Have you ever thought of starting your own Instagram page?
I mean…
There are thousands of pages and influencers garnering on Instagram with millions of people following them around the globe.
However…
Those numbers in million could sometime manipulate you to put off your dreams, goals, and passion for some other time.
But let’s face it!
Everyone once started with zero!
Moreover…
“People should not compare their chapter one with someone’s chapter twenty”
A great tip, right?
That’s what our guest TODAY “Sarah Dorough“ mentioned during a chat we had with her.
Sarah Dorough is a young 18-year-old fitness influencer on Instagram who is a real example of inspiration on how one can grow their page organically without buying any fake followers.
If you don’t believe me…
Just go look at her Instagram videos and you will know why I am saying so!
Hence, I thought why not share her amazing journey from 0 followers to 10.5K (to date) so YOU can get some motivation to start.
Yeah!
This article is…
JUST FOR YOU!
Here we begin-
Q1- First and foremost, welcome to our blog Sarah, we are so glad to have you here. Can you tell a bit about yourself to our audience?
Sarah- Thank you so much for having me here, Shivam. I hope my words could give some value to your readers. So… I have always been super active, when I was younger I got put into gymnastics and went far! I competed at the top level, and was an alternate for making Level 10 Nationals! A few years ago I had to stop due to fracturing my back and burnout. I needed to find something else to put my energy into and because of my active lifestyle, I found a passion for fitness! Because I am so enthusiastic about what I’ve learned, I love to help others live their best lifestyle! I always say I want to show people that they can live Happy and Healthy! I’m also now competing in dance! This was going to be my first year but sadly I only got one comp in because of the virus:(
That’s super amazing, Sarah. Doing all this at such a young age is not so easy. P.S.- Don’t worry though, we would soon get through this corona thing pretty soon. We have a long life ahead, so cheer up!
Q2- Journeys often begin with some sort of inspiration or unusual situation for some people. What inspired you to start your journey on Instagram?
Sarah- So it’s somewhere when I was 16, and I was walking on the beach with my parents kinda stressed out because I didn’t know what I wanted to do in my life after high school, so my dad started asking me a bunch of questions to help narrow things down and get me thinking. It all came down to helping others and fitness! So as soon as we left the beach, I just decided to start an Instagram page. (Having no idea what I was doing or what was to come) I just did it and have been working hard every day to put out content to influence others!
Q3- Yeah… That’s what happens in most of the cases. People just need start out without worrying about the future. Everything happens on its own when you give your efforts. By the way, do you have any fitness inspirations on Instagram? What do you like the most about them?
Sarah- I honestly am just inspired by life lessons that I’ve learned and the people around me that have taught me so much and I just want to share that with others! I do however love Demi Bagby, I love her positivity and bubbly personality! Steve cook is another amazing human! He has so much wisdom and enthusiasm! His positive mindset is what I strive for! And Sarah’s day is what has been motivating me to start my YouTube!
Q4- I agree with you on that one! Our next question relates to the world’s current situation. So especially during quarantine when people can’t even go out, finding workout motivation can sometimes be difficult — how do you find yours? Moreover, how do you manage to work out as most of the gyms are closed?
Sarah- I love the feeling of pushing myself! It’s so amazing to feel accomplished and know you have worked so hard! (I also just have a lot of energy and have a hard time sitting down for so long knowing I can be doing something I will benefit from). Sometimes it is a little tough to get up and workout while the gyms are closed, but I still got to do it! You just have to make yourself start and once you do, you feel good and want to keep going!
Moreover, the gyms won’t be closed forever, and life is still going on so we have to keep going and pushing ourselves! Life isn’t on pause, so we are not on pause!
Q5- So let’s make it interesting! If I give you ONLY ONE exercise to pick that you would do daily throughout the year. What it would be?
Sarah- That’s a hard question to answer, because you have to do multiple exercises to benefit the different muscles in your body, and you also want to do cardio for your heart health. But if I could only do one exercise it would be deadlifts since it is a compound movement and it gets your heart rate up. Again that’s not optimal just for the fact that you have to work different muscles and do multiple exercises.
Q6- It’s was hard and it’s the reason I asked you since you have been doing it for so long now. So what would you suggest to people who don’t have much time?
Sarah- For people who don’t have much time, I would say that you have to also put your health first because it is very important! Just take at least 30 min out of tour day and you can get in a very good workout in that short amount of time!
Q7- Can you tell me when did you start your Instagram page?
Sarah- It was somewhere in April 2018 when I started out!
Q8- I am asking you this because there are many people out there who want to start their journey as well. However, they fear a lot to set off. They want everything so fast that they give up easily. What advice would you give them? How should one start their journey on Instagram especially if they are in the same niche as yours?
Sarah- I believe one should start their Instagram journey if they are seriously passionate about something. If you are doing it just for “followers” or “free stuff” you won’t get very far and your content won’t be real and raw. Do it because you enjoy it, and put out the content you want! Don’t put out what you think others will like if you don’t like it!
And post daily! Put yourself out there!
And don’t compare your chapter 1 to another person’s chapter 20!
Q9- By the way, doing all this- creating and editing Instagram videos and pictures, workout, dance, etc. is so much work. Do you do all this (editing and all) by yourself? And if one is starting out, should they do it themselves or hire someone to do it for them?
Sarah- I’m blessed to have a dad who enjoyed photography, so he takes some of my pictures, and from just putting out some of those, I’ve gotten asked by other photographers to shoot. Other than that, I do it all by myself! I encourage anyone who wants to start to just do it! You don’t need any professional people to help you start out! I usually just ask someone to record my workouts and edit them together in iMovie with music! Sometimes I even just set my phone up on a tripod and go!
There is a lot of work that goes into editing and creating meaningful captions and content, but if you have the passion, you will take the time to do it! You just have to have a hard work ethic.
Q10- What are your plans for the future now? Is there any project that you are currently working on?
Sarah- Being 18 I’m still figuring all this out, but I do have some big goals in mind! I want to start personal training and maybe teaching some classes, I want to online coach, fitness model (whether it be for videos or pictures), help people with nutrition and healthy eating ideas, travel for fitness expos, have some handstand workshops, be a motivator/influencer, and YouTube!
I currently coach gymnastics.
Q11- How many posts or stories do you recommend per day? Do you also take into account the time of the day when you post?
Sarah- I highly recommend posting at least once a day! Even if you don’t have time, try to find a way to get content up daily. If you want this bad enough, you will figure it out! Stories are important and are what I’m working on remembering to do more often because people want to know what you are up to! They enjoy seeing your little life updates!
I have tried to figure out the timing for posts, but it’s different for everyone depending on where you are and who is following you! The main focus should just be putting out good content.
If you can post more than once a day, that’s great!
Q12- I believe Instagram is not just about the number, I have seen pages with 20k to 30k followers not being able to drive engagement or likes on their post. While on the other hand when I look at your posts (especially videos) the engagement rate and the number of likes are considerably higher than what I notice on most of the pages. How do you do this? What strategy do you follow to increase your reach?
Sarah- I don’t even work on that, it just happens! My focus is on being kind, showing love, and supporting others! When you comment on other people’s posts and show them appreciation, they usually return the favor!
Note- Even I mentioned the same in one of our article, I am giving out a link below. Make sure you read it all after this interview! It’s a good one.
One should focus on creating good content that their followers would like and trust me you will start seeing the results.
Q13- If you could offer one piece of advice to our readers what would it be? (It could anything… In terms of fitness or for those who are starting out)
Sarah- It matters way more ‘what’s on the inside’ vs ‘what’s on the outside’! (I know it sounds cliche, but it’s true) People are going to follow you, because of how you make them feel. Work on being the best you can be! Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to brands and people! I’ve emailed so many companies! You have to be willing to put yourself out there! There are going to be so many turn downs, that’s just business. You have to keep trying, keep working, and keep striving for more! Don’t let other people stop you from reaching your goals! Do it for you!
Are YOU also a fitness freak like Sarah who wants to start out their Instagram journey?
Best Advice- DO IT NOW!
It’s never too late to start.
Just start it from today itself and work for the next six months without any expectations like Sarah said.
Moreover, if you have any queries or suggestions, feel free to reach out to me via contact or in the comment section below.
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Till then?
Stay Home!
Stay Safe!
And?
Bye-bye.