Catching Up With Wynee's World Creator Wynee Bermudez!

We're chatting with Wynee Bermudez who is behind the wildly successful brand, Wynee's World!

Wynee is a popular influencer and blogger who began her content creator journey around 2017 as a way for her to write about her travels. And eventually, she merged that into a food and travel blog. Her goal was to be a resource and to be able to inspire her followers, to explore inside their own world, and live their life to the fullest.

You can follow Wynee in the following places:

Web
TikTok
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest


Did you miss the Content Creators Conference Virtual Summit? You can still get access to it by visiting here: https://contentcreatorsconference.com/

Transcript

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Kristen:

Welcome to the content creators chat, the show where we invite you to join us in a chat about content creation and influencer marketing. I'm Kristen Daukas, but I am flying solo today because my co-host Rob Ainbinder is slacking off, down in Florida. Uh, today I have the pleasure to welcome Wynee Bermudez to the content creators chat. Wynee is a popular influencer and blogger who began her content creator journey around 2017. And it was a way for her to write about her travels. And eventually she merged that into a food and travel blog. Her goal was to be a resource and to be able to inspire her followers, to explore inside their own world and live their life to the fullest.

Wynee:

Hi.

Kristen:

Hi. How are you? I hope you love it because you wrote it. I love that. Yeah.

Kristen:

There's one of those I typically try to do a little bit more personalization to, it has been one of those days that my buddies are not supposed to be this busy that I was like, gosh, I gotta, I gotta put something together. So, um, welcome. And let's talk a little bit about you tell us about you and where you are and what you do.

Wynee:

Yeah, for sure. I, um, I'm a North Carolina native, um, and I actually moved to Miami right after I graduated from college. Um, and I guess a creative outlet that I wanted to have was, um, to share the food that I ate while I lived in Miami. So my very first blog was called Winnie and wine. Um, yeah, but at the time it was 2015 and I had no idea what to do with the blog. So I kind of just went on the back burner. Um, and then I started to really travel in 2016. Um, and that's when I guess I realized I wanted to share my travels. So I started Winnie's world. Um, and as I started to blog, I realized that I really wanted to merge food and travel together. Um, and that's when, you know, you saw more of my food and my dining experiences. Um, and it's been, it's been a couple years and I also post my food ventures on Instagram and Tik TOK as well. Oh, great.

Kristen:

Good. And I'll make sure to get all those links because I like to include them in the show notes. So, so it's interesting that, um, I've got a question for you. I think I'm gonna start with this question because of what you just said. So one of my questions, um, was what is something you wish you had done differently when you first started out? So what was it that, so you had the original blog in 2015. So when you did the new one in 2017, what did you, um, w what did you make sure that you did differently?

Wynee:

Um, I think it was just consistency at that point is just to be consistent with content and be consistent with, um, just showing up and just being as resourceful as I could be with my content. I think in 2015, I was just taking random pictures and just posting them. Cause I thought they looked cool, but really there was like no deaths in my, in my content at that time.

Kristen:

And so in addition to consistency, which is a huge thing that is like, it's a Cardinal rule. You have to have, you have to be consistent. And I don't know if Courtney has told you about the content creators conference that Rob and I are hosting in January. And, um, I'll talk to you a little bit more about it, but one of the big things, um, that we, one of the topics that we're going to have covered is that exact thing it's, you know, so the intent of the entire conference is for, for people like yourself in 2015 or 2017, it's not just to go Willy nilly with it. It's the need to have a plan of action if you want to make it a business. And have you seen big changes, big differences between the two of them

Wynee:

Between the two of them? Yes. And then today, like now I think I've learned a lot from 2017. And I think one thing that I've learned is not to post just to post that everything you post should have an intent. Um, it should have a reason as to why you're posting it even, you know, it could be a picture of the sky, but like, what's the reason behind you posting this picture, posting this blog, I'm posting this video. And I think since then, since really honing in on posting, because there's a reason to I've, I've seen a huge difference.

Kristen:

How did, well, no, you've already told us how you found your niche. That's another thing too, is that it's rare, really rare, especially in the blogging world, unless you happen to have what, a food or travel blog or a DIY too. I mean, it's Rob my co-host and I, we both, when we started our journey back in 20 2004, um, it was more a family focus, right? And so it was a very broad spectrum and that's probably one of the reasons why I'm not as active on it anymore because those general type blogs just are not, are really hard to make successful, um, with ad revenue or anything of that nature. So you really need to have that niche, uh, which you have, uh, when you, are, you talk about doing it with a purpose, do you ha do you follow an editorial calendar? Do you have a plan written out for yourself for your brand? Right?

