LISTEN HERE for the full podcast! And available everywhere podcasts are found “Let Me Tell You Why with Jeremy Jacobowitz” But below is a summary of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my influencer career.

I’ve been a content creator for almost 20 years, with 10 years doing this full time. While I’ve had a lot of success, there are some major mistakes that stick with me!

First up, my mistake when Instagram launched Stories. At the time I was too focused on keeping my brand “curated and professional” instead of letting my personality come through and making connections with my audience. Looking back, if I’d leaned into being casual and approachable in Stories, I could have formed deeper connections much earlier. I still struggle with this because it’s always a battle between curated content and just sharing my world.

Another huge regret was turning down the chance to join TikTok early. The platform reached out and offered to pay me to be one of the first creators, but I said no because I didn’t really “get it.” If I’d said yes, I could have been one of the original food creators on TikTok and gotten paid for it! Now, I make sure to say yes and try every new platform, just in case!

Next was my mistake with IGTV! I thought I’d found a hack: my longer videos got more engagement from my followers than anything else. So I doubled down and posted almost exclusively on IGTV for years. I lost followers every day and didn’t realize why. Turns out, IGTV wasn’t bringing me new followers because it didn’t rank high on the explore page. I focused too much on pleasing the current audience, not growing my base. UGH

I definitely regret not making more YouTube videos too. I started on YouTube in 2009 but abandoned it for years because it seemed like too much work. If I’d just made one video a week, I’d have a much bigger following now and maybe even that coveted play button. I missed a huge opportunity by thinking short-term and sticking to what was easy.

Finally, maybe my biggest missed opportunity was passing on the chance to be one of the first food podcasters. Years ago, when a former NYU professor of mine asked me to join his podcasting network, I said no because I didn’t understand the format and worried about the money and effort it would take. Looking back, I could have been a pioneer with professional support and an early mover advantage.

Despite all these mistakes, I’m still here and still doing well. I try not to dwell on regrets, but I do make a point of learning from each one and moving forward with those lessons in mind

FILM

I was so excited for the “The Smashing Machine”, it was three of my favorite things coming together, The Rock x Benny Safdie x A24, so i was psyched then they not only invited me a pop up for the film, but to a special friends and family screening in NYC! And it gets even better, thanks to Teremana, I was able to MEET THE ROCK at the pop up event! An actual dream come true! And then the movie was really great! Everyone just stepped up their game so much! The Rock took his acting to a new level with his fist really dramatic role playing the MMA fighter Mark Kerr, Emily Blunt was great as his GF, and I always love and appreciate the directing style and attention to detail of Benny Safdie. I dont know if you need to have so much knowledge of MMA to enjoy this film, but it is very much about the origins of the sport, and trials and triumph of Mark Kerr’s career. But it is definitely not a “sports movie” as it actually follows much more closely the doc on kerr’s career from 20 years ago, rather than a sports movie template, which I really appreciated.