Instagram Reels for Introverts: Interview with 'Moments By Jemma'
I recently interviewed Jemma, a lifestyle content creator based in the Bega Valley, who’s built a calm and consistent presence online. Her Instagram page, ‘Moments By Jemma’ is full of soft light, simple routines and slow moments at home with her young family. She’s grown a loyal audience of over 70,000 people by sticking to what feels good — not what gets the most clicks.
Above is a YouTube interview with Jemma, and below is an overview of the interview and the transcript at the very bottom.
We spoke about how she balances creativity, motherhood, privacy, and business, and how you can make content in a way that actually works for your life. Here’s what we covered:
Start by noticing what’s already beautiful - Jemma’s creative practice began as a way to enjoy winter more. She started noticing how light moved through the house and used her phone to quietly capture those small moments.
You don’t have to share everything to be relatable - She’s a private person and doesn’t overshare — but she still connects. People respond to the mood she creates, not how much she reveals.
Let feeling guide your decisions - Jemma’s content is shaped by one question: how do I want people to feel? That one feeling — cosy and calm — guides everything from the pace of clips to her choice of music.
Reuse what works and don’t reinvent the wheel - She has a few tried-and-true formats like morning routines or seasonal vignettes. These structures help her batch content and keep things manageable.
Have a plan, but let it be flexible - Content pillars and loose weekly plans give her something to return to when she feels stuck. Even if she’s not posting, she knows the direction she’s heading in.
Rest when you need to, and ease back in slowly - After breaks, she uses a simple worksheet to get her momentum back. It’s not about being perfect — just about gently finding your flow again.
Key takeaway - If social media feels too fast or performative, there’s room for a slower approach. Jemma proves that thoughtful, aligned content can still connect — and even grow — without burning you out
Follow Jemma via Instagram + Website or her Newsletter signup to receive Jemma’s free resources around creating content.
Thanks for showing an interest in this interview series :)
Honey xx
Video Transcript:
Honey Atkinson (00:00)
Hi everybody. Thanks for joining us today. I have Jemma on and she lives on the far south coast of New South Wales, not far from where I live. ⁓
the Bega Valley. She lives on a really beautiful property with her little boy who's only one year old and her husband and I'd probably describe the property as looking a little bit like a fairy tale. I think that's what really resonates with their audience. She's been on Instagram for a little bit longer than six years but probably really actively for six years and she's got about 70,000 people following her which I think is pretty amazing. So yeah that blows me away. I think that number seems hard to even imagine for a lot
of
people listening. And I found, I stumbled across Jemma when I first moved down to the area. And I think what I was drawn to her content is the way like it's so beautiful, aspirational, inspiring. And I think when I look at it, it makes me feel really calm. And that's the reason why I've got her on today, because I find that most conversations that I have with business owners, who find about sort of showing up on social media about how challenging it is to show up as yourself. And that that there's only space for really
extroverted people and I feel like Jemma is a really great example of ⁓ being introverted and showing up as herself and being authentic and also building a loyal following and actually getting paid work from it. thanks for joining us today Jemma. How's your morning been today? You've been putting your little boy down?
Jemma (01:21)
Thanks so much for having me. Yeah. Yeah, it's
been chaotic with him, but he's asleep now, so it's nice. Yeah, ⁓ he's a lot of fun and he's got so much energy. So he's started walking in the last week and he's just gone round and round and round.
Honey Atkinson (01:31)
Yes, yeah, yeah, it's...
Jemma (01:45)
you know, bumping his head and falling over and all that comes with that, but it's a lot of fun. It's a really fun stage I'm finding.
Honey Atkinson (01:52)
It is, you definitely can't leave them for a second I feel like at this age. Like literally every you know like five seconds it's like fell over hit your head ⁓ fell over.
Jemma (02:01)
Yeah and things you don't
even think of that he tries to climb up on and you're just like wow it's a whole other world now that he's like upper level. Yeah yeah he is he's climbing ⁓ he climbed from our bed up on top of our bedside table the other day I was right there but I was just like I'm not gonna be able to leave you alone for a second.
Honey Atkinson (02:08)
Yes, yeah yeah. Yeah, yeah so he's climbing as well. Wow. ⁓
⁓
Yeah, yeah.
Jemma (02:30)
Yeah, it's cute.
Honey Atkinson (02:31)
So how, so I actually forgot to check with you earlier. So you have a background, do have a degree in marketing? was business? Yes. Yep.
Jemma (02:40)
I did business but I actually did HR so there's probably
like one or two classes of marketing that were really old school didn't factor in anything about social media or anything so yeah I don't really have any marketing experience but yeah.
Honey Atkinson (02:51)
Yeah.
