Meg Harrell is an entrepreneur, influencer and creator of megforit.com. She is a mother of two and runs her MEGFORIT digital brand from home in Central Florida. In addition, Meg provide tips to the medical community through TikTok from her experience as a Registered Nurse (RN). Meg loves to practice minimalism in every way, including travel, fashion, home design, and parenting. Her blog and social media presence inspires mothers to pursue their dreams and find joy in simplifying life. She will encourage you to take your ordinary life and make it extraordinary!

Where you’re based out of and what got you started in the influencer marketing space?

So right now I am in central Florida. We just moved here a couple of months ago.

Awesome.

Yeah, I’m loving it.

Where did you move from?

Well, we were living in a tiny house RV, so we were kind of moving around constantly before COVID and everything. But we had like a little main base in North Carolina. So we would always like go back to North Carolina.

What inspired you to start out as an influencer? What are your two channels?

I would say it all started in 2015. It was just a really, really rough year for me and my therapist suggested I start a journal or a blog just cause I express myself so much better writing. And so I did, and I wrote about everything I was passionate about and what stage of life I was in all of that.

I literally just dumped it and That was the Meg for it brand. I don’t know where that name came from. It just like came to me one day. I thought it was funny and kind of cheeky. And that was the first blog that I started, the first brand that I started. And then I just started to learn SEO and best practices in the industry and started following other big bloggers and saw what they were doing.

And it, it grew and exploded. And then about two years ago is when I really did start the nurse Meg. Brand. I just wanted to reach more nurses. I was working as a night nurse for the last 13 years. Oh my God. We just wanted to reach more nurses. I had so much knowledge and so many successful little resources that I saw my little baby nurses use and I just wanted to reach more people.

So I just decided to copy paste, start a blog and do all the same things that I did with the first brand. And now I’m here doing two different brands. So I have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start. Let’s start with the fact that you actually started with a blog because so many people now don’t.

Do you think having blog content has helped you?

It is a lot more to maintain, but it is yours and. In a second, an entire platform can disappear. Like we saw, I think it was in 2018 where Facebook and Instagram were down for a whole 12 hours platforms will come and go.

But your blog is your blog. And I think even if you just want to be an Instagram influencer, I really think you need to own a space and have a blog and maintain it. If you really want to be a true influencer and transition from a hobby to a business.

So how did you kind of start learning about SEO and all this stuff?

I’m a big believer in YouTube university. There’s some, I mean, I even learned how to drive, stick shift on YouTube. Like there’s so many free resources and if you want to support, you know, a creator and buy their course and, you know, kind of get their story along with it.

That’s super valuable, but if you’re just starting out and you don’t have a budget to like invest in, in big courses, watch as much YouTube as you can, like replace any like entertainment, Netflix, Hulu, whatever, with learning on YouTube. It’s so, so great. There’s so many great resources of people that are ready to share their knowledge.

It’s so funny. Cause you forget, like I’ll be in the midst of something. And then I forget, I could just go to YouTube and I’m like, how do I do this? And then it’s like, oh. Let me just go to cute. Even if it’s like a stupid computer glitch, it’s always there. There’s always a video for literally everything.

Even like, I had some trouble with my RV of like how to empty a certain tank or do something and I was Googling it and it didn’t make sense. I needed a visual. So then I just, I found a YouTube video. It was like two minutes long and walked me through it and it solved my problem. Like. Yeah, I’m doing that because last year I planted all these seedlings and none of them survive, even though I grew a lot of leaves, but this year I’m like, okay, I’m going to watch the YouTube videos.

I’m going to figure this out. Yep. We’re in the age where knowledge is free. You guys. So I’m just thinking that this is like, making me think you might launch a third channel. I think you are, you still are being at all or no. No, we sold it. I grown up and we bought a house. Now I’m officially adulting. Yeah, that’s always good.

I’d love to know in terms of like these parallel channels, one started earlier, but they’re very different content. How do you go about devoting attention to Meg For It versus nurse Meg?

So they are totally and completely different in their content. And that is because the audiences are so completely different. So for the Meg Fort brand, it is really 30 to 40 five-year-old. Millennial females. They’re mostly mothers. They mostly have kids under 10, and they’re interested in things for their home things for their family and travel.

And minimalism is kind of like the big home thing. So that’s like that audience. So everything I make, I kind of like think of this one, avatar. Female who’s a mother, who’s a millennial who’s interested in travel and minimalism and loves her family. But then the nurse Meg side is completely different.

