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

Avery, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy, Bella, joined our family just before COVID, leading to ample time at home to launch her Instagram. Its rapid growth, fueled by everyone being online, became my hands-on learning lab for content creation. I learned by experimenting with photos, videos, lighting, and captions, quickly discovering what resonated. Knowing what I know now, researching broader social media best practices from diverse creators, not just pet accounts, would have accelerated my understanding. The most essential skills were adaptability and recognizing the power of consistent, authentic content. Initially, the lack of specific guidance for pet Instagrams was an obstacle. Now, physical distance from Bella due to college and moving limits my ability to capture her daily life.

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

Bella Louise the Cav is our dog Bella’s Instagram account, which my sister Taylor and I run. She’s a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who’s built up an awesome following of 31.7K – we even gained 20K super fast in the early days of 2020! What I’m really proud of is how our content has grown over time and that we’ve kept seeing consistent growth. Honestly, the best part is connecting with other Cavalier lovers and making real friends through DMs and comments.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew earlier to reach out to brands and other creators. Most of the time people will not directly reach out to you – if you want deals, go after them!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Things have been a little slow on our socials recently, so my sister and I have been experimenting like crazy. I decided to try out those short, snappy TikTok-style videos with just a little caption, and it ended up going viral! The video I honestly didn’t put much effort into at all just hit over a million views. Every post is truly a lesson in itself if you treat it as one – experiment a little and see what works and what doesn’t.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellalouisethecav
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bellalouisethecav?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc