Welcome back to Influencer Interviews! This week we have interviewed Sarah Royall, otherwise known as @saltyluxe on Instagram. Sarah is the very first Boost Society member. She has been so key in helping us create such an incredible space to grow and help support other creators around the world.
Sarah is the biggest lover of her following and the community she has grown, so it makes so much sense that this week we asked her all about her community. Below she opens up about why building a community is important and what it is like being able to share with the Salty Fam every day.
Tell me a little bit about yourself, why you became an influencer and how you found your own voice in the saturated influencer world?
Hey guys, I’m Sarah, the creative behind @saltyluxe. I live in the small surf town of Byron Bay on Australia’s east coast. I’m the happiest human when I have my feet in the sand, the sun is out & I’m with my boy Chesh and my puppy Scarley.
I think I’ve been gravitating toward this space since I was a teen (I just didn’t know it at the time). When I was 20, I went and lived with a hill tribe in Burma, volunteering on a philanthropic program to protect elephants in Asia. This solo travel experience just blew my mind & I have never stopped travelling since. It feels me up!
My mind was then fully made up after a medical scare in my mid-teens, which gave me a lot of perspective and changed my life. At that point, I decided what I was currently doing was no longer serving me and that instead, I wanted to follow my dreams and inspire others to do the same.
I think I came into this industry with a very similar mindset and voice to what I have now. This, in my opinion, was a really important foundation for creating distinctive ‘Salty Luxe’ content and building a community. Although I’ve definitely been lost & found (many times over), I think it’s helpful to establish who you are, what you want to say & how you can bring value/contribute positively to your tribe from the beginning…and then build on it, EVERYDAY.
What do you wish someone told you before becoming an influencer?
It takes over your entire life if you let it, so it’s really important to value what’s real in the ‘real world’ too, like your relationships, your mental health and your overall happiness. The happier you are offline, the more value & positive energy you will bring online to your tribe.
Everything else I’m pretty happy to have learned along the way. It’s all part of the process and makes you the creative you WANT to be (trust me)…even if it feels totally rough, overwhelming & shattering at the time. My personal challenges have been for sure some of the hardest parts of this job, but they have also been some of the most rewarding. Show yourself what you’re made of!
What does the word community and your own community mean to you?
My community means absolutely everything to me. I am under no illusion and fully recognize that I simply would not be here without them. I push my creative boundaries in hopes of inspiring my community. I continue to share more and more because I simply want to connect more authentically with them, and my heart is full from the personal connections I have made with so many of them.
My community genuinely makes ‘Salty’ what it is. Honestly, on days when I just feel like I can’t handle whatever is going on, I spend a few hours reading their messages and I’m right back to feeling the vibes!!
They are caring, conscious, fun and are just incredible humans beings. I can’t believe how lucky I am.
What does your community expect from you?
I think the Salty community has come to expect summer, ocean-loving, free-spirited vibes! That’s what I love and what makes me happy, so that’s what I share!
Who is your primary audience and what do you think keeps them engaged?
Most of my audience is female (about 75%) and around my age – so in the 24-35 year age bracket. I think the best thing you can do is to have real conversations daily with your community – write back to EVERY comment, answer your DMs, give them the respect they deserve!
Is it hard to keep up with the needs of your following? Answering comments, etc.
Ahhh. Yes! 
What is your favourite thing about the community you have created?
That I can talk and contribute to important causes that really matter with their help! Our community really cares and is so willing to help others. For example, we helped raise 600k for the Australia bush fires and supported the Coral Gardeners reef restoration program late last year.
Our community is also really invested in doing good, like knowing where their clothes are made, supporting sustainable brands & speaking their mind about animal welfare and veganism. They are a powerful bunch, and I just love them!!
Do you like sharing everything with your community? If not, why?
I used to be a bit weird about it, but to be honest, I really want them to know the real me. I don’t want to have to put up the craziest content in the world for them to like me. I want them to like my soul, not the way I look. So yeah, I’m cool with it.
What value do you try and provide your community and why?
I try to contribute to important global issues (ie raise awareness around sustainability, advocate for animal welfare, ocean health, etc.), but I also try to just be a trusted voice that makes people smile when they see me on their feed. That’s my only goal, just make people happy and feel good.
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I want to personally thank Sarah for taking the time to share her story and love for her community with us. Please go give her a follow at @saltyluxe and hopefully you have learned something on how much creators truly love and appreciate everything their community offers. Comment below if you have a community and what they mean to you. If you have an audience, how do you connect with them?
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