess just fine tuning what it is that you
33:55
want to do. Like, do you want to be creating
33:57
videos all the time? So would like TikTok be
34:00
something that you're more into signing up for?
34:02
I think basically just writing down like take
34:05
a good old. Recently, I'm just like, you know
34:07
what? I need to start writing things down on
34:09
paper. It's just so much more. I think just writing
34:13
down what it is that your goals are and to get
34:16
started, just, you know, fine tuning the goal
34:19
before you even ever sign up for social media
34:21
is probably the best thing that you could do.
34:22
Spend that time and energy making a plan before
34:25
you invest in all this, you know, stuff. Well,
34:31
I mean, I think there's also something to be
34:32
said about like, you know, the people that want
34:35
to start, but they don't want to put their face
34:37
on it. There's a lot of faceless content. I mean,
34:39
your face is barely. relevant on on the page
34:43
we hardly ever see you we mainly see your food
34:45
so there there's the opportunity there that even
34:48
if you don't want to be the face of something
34:50
you can still create the content would you agree
34:52
with that oh gosh yes i definitely agree i've
34:56
actually been fighting not to show my face since
34:57
i started i'm like everyone's always like you
35:00
have to show your face you have to do this you
35:02
have to do that um but like why though i don't
35:05
have to have to do it i'm like i don't think
35:07
so um so you know i feel like proud of myself
35:11
for actually getting by this much without actually
35:13
being face forward I mean I actually am really
35:16
happy about that um I will say though that I
35:19
do feel like there's more and more pressure to
35:21
do that you know what I'm saying it's going to
35:23
be probably maybe a little bit easier to like
35:26
get people like you know having an emotional
35:28
attachment to you if they can obviously see your
35:30
face and they like what they see or whatever
35:32
and they get connected with you on like that
35:34
personal level but I'm still aware like you know
35:36
I'm kind of maybe surprisingly like a little
35:39
bit like of a like introvert and I really don't
35:42
like like to be the center of attention I prefer
35:44
so you kind of made my day when you said that
35:46
like people see the food and that's like that's
35:49
kind of like my brand I want them to see that
35:50
first I don't want them to worry about like me
35:53
okay I'm just like putting these cool things
35:55
out over here and I'd rather people see that
35:57
than you know me it's not really like something
36:00
I want to be doing Hey, I get it. I completely
36:04
get it. That's why we're doing this on a podcast
36:05
instead of on a YouTube channel. Exactly. I'm
36:08
just like, you know, I would rather be recognized
36:11
for the food and the things I'm doing more than
36:13
like what I look like and who I am and like how
36:16
I style my hair because I'm not really good at
36:18
it. Awesome. So let's just keep it the way it
36:21
is. It's like, why do you need to know what I
36:23
look like? Just look at how pretty the food is.
36:25
Exactly. My food is flawless. Don't worry about
36:28
it. And I do have a lot of, I mean, some of the
36:32
food you post, even if I've just eaten lunch,
36:35
I'm already hungry. Because, like, it's the type
36:37
of stuff that you post that it's like, I want
36:39
that. Give it to me now. Yes, me too. It's kind
36:42
of difficult. It's like, oh, yes. And that's
36:46
what that's what made me want to talk to you
36:48
so badly is I, you know, I've been consuming
36:50
your content for years. And just as I was seeing
36:52
your numbers growing and I saw like, I think
36:55
it was in March, you posted 200k was your new
36:57
number of followers. And then just a little bit
36:59
later, like we're at 240k. I'm like, holy cow.
37:03
This is this is a big deal. I can't even believe
37:07
it, to be honest. I'm like, what? what you know
37:11
because I think I had 90 ,000 fans for like a
37:13
decade like honestly so I really just didn't
37:15
think that was it was ever going to go anywhere
37:17
like you know but I'm like oh I do you think
37:20
it's because you increase the frequency of what
37:22
you post um Oh, yeah, definitely. And like I
37:27
said, to create a program, because I don't know
37:28
if I would have tried as hard if I didn't see
37:30
like results eventually, because, you know, you
37:33
can only go so long without seeing major growth
37:35
or you're getting something from it hits to your
37:38
blog or something else. So that kind of just
37:40
like really motivated me to really just like
37:44
fine tune, like I said, just like really see
37:46
what people are liking and try to just continuously
37:48
like replicate that if I can. And I think that
37:52
energy is finally like translating to these numbers.
37:55
And I think also, you know, there's a degree
37:58
of it that's not really in your hands too. You
38:00
know, obviously like algorithms and this and
38:02
that and timings or what's trending and where
38:05
you're fitting in and are people liking it too?
38:07
Like there's just that certain element that's
38:09
not on your hands. So it's just like, I think
38:11
Facebook created the environment for people like
38:13
me. I'm riding that wave and it's like they're
38:17
recommending my page to people. Like, you know,
38:19
there's a section, I don't know if you noticed,
38:20
it'll tell you whether or not they're recommending
38:22
you for people to follow. So I think, you know,
38:26
I'm riding that golden streak. They're recommending
38:28
me and they're doing it all the time. Every day
38:30
I'm getting new followers and it's just, I don't
38:33
know when it will stop, but hopefully not anytime
38:35
soon. Well, one of the things you mentioned earlier,
38:38
I kind of want to go back to, you said that Facebook
38:40
actually tells you what you should be posting.