Yeah, but
I don't think most people do. I think most courses could never be current enough to keep up with what's going on. You have to be learning on the job, yeah.
Jemma (02:58)
Yeah.
No.
Yeah,
that's right.
Honey Atkinson (03:05)
Yeah,
so I've got a whole bunch of questions today for Jemma that are things that I've had conversations with other business owners about that I think they'd really find value in. So yeah, let's get started. So I'd love to know a little bit about your practice and like how you go about creating the dreamy content that you create for Instagram. So the photos and video, but I guess a lot of people have questions around the video aspect because I guess it feels a little bit more complicated for people.
Jemma (03:35)
Well I guess ⁓ when I think about that initially I guess my videos have always been focused on sort of those beautiful little everyday moments ⁓ and that kind of started happening for me when I moved here and I started seeing the like the change in seasons and the way that impacts the way things look like I think we were talking recently about how
the sun comes through the window like in a different way in different times of year. And it was actually because I like I wasn't really enjoying the wintertime here. I found it really dark and miserable and cold. And so I was honestly kind of determined to romanticize that and start noticing those little things. And then along with that came just like naturally capturing it with my camera on my phone and kind of
Yeah, building out stories around that. So whenever I'm creating content, it tends to stem from that place of just noticing something in my surroundings that's really beautiful and going from there. So that's the inspiration part, I would say. ⁓ And then I guess in terms of the practicalities, I have a phone and I also use a camera and a tripod.
really basic camera. It's like the camera that my husband and I walked into like the camera shop before we were going away to Tassie and we're like we'll just buy the cheapest one so like it's nothing fancy but yeah I do use that as well. Yeah I don't know do you have any more questions about the actual process or?
Honey Atkinson (05:19)
Yes.
So
yes, I find that really interesting as far as like the driving behind it was that almost it was like a positive affirmation thing. So it's finding the beauty in it. And that's what I find an interesting thread that I have a conversation with people who are sometimes like a bit on the nose about social media, not like a bit negative about it and saying that like everyone when all they do is share like the positive things and it's like not the reality. And I kind of I kind of have like, like, for me personally, and I'd love to know your thoughts on that.
Jemma (05:31)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (05:50)
that for me it's actually more a process about exactly that, like that life is chaotic and sometimes sad and you know, kids and life are hard and does anyone, do we all need to be sharing us crying on our beds all the time? I'm always looking for what is beautiful about the world and I think that...
the act of looking for what's beautiful and what is good makes me feel better in myself. so it's like a really, like it's a practice that it's like a meditation in a way, rather than pretending that my life is perfect. What do you think?
Jemma (06:19)
Yeah.
Yeah
and that is exactly really what it is for me. Like it's helped me to notice those little things. Like I can be sitting on my couch and I just have this corner that I love the way the sun comes in the morning and like on the timber and everything and I'm not even capturing it. I'm just enjoying that and I don't know if I would have like gotten so good at noticing those little things if I wasn't also capturing them and sharing them and it is...
It is a balance that I often think about like, ⁓ he, my husband often teases me and he's like, wow, like people just must look at your life when they look at this and think you have the perfect life. And he's like, I know it's not that behind the scenes. And so I'm often thinking that in my mind, like, how do I balance that? Like, I don't want to be kind of, ⁓ yeah, fake or showing off, but
Honey Atkinson (07:02)
you
Yeah.
Jemma (07:19)
I've gotten more comfortable in it just in the response as well. Like I get so many messages of people like saying, I just find your page so peaceful. And like I had a really lovely comment recently of someone who said, like I go through your videos with my young daughter and we just like love watching it. And so I think like there might be some people who, who don't like, I guess don't like that I don't show.
the negative stuff and they don't have to follow but I know that I have people who do like, like you say, it helps them to find the joy and the beautiful little moments and so I don't know, that's just kind of what I keep doing. I certainly don't want to add any like stress or anything like that to people but I'm also a really private, like, introverted person and I don't
Honey Atkinson (08:00)
Yes.
Yes. Yeah.
Jemma (08:19)
I guess I don't feel too comfortable sharing like all my struggles on the internet. I even did a real, when I had Colton, I had like a beautiful little scene that I had shot for a brand with him and I was talking in the caption about how like I struggle to know how to portray motherhood and so I almost just haven't because that is the realist example to me of like you can really be struggling with it.
Honey Atkinson (08:25)
Yeah, yeah.
Jemma (08:49)
but it also looks beautiful but like I like capturing the beautiful because it like makes me feel good and yeah there's just so many layers to it so yeah but I also think it's on the like consumer to choose like what kind of content they want to see and if something's not making them feel good to not like not follow and not consume there's that option as well so
Honey Atkinson (08:59)
Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
Yes, I agree.
Jemma (09:18)
I don't even know what the question is, I think I've gone on a tangent. yeah, that's okay. Yeah, so it is a constant battle in my head too, but I just, I find it really encouraging to have the beautiful little scenes. And so yeah, I just keep going with that. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (09:20)
No, no, no, you didn't at all. No, it was like a float. It was a flow on. Yeah, from there. Yes.
Yep, me too.
And so as far as ⁓ like when you are creating video content for yourself or even for clients, do you do much planning? Like you might see beautiful things that you capture. And once you've kind of seen it, you then go, okay, if I needed to tell a story about that, do you have an idea in your head like a plan?
like the shots that you might get to tell more of a story about the brand or about what you want to share in your life.
Jemma (10:07)
Yeah,
I do especially with brands because they'll often have a concept and like just like a feel that they want to get across and so I yeah, I go into it quite thought out I guess and because I've been doing it for quite a while I know like the different spots in my house and like the little stories that I can create. But when it comes to my content, I'm a bit more on the fly.
I do sort of like to have a bit of a plan and I've got kind of almost like structures with my content. Like I have the structure of kind of like a morning time reel with all the bits of the mornings or like a seasonal reel. Like I've got those structures in place that I continually reuse but the actual individual videos within that just depend on the like, yeah, the day. ⁓
Honey Atkinson (11:04)
Yes, yeah I see what you mean that's actually a really
good point I feel like that what I'm trying to pull out is that thread of like what people can take away themselves to think about creating content better and I think that part of it is
The key that I got there is that there's an organic process for your own work, then there's like, because you've been doing it for a while now and you also know what works is that know that like, okay, that the sequence of like five individual shots is probably a good thing in their video or I might do a carousel. And then so you've got an idea in your head. So when you're shooting for it, you are creating those five individual clips that you're going to need to create that reel that's that long, all those five still photos that would make a really good
Jemma (11:44)
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (11:46)
because you've made them before and so it's like... ⁓
not reinventing the world because already creating the content is for some people is kind of like a bit of a challenge that's like maybe you know like giving advice to people would be to like maybe come up with like three different types of ways of reeling out content and then maybe choosing you know like someone that really that resonates with you and seeing what it is about the video that you like it's got like three clips in it there are about two seconds maybe I could do something like that so that they had some guidelines in place otherwise it's like where do I start?
Jemma (12:14)
Yeah. I think, yeah, it's overwhelming.
And I think for me, I kind of have to like, there's two aspects to it. There's like the actual content side of things. And I've had it in my mind for a while that I've got three content pillars. I think that like little phrase I watched a blogging course or something and she used that it's just stuck with me. I'm like, okay, what are my three content pillars? And
They change like over the years because my interests change and I'm a lifestyle kind of content creator. But they're kind of like the guidelines of what kind of content that I want to share about. And then there's the actual like, yeah, format of it. And there have been times when I've been really overwhelmed or like really just struggling with energy levels, but I'm wanting to get back into.
creating content because sometimes I go extend periods of time where I don't. And yeah, I will sit down and I will think about those three content pillars and then I'll like say, all right, well, every week I might post a morning moments reel like an outfit for like, and it just gives me that framework to then be creative in amongst it. But it's yeah, it's like a fallback to I guess, I don't even necessarily follow it but
Honey Atkinson (13:25)
Yes. Yes.
Yeah, yeah, so it's not... Yes,
yeah.
Jemma (13:38)
I know it's there.
Honey Atkinson (13:40)
Yeah, so feel like having ⁓
that base, like that content pillar, I also try and use that sometimes and I'm feeling stuck. It's just about, you can do whatever you like, but if you're feeling stuck, then go back to your baseline that you've written down somewhere and go, okay, what was I doing again? Because I feel like when you do have those moments where you have extended times when you're away, I do the same thing, it's like I'm like, yeah, doing it all the time, this feels great, really in the flow. And then it's like, and then nothing. And then the longer I go with not posting, then the more I'm like, don't.
Jemma (13:45)
Mm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, it blows.
harder it
gets. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. And I actually created a little, ⁓ like a worksheet a couple months ago that I'm planning on sending to my newsletter subscribers that's called how to get your content flow back. Because I had that same thing. had a really long period where I hadn't posted and for some reason it just feels so hard to be like, what do I post? Like how do I? It's just
Honey Atkinson (14:08)
Yes, like what am I going to post? No one really cares. What am going to post? No one really cares.
Jemma (14:36)
Like you're restarting again. And so I had this like procedure almost that I've started doing when that happens and I follow it through and it just kind of gets everything going again. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (14:45)
Great, great. if
I include your details, so sign up to your emailing list at the bottom of this video, then they might be able to find out about that. Yeah, great, amazing. And I'd love to know what content do you think resonates with your audience and why, from the comments perspective and also from a data perspective, like the insights that you gather from Instagram.
Jemma (14:52)
That'd be great. Yeah, that'd be great. Yep.
Mm-hmm.
Well,
from a comments perspective, like I mentioned, it's that cosy, peaceful content. So I feel really guided by that. feel kind of lucky that I've stumbled across that kind of style and niche too, because I have really been thinking about how I have lot of of maybe conflicting values with social media sometimes, like a bit of a love-hate thing.
Like it makes me feel good that the content that I'm creating does give that kind of feeling to people. So I do everything under that kind of guide, I guess. I don't want to post anything that takes away from that. And then in terms of engagement, it is reels and it is lots of little scenes in one reel. That's like what will always do well, I think.
Honey Atkinson (15:56)
Yes.
Jemma (16:10)
⁓ I think I post still photos and maybe reels that have a little bit less going on because I like them and for my followers, but when it comes to reach and the most engagement it is those little scenes I guess. And like a story in a reel, it's not quite so obvious that it's a story, but you do bring those storytelling elements in.
like I think like lots of movement and lots of like different angles and different I don't know it's just it keeps people engaged and interested yeah.
Honey Atkinson (16:46)
Yes, yeah. And do
you find like you try to do a mix of ⁓ where things are moving within the frame and you've got the camera on a tripod and then also moving the camera? Yep, yep.
Jemma (16:57)
Yeah. Yeah. So I
think mixing up almost like everything, like a shot with like moving, like you've got the kettle pouring and then just a shot of like a still still a shot and then like a shot of just the cup and the kettle and then a shot of like the whole scene, like yeah, lots of different changes within it, which maybe sounds complicated, but it's like, it's actually
really easy when you get into the swing of it because you've got your one scene and you're just... I don't know, like...
Honey Atkinson (17:30)
You're
kind of pulling into pieces, yes. You kind of find that, ⁓ that's what I always tell people in my courses, that you don't have to have, people think you have to have this incredible space and everything has to look beautiful, but you just, like you have these little nooks. And again, it depends on the season, like this area over here looks great, this area over here looks great, and then you're just repeating it and using that same scene, but putting different things into the scene. Because you know the light's great, rather than kind of going, you know, like where am going to shoot again and again?
Jemma (17:33)
Yeah, that's right.
Honey Atkinson (18:00)
Yeah.
Jemma (18:01)
Yeah, that's right.
And also to clarify with the engaging reels, I made it seem like it's all of the cup and the kettle. You also have to change, like I think having people in the shot and then just objects, that's also something you have to change as well. That was just kind of an example of the different angles. But yeah, I definitely do that. I have this spot where I am that if I want to share like an outfit, I always stand in it because I know the light's really good and I like the way it looks. So may as well.
Honey Atkinson (18:10)
Yes.
Yes.
Jemma (18:31)
like use that instead of trying to constantly reinvent the wheel and yeah.
Honey Atkinson (18:35)
Yeah, because it's not it's
another complication. I think it adds in that's what people I just watch people how they get themselves into a bit of a freak out mode about it. And it's because they're trying to like, think of the, you the template, they're to use the content, the lighting, the new scene, it's like, and from the perspective of it makes what we do seem really easy, but it's only because we're redoing the same things in a formula that we know works. Yeah, totally. Yes.
Jemma (18:38)
Yep.
Yeah, that's right. And you're changing elements to make it interesting.
yeah, having that go to and that was a long time when I was living in this place and this like room was like, like a shed basically. And like, I really only had certain little corners and I like I use that I use those little corners and you probably wouldn't have even like realized how little
aesthetic space there was in my place, but I created these little corners because they kind of made me happy but also helped with my content and so you really don't need much. just preferably need a window.
Honey Atkinson (19:29)
Yes. ⁓
Yes, yeah I agree. And as
far as when you show up in the scenes, in the videos, whether you're recognisable or not, do find that that ⁓ creates more reach and more engagement or not necessarily? Yeah.
Jemma (19:47)
Hmm.
I so,
I think it makes the, I guess I've never thought of it quite like that, but I think it makes the real more interesting and it helps that story. And so I like to show up, not necessarily like, you know, my content, I'm not really fully showing up, but, and I guess that then translates into engagement and reach I think as well, yeah.
Honey Atkinson (20:06)
Yes.
Yes.