Wynee:

I don't so fun fact. Um, I'm actually, I work full time as a social media manager for a local agency in Charlotte. And I do that for our clients. I am very like, I follow a schedule. I'm very strict with everything, but when it comes to myself, I think because I do that at work. I don't like to have that pressure on myself. Um, but I do understand the importance of it because I see it with my clients. You know, you have the schedule, you, you create a content calendar. Um, you come up with ideas and it just flows so much more nicely. It just is so much easier. But no, I don't have that for myself at the moment.

Kristen:

So yesterday I did a workshop and it was an editorial calendar and mind map workshop, and it was not a PowerPoint presentation. I was in front of a whiteboard and I literally did a mind map, put the mind map and make showed them an editorial calendar. And it's such a simple thing to do. Right. And they were, everyone's like, Oh my God, this is like the greatest thing ever. And I'm like, but why I was laughing is because I'm a digital marketer as well, and I'll do it for my clients. But it's the old, I was trying to explain to one of the young ladies in the office space that I'm in the cobblers in the shoe fable. And she didn't understand that. And I was like, okay, here I am aging myself again. And I said, the cobbler always, never wore shoes because he was busy making them for everybody else. So I don't do it either.

Wynee:

I think, I think to the extent that I do, I do have a, like an app where I can plan out my feed. Um, and I also have a list of all the blog posts that I want to write, especially as we near the end of the year, like I have everything that I want to have on my website. Um, but it's not timely. It's just very go with the flow kind of situation right now.

Kristen:

So let me ask you, that's a great, um, that's a great point. What do you use because another topic is going to be, you know, the backend piece of, you know, how, you know, whether it's tailwind, if you're on Instagram and Pinterest, or what do you use?

Wynee:

Um, so for, to look at my grid, I use plan only. Um, and that way, cause plan only when you, when you have the app, it actually lets you see everything else that you've posted. Um, so you don't have to really input anything except the new pictures that you're going to use. And then for my blog, I use WordPress. Um, and I, I usually write outside of WordPress to get all like the spelling, um, checks. And then I input that into WordPress and I also, for pictures, I use Lightroom. Um, and I also use Vesco. Yup. I don't know if I should say VSCO or Vista. I just say, uh, so yeah,

Kristen:

With three girls at home, I'm very familiar with this book. This has actually been around for a very long time. A lot of people don't realize that it wasn't the Fisco girls that made it well, they probably made it Uber popular, but it wasn't the beginning. Um, you had a very large following on Instagram. So talk to us a little bit about how you were able to build your following. Um, yeah, I, I'm going to interject, interrupt because I get excited. I'll be interested to hear if you say what we know is the reason.

Wynee:

Okay. Okay. So when I first started winning's world, I had a separate page. I made a separate page for my blog. Um, and I think I had grew that to like, I dunno, 300 followers. And I was like, ah, I don't want to sit here and have to grow this page. So at that time I was living in Miami. I took my personal Instagram, the one where, you know, all of my like hometown, uh, friends following me, my college friends, everybody that I knew from Miami, I was like, you know what? Like, cause a lot of people will say separate the two so that, you know, like you're not bothering the people that know you, but I was like, you know what, that's fine. I'm just going to do it. I'm going to do what he's wrote. And at the time I have like 4,000 followers from just like life.

Wynee:

And um, so I was like, okay, well I need to get followers that don't just know me. Um, so then that's when I started to really like reach out to Facebook groups. Um, I took courses, um, I really networked with people, um, like outside of my network, like events, foodie, events, whatever the case was. Um, and I really just try to get the word out there. Um, and from that I gained about 6,000 followers over the course of three years. And so I had 10,000, I was at like 10.8 and one of my videos went viral on Tik TOK. And from then that was, that was the fastest I've grown. I'm not like 14,000 right now. That was over the course of like two months.

Kristen:

Awesome. So, well, what I was waiting for you to say was because this is key and, but you've said it already is putting quality and consistent stuff on your, on your Instagram. Are any of your platforms?

Wynee:

I mean like looking back now, I think now it's, now that I see that it's so much easier to grow when I'm putting stuff up for a reason. So prior to going viral, like my growth was slow and steady, so I didn't see that much of a difference. So I would, I would be way more like post personal things on my Instagram. It's like, that's not what people want to see. Like people want to see the stuff that I do. Um, and having to take that step back and be like, okay, like if this is what I want to do, moving forward, I got to act like I got to treat it like a business, like you said. And so since, since going viral, I think I've become way more strategic and focus on what the content that I'm putting out. And it's been easier to see the growth from that.

Kristen:

Let's talk a little bit about Tech-Talk. Okay. How have you been on it?

Wynee:

Um, I think I downloaded the app as a joke, like in team,

Kristen:

But you know what that's that's when everybody did. Yeah. I mean they really, really, and especially, you know, and all age groups. Yeah. And that's where, you know, the moms of tech talk came from is they were, they were either doing things with their kids may or may not be guilty of that or they, you know, were just, everybody was bored.

Wynee:

Yeah. I think I was just like, what is this at? Why is everyone talking about it? I'm like, fine. Let me just download it. And, and then I was hooked for like hours and I was like, what is this? Yeah.

Kristen:

So how much are you using it? Um,

Wynee:

I probably now I feel like when I go out and I like pick up food or go ahead and try new spot. I think Tik TOK is like my number one focus before it used to be Instagram. Yeah.

Kristen:

The beautiful thing is they're so different now. Well, let me ask you this. Are you using reels at all?

Wynee:

Yes or not. But then, um, so this is another thing when I went viral, I actually, you know, asked my friend, she is an influencer. She got influencer of the year, so she knows her stuff and I kind of had a consultation with her and she was like, this is what you need to do. And you need to be using every single thing that Instagram gives you. You need to be using that to your advantage at this point.

Kristen:

And especially at the beginning, um, I was explaining that to a client of mine, you know, you, because they were kind of resistant on Tik TOK. I'm like, okay, fine. Then do reels you, we can figure out a way to do it. The problem with the business account though is you don't have the audio, you don't have access to the music. So I didn't want to switch them back to a, being a creator, which is what you and I would have on it for reals. Um, but it's because especially when they're trying to push it and get it going, they're giving a lot of gas. You're given, given a lot of gas to those, to the, to the reels. Yeah. Um, so will you use reels more than Tik TOK or will you use them equally the same or will you use Tik TOK more?

Wynee:

I think with the two, I think I'm going to use tic talk as the base and then take what I, what I do from Tik TOK and put it back into reels.

Kristen:

And are you, is that how you're doing? Are you making, are you uploading your tech talks into reels?

Wynee:

Um, well I was, I did, but I didn't want the Tech-Talk symbol on it. So I set off some of them they do, but I use, um, an app called InShot and I that's where I edit my Tik TOK videos before I upload them. So then I just say them straight to my phone and then I just upload them to reels instead of having to save them from Tik TOK.

Kristen:

Yeah. I've kind of, you know, it was not something that I wanted to, um, take on, but obviously I had to, uh, my oldest daughter, who's 22, just absolutely gave and Courtney gave me a really hard time. They're like, you're verified on Twitter and you're not on tech talk. What's up at the end, they blah, blah, blah, blah. And so, you know, and the videos, like I have very random videos and it's more just, uh, me doing, uh, trying to figure things out. Like I did the transition one last week for, um, uh, Halloween, because I wanted to understand that that was something I learned really quickly is to, uh, use your video in your camera, like to record it on your camera and then not to do as much editing in the platforms. Um, and from what I understand, I haven't played around with reels that much, but from what I understand, the editing's even harder in real.

Wynee:

I haven't edited anything unreal. It's just because I think just the interface of it is honestly confusing. Like you upload a video and then it goes back down and then you're just left on a blank screen. I don't know. I prefer to talk, but, um, that's why I edit everything on an InShot and then I just upload that straight to real.

Kristen:

And I'm going to put the links to the, uh, apps that when he's talking about in the show notes as well. And just as a reminder, we're talking to Winnie Bermudez of Winnie's world, about her life as an influencer and a blogger. Um, how much, how frequently are you posting on your blog? How often do you create a blog post?

Wynee:

Honestly, about once a month. Sometimes I do twice a month. I'm not as consistent as I would hope to be, but I feel like that is a honestly a good, a good, good amount. Cause everything cause my traffic comes through social media anyways. So it's the people already following me, going to my website, as opposed to the people from our website come into my social media.

Kristen:

Right. Which is the way it used to be. I mean, that, that was definitely your, your website is your home. It's the home base and then people, but it's, it's a little bit different now. Uh, one of the topics that I insisted on that we have is why, um, it is important. It's imperative for create content creators, to have a blog, a home base where they can keep all of their stuff. And because I find I get more resistance from your age group on that, on that concept because they don't want to mess with it, but I'm like, yeah, can we talk about vine? Remember what happened with vine vine went away and then all, if any of those people that were buying famous, they had to sh they had to scramble because the people didn't know how to find them if they were just casual followers. So it's so, so important.

Wynee:

A lot of them became YouTubers, but that was like after the fact that mine disappeared

Kristen:

And with our lack of attention span these days, I really, I really think that Tik TOK is going to start, um, pushing, uh, being pretty competitive for YouTube. Yeah, I was, I was watching something, Oh, I was doing some research for a client and I came across, um, these young ladies, uh, it's, they're a boutique, a really high-end boutique, not high-end boutique, but a real cute trendy boutique. And these girls did this whole, um, what we would do on Tik talker reels now. And he liked doing the makeup. And then, so it was like this five minute long video to get to the purpose of the video, which was to go shopping with them at this boutique. Nobody's got time for that, do a fast video of your makeup or do them, you know, so I think, and just the way it's, um, the algorithm and the feed gives you, your, your content on Tik TOK is so much more conducive to our, this crazy world that we're in right now. Um, so what are some of, are you working with brands?

