Dishing Up Digital with Ellen Mackenzie

Today we're unpacking the big question: is the influencer industry dying? Social media has been flooded with creators returning to 9-5 jobs as well as chatter that influencer budgets have been cut in 2025 and 2026.

In this video I'm unpacking the truth behind these conversations as someone who has been in the world of content creation for 15 years now. 

We'll also be talking about the pros/cons of the influencer world and how you can best prepare yourself for entering this industry.

xx

Ellen

💕 Thank You to Rella for sponsoring this video
Use code ELLEN for 10% off your subscription:
👉 https://getrella.com/?via=ellen

_______________________________________________________________

🎟 FREE SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER SUMMIT

Three days, live on Zoom, completely free. Save your seat:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/the-SMM-summit-2026

📕 THE INSTAGRAM STRATEGY PLAYBOOK (50% OFF)

Ten years of content marketing experience in one book, plus an AI knowledge file you can upload into Claude or ChatGPT to train your own assistant:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/offers/d7pPgBE2/checkout?coupon_code=50OFF

🔗 //LINKS (ad affiliates) //
Camera:
https://geni.us/iPjpAt
Lens:
https://geni.us/kNkJOx
Full list of tools & software I use:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/tools

💻 // WORK WITH ELLEN //
Join the Dishing up Digital School:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/Dishing-up-Digital-School
Join the high level mastermind:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/the-lfg-mastermind
SMM template bundle:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/offers/DwKaVUZd
Buy Ellen's book:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/0473664798

📲 // SOCIAL MEDIA //
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ellenmackenziee
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@ellenmackenzieee

🌐 Ellen's business:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/

📧 Sponsorship enquiries:
team@dishingupdigital.com

I'm breaking down the four things that actually turn Instagram content into client inquiries, using real examples from my social media managers who are scaling their business.

This is the exact content strategy I teach my social media manager students who are booking clients with 300 to 8,000 followers, and it starts with a proper content funnel.
What's covered:
✨ The content funnel explained
✨ Why your best-selling content will rarely be your most-liked content
✨ Leveraging social proof
✨ Why faceless content is holding you back
✨ Content psychology: write for YOUR audience
✨ Real examples from accounts with 300 to 9,000 followers, You do not need to go viral to book clients.

You need the right mix of content, social proof in almost all of it, and your face on camera.

xxEllen

💕 Thank You to Rella for sponsoring this video
Use code ELLEN for 10% off your subscription:
👉 https://getrella.com/?via=ellen

👑 THE STUDENTS FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO
Mallory:https://www.instagram.com/malloryjardine/
The Social Hauz:https://www.instagram.com/thesocialhauz/
Areeya:https://www.instagram.com/areeyacheong/
Social Vitality:https://www.instagram.com/social.vitality/
Abigail:https://www.instagram.com/feijoasocial/

_______________________________________________________________

🎟 FREE SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER SUMMIT
Three days, live on Zoom, completely free. Save your seat:https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/the-SMM-summit-2026

📕 THE INSTAGRAM STRATEGY PLAYBOOK (50% OFF)
Ten years of content marketing experience in one book, plus an AI knowledge file you can upload into Claude or ChatGPT to train your own assistant: https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/offers/d7pPgBE2/checkout?coupon_code=50OFF

I made six figures in a single quarter for the first time ever — $100K in three months — and I re-recorded the intro to this video about ten times because my brain still can't quite believe it. This is my full Q2 2026 income report: every revenue stream, every expense right down to the studio rent, and the three changes that drove a 35% jump in revenue. And because revenue isn't the whole story, we also get into the shrinking profit margin, the enrolment goal I massively undershot, and the ad experiment that only half worked.

The biggest lever of all? My Claude operating system — the AI setup that's quietly become the jet fuel behind this milestone.

Here's everything under the hood:
✨ The full revenue breakdown — April, May + June (yes, it declined inside a record quarter)
✨ Every expense category — team, Meta ads, coaching, software, studio — and my real 39% profit margin
✨ What I actually paid myself, and why I never hide the profit-vs-revenue gap
✨ YouTube + Instagram stats: why my views dropped but my watch time (and AdSense) climbed
✨ The 4× ad-spend experiment — what scaled beautifully and what I switched off
✨ How my Claude operating system let me post 70% more content while working LESS

Currency note: I'm based in New Zealand, so all figures are in NZD.

