We were lucky to catch up with Heather Blood recently and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I wish I had started in the cradle! I truly love what I do, but I feel like I’m always playing catch up. There’s never enough time in the day for me to finish all of the projects and ideas I have. Having multiple jobs and interests certainly doesn’t help, as my time is always split between performing and social media. In regards to performing, I wish I had started earlier just so that I would be further along in my skill set (a better dancer, singer, improviser). For social media, if I had started earlier I would probably have a bigger audience. I do think my experience with everything would be drastically different had I started earlier, but I am quite happy with where my life is now.

I started social media back in 2013, as part of an assignment for a class in college. Instagram was fairly new then, and “influencers” weren’t really a thing. I started my account to post life events and art projects, but after college it turned into a makeup account. I saw other people posting lip art, where they used makeup in creative ways to make miniature paintings on their lips. With a degree in fine art and design, it was a fun way to stretch my creative muscles after my 9-5 job. To differentiate myself and show my spookier side, I started wearing vampire fangs in my lip photos, which got me noticed by popular makeup brands. They reposted my work, and my following grew from there!

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?

For those who may not know me, hello! My name is Heather, but I’m known as Vessel of Blood on social media. I am a gothic fashion and makeup influencer, as well as a singer and actress. I love what I do- expressing myself through my makeup, clothing, and hair brings me great joy, as does performing.

I didn’t start out with the intention to influence other people, and it always humbles me when I get messages saying that I’ve inspired someone to step outside of their comfort zone and try something new with their appearance. It can be a scary thing, dressing differently from everyone else. I’ve been harassed, stalked, honked/yelled at on the street, and more for looking the way that I do. Naturally, the thought has crossed my mind to tone it down and dress more normally to avoid this. But I value feeling comfortable and happy more than the opinions of others. I love dressing up and wearing a full face of makeup-it makes me feel like myself, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. Despite my style being on the more unusual side, my philosophy is not to try to make everyone else just like me. I encourage everyone to dress and look the way that THEY want to. Whether that means jeans and a tshirt, or a dramatic gothic ballgown, it’s all about you and whatever makes you feel confident and happy.

I started dressing more “goth” in the last year of college- I didn’t know that was even a style option until I came across a gorgeous gothic model on the internet. I was immediately smitten and wanted to look like her.

The thing that sets me apart from other gothic influencers is my personality. People assume that I’m a very serious or unhappy person because of the way I dress, but I’m quite the opposite. I’m always smiling, cracking inappropriate jokes, and being silly. I love life, and for the most part I’m a very happy and optimistic person. I do my best to use that to help break the stereotype that every goth person is miserable and hates life and everything around them.

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

Building (and maintaining) an audience on social media is one of the most difficult aspects of my job. Especially now, with the influencer space being as oversaturated as it is- it’s a constant struggle. The algorithm dictates everything, and it’s constantly changing. Having been on Instagram and Youtube for over 10 years now, I can confidently say that effort does not always equate to views/likes/engagement. I’ve spent hours planning, shooting, and editing content for it to flop, and then go viral for something I made in less than 10 minutes. Over the years I’ve noticed people’s attention spans have grown shorter, so short video content is now king.

In the beginning things were much simpler- photos were prime content on Instagram, with videos rarely making an appearance. My audience came from my work being reposted and shared by popular makeup brands like Kat Von D, Covergirl, and Maybelline. I would create looks using their products, tag the brand directly so that they would see, and then once they shared it, their audience followed me. On Youtube, I gained most of my following due to a few videos going viral for my shopping/clothing hauls. I focused on what I loved doing, and that attracted people who loved the same things. I’ve found that genuinely enjoying what you make or do for content makes it much more enjoyable for the viewers (and for yourself!). The beauty of social media is how diverse it is- regardless of what it is you want to talk about, do, or make- there is an audience for it!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I went to college for Graphic Design, and found a job in my field fairly quickly. Unfortunately, years of repetitive movement at the computer caused me to develop carpal tunnel in my wrists. Unable to continue to work, I found myself looking for a new career after working at the same business for years. I had always secretly dreamed of being an actress, but never pursued it due to the starving artist stereotype. Graphic design had seemed the safer, more reliable choice. I had performed in a few school plays and talent shows at college, but I was untrained when it came to acting and being on stage. I saw an audition notice for a local theater group in the newspaper, and decided to try my luck. I spent the next week preparing, furiously googling everything one needed to do for a theater audition. I memorized a monologue, took my own headshot in my backyard, and showed up at the auditions. I was incredibly nervous, but managed to secure a part in one of their productions. For the next 3 years I performed in many shows with this company, learning the ropes as I went. Then I branched out and started auditioning for films, where I started off doing background work and eventually got my first lead role! I went on to act in my first musical, and I fell in love with singing on stage.

Then 2020 hit, and all of my acting prospects seemed to disappear. I joined Backstage, a casting website for actors, and managed to book my first commercial that I filmed at home (as it was during the height of the pandemic). I joined Tiktok out of boredom, and started creating content there. My videos on Tiktok started going viral, which resulted in my Youtube and Instagram to grow as well. This enabled me to start making a decent amount of money from social media, so I stopped pursuing acting and switched to that full time. I missed performing in person, but the freedom to make whatever I wanted online was a decent substitute. A few years later, a friend of mine was getting married, and asked me to sing Ave Maria at the church. The cantor there was leaving soon for another job, and asked if I would be interested in taking over for him. I was thrilled at the prospect of being paid to sing, and was offered the job a few months later. Three years later, I’m proud to say that I’m a professional cantor who has sang at hundreds of funerals, weddings, and Masses in many churches.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vesselofblood
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vesseloblood
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/vesselofblood
• Other: Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@vesselofblood
  Threads: https://www.threads.net/@vesselofblood