So my audience there is healthcare workers, not just nurses, it’s ages 20 to 30. So they’re a little bit younger. They’re a little bit hipper. That’s why there’s more on tech talk. And it is also mostly female, but there’s a good percentage. There’s about like 30% that are male in healthcare that, that follow that channel.

So the content is completely different. The audiences are completely different. So when I think about. Creating content and like, what can I provide that will be beneficial and will be valuable. I like to imagine my entire audience as one person. So I create this like mental avatar of that person. And what do they want to hear?

What do they need? What would be valuable to that person?

We at Babble Boxx have seen a lot of different companies coming to us saying, okay, we need to talk to nurses and to doctors, have you seen large growth on that channel the past year plus?

Absolutely. I think everybody. I mean because of quarantine and things like that, everybody kind of went online to socialize and to get human interaction. And I mean, nurses and doctors and healthcare workers did the same. Everybody kind of went on there and I think. My Tok Tok account that I started for the nurse Meg.

I really did start late, but the brand has been around for two years, but I just started the tick TOK in November of 2020. And it like exploded. We’re almost to half a million followers and pliable. It really says two things. It really talks about how generous the algorithm, the Tech-Talk algorithm is compared to, you know, Facebook and Instagram and Twitter.

They are so generous. They will show your video to who wants to see it. And it really shows that when you niche down to a very specific thing, to a very specific audience, it will explode. You will have success.

What has been your favorite brand collaboration? What’s been the most popular collaboration that you’ve done?

I did have a couple of Tok Toks go viral. I mean, like in the millions of views. Wow. I do have one tech talk that has 10 million views right now. Oh my God. It was because I talked about like a paranormal thing that happened to me at work. It’s a segment that I do on my talk scariest things that have happened to me as a nurse.

Yeah. I feel like that like intrigue of just a relatable thing that happened. And then also the intrigue of something, little paranormal and stuff. I like, I don’t care how long you have worked in healthcare. Like every night shift. Healthcare worker has a little bit of like an interest in the paranormal.

Like there’s just things you see that happen that you’re like, I can’t explain that. So that was, so now, like I want to ask what they are. Give me an example. Could you share one just equipment going off. Well, like a call bell going off in a room that’s completely empty or seeing the bedroom by itself.

God. Okay. I have tons of stories. Like that was the most viral thing that happened that I was like so proud of. But I think the most exciting, crazy collaboration was in 2018. When I started to write about my passion for Disney, because I, we had season passes and I went as a kid and I just wrote about like what it would be like when you first go there and.

Tips and tricks that like many people didn’t know about and Disney actually reached out to me and they were like, would you like to go on a cruise and write about it and make a video? The ultimate, I always wanted to work with them. I never imagined that I could with my little tiny blog in my little corner of the internet and they loved it.

They sent me and my family on a cruise, and then I created content for them. They loved it. They shared it on their channels. And then. Later that summer, they said, can we fly you out to LA? We’re doing a movie premiere for Christopher, Robin, will you also create such and such content? And I was like, over the moon, I was like, that’s it mean it’s me acknowledged that I’m a content creator.

That’s it? I could die. That is amazing. Use the work with them now. I do. Yes. I do work with them every once in a while. They have something new coming out in the parks they’ll invite me and my kids to, to come down and take a peek at whatever’s happening or a new festival or something. That is so cool.

Do you remember the first collaboration you ever did?

I remember the first. Paid one that I did. It was a blanket company and they said, we’re gonna pay you money.

I think it was $200, which was just astronomical. It was such a big deal. I’m going to pay you $200 to write a blog post and take four pictures. Of our blanket, like you using the blanket, my kids using the blanket and I was, oh my gosh, I was so excited to like, get paid money, to be creative. It was the first time that that had ever happened to me.

Cause I had been a nurse in it. You know, you didn’t, I didn’t realize that you can get paid to be creative and do a good job on the last day. Do it again. That was the most exciting time ever. And that was in. 2016. So I had had my blog for about a year. Wow. Only working on it before I ever made a penny.

Did you ever go after brands and try to interact with them to specifically pitch them?

You have to get the roots before you get the fruit. So it does mean that you’re going to work hard on building your audience and building your platform, whether you choose to do a blog or social media or both, you really do have to put the time and effort.

Before, you’re a valuable billboard because that’s what brands are paying. They’re paying for your social media expertise. They’re paying for your photography skills or videography skills. They’re also paying for your audience and you have to provide value for brands to want to work with you. So you can start off by pitching them and seeking them out.

