Ever wondered what influencers do all day? Every week we're going to be chatting to famous social media influencers to find out exactly what they do on an average day.
This week we spoke to YouTube, TikTok and Instagram star Kate Elisabeth. The mega babe -who has been dubbed as the UK version of Emma Chamberlain - has opened up on finding her niche and going viral, the famous Wave House and her friendship with Love Island's Hugo Hammond.
Name: Kate Elisabeth
Age: 21 years old
Platforms: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
Kate Elisabeth on starting her YouTube channel
Kate Elisabeth has been consistent on YouTube since she was 16 and the influencer currently has over half a million subscribers but it's safe to say it wasn't the easiest journey.
She first started out when she was 12 but after people at her school "took the mickey out of it" she stopped until she went to boarding school where she didn't know anyone.
But before she went viral following her boarding school vlogs (more on that later), she was actually doing "the wrong content" - her words, not ours.
"I was really trying to be someone else, I was always doing the everyday make-up tutorials, beauty hacks and all that and I'm not really into make-up. I wanted to become Zoella so bad but like it just wasn't me at all.
"So then as soon as I started vlogging everything just clicked into place and it just worked."
After consistently uploading content for two years, one day Kate didn't have anything to post so she thought to herself "f--k it" and decided to film a 'week in the life of boarding school' video.
And it's safe to say that it was the start of her YouTube career.
"I basically filmed that, uploaded it and it got 100k views within a week and that was a lot for me back then, I had 1000 subscribers.
"My average views were like 200 so when I saw 200k views I was like 'Oh my God that is a lot', and then that video went up to like 3 million views within a month and then from there it just blew up."
Luckily Kate was in her second and final year of boarding school so she was able to "ride the wave of boarding school vlogs" until she finished.
"I was kind of scared because I thought I would be a one hit wonder and as soon as I left school I could have just dropped off the face, but I kept going and people still enjoy my content."
"It's got almost 10 million views now and I gained 2000 subscribers from that"
A few weeks after her vlog went viral, Kate was approached by two management companies but after doing her research on one of them she discovered that they were scammers.
Luckily she signed to another agency who “lifted me up from the beginning” and she recently signed to an independent agency after speaking to another influencer.
During our exclusive chat, Kate admitted that by doing the classic "sub for sub" (where one YouTuber subs to your account and in exchange you sub to their account), she gained her first 1,000 subscribers.
However it was a compilation of Vine clips, that's still her most viewed video, that helped her gain even more followers.
"I did a five minute Vine compilation of all my favourite vines and that blew up and it's got almost 10 million views now and I think I gained 2000 subscribers from that."
If you've ever watched any of Kate's videos you'll know she likes going out and she often vlogs it but in her recent video 'I don't even know what to class this week in a life' she was actually partying with Love Island 2021 star Hugo Hammond.
And it turns out he was already a fan of Kate's before his Love Island stint.
"He used to watch my boarding school videos which is was very interesting. He followed me while he was in the villa and then when he came out I was like, 'Hey, why did you follow me?' and he was like, 'I used to watch you'.
"I was like, 'What?'. And I look back down to my old Instagram pictures from 2019 and he liked some of them."
And after bumping into each other at an event they hung out.
Obsessed.
And Hugo isn't the only celeb Kate's been in contact with because it turns out she also slid into Jamie Laing's DMs.
"I did a video where I messaged 100 influencers and that video blew up as well I think it's got 1.5 million views. I remember the amount of people that actually replied, I was genuinely shocked.
"There was a YouTuber called Kennedy Claire Walsh, Jamie Lang replied to me and Caspar Lee.
"There was another person who really shocked me - Cameron Dallas saw my message but didn't reply."
Ruuuude.
Not only is Kate on YouTube but she also has over 200k Instagram followers and over 450k TikTok followers.
While it can take Kate between two to ten hours to edit her YouTube video, when it comes to taking Instagram photos it'll take her about five minutes to get the snap.
"I'm actually a really insecure person. I'm not gonna lie. I hate people taking pictures of me. I have a burst of confidence for half a half minute and then I'm like 'I can't do this'.
"So for Instagram pictures, if people are taking them it'll be a maximum of five minutes."
Kate Elisabeth on the Wave House and losing subscribers
After finishing boarding school and taking a gap year, Kate studied Digital Film Production at university. However during her first year the UK (and the rest of the world) went into the first lockdown and by the end of her first year Kate decided to drop out and go into the Wave House.
If you cast your mind back to last year you'll probably remember the Wave House, a UK TikTok house where influencers create unique content for their audience.
Despite reaching a huge audience (one of their first TikTok videos had over 57 million views), it turns out Kate actually lost some of her own subscribers and followers.
"It was a learning experience," she admitted.
"All of us lost followers because we were making content which wasn't our usual content.
"Normally I thrive off individual content I don't really do group content, so I lost loads of subscribers and I was like, 'Oh my God, this is so bad.'
"So then when it came to the end of the term I was like I don't think I can do this because I lost like 5,000 YouTube subscribers and 10k Instagram followers, it was so bad."