Mmm. Yeah. ⁓
Yes, yeah,
yeah, I agree. ⁓ I kind of try and advocate for that as well, even though I know it's what people make them feel uncomfortable, but it's not about showing up and like we spoke about before, dancing on screen or just being like silly. You don't have to be someone that you're not. If you're silly, yeah.
Jemma (20:37)
No, you can just find what
the way that you feel comfortable doing it and do it like I'm sure I could probably maybe engage with people more if I like if I was talking to the camera more and more open but I'm just not really there at this point and so I'm like I'm just making it work with what I feel comfortable doing. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (20:56)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
But the thing is, it's working. If you weren't seeing engagement and you weren't seeing growth from the way that you post, then obviously it's not working. But it is working because I think people need to have space for other types of content that is slow because they feel tired and exhausted by the overstimulation that you see. Yeah. Yeah.
Jemma (21:03)
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's true.
Yeah.
⁓ that's like a whole other thing is like
with my confliction of values, like I'm like, we're not made to see this much stimulus in one day. Like it's, yeah, it's got to add to the overwhelm and the fatigue. So yeah, if we
Honey Atkinson (21:30)
Yes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that conflict
of values versus showing up for like work and also for your passion, I completely, yeah, you like I would.
Jemma (21:41)
Yeah. Yeah. They don't
perfectly match up. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (21:47)
No, no, absolutely not. And I think you just try and do the best you can to sort of bridge that gap between the two. Like there's
like a lot of ethically a lot of things that, ⁓ you know, or most of the things I don't agree with, you know, as far as like who owns Instagram and all those types of things. And the more you kind of learn about how that all works and politically, it's kind of like, wow, am I contributing to this? What does this all mean? ⁓ But yeah, unfortunately, it really is a space, you know, it's already been built and it's a space where we are able to connect with
Jemma (22:01)
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (22:17)
so many amazing creatives and like you know I've got to meet people like you and we've met in person and I feel like the same thing you know if you can I guess self-regulate when you need to have space away from it I think most the time I've had some like I've had so many great outcomes from being involved in the space rather than negative ones so
Jemma (22:36)
Yeah, and I think
it is just about being really intentional about your use of it as well. ⁓ Being aware of the downsides of it and balancing that, not just going along with it, I guess. Yeah, not letting it control you. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (22:42)
Yes. ⁓
Yeah, I think checking in all the time. is this making me feel uncomfortable? Do I feel yuck
when I follow this account? Okay, so then don't do it. Yeah. Yeah.
Jemma (22:57)
Yeah, that's right. Because when
you think about it, you're the people you follow if you're checking your account every single day, you're choosing to, like, see those people and what they're posting every single day. And, like, not that that's a bad thing. But like, when you just think of it from a life standpoint, like, would we usually check in with that many people every single day and see that many things like
Honey Atkinson (23:24)
Yeah.
Jemma (23:27)
They're not even necessarily bad, like I only follow people that I, or brands that I like, but it's a lot to be checking in with every day.
Honey Atkinson (23:36)
Yes,
yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I could imagine like turning up and going, hi, you because you've got like 70,000 people on you, like, hi, 70,000 people, like, what are you all doing today? Like, it's just, yeah, it's so much. I always like reading when people remind you and they say, you know, like, are you talking about your email list or something? And maybe like five people have signed up in the last month. And it's like, or 20 people have or something like that. And it's like,
Jemma (23:42)
Hehehehe
Yeah.
It's huge. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (24:04)
⁓ that doesn't seem like much when people have got tens of thousands of people on the email list, but it's like 10 or 20 people have just literally given you their thing and said it's okay that you contact me. Like, that is massive. Yeah, rather than...
Jemma (24:16)
Yeah, that is, yeah. And if you actually pictured them as
people, it would seem much bigger. Yeah. Exactly.
Honey Atkinson (24:20)
Exactly, yes in a room. Yeah, yeah, because imagine talking in front of 20 people most of us would be like, oh freaking out.
Yeah, so I would love to know your thoughts, I guess as far as figuring out any advice on...
creating content that kind of resonates with your audience. Like ⁓ for people who are still figuring out, like I feel like you're, because you've been doing it for quite a while, ⁓ you sort of figured it out as you went and maybe because you kind of came about from a position of doing things without having like a business model initially and now you do, if people have already got like a business, how they kind of like figure out, ⁓ you do they just do what feels good for them or in like any of
Jemma (25:02)
Mm.
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (25:11)
I should
have for people for creating content that resonates with their audience but still feels okay.