But when you do that, you really have to come with. I have this valuable billboard instead of saying, oh, I love your chocolate. And I really want free chocolate. And I will, I’ll post a picture on Instagram and it’s not quite the right angle. But if you come with my audience, saw me eating this chocolate on stories.

They expressed all this interest. This is exactly who my audience is. And I think it aligns with your ideal customer. Let’s have a partnership.

The other part of it is the affiliate side, is that something that you recommend to influencers getting started out? Is that still something that you think is supported by the influencer community? Do you recommend it?

I mean, there’s so many ways to do that. There are companies that will do affiliates, you know, with, oh, you get 2% of the sale. There are companies that give 50% of the sale with no cap, and that’s obviously more valuable, I think in every way you get what you pay for.

So, if you just want to work with, you know, people who will take your free product and it’s something that isn’t. Super valuable. You may not get great engagement. You may not get great return on investment if you’re just willing to give out your product or just work affiliates. But if you do want to reach more people and you want your marketing to be valuable, I think you have to pay.

I mean, no one would walk into an advertising firm and say, Hey, I’ll give you a chocolate. If you create a billboard and hire a model and hire a photographer. You know, like you, you do have to pay for quality advertising. Yeah. And it’s the audience, but like what you just said, there is so much that goes behind the scenes, the writing, the photography, the staging, it’s just, it’s the list goes on and on.

Yeah. And that’s why I think. Digital marketing is the future. And influencers are the future of advertising, especially with what we learned in COVID. I mean, an influencer is literally everybody. They are an entire advertising firm in one person.

And a lot of people realized, wow, I. Got great return on investment. Look at how many people purchased because of using influencers. It’s a huge gap. If there’s a huge translation, if you’re just putting ads in magazines and newspapers and commercials versus somebody that people love and follow and trust saying, Hey, I use this, my kids used it.

I think it’s pretty great. Why don’t you try it out? I mean, conversion rates through the roof.

What have you seen change in the past year or so, be it virtual events or boxes etc?

Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of virtual events Disney it, speaking of Disney Disney had a virtual event last week where they sent some influencers a box and it was advertising their new cruise ship.

That’ll come out next summer and. You know, almost like a little virtual. Press release kind of thing that they would usually do in person, but everybody watched at home. I’ve seen a ton of that kind of thing. Launches where they invite influencers and they’ll send them something in the mail and they’ll say, let’s hop on zoom all together and we’ll do a presentation something like that.

So, yeah, I’ve seen a lot of that because of COVID, but I’ve also seen a lot of people choosing influencers because they can’t hire out a studio and a photographer and a model.

Have you seen an increase in the past year or decrease in terms of like those types of opportunities?

Oh, an increase for sure. It’s a lot less, I guess, chasing and pitching on our end, especially when I talked to other influencers. I do have a couple of groups of influencers that we kind of just share tips and talk about where we are in our business. It was definitely a lot of chasing at the beginning of honey.

And then now it’s like, We’re turning down work and saying this, I literally don’t have time to accept another campaign. Can can I do it maybe in the next quarter or can we find some other type of partnership? But I do see a huge explosion.

I don’t know how you manage it all. You have basically three jobs.

Yeah. Yeah, life around here is very calculated. I literally have a schedule of what happens every hour. For my business for my kids or everything and this is the first year that I decided to start hiring things out. So a video editor somebody to do SEO for YouTube. Somebody to help me manage emails and to pitch someone, to do my Facebook ads someone to handle my Pinterest.

It is a lot of moving parts. That’s amazing. But yeah, now I’ve gotten to the point where I can ask for help and hire out, help.

Where can people find you?

My main website is Meg for it. Dot com, M E G F R I t.com. And it’s pretty much the same across the board.

On Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tik TOK. You can just find me by typing Meg for it. And then my second brand nurse, Meg, R N. Dot com and it’s the same on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok. You can find me just type in nurse, Meg RN. And you’ll see me.

Name an influencer. You love to follow, but hate to admit that you do.

I love that question. I definitely have no hate in my heart for any influencer or like creating it on my business or building the future of this industry.

But it is a little bit embarrassing, like how obsessed I am with the bucket list family. It’s like a family who constantly travels. And right now they live in Hawaii and I’m like obsessed with them. Every time they update any platform, I get an alert. I get a notification. I’m obsessed with the mom, Jessica.

I admire her as an influencer, as a mom, as an athlete. I just want to be best friends with them.

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