Cassey Ho of Blogilates shares strategies for success prior to SXSW
While the world is grappling with a possible recession, people are looking for an avenue to secure their own businesses, which includes the creators of content. As a result, some are coming to realize that the sole reliance on sponsorship deals and brand agreements for revenue isn't sustainable.
With the possibility of a recession, brand deals and the like aren't known for consistency--even for creators with massive followings. Add a downturn into the mix, and brand deals could disappear altogether as an income option for a lot of creators.
Solutions to the ongoing issue have been developed, among them Social media creator funds like TikTok's. Although they may seem, they've been criticized in terms of payouts, which are small due to the large amount of creators requesting a share of these funds. To address this, TikTok is actively testing a revamped creator fund that gives creators higher payouts, but only time will tell if this variant of the funds will be able to do what the 2020 version could not.
To get to the root of how creative people can develop viable businesses that are free from the limitations on social networks, we sat up a meeting to talk with the queen of entrepreneurialism herself, business mogul Cassey Ho, aka Blogilates.
More than 12 years ago, a modest home pilates YouTube video earned Cassey's popularity as an influencer. She's motivated over 14 million people with her viral videos which were watched more than two billion times.
As a result, Cassey was able to focus on her passion for fashion. Now, she has only two, but two multimillion dollar portfolio brands, Blogilates and POPFLEX and a partnership with 24 Hour Fitness, where her signature format POP Pilates is taught in gymnasiums throughout the United States. The partnership also includes her signature POP Pilates online certification course, which Cassey runs on .
Through leveraging her followers and adapting to their demands by offering a variety of products Cassey is able to create a successful business that has been trending for over 10 years.
Dive into our Q&A with Cassey to learn more about how she has diversified her income streams through physical and digital merchandise, and more.
Note: The responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
What's the elevator song you use?
You could say that I'm a fashion and fitness business owner. I began my career in the YouTube world as pilates instructors. On all platforms, I have over 14 or 15 million followers as well as 2 billion views. I essentially got my career started with free training videos to the public, however it wasn't really my intention. I've always wanted to be at the forefront of fashion. I started teaching workouts that helped build a community and later, because of that, I was able to return to my initial passion of doing fashion. The people I taught to were asking me for yoga mats, clothes, and clothing which is why I decided dressing my clients. It's been an amazing journey as social media brought me to return my original love of yoga. My yoga mats can be found in Target under Blogilates. POPFLEX is my clothing business.
Let's dig in and understand what you learned from your social media experiences. What inspired you to create your YouTube channel?
I worked as a freelancer teaching pilates while in college. I taught POP Pilates specifically. It can be done with music but at the time, no one was teaching that format. Pilates was done to the absence of music, or only to the classical genre. That's why I taught in 24 Hour Fitness, and I was about to graduate in the year, I got a job with a company in Boston and was aware that I had to move to another country, and nobody was going to be teaching this kind of pilates anymore. Due to this I decided to make a ten-minute workout and then uploaded it to this YouTube website in 2009. It was only for 40 people who were at the gym. That's it. Then, after the video was uploaded and deleted it, I didn't look at it again until about a month later. It received thousands of views and hundreds of comments asking for more information, which is the main reason for Blogilates!
What has your approach to use social media changed for you since starting Blogilates in 2009?
In 2009, it was YouTube as a form of video, and Facebook was the place to create an online community. It was a nice spot back in. Throughout the years, we've had various social platforms come in as well, and frankly, it's been exhausting however, you must remain relevant through adapting to new platforms. It's up to you to determine what you can say to your target audience on every platform, and how to create material for each. You have to keep playing the game, but social media at the end it all is an instrument. Therefore, it is dependent on who's watching you on that tool, but in general I consider it to be beneficial because it can break down walls and no one is gatekeeping you from achieving your goals. It is possible to keep testing and testing until you find a type of content that works, and then you keep striving to succeed each every time.
What has changed since the time you launched back in 2009 in terms as a creator on YouTube?
A lot has changed! In 2009 it was not an option; earning money via brand deals wasn't an option; AdSense wasn't even a concept at the time. Videos were uploaded on YouTube for the simple reason of wanting to show their knowledge as well as their humorous moments and their content. That was it. It was not about becoming famous or becoming a YouTuber. In the year 2023, and the scene is so different, and, in many ways, I honestly think there's less authenticity.
