Jennifer Chou, also known as the Vegan Tech Nomad, takes productivity to a whole new level. Today, productivity hacks are a dime a dozen on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Jennifer, however, stands out from the crowd with her authentic social media presence and “unhinged” productivity templates, like her habit tracking systems and relationship spreadsheets.
Looking at Jennifer’s fun, fresh take on productivity, it’s no wonder her quirky friendship tracker Reel went viral, grabbing the attention of over 1M Instagram users last winter. With over 70K Instagram followers, Jennifer has now become one of the platform’s go-to creators for all things productivity.
One more thing about Jennifer? She’s very transparent with her content creator journey and wants to help aspiring creators break into the field, too. Whether it’s negotiating prices or agency fees, Jennifer’s tiered newsletters provide users with everything they need to know to become a successful content creator.
We sat down with Jennifer to learn about how she become a content creator, how she creates her viral content, and how she monetizes her newsletters. Let’s dive in!
Tell us about your content creation journey.
It began with my work account, I do marketing for an education company and people discover us with TikTok. We wanted to be more active on social media, so I made various accounts for the company. At first, the videos were terrible, but I ended up growing our account and gained over 40,000 followers.
Last year, I started training for a marathon and decided that I wanted to get better at content creation. I began documenting my training and filmed a vlog. I never posted them on my TikTok, but on Instagram. My friends were inspired and kept me going — I thought these videos were so bad, but they gradually became better as I posted consistently.
Productivity content wasn’t my initial niche and it happened by accident. The productivity content grew a lot at the end of last year, and I couldn’t have done all of this without my initial content.
There are so many different ways to monetize as a creator. Which ways have worked best for you?
Most of my money comes from my sponsorships, mainly my newsletter sponsorships. I get more money from newsletters and some from B2C with my newsletter subscriptions. I don’t make as much from selling my templates, and my sponsorships make up 75% of my creator income.
I find newsletter sponsorships easier because it’s conducted via email, whereas if it was via Instagram, people might not see it.
Can you tell us about some of the opportunities you’ve gained through content creation?
Mainly just meeting cool people! I really love interacting with similar people who do similar things.
How do you stay inspired as a content creator?
I have an entire document for all things content-related and a section for my “wins.” I just read comments from my supporters.
What tools or resources have you found helpful as a creator?
So many! I use Notion, Manychat, Loom, Kale, and Beehiiv. Here’s my entire list!
Do you have any tips for aspiring content creators?
It’s all in my masterclass, but in short, fear of judgment is a big one. But it’s all about what’s important to you. My “wins” document is very big to me because it reminds me of the support I have.
Also, scheduling content is really important. I have this acronym, CAMI, and it stands for consistent, action, measure, and improve. I think these tips are crucial to anyone’s content creation journey.
What’s next for your content creation journey?
I’m thinking about more higher-ticket offers, such as coaching. I’m really interested in creating longer-term partnerships with my current sponsors. I also want to get better at selling as I’m more of a marketing person than a salesperson.
What’s your pricing strategy for your digital products? How do you build the confidence to sell to your audiences?
I feel like I still struggle with this, but I do ask questions on Twitter. People there are so helpful and give me advice. I realized that having multiple tiers when selling a course, for example, helps. Having tiers builds urgency and scarcity, allowing you to increase prices.
I think my struggle to sell comes from selling low-grade products, especially when selling to people in different countries with varying currencies.
How do you monetize your content? And what kind of digital products do you sell?
I went viral on last December and didn’t charge anything for templates. I only made $1.6K from templates last month, with the rest of my income coming mostly from sponsors.
I document my income in my premium newsletters where I divulge into sponsors, templates, masterclasses, and other miscellaneous things that help me earn money.
What’s your process for building and selling your digital products?
This is all documented in my premium newsletters, but I definitely struggled with deciding which platforms to sell on. I decided to go with Lemonsqueezy as I found them better as a storefront.
For my digital products, I make the template on Notion, film a video and set up DM automations with Manychat. It’s a great way of automatically direct messaging people and helps with getting sales.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Photo: Courtesy of Jennifer Chou
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