Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carrie Waller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Carrie, appreciate you joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?

I know a lot of influencers in my niche have opted to hire out their social media, namely Instagram, but that’s not for me. I want to retain control of my “voice” when it comes to Instagram, so that’s something I’m holding onto as I consider outsourcing parts of my business. I hired a creative to help me manage and share on other platforms, like Pinterest and Facebook, because I feel like those platforms are more open and community-based, but Instagram posts, to me, feel like they should all be in my voice and based on my life. That’s what makes it personal and how I can make my brand actually resonate with my audience in a more intimate way. This business I created 14 years ago started with my own humble little voice, and I intend to keep it that way!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started my blog Dream Green DIY in March of 2011 as a way to document my home decorating experience with my then-boyfriend (who’s now my husband). My blog was a place for me to share all of the DIY décor projects that we tackled as 20-somethings living in a cookie-cutter townhouse, and it slowly gained a following of like-minded homebodies. I ultimately used DreamGreenDIY.com to document our craft-focused wedding, our big move out of town, and multiple home renovation projects from there. My creative business has unfolded organically as I’ve pivoted to adjust to changing algorithms on social media. Most recently, I’ve had to be strategic in order to keep my brand relevant as I head into my 40s with a niche that’s now saturated with young creatives looking to break into the world of influencing. Through it all, I’ve stayed true to my unique aesthetic, and my brand remains centered on the idea of empowering fellow budget-conscious homemakers to design spaces with intention and joy.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Fourteen years later, and I STILL crave the same outcome from each post I share: conversation. I got into this business of sharing do-it-yourself home design tutorials and renovation stories because I want to talk about the ups and downs with my followers and readers. I ask questions of them every day, and am always blown away by the responses I get. The comments sections of my social media and blog posts have always been the most rewarding aspect of the stories and photos I share from our home. I’ve heard from readers that our home has paved the way for their own renovation journey, and that is the ultimate form of validation for me. My business isn’t really centered on how we’re crafting our home to be perfect for us—it’s about teaching others how to find their OWN joy at home through action, and when I hear personal accounts of that actually happening in the comments of my posts, that’s when I feel like I’ve done my job.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

COVID hit my business hard. There were two sides to it, though. On one hand, I was receiving more traffic than ever because people were stuck at home and desperate to learn how to make their space look and feel more comfortable and styled. By that point I had almost a decade-worth of DIY content in my archives for folks to peruse to their benefit, and my blog traffic went sky high. But on the other side of things, the brands that I had worked with, the ones who were funding my business efforts, suddenly had next to no budget as they circled the wagons unsure how the pandemic would effect their profits. In a matter of days, I lost most of my biggest, highest paying clients, yet I was experiencing the highest rates of traffic and site referrals ever! I was suddenly back to the early days of my blog when brands would send me free product to promote, but wouldn’t fund the actual logistics behind the photoshoots that I was pulling off. It took years for that to turn around, but I stuck it out and haven’t changed my overall goal: to keep sharing how to make a home feel safe and look beautiful. I think that consistent message despite the hardships my business was dealing with behind the scenes has kept it afloat.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dreamgreendiy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamgreendiy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DreamGreenDIY/
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dreamgreendiy
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarrieWallerDGD
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@dreamgreendiy
  https://www.pinterest.com/dreamgreendiy/

Image Credits

Carrie Waller