Some people are looking to be influential or create due to the desire for the spotlight and recognition. Their self-worth is dependent on the numbers, and it makes me regret it because most of the creators that began in 2009 were looking to connect. That's why I was there. I had a desire to teach POP Pilates. And, I believe that is one of the reasons Blogilates is around for fourteen years now. It hasn't ceased to exist as you can see taking place a lot in the case of new creators. The landscape is different and more competitive. It's an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs as there's no need to depend on traditional media and advertising to get your brand out to the world; you can get started connecting with people just using your smartphone and making a TikTok short, YouTube video or an Instagram Reel.
How was it as you began earning money on YouTube? Did you have a plan that you could use to earn a sustainable income? If so, can you provide us with the details of your strategy?
Honestly, I don't know what was the real strategy. There was always a job on the side. The goal was not to go full in the world of YouTube. I was working behind the scenes, regardless of whether I was selling things or working my first and final company job. Therefore, I did not really have a strategy. But in the beginning, I was beginning to notice bloggers and YouTubers were signing brand agreements but I didn't know that, or having an agent or manager, was possible. One of my bloggers said to me "Don't stress about it; you don't have to go out, just keep building your audience and they will arrive.' So that's exactly what happened. I'm not sure if I would call that a strategy, but I really focused on my audience and served my audience by creating great content that I felt passionate about and then everything resulted from that. AdSense, brand dealsand anything else constitute a portion of my revenue stream, but nowadays, it's only a fraction of my entire revenue because it's the primary factor.
It was always that way for you? Or did it first begin via social media?
It started out probably more divided because I was always designing yoga bags or mats as well as brand partnerships. They were always in the pipeline and they'd increase in the beginning, however as they increased, I also became more unsatisfied. I didn't enjoy them brand deals because typically in these deals you're tied up with a company which doesn't fully know or respect your ideas You follow the bullet points of the brief. Then you turn in the content, which knocks off each bullet point. Then they want to make changes since they aren't happy with it. The constant feeling was of someone was telling me what I can or cannot use my own material as well as my readers. I became so unhappy doing brand deals and it's my intention over the past several years to fade off of these deals , and instead focus on talking about my personal branding.
Now, let's talk about the algorithm. Do you think algorithms have affected your capacity to earn income over social networks?
The first time I made design videos a year and a half ago, the way the TikTok algorithm or YouTube algorithm functioned, and maybe not so much the Instagram algorithm. It could decide the fate of an item and how quickly it's likely to be sold out. We had one of our legging videos explode in popularity and get at least 25 million or more views in a matter of minutes, and sold out the product within a matter of hours. But sometimes something is popular on one platform and won't be on the other, even though it's exactly the same thing. It's interesting to see how it performs, and I don't think that it's due to my target audience being distinct on every platform, but I think that it's due to the fact that, for instance, TikTok has this high chance of virality because they can provide an audience that is similar to the one on TikTok regardless of the audience you're looking at, it's intriguing. The algorithm plays a big role in how the videos do, and therefore, plays an important role in the sales. However, should you keep focusing on creating a high-quality product that's what my team and I does every single day, you don't need these viral videos. The videos are great, however, my business doesn't depend on making it viral. Instead, it relies on an excellent product.
We're predicting that going forward creatives will be aware that they need to use social media more as an avenue to increase audience size and as a traffic source rather than directly monetization tools - similar to what you've already been able to achieve. What's your opinion on this development?
It is important to offer something worthwhile to your viewers. You have to create value whether that is in education or entertainment. It's not possible build a following if you're just going to attempt to make money off of them. That's why whatever you're doing for those of you listening to this moment: What is that aspect you communicate with people that they're going take home to remember you for? Just keep trying to help your audience as you're ready to launch that product they're going to think of the time you have helped them. They're going to want to join your journey as you launch that product. In my case, even although this was not my plan it was what transpired.
Free YouTube videos over a period of 10 years, as well as amidst the process of designing products and fans seeing the journey of the product and eager to become part of it. Then, by including people in the process of designing I've created this project it's a genuine community.
Many creators out there think that the only method to earn income is through brands and affiliate agreements on social media. Which are your suggestions for creators diversify their online income streams?
Let's list out all of the ways creators can diversify their income streams. Of course, you have brands as well as AdSense on YouTube as well as TikTok's creator fund. Creators may also consider making products and merchandise and digital goods like services or online training course . The end of your day, you need to ask yourself what value are you providing. What are people willing to pay for? You need to ask yourself this question because yes, you can make free content however, you shouldn't be giving the entire world in exchange for free. Otherwise, you'll become extremely burned out. In addition, research has proven that when somebody purchases something, they are more likely to stay with the action than if they receive it for free.
It's crucial to determine what the value is, and then wrap it up into something whether that's a service, an item, or a piece of information.
