Interviewed by Rhea Freeman at Blenheim Palace Horse Trials

Last Friday, I took part in my first EVER influencer panel, hosted by Rhea Freeman alongside the lovely TikTok superstar Alanna Clarke at the most incredible venue, Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.

We discussed everything from building an audience from scratch in the equestrian space, to the negative connotations around the word 'influencer', to dealing with negativity.

Here were the three things I'd want you to know if you missed it:

1. When you are building channels and finally get to a place where you can work with brands, be very careful not to dive in with the first brand that excites you. Whilst this can be amazing, it can mean that you end up not being able to work with a huge brand you idolise later down the line because of an exclusivity or conflict of interest clause - believe in your sauce and trust that brands will see it as you grow!

2. I have personally seen a shift in negative discourse around my content. I find that people are much less likely to leave negative comments than they used to, and when they do, the tolerance from 'everyone else' is low - people are quick to jump in and condemn unacceptable behaviour. Beyond that, I have personally come to a place where I believe that there are some conversations you are meant to be part of and some you are not - if it's not being said to me directly, as far as I'm concerned, that conversation is not for me - people have been gossiping for thousands of years. Let them!

3. When starting out, always try to think 'what can I offer this audience?' rather than getting sucked in to seeing what the biggest creators are doing and replicating it. They have built audiences who have invested in them personally, so they can afford to be a little more inward looking in their stories, you, when are you first starting out, cannot. Focus on what you can provide to your audience, rather than what you want people to know about.

Huge thanks to Rhea Freeman, Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials and JB Promotions for the opportunity.

If you’d like to work with me, please feel free to get in touch: contact@withrhi.com.