Hi, it’s the human behind Nicole & Nora, my two miniature dachshunds and the entire reason my phone storage is permanently full. People ask me the same question more than any other: “How did you actually grow to ~80k? Like, what did you do — in order?”
So today I’m writing the post I wish someone had handed me on day one. Not vague “post consistently and engage!” advice — the actual sequence. The stages I went through, what I posted in each one, the things that worked, the things that flopped loudly, and exactly how you’d copy each step for your own account. This is the flagship one. Save it. 🐾
New here? Come meet the girls where it all actually happens — we're on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. 🐾
First, the honest truth about the curve
Everyone wants the growth to look like a rocket. Mine looked like a dachshund climbing stairs — slow, a little dramatic, then suddenly faster than you expect. The total is real; the shape below is illustrative, but it’s emotionally accurate:
The part nobody likes to hear: the first stretch is boring on purpose. The accounts that make it aren’t the ones that went viral on day three — they’re the ones that survived the flat part long enough to reach the snowball. I almost quit twice in the flat part. I’m so glad I didn’t.
Before the how, two honest gut-checks are worth doing first: which pet niches actually pay, and what a realistic first $1,000 looks like. If you want the whole picture in one place, it lives in the honest guide to becoming a pet influencer.
The shape of the whole system: five stages
Here’s the thing I figured out way too late: you’re not trying to “grow an account.” You’re trying to climb five very different stages, and each one needs a different kind of posting. What grows you at Stage 1 will quietly stall you at Stage 3. I think most people get stuck because they keep doing Stage 1 things forever and wonder why the ladder isn’t moving.
The five stages, top-line:
Stage 1 — Start small: pick one clear angle and just begin.
Stage 2 — Post daily: find out what actually sticks.
Stage 3 — Double down: repeat your winners, kill your darlings.
Stage 4 — Go multi-platform: one shoot, three platforms.
Stage 5 — Scale & earn: series, collabs, and turning attention into income.
That’s the map. The free version gives you the what and the why of each stage. The paid version below is the real thing — what I posted at each stage, the flops, the tools, the illustrative money math, and exactly what I’d do if I were starting again today with zero followers.
Stage 4 leans hard on a system I’ve already shared — if you want the engine that makes one filming session feed every platform, I broke the whole thing down in my post on our faceless content workflow. It pairs perfectly with this one. 🐾
More from the Playbook: how to become a pet influencer from scratch, and our faceless content workflow.
🐾 Helping animals is the whole reason we’re here. If you’d like to help too, you can chip in to our shelter fundraiser for Animal Haven. Every little bit helps an animal in need. Join us. 💗
That's the shape of the climb, and how long it honestly took. The five stages themselves are behind the wall. 🔒
Inside the paid half, you’ll get:
🥇 Stages 1 to 4 in full, the whole growth engine, step by step
🥇 Stage 5 in full — series, collabs, and the moves that turn attention into money
💸 the honest money math (illustrative) — what an audience like this can realistically earn
🔁 the one boring habit underneath all five stages
🎁 30% off The Petfluencer Playbook, paid subscribers only
📚 every paid post plus the full archive
Come join me on the inside 👇
