Entrepreneur and Biz: Kylie Katich
Tilt: Photographer/model
Primary Channel: Instagram (350K)
Other Channels: TikTok (370K), Pinterest (3K)
Time to First Dollar About a year from acquiring a camera to landing her first paid post.
Rev Streams: Photography, affiliate links (including Amazon), LiketoKnowIt, brand collaborations
Our Favorite Actionable Advice:
- Don’t just repost: Kylie doesn’t just repost the same content on TikTok that she does on Instagram. She has a related but different content tilt on TikTok – behind the scenes of her work.
- Be willing to keep learning: Kylie is a success, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t exploring new angles for fresh content.
- Do more of what you know: The talents she uses in her content business also are in demand by brands. Kylie often creates content, from concept to modeling to production, for brand collaborations that never appear on her social media.
The Story
Kylie Katich, 26, first picked up a camera when she was 12. She continued the hobby as she pursued a career as a special education teacher. “I would beg my friends and husband to do photoshoots with me. My creative escape was behind the lens,” she says.
She created an Instagram account in 2013 to share photos with friends and family. In 2017, she was gifted her first DSLR camera, a Canon 80D, and began to post professional photos of herself. She focused on interesting angles, aesthetics, fashion, and editing. Her following began to grow and so did her brand collaborations.
In May 2019, she quit her job and became a full-time content creator and photographer. “After about 2 years of failing, learning, and hustling, I quit my job as a teacher and started to create content full time. This was a huge decision and, at the time, felt like a risk, but a decision I would make over and over again.”
Instagrammer .@kyliekatich says after 2 years of failing, learning, and hustling, she quit her teaching job. It was a risky decision but she'd do it again and again. #contententrepreneur #creatoreconomy Share on XShe does brand collaborations with companies such as Nike, Hyundai, LG, ModCloth, and 7ForAllMankind.
Growing a following
Even though a lot of Instagrammers focus on Reels now, it’s still all about the photography for Kylie. Even her Reels mostly consist of behind-the-scenes videos of her photoshoots. Kylie credits her follower growth to her being consistent and willing to learn.
“I actually didn’t truly learn manual settings (on my camera) until one day my father-in-law played a prank on me and turned my camera off auto. I’m so grateful he did because that was the day I started to learn how to really work my camera,” she says.
“Consistency and putting in the hours – (it takes) hours and hours of practice to figure out how to make photos and videos I liked (and I’m still learning here) creating! It’s a lot of work behind the feed.”
Instagram is where you find her gorgeous photos, but TikTok is where you learn a little bit more about Kylie and her photo-editing process. Her Instagram fans followed her to TikTok, which she began in 2019. Now her TikTok follower count exceeds her Instagram account.
Earning an income with brand collaborations
.@kyliekatich launched a #TikTok channel with a content tilt ((#photographytips, #behindthescenes) different from her #Instagram channel. Share on XKylie does brand collaborations for two reasons – sales or exposure. A brand interested in pushing products usually includes a lot of swipe-up links to track sales. If the brand seeks awareness, she usually pushes the name of the company in my posts. That gives her more creative freedom in deciding what to capture.
Kylie also curates items for her shopping galleries on Amazon and LiketoKnowIt where she earns a commission on purchases from those pages.
“Brands also like me to create content for them to post on their end, so they don’t have to hire photographers, models, stylists, creative directors, etc. This type of collaboration is for their usage, and I don’t post those images,” Kylie says.
She did a beautiful series for a bridal company where she modeled, created content, and directed a photoshoot. She also wrote a blog and posted for Halo Top ice cream brand: Stop Should-ing Yourself.
Advice for content entrepreneurs
“Keep going,” Kylie says to content entrepreneurs. “The difference between people who make it in this industry and those who don’t are the creators that can ride the waves. Things might not always be on the up, but hang on. Keep posting. Keep creating. Keep connecting. Your big wave will come.”
Successful content #creators can ride the waves. Things might not always be on the up, but hang on. Your big wave will come, says @kyliekatich. #contententrepreneur #contentbusiness Share on XAbout the author
Bonnie owns Word of Mouth, a content agency specializing in social media, content marketing, and editorial writing. She's written for Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Coveteur, Man Repeller, Health.com, and more. She loves wearing fanny packs and laying in the fetal position.