Sparkle on Substack From 9-5 to full time writer/content creator with Molly Ella
"I like to have a plan, but remaining flexible to respond to what my audience is enjoying,"— Molly Ella
Earlier this year I caught up with the wonderful Molly Ella over at Slow Scottish Stories. I connected with Molly early on my Substack journey and have read her pieces almost every week. She has a weekly posting schedule where she explores themes of slow, frugal living, Scottish highland life and reading for pleasure. She has a wonderful tone of invitation to her readers and it’s been a joy to watch her stick to her boundaries and grow joyfully here.
Molly has an audience of over 50k on her YouTube channel and if you pop over there you’ll soon see why. Molly’s content and videos give you the permission to exhale, to slow down, to know you will be held by her words, stories and visuals.
In her own words; “Slow Scottish Stories is a publication designed to help you slow down and celebrate everything that make’s you YOU”.
Molly is a full time content creator, living in a Tiny Home, nestled in the Scottish Highlands.
A slow living fanatic and proof that, if you really want to, you can reject the hustle culture and live the life YOU desire.
Molly's Substack is a breath of fresh air in a noisy world. I love her take on slow living, especially living in her tiny home in the Scottish Highlands! 🤍 Simple & Calm
Molly entered the digital world with a passion for creating content that resonated with her audience.
Initially, she utilised Instagram as a platform to showcase her lifestyle and thoughts, but as she sought to focus more on her writing, she realised a shift was necessary. In 2021, Molly repositioned her Instagram to specifically highlight her blog, which proved to be a significant turning point as her followers rapidly increased.
Embracing the momentum, Molly expanded her online presence in the spring of 2022 by launching a YouTube channel, allowing her to engage with her audience through a different medium. She then managed a trifecta of platforms: her original blog, her rebranded Instagram, and her fresh YouTube presence, juggling content creation across all three.
However, by August 2022, Molly recognised that her dedication to Instagram was impeding her ability to write—the craft she held dearest. Balancing a full-time job alongside her online endeavours only amplified this challenge, leading to a decision to reallocate her time and energy. She made the bold move to depart from Instagram, a choice that allowed her to revive her blog after weeks, even months, of inactivity.
In the same month she stepped back from Instagram, Molly launched her Substack, a subscription-based platform perfect for nurturing her first love of writing without the intense demands of daily social media engagement.
Though she bid farewell to Instagram, she maintained her YouTube channel, balancing her passion for writing with visual storytelling for her growing audience.
Molly's journey reflects a creator mindful of her time, dedicated to her craft, and adaptive to the changing landscapes of online content creation. She’s a Substack ‘bestseller’ with over 100 paid subscribers to her publication.
"My Substack and particularly my members will be my priority going forwards. And that's mostly linked back to the fact that I've always thought long term writing is my main passion. I think it's probably underestimated, at least I underestimated how much time it takes just to respond to comments.
And I found already quite a lot, because I'm like, oh, these people are paying now, they need me to respond to them."
Molly online;
Website - https://www.hippyhighlandliving.com/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@hippyhighlandliving
Etsy shop - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SlowScottishStore
Tee mill shop (organic merch) - https://hippy-highland-living.teemill.com/
Membership via Substack -
Watch on YouTube with captions
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sparkleon.substack.com/subscribe