After realising Kate wasn't gaining anything from the Wave House she left but has insisted that she "definitely doesn't regret it".
"I definitely think it was a learning curve for me. The best thing that came out of it was probably our friendship because there's six of us and we never lived together before, so it was really nice to live in a mansion for free.
"But the thing I got the most out of it was followers from TikTok because I did my mask reveal and that got 20 million views and I think I got 100k followers from that.
"So it did kind of boost my TikTok platform but I think the best part was just making memories with everyone."
Luckily she's managed to gain back the followers she had lost by "milking" the Wave House.
"I milked the fact that I left the Wave House, my reasoning and then I moved out so that got me quite a lot of subscribers as well.
"I just made sure that I was still active and I was just grinding the whole time, especially because it was lockdown."
Kate Elisabeth on her relationship with Carmie
Kate's boyfriend Carmie (aka TouchDaLight on YouTube) was also a member on the Wave House and it's safe to say the pair are very open and honest about their relationship.
In fact earlier this year, Kate posted a video alongside her boyfriend where they opened up about going on a break.
"I think it kind of comes a part of the job in a sense, because you're kind of you are putting yourself on the internet, you are sharing yourself.
"These things happen as well, I feel like it's nice for people to relate and watch it."
And despite Kate and Carmie both being influencers at the beginning of their relationship they made it clear that they were not going to use each other for couple content.
"It doesn't put any pressure on us as a couple to always make content together but when we do it's special."
She also admitted that after her first boarding school vlog blew up her now-boyfriend Carmie actually slid into her DMs.
"I was panicking because he had 100k on Instagram and I had 7,000 followers. I was like, 'Who is this man?'
"And then I met up with him at an event and I was like, 'Oh, he seems cool'. And I met all his friendship group and I was like 'Oh they're really fun'," she explained.
A day in the life of Kate Elisabeth
Now because Kate is her own boss it basically means she can create her own routine so when we spoke to her we had to find out what she gets up to on a normal day.
"I wake up around 10am, I'm not an early riser. Then I scroll on my phone to see if I have missed notifications because my manager always sends me notifications at like 8:30am in the morning.
"Then I see what I have to do for that day so if I need to do a brand deal I'll do a brand deal for that day.
"I'll always make sure to have a good breakfast just to set me up for the day."
As well as all of that she also regularly creates, films and edits YouTube videos, TikToks and posts Instagram photos.
"I haven't switched off for three years"
However because Kate's job is literally based off social media she's admitted that she finds it difficult to switch off when she's not working.
"I go to sleep around two because I always catch myself on social media thinking about new things to plan.
"I haven't switched off for three years genuinely," she admitted.
"I think there was only one time throughout this whole three years where I didn't vlog this one holiday which is when I went to Italy with my boyfriend's family.
"But it was actually really relaxing but I felt unproductive which is so bad."
The 21 year old also opened up about the advantages and disadvantages of influencing.
"Be yourself. Don't ever try and be anyone else. Like there's already a Molly-Mae, there's already an Olivia Neill so definitely do what you enjoy doing," she advised anyone who wants to become an influencer.
"Also, do what you enjoy watching because I watch people's videos and I'm like, 'Oh, I relate to them. I love that,' So I do like the same stuff.
"Also meeting people who literally do exactly the same thing as you and you just realise how similar we all are like I've actually met so many friends through YouTube and I love that."
She then went on to reveal the disadvantages of being an influencer, "Because it's 24/7 you don't ever switch off, but I don't see that as a con really because I love it.
"You could say it's not a traditional lifestyle, so let's say your friends are going to uni you might miss out."
She added, "I'm a very nosy person so I will read all my comments. I want to see if people are enjoying it or if they're not enjoying it, I always want to see if there's room for improvement. When I see people like trolling me, I'm always like, 'Well it's a reflection of themselves, it's a reflection of what you're doing, what you're taking time out your day to do.
"I feel sorry for them in a sense because it's like 'I wish that you wouldn't have to react in that way to someone else's video you haven't even met'".
It's well known that influencers can earn a lot of money, remember whenLove Island 2019 winner Amber Gill became a millionaire just weeks after leaving the villa?
And it's not just reality stars who are earning a lot of money because Kate revealed the biggest brand deal she's heard of in the influencer industry and it's a lot.
"I can't name names but someone got 100k for boots brand deal. I was like 'Oh my God... Jesus Christ'."
Check out: The Influencer Series - stars who have spilled the tea on their career
The Influencer Series: stars who have spilled the tea on their career
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Kate Elisabeth reveals her future plans
Kate also opened up about her upcoming content and hinted that she wants to travel more.
"I want to go like travel somewhere else other than Europe because I really want experience it for myself and my viewers as well.
"I love to vlog the entire experience. I would love to live in Bali in a Airbnb for a couple months."
She also teased, "I'm doing a fashion brand which is coming out early next year which will be fun.
"My own little fashion brand not even a collaboration with anyone. I'm the manufacturer and the printer, it's sick. I'm so excited for it."