Small Town Teacher to Big Time Influencer with @tallblondebell's Ashley Bell
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This episode’s interview is with one of Instagram’s top influencers, Ashley Bell. You may know her as @tallblondebell. Ashley is a former high school teacher turned Instagram influencer. She currently has over 250k followers that she shares fitness, faith, fashion, and lifestyle posts. In this episode, we cover everything from what it was like to give up a socially acceptable job to become a full-time blogger, why she was able to grow her following so quickly, and we even touch on the topic of Instagram husbands. I really think you’re going to like this interview, so make sure to tune in to the full episode on your favorite podcast listening app.
From high-school teacher to full-time blogger
Ashley started out in a teaching position by chance, and she fell in love with it. During her teaching though she started sharing fun things like recipes, what she was doing, outfits, and more lifestyle-type posts on Instagram. In just a short 3 months, Ashley’s account grew to around 10 thousand followers. “I feel like every single thing in my life was not planned, and I’m such a planner,” Ashley tells us. “It never goes the way you planned, but it’s better than what I planned.”
Work-life balance as an influencer
For two years, Ashley balanced her teaching at a high school with being an influencer on Instagram. You would assume automatically that the high schoolers that she taught would make her being an influencer on IG awkward, but she actually found the 17-18-year-olds to be respectful. She never shared with her coworkers what she was doing though because having your life on display wasn’t common. Even when she left to pursue it full-time she told them she was leaving for a career in marketing. “I still can’t believe to this day that I managed not to get asked as much as I thought I would,” Ashley said.
A word about Instagram husbands
Ashley’s husband, Mike, was in insurance before making the jump to help Ashley with TallBlondeBell. As of now, he handles all of the administrative work like email, scheduling, finances, and sometimes he’ll help with linking in the Likeit app. Mike also takes care of the videography and editing for Ashley’s soon-to-be-launched YouTube channel. Mike is also starting his own barbeque business!
Working with your spouse full-time doesn’t create new problems in your marriage, it makes them seen or brings them to the surface. Ashley explains that they’re able to confront their issues head-on instead of pushing them to the side to later come up had they been working two separate jobs. That’s helped them grow together and learn to “fight” in the right way.
Ashley's advice for those considering a career as an influencer
Growing on social media now is so much different than when Ashley got started. But, “if you’re catering to the following you have now, the growth will happen,” Ashley said. She explained further to make sure you’re staying in your lane, sharing things that you are truly passionate about, and working with brands that you 100% love. “We all have our own gift, and you just have to serve that, and everything else will follow.”
This is a year that Ashley feels like she’s been challenged the most out of any year in her job. “My biggest tip is to put God first, pray about it, and also just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you to do,” Ashley shares. She explained even further to make sure to listen to your heart and listen to your gut. God sees your heart and will listen, and in the end, the only person you’re trying to make happy is God. The moment she hasn’t put God first, she found herself to be miserable, no matter how many collaborations she got, no matter how many cool places she got to go, it will never satisfy her like putting God first does. “That’s been the theme of this past year that has come up over and over again, that I think God has been teaching me.”
More from Ashley Bell
Ashley shares so much more in this episode, like her favorite accounts to follow right now and her favorite swipe-up items that she can’t live without. We just can’t get enough of her! You can find Ashley on Instagram @tallblondebell and online at tallblondebell.com. I hope you’ll hit play on this episode to hear Ashley’s full story on The BrandWell Podcast.
To shop Ashley’s favorite $7.50 Walmart shorts, click here. To shop her portable tripod, click here.
KEEP BRANDING WELL,
Victoria
