We recently connected with Maria De Jesus Berry and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Maria De Jesus thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
Simple Investments & Knowledge that elevated my Content Creation Career
Firstly and most importantly, believing in yourself and your talent is one of the biggest parts of success alongside consistency. As an artist and photographer I find that a combination of collaborations, social media marketing, and having a professional and current website with your own domain are all imperative for current marketing standards. Creating short reels and videos on platforms such as TikTok are changing the modeling industry standards, paving the way for new, young influencers and business owners. TikTok has about 80 million monthly active users in the United States. TikTok is estimated to pull in $500 Million in revenue from the U.S. alone in 2020. So, if you are not producing video content, you are falling behind. Creating content based around your business such as behind the scenes on productions, passing on information about your services, products, etc are all easy content subjects that help inform your potential future client about your business.
You do not have to invest in the most expensive equipment to get professional results but do always expect to be investing in yourself and your business. Starting out, investing in a simple professional ring light or light box can really bring your photography/content creations to another level. You want to be well lit as you produce your marketing content. As for digital media, I highly recommend using Canva for creating invoices, flyers, and social media marketing materials. They have a vast array for pre-made, customizable templates that facilitate your marketing material production. I also take the time to invest in classes to further expand my creative skills. If it’s a benefit to my life and/or business, it is always worth the investment. My biggest lesson learned from back in my young modeling career to now is that self investment always pays off. Don’t stop until you’re there and keep going.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Maria De Jesus Berry’s career journey started at age sixteen as a professional model. She began locally here in Houston, Tx with Page Parkes and transitioned to modeling out of state and country which she did for well over a decade. Maria De Jesus has since transitioned into several different career paths inclusive of her photography, digital arts, blogging and brand ambassador works. Maria De Jesus Berry’s brand collaborations include collaborations and sponsership with Doritos, Morganna’s Alchemy, BzzAgent, Avocados From Mexico, Old El Paso, El Yucateco Hot Sauce, Pinecone Research, McCormick, Nature’s Bounty, Maker’s Mark, Del Monte, Proctor and Gamble, Unilever and countless other brands. Maria De Jesus Berry is dedicated to creating quality content for brands globally. With her extensive past experience in modeling and photography, creating content is both rewarding and exciting. As her client list is growing, so is her broadening exposure into larger markets and different target audiences.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Building a referral system for my business helped my business grow substantially. This obviously works for certain types of businesses best. As a photographer, create your various “photo packages” and let your clients know that they can earn some extra money with every referral they send to your business. This gives them incentive to spread the word about your business and earn some extra money with every completed booking they refer to your business. Using Canva to create and customize professional looking templates is an easy way to create a flyer/ad for your referral system that can be used both virtually and printed out and handed out easily.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The lack of boundaries that art boasts is most appealing to me as an artist. The absolute freedom of true expression in any medium that one selects makes you a true creator. Wielding this facinating truth, one creates freely, expressing everything one needs and wants to tell the world. From creation to objection, art provokes conversation and engagement. This is one of the most rewarding aspects of art, the interaction and exposure to the different perceptions and perspectives that others hold. As an artist I intend on continuing to not only express myself and my creative imaginings but to continue raising awareness on issues that are so important to me and our planet.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verymary81
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chapa81
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariadejesusphotographer
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Berrysicles
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLCIiSq-ZxpSiTXCzyrLs5w?view_as=subscriber
- Other: https://www.redbubble.com/people/BerryArtsandPho/shop?asc=u https://www.pinterest.com/chapaartsandpho