Am I an Influencer Now?

Some time ago I received an email from Amino’s Marketing team. In very vague words, they complimented my videos (that’s the exact word they used, videos, even though majority of what I share on the Lolita Amino is written things) and invited me to join the Creators Space. This was supplemented by an offer of a fixed rate payment for the first two videos and, should they prove appropriate for that app, I could carry on adding videos there at their standard rate (which depends heavily on how many views you get).

Although I have been active on the Lolita Amino since (apparently) the beginnings of that group, I don’t use Amino for anything else. For one, there are no other communities there that interest me, and for another – I much prefer traditional blogging format, which I can do on my laptop (doing too much on my phone is just uncomfortable). However, I accepted their offer because not only I felt flattered and noticed (I may be a very active lolita, but I don’t exactly have an influencer’s following), but also because I thought this would be a great opportunity to grow and learn something new.

The format of Amino Stories is something between Instagram Stories and a YouTube video, specifically intended to be viewed on mobile phones. Probably more like TikTok, though since I have no first-hand experience of that platform, I am hesitant about making that comparison. Amino Stories rely heavily on a storyboard and are formatted around scenes to produce a short video of up to 2.5 minutes. As such they’re not fit for ramblings like Instagram Stories are and they’re much more of a snapshot than YouTube video’s, even those heavily scripted, are. It’s a format that requires dynamic editing, which simultaneously feels a little less daunting thanks to it being limited to such short form and a little bit more daunting as it’s simply a way of thinking that I’m not used to.

Despite the Lolita Amino having a long-standing and strong presence on the app, as far as I’ve gathered there isn’t much original lolita-specific content on Amino Stories. There are a lot of related topics, such as wider alternative and kawaii fashion, K-pop and culture, lots of makeup tutorials and general fashion tips/hacks/lookbooks. Yet majority of lolita-specific content is contained within the Lolita Amino itself rather than the Global one, which is where Stories can get enough views to earn some money.

Now, I’m not vain enough to think that I alone can fill that void. Like I said, I know my strengths and I realise that however active I may be, I am not yet at the level of influencers such as Lovely Lor, Pinkii or Oh So Kawaii (who are just some of the Amino creators who I know are also involved in lolita fashion). Having said this, I am excited to try my hand at this and to try to bring something more than just lookbooks and makeup. Granted, this other content may not number that many Stories, considering how not all of my ideas translate well into video format, particularly such a short one, nonetheless I want to give it a go.

And so that I’m not all brag and no show, below are those first two video Stories that I was invited to do. If you have an account on Amino, it would mean a lot if you could give them a view via my global profile there and for everyone else I am uploading them here.

If you have any ideas on Story topics that you’d like me to tackle, let me know, please! I do have some ideas and do want to focus on things beyond just what’s easy to do, although there will be some of that there too.