Jemma (25:17)
Yeah,
⁓ I guess maybe two things. One is to like find a style, an aesthetic, all of those things that resonates with you, but also like matches with your brand, whatever that might be and really stick to it. ⁓ Like you can play around with it as well. But I think that when content is just like really
on brand and just recognisably that person's content that then you're right people are going to be drawn to that and also if you're too all over the place then if someone resonates with the reel and then go to your page and it's all over the place they're not going to hang around so like I know that's like a pretty obvious one but just when I think about the accounts that really stand out to me at the moment they have really strong
a really strong aesthetic, I guess, and that doesn't mean like necessarily heavily editing, but it's just creating that visual look around what they're posting. I think you can do that through colour palettes, you can do that through lighting, ⁓ like all different ways. And then probably similar to that is to think about maybe like
Honey Atkinson (26:32)
Yes.
Jemma (26:40)
the feeling that you want people to have with your content and that plays into the aesthetics as well. But I think that feeling and emotion and connection is really what is behind engaging content and what draws people in. Like if they like the feeling that they get when they're watching your content, they're going to come back for more. So I've been thinking a lot about that lately is like what kind of feeling.
do I want people to have with my content and also when thinking about helping brands is yeah, that feeling and then how you can like, it's very subtle. I'm not saying like it has to be really obvious or like, and in the marketing sense, it can be really obvious and often negative. But I think with social media, it can be like really subtle and like a positive feeling. I don't know if that's like clear. Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about how.
Honey Atkinson (27:17)
Yes, yeah.
Yes. Yeah, no, does. No. Yeah, yeah, it is clear.
Jemma (27:36)
the aesthetic lines up with the feeling and just different editing styles to create different feelings. think, yeah, you can combine the two. And yeah, I think that just means that you're right. People that are looking for that are gonna come to you. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (27:40)
Mm.
Yes, yeah, I agree with the feeling
part. think, ⁓ like once you get people at that heart thing, know, you're not making logical things and I think people are drawn to that over kind of... ⁓
Jemma (28:02)
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (28:09)
a strategy completely made from our intellect. it's like, your body knows when someone is, even if they're really good at marketing, you kind of know, like, okay, this just feels disingenuous kind of thing. And it kind of repels you. Some people, of course, I think can balance those things really well with a level of really smart thinking on how to kind of get people to buy things or purchase things and also balancing the feeling as well.
Jemma (28:13)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Honey Atkinson (28:39)
I think
for a lot of us coming from that feeling perspective, if we don't have like a degree in marketing, yeah, yeah, then yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Jemma (28:46)
Yeah, because it gives it a bit of like soul as well and
and it also helps dictate like the choices that you make. think what people like you're saying struggle with with reels and social media is there's just so many decisions to make and when you're already running a business that's just like so overwhelming like even just choosing music and all that kind of thing and if you're going for like a certain feeling then like that
dictates all those other choices. Like for me, it's that peaceful, cosy feeling that doesn't have to be it. It could be like, it could be inspiring or like relatable, like so many different things. But with me and the cosy, that means that I don't ever choose music that's like really blary and loud. And I don't like make the clips so short that it's like stressful to watch. Like it's all around that feeling.
Honey Atkinson (29:24)
Mm.
Yes.
Yeah, no, that's
a really good point because I feel like that ⁓ when you talk about that decision fatigue as a business owner and how videos, creating videos does really amp up that because there are so many steps in the process to getting there that if you are going into it like, okay, this is my feeling and where I sit in that, then it's like the music choices, suddenly it's like you're not looking at a million music choices, you might be looking at 10,000 different music choices. if you like the colors, it's like, well, this and again, the length
Jemma (29:45)
Hmm
Mm.
Hmm.
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (30:13)
the clip, how long do I have it go in the timeline forward? Are they three seconds or five seconds long? Well, I like mine to be really fast and punchy, so I'm going to have mine a second long or now I think my brand is more slow and mindful and so I think three seconds is long enough that needs to be so people can process it. So I think it's really good advice that makes complete sense. Yeah, I like it. No, not at all because I feel like that it
Jemma (30:30)
Mm. Yeah. Sometimes I worry I'm overthinking it, but yeah, that's...
Honey Atkinson (30:41)
It sounds really simple when you just say, just go with your feeling. But I think when you break it down to actually how it affects and narrows down the decisions that you make each step of the way, then I think that's easy for people to understand why, understand the feeling is important, rather than being necessarily like woo woo sounding. Yeah. Yeah.
Jemma (31:00)
Yeah. Yeah, true.
Honey Atkinson (31:04)
I'd love to know some tips, I know that you've got around balancing boundaries with creating content in your life because I think I...
shooting client stuff I also sort of shoot things within my life and my garden and my kids and I'm always sort of figuring out where that line is and that's always shifting and sometimes I feel like I go too far because again I think when you do have that mindset where you're always seeing beauty it's really hard not to shoot it but also it's like about being present as well so do you try and like maybe there's two different answers for what you create for yourself and what for your clients but do you try and
Jemma (31:33)
Yeah.
