We recently connected with Jack Mcdonagh and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jack thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Social media is flooded with “day-in-the-lives” that can make it seem impossible to share your life candidly while building an audience. I have always been enamored with the health and wellness space online and the ways these creators make every aspect of their lives—from their morning coffee to their walk to work—visually and aesthetically pleasing. This was a space I wanted to break into, but I knew it would be challenging due to the saturation of incredible creators.

So, I started creating the typical visually appealing day-in-the-lives: making my bed, waking up at 5 a.m., working out, going to class, and juggling work—the whole routine. However, I took the risk of making my voiceovers completely antithetical to what viewers were seeing on the screen. While you see me waking up at 6 a.m. and working out, my voiceover reflects the most authentic and unfiltered version of myself, which deviates significantly from what is known to perform well in this space.

This risk ultimately led me to partner with some of my favorite brands, meet authentic creators, and build a community that resonated with my message. It felt good to have an audience, but even better to have one based on my authenticity.

Jack , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a full-time marketing intern, social media manager, content-creator, and student at Fordham University pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. I began creating content surrounding my life as a college-student working 3 jobs which gained momentum as I authentically shared the ups and downs of being a working college student. I wanted to provide a relatable break in viewers feed from the typical influencer. I wanted to show that normal people can make content too, and make it well; I mainly wanted to serve as inspiration to aspiring content creators who don’t believe they have the glamorous lifestyle to perform well online. I am most proud of the community I have built, while diverse, I stand confident that my following is an incredibly motivated, talented, and inspiring group of individuals.

Creating content, especially daily vlogs which often take several hours for me to fully edit, can be daunting and at times tedious, the words of encouragement and inspiration I receive from my community make every minute editing, brainstorming, and filming so incredibly worth it.

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

For 3+ years I tried to fit into the mold of the creators I loved and admired as I attempted replicating their content style. I so desperately wanted to create a community, but hadn’t identified what I wanted the community to be based off of, let alone my own identity. After attending college in Washington D.C. for two years, I struggled coming into my own identity and knew New York was my home and I would be able to better navigate my own identity. I picked up three jobs (a part-time front desk associate at Barry’s Bootcamp and a marketing internship, and social media management) to accommodate a new (and more expensive) lifestyle in New York. Instead of solely showing a highlight reel of my days (workout classes, iced coffee, and an uber every once in a while), I highlighted the realities of moving to New York as a college student as I documented my extremely realistic lifestyle. I realized that prior to this, I had tried every strategy of content, except being fully authentic. So my advice, work on attaining a strong sense of self and run with it.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

There are a lot of misconceptions in the creator space about brand deals. Influencers can be offered hundreds to thousands of dollars for post that would take them less than 30 minutes to execute. For some people, accepting this deal may sound like a no-brainer, however, I have found that prioritizing growth over quick cash has worked to my benefit every time. For many creators a large portion of their audience was attained across 1-2 “viral” videos. I believe just as easy as you gained your audience it can be taken away. Many of my close friends still struggle to understand why I have turned down hundreds of dollars (even though I definitely could have used it), but I have worked so incredibly hard to build trust in my audience and am not willing to sacrifice it for a price if it means working with a brand that is not authentic to myself and my following. This is why I am extremely particular when it comes to working with brands, big or small.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackkmcdonagh/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackmcdonagh/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@canigetamcpicktwo