I started @JuliasPlantsta (‘Plants’ + ‘Instagram’ = “Plantsta”) my freshman year of college to challenge myself and see where content creation could take me. Although the page has been dormant since 2021 as I’ve pursued other projects, I’m proud of the metrics I accomplished in just a few years.
1Million+ views, at one point reaching over 9,000 followers (though this count has steadily declined in my absence), and 47%+ engagement rate.
Check out one of my highest performing videos.
And if your plant looks like crap too, welcome to my world.
The strategy?
Authenticity. I shared my losses just as often as I shared my wins. I was open about my mistakes (like putting my pothos out to “enjoy the sunshine” and then burning the leaves). I gave back to my community, going to local plant nurseries, creating videos about them/their plants/etc. and posting about them for free.
I didn’t turn into a super rich “plantfluencer”, I didn’t accept any partnerships for anything I didn’t use myself, and I made basically no money the entire time I ran the account. It was enough to have the profile to share my love of houseplants and stretch my marketing muscle, all while chatting with fellow plant enthusiasts.
