We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hayley Domin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hayley below.

Hayley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

Long evenings, unpaid gigs, and living life as the ultimate multitasker; let’s just say that my journey into travel marketing was anything but easy! I’ve always been a creative individual, and 6 years ago decided to take that creativity and take on a side hustle. Soon, I was working in education by day, and freelancing as a food photographer and writer for a large blog in Boston on the weekends. Little did I know at the time, that this opportunity would pave the way towards me accepting freelance positions in PR, travel writing, content photography, and so much more.

After a few years of working with various restaurants around Boston through my freelance job, I started receiving messages from companies directly, complimenting my photography style; and that’s when I knew.. it WAS possible to go out on my own, and I COULD be successful. While working with restaurants over the years has been amazing, my true passion has always been travel. A year and a half ago, I decided to combine the two.

By this time I had already established myself as a creator, built my resume immensely, and had references to back me up moving forward. I had just had a brunch shoot with a pretty large hotel corporation in the city, and decided to organize my photos into a portfolio to present. I threw together a pricing spreadsheet, clicked send, and waited in anticipation. What was there to lose? Either I get a “no,” or I get my first “yes.”

A few anxious refreshes later, and I made my first paid deal! I sold my food-photography package to the hotel for over $1,000, and continued to grow from there. I think of this moment as the moment I gained confidence as a creator, and realized it didn’t matter how many followers I had; if you have a skill and believe in your passions, you can achieve anything you set your mind to!

Since then, Ive worked with over 20 hotels in the US and abroad, tourism boards, and even turned freelancing gigs into paid, part time jobs. Now, I work as a videographer, photographer, and content creator. If I hadn’t pushed myself to step outside of my comfort zone and just press send, I truly believe I would not be where I am today.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Hayley! I was born in the UK, and now reside in the US. I grew up within a traveling family, and took my first flight at 3 weeks old; so it’s always been a part of who I am. I’ve worked in the field of education for over 6 years, but have always been creative on the side.

5 years ago, I saw an advertisement for a food writer in the Boston area for a pretty large blog, so i decided to apply! Luckily, it worked out in my favor, and I worked my way through the brand as food writer, social media manager, and still today, content creator. Having this type of experience on my resume was a huge win for me! I slowly started being approached by restaurants in Boston who wanted to buy my photography, or work with me. Once I got a taster of the creative side-hustle life, I wanted more. I took on a short, PR internship at a Museum in the city, and a part time gig as a digital marketing specialist with a PR firm. Once the pandemic hit, most of my income was coming from these hustles I had established. I started gaining confidence, and pitched my skills to local restaurants. I shortly began working for a family-owned restaurant as their lead social media manager, and the rest is history!

In just a few short years, my resume was filled with freelance experience in various fields within the social media marketing world, and I felt as though it was the time to start pitching travel brands! My first pitch, (though I was terrified), was to a boutique hotel in Savannah- which I got! From there it was only onwards and upwards. Since starting my hotel-marketing journey, I’ve now worked with over 20 hotels in the US and abroad, tourism boards, and have now reached the point where most of my travel is paid for.

Of course, I don’t want to only focus on the successes, because this journey has been anything but smooth! It’s taken a lot of dedication, trial and error, learning from my mistakes, and hearing many no’s. But, once you realize what you have to offer, and stop focusing on the follower counts, success is within reach!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The two, biggest questions I get on instagram are “where do I begin?” and “how do I sell myself, with only a few followers?” The first thing you have to do is eliminate self-doubt.

I can’t even begin to count the amount of times I’ve heard a no, or been told my follower count was too low. I knew I had to go about pitching in a different way, and get brands to see ME and not my following on instagram. I worked on my media kit, pitch email, and portfolio endlessly, until it felt perfect to send out!

I was a business. I understood my skills and what I had to offer. I remained persistent and resilient.

Most often, I think brands decided to work with me because I followed up with them frequently, and remained personable. What I started hearing from many hotels, was that they were impressed by my work and portfolio, rather than focusing solely on the followers. So, the point here is to keep on trucking on! A few no’s don’t define you, or who you are. If you’re passionate enough, you can do anything!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I’ll be completely honest and say this is something I’m still trying to figure out! Social media is a roller coaster ride, full of changes and algorithms that drive people crazy. For me, videography and reels have been a huuuge help in reaching a larger audience, and focusing on 1-2 niches for my accounts.

However, while I’, still focusing on growth, once I realized you don’t need thousands of followers to monetize or work with brands, I stopped focusing on it as much, and spent most of my time working on my photography and portfolio’s for potential clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hayleyonhiatus.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hayleyonhiatus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hayleyonhiatus
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleydomin/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HayleyonHiatus
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleyonhiatus