Blogger and YouTuber Tyler Chanel Grows Content Business on Ethical Living

Entrepreneur: Tyler Chanel

Biz: Thrifts + Tangles

Tilt: Thrifting and other ethical living ideas

Channel: Blog (3.5K page view/month) YouTube (10.9K) Instagram (13.3K) Pinterest (564) E-newsletter (600)

Rev Streams: Brand partnerships, sponsored posts, affiliate links, consulting

Pricing Growth: $400 for collaboration in beginning; $4K today

Our Favorite Actionable Advice

• Ask for feedback: Tyler sends a survey to brands to get their feedback on how the partnership worked and get their suggestions for improvement.
• Get testimonials: Social proof can be helpful to spur other brands to get involved in your content business.
• Be transparent: In her sustainable and ethical brand directory, Tyler makes it clear to all readers what links are affiliates that will earn her a commission.

The Story

Tyler Chanel is a Los Angeles-based ethical blogger who writes about sustainability, natural hair care, and thrift shopping. In 2012, she started the blog Thrifts + Tangles to inspire women to give secondhand shopping, sustainability, and their natural selves a chance. 

She expanded the site to include a sustainable and ethical brand directory for beauty, home, and other products. It features brands that are fair-trade, eco-friendly, and/or brands that give back. Tyler receives an affiliate commission from some of the listing links, which she notes with an asterisk and explanation right at the top.

Tyler also sells a digital Influencer Rate Calculator for $50 to help other content creators determine various campaign rates and costs. 

Blogging is one of several jobs

Tyler is a content entrepreneur who also has other professional endeavors. After graduating from the University of Nevada, she got a job as a licensing manager at an insurance company. Now she works in their marketing department and helps create graphic designs. Since 2012, she has been working as a model and is signed with Role Models Management in LA. Tyler combined her interests in modeling and thrift shopping to become a content entrepreneur. 

Starting an Instagram account

In 2014, she started an Instagram account to share her modeling photos. “Most of my photos featured thrifted outfits, so I found a unique niche by sharing the price of inexpensive thrifted items in the captions of my editorial photos. I wanted to show people that they could be sustainable and fashionable without spending a lot of money,” Tyler says. 

Growing an audience

She’s grown to share more advice about sustainable shopping and curly hair care. “I started engaging with the thrifting community and focused on being social on social media,” Tyler explains. “Collaborating with other influencers in my niche and creating shareable educational posts really helped me grow on IG.”

Collaborating with other influencers in her niche helped Thrifts + Tangles’ Tyler Chanel grow her @Instagram audience. #contententrepreneur Click To Tweet

She used Pinterest and Instagram stories as marketing tools to draw audiences to her blog and YouTube channel. “Cross-promoting on platforms was the key to a lot of my growth. I also had my LA apartment tour go viral on YouTube, which helped with growth.” Tyler’s tour of her 600-square-foot apartment included her favorite thrift decor and minimalist lifestyle. Posted in 2019, it now has over 750K views.

Making money

Thrifts + Tangles brings in several revenue streams – Tyler partners with brands for sponsored posts on Instagram and YouTube and her blog. As noted, she earns affiliate commissions from links in the ethical brand directory. She includes affiliate links in her blog too. Tyler also does pricing consultation for other creators along with selling her Influencer Rate Calculator.

“I really focused on turning my content creation into a business in 2020. Last year, I hit 10K followers on Instagram and started getting a lot of emails from brands interested in partnering with me. I started charging my worth, hiring help, and creating systems to stay organized.” In 2019, she was charging a couple of hundred dollars for collaborations. “Now I charge up to $4K for collabs and have created long-term partnerships with some amazing brands,” Tyler says.

Outsourcing some work

She works a four-day week at her insurance company job. “On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I focus on shooting and editing content. During the week, I will catch up on emails and schedule content during my lunch break or after work. I hired help recently, so my fiancé takes my photos and edits my videos. Lydia from IT Girl Agency manages my brand deals, and Bianca from CreatorBianca.com transcribes my YouTube videos into blog posts.”

Advice for aspiring content entrepreneurs

“One of the best tips I learned when turning content creation into a business is to start collecting testimonials from brand partners,” Tyler says. “I always send a survey at the end of my brand campaigns to ask how I did and ask how I can improve. Like any business, testimonials are great social proof for future clients.”

#ContentEntrepreneurs: Send feedback survey to brands at campaign’s end. Use their testimonials as social proof for future clients, says Tyler Chanel of Thrifts + Tangles. #creatoreconomy Click To Tweet

She also advises not to focus on follower counts. “Nourish and show up for the community you currently have. That will help with growth in the long run. Building a strong, supportive community will make the content creation process fun and enjoyable,” Tyler says.