💕 Thank you to Rella for sponsoring this video
Use code ELLEN for 10% off your subscription:
👉 https://getrella.com/?via=ellen

x Ellen

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// FREE CLAUDE RESOURCES //
🔎 Copy my competitor research skill! Download the prompt + set up guide here: https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/pl/2148807824
📣 Set up your Claude to understand YOU! Download the Brand Voice Interview prompt: https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/pl/2148783700

// WATCH NEXT //
🎥 How to set up Claude Cowork (full tutorial): https://youtu.be/R9Q1kDYlNUk?si=u2u9A2BmwJ2LGnLA
📲 Copy my Claude marketing team: https://youtu.be/-R32DSY5jOE?si=D6jdfa4hUIK4kYRz

// READY FOR MORE? //
📲 Buy my Instagram Strategy Playbook + AI knowledge file: https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/offers/d7pPgBE2?coupon_code=50OFF
🏕️ Sign up for Camp Claude: https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/camp-claude

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⏱ //TIMESTAMPS//
00:37 What's inside this Q2 income report
01:24 Hi, I'm Ellen
02:20 The revenue breakdown: April, May + June
04:50 Expenses: the full breakdown
10:58 What I paid myself + tax
11:53 YouTube + Instagram stats
18:46 The 3 key changes behind the growth
19:03 The 4× Facebook ads experiment
24:43 New digital products + Camp Claude
30:20 The freebie that got 4,000 downloads

Most Claude skills are a complete waste of your time — so in this Claude skills tutorial, I'm breaking down the only 5 you actually need to run the marketing side of your business. Plus, you can grab a copy of my competitor research skill below, for free!xxEllen// FREE CLAUDE RESOURCES //🔎 Copy my competitor research skill! Download the prompt + set up guide here:https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/pl/2148807824📣 Set up your Claude to understand YOU! Download the Brand Voice Interview prompt:https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/pl/2148783700// WATCH NEXT //🎥 How to set up Claude Cowork (full tutorial):https://youtu.be/R9Q1kDYlNUk?si=u2u9A2BmwJ2LGnLA// READY FOR MORE? //📲 Buy my Instagram Strategy Playbook + AI knowledge file:https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/offers/d7pPgBE2?coupon_code=50OFF🏕️ Get on the waitlist for my course, Camp Claude, and secure a 50% discount:https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/camp-claude⏱ TIMESTAMPS 01:29 What a Claude skill actually is02:51 How I use skills (and what I don't use them for)03:50 Meet my Claude team04:02 Skill 1: The platform specialists (Instagram, email + YouTube)06:06 Skill 2: The creative director (brand skill)07:25 Skill 3: The inbox manager (correspondence)08:29 Sourdough intermission + why this matters11:07 Skill 4: The competitor researcher12:21 Skill 5: The ops team (software skills)14:35 The biggest mistake people make with skills18:09 Set up your Claude foundations first// LET'S CONNECT //Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenmackenzieeTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ellenmackenzieeeWebsite: https://www.ellenmackenzie.comSponsorship enquiries: team@dishingupdigital.com

The reason your Instagram Reels are sounding flat isn't your hook — it's the storytelling layer right after it. In this video I'm walking through the exact 5-technique storytelling system I've used for a decade on my own account, including the journalism filter for deciding which stories are even worth posting and a real before/after caption rewrite so you can see what changes.

✨ Covered in this video:
00:00 The hook won't save your Instagram content
01:34 The state of Instagram in 2026
03:52 Part 1: The 7 Newsworthy Principles
11:04 Rella sponsor break
12:03 Part 2: The 7 Storytelling Shapes
19:38 Part 3: The Zoom-In Technique
23:49 The big lesson

If you want the full storytelling system + 8 other chapters of the strategy framework I've been quietly running on my own account for a decade, I just launched The Instagram Strategy Playbook (on SALE for a limited time only). 

It's two files: a 50+ page PDF and a structured AI knowledge file you can drop into any AI tool you already use. 

🚀 BUY THE PLAYBOOK: https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/offers/d7pPgBE2?coupon_code=50OFF

💕 Thank You to Rella for sponsoring the podcast
Use code ELLEN for 10% off your subscription:
👉 https://getrella.com/?via=ellen

xx
Ellen

_______________________________________________________________

🎥 WATCH NEXT:
Why Instagram engagement is dead (and my new strategy): https://youtu.be/dKv498DDbmw

🎯 FREE WEBINAR:
Learn how I sign high-paying clients and build a scalable social media business:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/freewebinar

🔗 //LINKS (ad affiliates) //
Camera:
https://geni.us/iPjpAt
Lens:
https://geni.us/kNkJOx
Full list of tools & software I use:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/tools

💻 // WORK WITH ELLEN //
Join the Dishing up Digital School:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/Dishing-up-Digital-School
Join the high level mastermind:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/the-lfg-mastermind
SMM template bundle:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/offers/DwKaVUZd
Buy Ellen's book:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/0473664798

📲 // SOCIAL MEDIA //
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ellenmackenziee
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@ellenmackenzieee
🌐 Ellen's business:
https://www.ellenmackenzie.com/

📧 Sponsorship enquiries:
team@dishingupdigital.com