The Freelancer Life: Meet Allie Smith
Meet Allie, a social media freelancer with a passion for helping start-ups and small businesses and a self-confessed occasional blogger!
Just like her love of plants, Allie compares a business’s social media to growing a garden; it needs tending to, time, love and effort. After working for a pet-food start up last year, Allie wanted to keep exploring the possibilities of working with lots of different businesses in lots of different industries. Allie, like a lot of us, shares the struggles of the ups and downs of the freelancer life but still loves the freedom and flexibility you get with it, she believes it’s really important to hone down on your particular skill set and that you are always continuously learning to be the best in your field.
“Being your own boss means you can do the work you enjoy the most, so it’s okay to say no if it’s not quite your gig”
Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how long you have been doing it for?
Hello! I'm Allie, I've been working within the Social Media industry for 5+ years. The majority of my experience comes from helping small businesses and start ups to find their feet and grow their social channels. I can help with anything from channel management to content creation.
Why did you first become a freelancer?
To open up the doors to the possibility for working with lots of different businesses within different sectors!
Where’s your favourite place to work from aside from your home and why?
Cliche, but you can't beat a coffee shop. A little background noise, good coffee and a spot of people watching for inspiration.
Share your struggles - what do you find hardest about working for yourself and why? How have you found ways to combat these parts of working for yourself?
Unpredictability, it can work both ways but sometimes you can be rushed off your feet and other times you'll find yourself putting your feet up. It's all part of the job though and I wouldn't change it for the world.
“Sometimes you can be rushed off your feet and other times you’ll find yourself putting your feet up. It’s all part of the job though and I wouldn’t change it for the world”
Share your perks - what do you enjoy most about working for yourself and why?
Flexibility and freedom, understanding that a solid 8 hours at a desk can be unproductive and making your own routine allows you to be your best at all times.
What are your top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves?
Have a plan, set out your offering/goals and always refer back to these when agree contracts/work. Being your own boss means you can do the work you enjoy the most, so it's okay to say no if it's not quite your gig.
What are your top 3 recommendations - podcasts, books, people to follow, sources of inspiration etc. and why?
Emma Gannon is an incredibly helpful person to follow on social media, as well as a writer of a couple of incredible books and of course a podcast CTRL ALT DELETE.
Also, worknotes.co.uk has been a brilliant resource for me, one I constantly refer back to.
“Collaborating to get a project done means that every single part has the same level of care & expertise, which is perfect for all parties! ”
What role does collaboration play for you?
Collaborating is essential to a project coming together, as a freelancer it's really important you hone down on your skill set rather than try to be too much of a jack of all trades. Collaborating to get a project done means that every single part has the same level of care & expertise, which is perfect for all parties!
What do you love to do? What makes you tick and what do you simply love doing?
With my work hat on I love to:
1. Help a brand discover who they are on social media, show them how content pillars work and how best to engage with their audience and find the right influencers to work with.
2. Create content, pull out all the stops and make photos/videos to be proud of.
When my out of office is on it’s all about:
1. Growing my indoor jungle! I'm a little obsessed with plants, I even have an app which helps me schedule when they need to be watered etc. I've also take up growing vegetables on my balcony this year!
2. Home Decor. Nothing quite excites me like shuffling around shelves or painting something, I'm such a homebody!
What are you really good at? What’s your marketing superpower?
Growing social media channels, It's my skill - I'm not talking about just numbers (although I am pretty good at that), I'm talking engagement and cultivating communities. Much like a garden your social media channels need a lot of tending too, love, time and effort. I'm that person who's pretty stoked about putting the time in to see results.
What is the best project you’ve worked on since going freelance?
Ohh it's hard to choose but I got to work with a really innovative packaging company right at the beginning of this year and was involved in creating their social media plans from the start. It was a hugely educational contract too, I love sharing my knowledge and watching others become social media superstars.
What were you doing this time last year? What have you learnt or how have you changed since then?
This time last year I was a full time Social Media Lead at a start up in the pet food industry, so a little bit of a change! You really never stop learning when it comes to social media and influencer marketing, so I would say absolutely. I've really concentrated on the parts of the role I'm best at and have taken more time for myself than ever to improve my skills.
Show Allie some support and give her a follow Allie on Instragram & Twitter - her pictures are beyond beautiful, so you won’t regret it!