Hmm.
Honey Atkinson (31:44)
have like set days or time slots for creating things for your ⁓ clients versus if you are shooting stuff just for yourself you just capture things as you see the beautiful moments.
Jemma (31:49)
Mm.
That's a good question. in that time sense is something I have struggled with over the years, especially because before I had Colton, I was working full time, I doing content for brands and I was trying to grow my following and it just felt like I was constantly doing some form of work. And so I have had to, would like, especially with
Honey Atkinson (31:58)
Yeah.
Yes.
Jemma (32:27)
yeah, Colton to get to a point where I do have my certain days where I'm doing certain things, but I don't have enough of a schedule just in life in general to pull that in. Yeah, okay. But yeah, so when I think about boundaries, I think I kind of went over a little bit with like my content pillars and then my content plan.
Honey Atkinson (32:37)
Yes, I think that's most people but so keep going with that.
Jemma (32:55)
that kind of helps me to know like well these are the things I post about if I'm doing something that's not that I'm not taking photos of it unless I really really want to ⁓ but yeah so that kind of helps with that and then I do like having some kind of a plan I'm saying that as I don't have a plan currently at the moment because yeah
Honey Atkinson (33:19)
I know but it's a...
Jemma (33:22)
Because
if I decide when I create my month's plan that I'm only going to post maybe three or four times a week Well, then once I've got that ready, then it's kind of like a sigh of relief and it's like well I don't have to again unless something is really like pretty but Like it doesn't take long to just take a little shot for me It's more the thinking about then like well, is it going in a reel and then do I take more photos and then like
Honey Atkinson (33:49)
Yes.
Jemma (33:51)
That's probably more the bit that can consume you a little bit. So I think having a baby, I've naturally found some boundaries because I simply haven't had the time. ⁓ But yeah, having those plans and those structures in place means that when you're outside of that, you don't have to worry about it.
Honey Atkinson (33:58)
Yes, yeah.
Yeah, yes, you have downtime. and so do
you segueing onto that, which is not really one of the questions. So you try when things are going well, do you try to schedule things in advance? If you can.
Jemma (34:18)
Hmm.
⁓ I
don't necessarily schedule them, but I like to be a little bit ahead knowing that I've got some content planned. I don't, yeah, the ideas and then even I'm often not posting on the day that I took it. So if I'm a little bit ahead of that, just, yeah, I feel better about it.
Honey Atkinson (34:37)
So the idea is, yes.
No, I know. I am and another question I have was so, so you've got the pre planning part and then as far as the editing and things go off reels, again, this is another complaint that I people say and I know sometimes I equally do the same thing like probably more and I don't plan things as well as I should. And I'm editing a reel and then I'm like an hour in and I'm like, what am I doing? How did I get here?
Jemma (35:25)
Hmm, yeah.
Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (35:27)
Like I'm a video, I actually create video content for clients and I'm like working on this tiny screen and then I get super frustrated and I'm like, that's it. And then I sometimes, you know, upload my files onto my desktop and just like, cause I can actually get in and just do it so quickly on a desktop than when I can on a phone. Cause like it's so tiny. Yeah.
Jemma (35:33)
night.
Yes, I wish that
it was better to create I wish that you could create a reel on the desktop in the exact same way that you can on the phone. Because yeah, you feel like you're like, it's awful. So I typically, like I shoot one day, and then I edit and create the reel another day. And for some reason, that separation kind of helps me a little bit. Whereas if I'm doing it all in the same day, I just start, I don't know, you just kind of like get to
Honey Atkinson (35:52)
Absolutely, yes. Yes, yeah, yeah. It's just like...
Yeah.
was too much,
too screen time. Yeah, too much screen time.
Jemma (36:14)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
And if possible, I like to edit a few reels in the same time. another thing with I think we were talking about maybe boundaries and time and things that I found really helpful. Like when I plan to, I don't necessarily plan exactly, but I'll plan, okay, I'd really like I have an outfit that I'd like to share. And then I have a recipe.
that I'd like to share and then I'd really like to do like a little morning moments video and maybe some still photos in between. And so on that one day I film my outfit, I film the recipe, I film a few other little clips and take photos as I'm going and then all of a sudden I've got a reel that's my outfit, I've got a reel that's the recipe and then I've got a reel that's the little moments that has my outfit in a few little shots of the recipe.
and then there's gotta be other things as well that I've shot. And then you've got still photos that you've been taking as you go as well. So if you do a little bit of pre-planning in that sense, you can make it take up less of your life, I guess. I don't know if that's inauthentic to like, cause you're posting it on different days, but yeah, I think the way...