What strategies have you used to increase your social media followers to benefit POPFLEX and your Blogilates line of products available at Target? How have you directed the traffic generated by social media on your website?
It is my job to show them exactly what I thought of when I created an idea. When I show off a cool sweater, I'm not just going to say 'Oh this is a nice sweater. Buy it. Also, we don't sell to our audience. We're educating them. I design to solve problems. I include them in the design journey that helps involve them throughout the process and involve with the final product. Their design requests are passed on to the development team, then we turn it into a reality. occur, and by doing so, we build confidence with my customers. We don't treat them as clients, but we're treating as co-designers. I think this makes the journey fun to everyone.
In terms of moving my audience from my social media accounts to my website I concentrate on the obvious like including a link on my Instagram. For example, using tags to promote your items. I use links to move my audience from social apps to my website. I also utilize other content creators to present my items in addition to demonstrating how my clothing can fit women of all different shapes and sizes. Our content is what funnels my audience toward the website. I also utilize a newsletter for generating a large number of sales.
Where did you begin on ? What led you to create the Pop Pilates courses on ?
I was so desperately looking for a site that would host my instructor certification program , so near the beginning of the podcast, I spoke about the possibility of teaching POP Pilates at 24 Hour Fitness. After a few years, POP Pilates becomes the official pilates of every 24 Hour Fitness in the US. So I was looking for an online portal or program to house all of instructors as well as share the choreography. But I didn't come across anything. It was while in the middle of Chalene Johnson's podcast; she was talking in a casual manner about something when she made reference to . And that's how I discovered it ! It was really the only platform that would allow me to do what I needed to accomplish on the level that I needed to do and I am always grateful for that.
The creator landscape in general. What are the most common mistakes that creators making in today's situation?
There are creators who make a lot of mistakes today however the most common issue I've seen is when creators get a great deal of attention and have a huge following. And then, the moment comes that they are offered brand contracts and their content begins to appear extremely unnatural. Of course, they need a paycheck as well as pay bills, but at the same that they're losing confidence with their followers. It's been my experience that this type of content] degrade the brands of creators. Also, I'm intrigued to see how building the career of a creator based upon other careers plays out. As an example, a teacher turns into an influencer. Their whole rise to fame comes from teaching, but what happens after they stop being a teacher because they've become successful [as a creator]?
Our answer? Start a course on .
What's the one thing you don't see creators doing enough of?
Everyone tells me every day that people want your product or service. People would like to have a product line so that they don't have to think about competing brand names all the time. But here's the truth I'm of the opinion that to want that, you need to be motivated to manage any kind of business that's based around products. Every creator that has built a following should have some type of products or services. It's definitely where people [creators] should go, but you need to trust and believe in your product because if you don't, it's likely to be a challenge to sell.
What's a piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out on this journey who wants to start using digital offerings?
I believe it is a reference back to what I said earlier regarding determining the worth that you can provide your customers, and then figuring out a way to package it up so that it is available for purchase. You have to know what the value is. And, if you're not certain, that's fine. You can test out your idea with no-cost content. It's about feeling out the people who are watching you. I do want to say that you must be extremely cautious about let your audience steer you into a direction you aren't comfortable into. If you follow the numbers too much and the comments too much, you end up losing yourself. It is possible to lose the purpose you have and don't really know what you stand for anymore, and this is one reason creators get burned out. Creators who do this feel unhappy since they can't longer live for themselves. They're living and creating for someone else. Therefore, pay attention to every signal, even your heart. At the end of the day, you must be creating content that is enjoyable for you or else this is likely to end in failure.
Own your destiny with digital goods
It's clear--the future of success for creators depends in diversifying revenue streams in order to create sustainable enterprises, exactly the way Cassey did.
Through digital offerings, such as online courses, along with physical merchandise and brand deals, Cassey has been able to increase her influence across the globe, and ultimately, own her future.
When creators begin to follow suit, the way they use social media is likely to shift. It will be used not as a method of revenue generation and will instead be for a source of traffic to guide their audience to other, reliable sources of revenue like digital products.
"The biggest role has played is aiding me in fostering an active community of instructors for Pop Pilates." - Cassey Ho
It has helped over 55,000 creative entrepreneurs to earn the sum of $4.9 billion. And, that number grows as each day passes.
We're ditching the middleman so you can keep all of your profit, as well as own your business model, audience as well as your name.
To learn more about how you can master your destiny and excel as a creator and entrepreneur You can catch Cassey as well as Matt Steffanina, 's President/CPO Sean Kim, and Jim Louderback, on the -sponsored stage of SXSW next month.
If you're ready to start expanding your earnings through digital products, test your luck your options with fourteen-day free trial.