38:42
Where do people find that? Um, that's a good
38:46
question. I'm not sure because I mean, I have
38:48
like the professional, you know, tools and I
38:51
am signed up for the creator program. So there's
38:54
certain messages that you'll get through the
38:56
creator program. I think a lot of it is being,
39:01
you know, signed up as a creator that they all
39:03
give you those tips. I mean, you can like opt
39:05
in for them, I think. And I'm sure you could
39:07
change your page from like a fan page to a business
39:10
page. Yeah, oh, definitely. Yes, I don't know
39:15
fan pages have because I just don't have that
39:17
at the moment. But um, yeah, if you kind of just
39:19
like look in the back end There's definitely
39:22
a lot of like tips available. I can even like
39:24
sign up for different prompts and stuff like
39:26
that. So Yeah, there's definitely there's definitely
39:30
resources out there. I know that for a fact,
39:32
because this morning myself, I actually was watching
39:34
the Reels webinar from Instagram. Meta sent it
39:38
out and I was just like, I didn't even know it
39:39
existed, but there it was. So, yeah, I think
39:43
that if we start looking for the answers that
39:45
we're seeking, then we can actually find some
39:48
really good resources. So speaking of resources,
39:51
I have to ask, how can people find you online?
39:54
Well, most definitely please visit me at cutefetty
39:57
.com. And then if you have a spare moment, also
40:00
go to facebook .com slash cutefetty and you'll
40:03
see lots of things happening every day. I post
40:06
like about 14 times or more a day. So there's
40:09
a lot of action over there. I'd say that's where
40:11
I'm putting most of my energy in right now. So
40:13
come visit me. Awesome. Thank you so much for
40:17
being here. I appreciate you just answering these
40:18
questions. And I think a lot of what you've said
40:20
is actually going to resonate with people that
40:22
are thinking about starting stuff like this,
40:24
because, I mean, let's face it, we're in the
40:26
age of the influencer. Everybody wants to be
40:29
online or not everybody, let's be honest. But
40:32
a lot of people want to be online and they, you
40:35
know, they want to build some sort of a following.
40:37
And I think that what you're building is just
40:40
it's just cute. Oh, thank you. But before I let
40:46
you go, is there anything I didn't ask you that
40:49
you really want to share with the audience that
40:50
you think they need to hear? Oh, my goodness.
40:54
That's my only on the spot question. That is
40:57
on the spot. I don't want to be unmotivating.
40:59
So let me come up with something. I think really
41:04
just. you know don't don't give up basically
41:08
just you know keep striving even if something
41:10
fails because i i fail all the time i mean literally
41:13
like i start i have like 50 instagram accounts
41:15
and like a million different ideas that i come
41:17
up with on the side and i have failed all of
41:19
them obviously except for cute betty um so you
41:23
know just keep at it you know don't just don't
41:25
give up and also probably the biggest of errors,
41:29
do not spend too much time on social media, especially
41:32
when you're trying to be creative on your own.
41:34
Because if you just look at too much of what
41:35
everyone else is doing, it can easily just sabotage
41:39
you. It could just make you feel like, oh, I
41:41
could never keep up with that. Oh, I could never
41:43
do that, you know? And I think that's untrue.
41:46
So put social media aside sometimes, even if
41:49
that's the way you want to be for work and creating.
41:52
Give it a rest and just like... you know, free
41:55
your mind a little and just get your priorities
41:57
straight. You can do this. Ironic hearing that
42:00
from a social media creator. I know. Put down
42:03
the phone and go create something. Yes, exactly.
42:07
It's true. I think that's a fantastic note to
42:10
end it on. Just put your phone down and go create
42:12
something. Exactly. And then come back to post
42:15
it. And then please take another break. You need
42:17
it. Yes. And then if you do come back, also follow
42:20
Keep Betty. Oh, yes. And if you're going to be
42:22
on there anyways, you may as well visit. So absolutely.
42:26
Well, again, thank you so much, Dawn, for being
42:28
here. And we will put all your links in the show
42:30
notes. And I just I appreciate everything you
42:33
said, because everything you said is exactly
42:35
what I expected to hear. And just when you when
42:37
you say things I expect, it makes me a happy
42:40
Ashley. Well, that's really cool because I did
42:43
that as well for sex. And I just want to thank
42:45
you for having me because, you know, I just felt
42:47
like really flattered. I'm like, I don't normally
42:49
do stuff like this, but I'm like, you know what?
42:50
That is like extremely flattering that you even
42:52
wanted to like talk to me, you know, with so
42:55
many just different things. And, you know, it's
42:58
just like I made it this far and like someone
43:00
actually wants to talk to me. This is amazing.
43:02
So I really appreciate that you saw something
43:03
valuable in me. And you messaged me and here
43:06
we are. You do have a lot of value to offer.
43:08
And I hope that people will take from this that
43:12
they too can experiment and play. Because, you
43:14
know, even if you're not playing with your food,
43:16
if you're playing with makeup or something else
43:18
entirely, there's so much opportunity online.
43:21
And we might as well have as much fun as humanly
43:23
possible because we only have so many days here.
43:26
I absolutely agree with that so much. Well, my
43:31
bloggy friends, I hope you enjoyed all the insights
43:33
our guests had to share with you. To get the
43:35
show notes for this and all episodes, go over
43:37
to famousashleygrant .com backslash podcast.
43:40
And until next time, may your page fees be high
43:43
and your bounce rate be low.
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