Check Out Shannon Brush’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Brush. 

Hi Shannon, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a 24-year-old Beauty and Lifestyle influencer based out of Kansas City, Missouri with over 7k followers on Instagram! 

My backstory: 

I always been into taking photos ever since I was a young kid. I had asked for my first camera when I was 9 years old. 

I was working at Dillard’s as a Lancome Beauty Advisor for a while before I began my influencer journey. I figured out that I enjoyed skincare and learning about the different ingredients, and also teaching others I also have loved makeup since I was in high school. 

When the pandemic happened, I was laid off from my job at Lancome, and I figured out that was when I wanted to get serious about being a micro-influencer and being gifted products, and also eventually being paid for posting about products online. 

I started my business Instagram – @naturally.shannon in July of 2020. In a year’s time, I have gained over 7,000 followers and have an engagement rate of 5.3% as of 8/31/2021. I have worked with plenty of large beauty brands including Dr. Dennis Gross, Herbal Face Food, Luseta Beauty, and more! I have also started to monetize my content recently and I am currently working with a brand to share their new app launch with my followers! I am excited to continue to grow and see where my content will take me next! 

About my content: 

My content is centered around encouraging my audience to beYOUtiful in their own skin! 

I mostly upload Clean Beauty and K-Beauty product placement shots, product reviews, product education, and some lifestyle and fashion inspiration to my Instagram. 

I share my life and experiences as well as demonstrate how to use makeup and skincare products for different skin types. I also enjoy sharing product and ingredient education. I focus on skincare but also post hair care, makeup, lifestyle, and some fashion content as well. 

The future/what I want for my content: 

To support and collaborate with brands that spread the message of “everyone is beautiful,” I want my audience to take away 3 key values from my influence: 

1) To be unapologetically beautiful and confident in their own skin, 2) To value multicultural beauty and K-Beauty and the rich history that comes along with, 3) To value and recognize the Clean Beauty community and how important it is to know the ingredients in beauty products.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road for me! I have had many roadblocks. 

As I said, I was laid off in 2020 and had to go on unemployment for a while as I had no source on income. I then got a full-time job working from home, and I have been working full time while doing my social media part-time ever since then. 

I have had to balance my time during the day while being super busy. I usually have to shoot content in between breaks and before and after my M-F job. I also have a boyfriend and we just got two new little kittens to take care of so I have to balance that as well! 

It has been a grind, but it has definitely worth it! 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on? 

I am a K-Beauty and Clean Beauty Content Creator/Influencer (specifically micro-influencer.) I am working toward this being my career and my source of income. 

How it works: 

I post content for Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest. Usually, brands will contact me to collaborate, or sometimes I will reach out to brands in order to collaborate. Usually when you see my post tagged “PR” that means the brand gifted me the product. When you see “Paid Ad/PR” that means the brand and I have negotiated a price for my content creation based on my engagement rate and follower count. I specialize in informative Instagram posts about different beauty products. I feel like what sets me apart from others is my content is more intimate and interactive, while still being informative. 

My biggest accomplishment so far: 

I would say getting to more than 5k followers on Instagram is my biggest accomplishment. My 2nd biggest accomplishment is being able to work with larger brands that are sold in Sephora and Ulta! 

What does success mean to you?
I define success by doing what it is that you love and doing what makes you happy. It is SO important to me to do what I love, even if it doesn’t make me money at first. 

I have always had the philosophy that if you do what it is you love in your life, in school, relationships, and for your job, you will be happy and achieve the ultimate success. 

I was brought up under the philosophy that you can do anything that you put your mind to. If you want to do something, GO FOR IT! 

Pricing:

• Single Story Post – $70
• Single Reel Post or Unboxing – $150
• Single Feed Photo Post – $100
• Single IGTV or YouTube Video – $250
• Long term partnerships – open to negotiation

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://www.instagram.com/naturally.shannon
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/naturally.shannon
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturallyshannon1997
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2L-wbkZKKnOERZc–N4pXA
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@naturally.shannon?

Image Credits
Shannon Brush