Honey Atkinson (37:29)
Yes, I love that. Yes, that's I advocate. No, I don't think so. No.
Jemma (37:40)
Instagram has become too is people are reusing content in different formats and people like I love seeing reels where like maybe someone's gone on a countryside trip and then you see those same clips in a little thing about autumn and like I actually quite like that so Yeah, the way Instagram has kind of evolved. I think you can really Yeah, use that to your advantage
Honey Atkinson (37:57)
Yeah, me too.
Yes,
yeah, I really like that advice with how much you can kind of capture in one session. I advocate for the same thing just to make people feel... ⁓
Jemma (38:10)
Mm.
Honey Atkinson (38:16)
like that it's like I think batching anything like what you said about when you do when you start editing a reel you just kind of get into a flow rather than like you know you're doing something completely different like you're in the garden you're coming in you're trying to cook dinner and then trying to edit a reel and then you go back to doing something else like that kind of jumping from one thing to another means that like I think you're very inefficient with the way with your skill level and your time yeah yeah yeah
Jemma (38:31)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
Honey Atkinson (38:41)
I'd love to know what creative projects that you'd like to explore next, Jemma.
Jemma (38:48)
Yeah, so I have like I'm creating content for a few different brands as I go but something that I'm working on is a bit of I don't know if it's going to be like a program that people work through in a set time or if it's just going to be a course that like is evergreen and available but just like it's a real course I guess but it's drawing in that like finding your visual aesthetic how to edit and
Honey Atkinson (39:09)
Amazing.
Jemma (39:17)
and film to like match that aesthetic and then the ins and outs of all the decisions that you make with reels and a little bit on growth too because even though that's not my main thing I know everyone's always like interested in growth and then the organization so I've kind of got it all laid out I just have to figure out what format it's going to be in so I'm quite excited about that and then I'm just
Honey Atkinson (39:31)
course. Yes, yes.
Jemma (39:45)
working on two some free worksheets and things for my email list as well in the same kind of categories. Yeah, so that's my main thing that I'm working on.
Honey Atkinson (39:51)
Yep, sounds amazing. Yeah. Yeah. And
do you try to set aside a specific time each week to do it or just whenever you can? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes.
Jemma (40:02)
Yeah, it's more of a whenever I can at the moment, just nap times and different things because I
do work as well two afternoons a week. So just whenever I can. But my goal with everything is to get to a point where I have my days where I do certain things. But at the moment, it's just whenever I can. Yeah. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (40:18)
Yeah, yeah. Yes, yeah, I hear you. Yeah, yeah, that's what kids do to you. Well, thank
you so much, Jemma, for coming on. ⁓ I really appreciate your time and energy. And I think, ⁓
I was a bit nervous about asking Jemma to come on because I also am very aware that, which is why I invited you on in the first place, is that she does like to keep quite private and I don't want to kind of push past boundaries. so, yeah, I just feel really grateful that you're willing to show up and have a chat to me because I also get really nervous doing these interviews. We had this conversation before we started recording just that, like you have all the things in your head because it's your information, but then when someone asks you a question, how that just slips your mind.
Jemma (40:55)
Yeah.
It
just, poof!
Honey Atkinson (41:08)
and I feel the same way being the person interviewing
is that I want to ask a question, I'm listening and then I go to ask a question and then it disappears. And so it's like these things, I think when you're watching them seem like they're really easy, but I think, ⁓ yeah, they're often not. And we both get really nervous, but we made it and we showed up anyway. So it's just showing that you don't have to be loud and extroverted to do it. And I think people also think that I'm extroverted.
Jemma (41:12)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (41:35)
I'm actually not really, like I get really nervous about public speaking and I'm really great with like a couple of people but sort of showing up in a large group or even showing up knowing that there's like a big audience that might be watching even online. I picture all those people and that makes me feel really anxious so yeah.
Jemma (41:47)
Mm.
Well you're such a
natural because I certainly would have thought you were an extrovert.
Honey Atkinson (41:55)
I think I'm a, was there saying like an introverted, extroverted something? It's like sometimes I can be there and then other times I need to be in my shell otherwise I feel really depleted. yeah, so all this is just saying is that I think there's all versions of ways to show up online and you don't have to be really loud to make it work. And I think Jemma's proof of that. So I'll include all her details. Her Instagram is momentsbygemma and I'll also include a link to her mailing list so that you can sign up and get ⁓ first dibs
Jemma (41:59)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Honey Atkinson (42:24)
on her course that she's creating which I think is going really beautiful. Yeah so thank you. Yeah yeah thanks Jemma.
Jemma (42:26)
Thank you. Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. It's been great
