We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Pfeiffer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.
Kelly, appreciate you joining us today. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?
People have a lot of opinions about this topic, but I wanted to talk about how I landed my BIGGEST CLIENT by doing a couple things for free:
1) I said YES to speaking at a blogger/brand panel 9 years ago FOR FREE. I met a bunch of people, one that mattered most, though I didn’t know it at the time.
2) a year later, I said YES to having one of my photos printed in Thrive Magazine for FREE. It was a recipe for rainbow popsicles. Little did I know, that that same person I’d met a year earlier would be flipping through this magazine and see my pic and that would inspire her to reach out to me for the biggest collab(s) of my life — with Target!
All that to say, just do YOU. Just do what makes sense and feels right to you. You are in charge of your YES’s. And sometimes they don’t matter that much, but sometimes they really do!
Kelly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am the creator of Eat the Rainbow – Kids, a brand dedicated to feeding kids the rainbow, one color at a time. I am a 2-time cookbook author and freelance photographer/videographer who has shared my colorful lunches on Good Morning America, local news channels, and more. My photos have been on billboards, in grocery stores across the US, and on the covers of magazines.
I love seeing the beauty and color in food, and creating easy recipes parents (and kids) love.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I get asked this question a lot from other creators who are just starting out. My main advice is always: just do you. Don’t worry so much about what everyone else is doing, and just focus on developing your craft, gaining skills and experience, and putting your own personality into what you create. I collaborated with some larger brands which helped grow my following, as well as with other like-minded creators. We lifted each other up, and both benefited.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I feel like the only constant in my creative career has been pivoting and learning new things. Social media is relatively very *new* — it didn’t even exist when I was in high school and thinking about what to do with my life! And social media grows and changes so fast. What worked with the algorithm and type of content brands wanted a year or two ago, is different than now. It evolves fast, and you have to be willing to change and pivot with it.
I started my creative career mostly with still imagery / photography, but over time, video became the desired asset. I started by hiring a videographer to film recipe videos with me in 2018, but quickly realized that I needed the flexibility and cost savings associated with learning how to film them myself. I taught myself how to create stop motion videos first, then regular video and editing with various software. Being able to pivot in this way allowed me to charge brands more – which in turn increased my revenue.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
On the wide pic of me plus 4 of my #TeamNosh gals, photo credit should be given to: Simone Schiess.