Wynee:

Um, not currently, no, but you have, I have.

Kristen:

And how's your experience been with that? Um,

Wynee:

So I told you that I had a consultation with one of my friends. She's an influencer and she won the influencer of the year and she really put a lot of things into perspective. And before I feel like I was just very, um, just excited to like work with a brand, I think now I'm way more, okay, this is going to take, how much time do I want to do this? Is the budget gonna allow me to be excited for this and actually put my best effort forward. Um, so I'm, I'm way more, um, I wouldn't say picky, but I'm just more aware of the brands that I work with now.

Kristen:

It should be, yeah, you should be because you know, they brands have, and this is, you know, my specialty is influencer marketing. Um, you know, working with companies that want to hire influencers as well as working with the influencers themselves. And some of the expectations some of these companies have is on believable. Unbelievable. They're like, okay, well, if we give them a free, you know, a free ticket to such and such, do you think that we can get a, this and that and this and that? I'm like, no, let me rephrase that. Yes, you can, but you're not going to be happy with the results.

Wynee:

There is a brand who actually wanted to use my picture for a commercial and, um, they offered me their budget and I was like, okay, well for this, for that budget, I can give you this instead of what you're asking for. And then they were like, Oh, well, we were actually wanting to use your photo and like pepper perpetuity, like forever. Yeah. And I was like, Oh, well, um, whatever you offered me. No. Yeah. And then they were like, Oh, well, we don't have that in our budget. I'm like, okay, well you want to use my picture wherever then? And it's like, some people don't know, like someone else would have said yes. And then that picture would have been there as forever.

Kristen:

Yeah. You have to the, the, as an, the most important word you've ever learned and actually as a female or as a human being is the work now. And like I tell my girls no is a complete sentence. It is not that you don't have to put anything behind it. It is a complete sentence all by itself. No, thank you. Next. So we've got probably about five more minutes. Um, we already answered that because you did that. Um, what's your favorite part about what you do?

Wynee:

I think my favorite part is seeing people go and try different restaurants because of my videos or my pictures. Um, this one girl actually DMD me, I think last week. And I have on my blog, I have a, my favorite list of tacos and Charlotte. And she said, she's working through that list. And I was like, Oh my God, what? And all of a sudden I felt this immense pressure. Cause I'm like, Oh, I hope she likes them all. Um, but I, to me, I think that's the most like coolest part is that like, people actually like are listening to what I'm putting out there and they're actually trusting me for my recommendations. I think that's, that's the best part.

Kristen:

Yeah. It's, it is a profound feeling when, because we're creating content because we're creatives, right. Because we want to, because we're doing things that we love and we're just sharing it. Right. It is a very profound thing. When someone comes up to you and says, like, for me, when I used to do a lot of writing about parenting, I like your blog posts about XYZ was moved me. Or, you know, when you make an impact on somebody's life, because that's not the reason. I mean, it's a great by-product of it, but it's not, I mean, yeah, we want to make an impact, but we're doing it because we love it. So it's just always a really profound thing. When I, you know, when, when that, when that does happen, when you realize that you've made a positive impact on somebody's life, what advice would you give to somebody that, uh, you know, maybe who's just looking around or decides that they want to become an influencer or content creator?

Wynee:

Um, I would honestly say to just start, I it's very cliche, but all my other advice is all of the cliches that you hear be consistent, just start, um, you know, post with purpose. I think just listen to the, listen to that. And, and don't worry about what anyone else is doing. Because if you get in the Headspace of comparing yourself, you're gonna, it's, it's gonna, it's gonna hold you back from your full potential, even if it takes a year or two years,

Kristen:

And it's going to take time, that's, you know, that's another thing about going and, and wanting to help these folks set it up as a business is that people who get, or who are overnight successes, that is so rare. And so many people think that they are just going to download an app, get on it and all this stuff. It's, it's hard work. It's hard work. And there's so much more involved in it than you see than what meets the eye. Um,

Wynee:

Well I think my other advice would probably be like, cause people ask me this all the time, but it's like, I tell them, like, I, even if I never got paid from this ever again, like I would still be doing this. I would still be doing it until I'm 90 or whenever, you know, um, maybe I find another passion in life, but until like, I really enjoy what I'm doing. Like I'm going to continue to do it.

Kristen:

And you're doing an amazing job. You're doing a fantastic job. So as we are wrapping up, I want to remind everyone that the content creators conference is on January 16th. You can get your ticket at content creators, conference.com and you will be learning firsthand from our influencer marketing experts to help you increase your influencer market ability when you thank you so much for spending time with us. I love to thank you for having me. Absolutely. So to everyone else, make it a great day and keep on creating that content.