For this month’s Creator Chronicles, we had the privilege of catching Indy influencer Shay McCoy in the midst of her busy schedule to talk about her life as a content creator. Shay focuses on making content in the downtown Indianapolis area, inspiring young 20-to-30-somethings’ lives in the city. She highlights events, restaurants, small businesses, and more. Be sure to follow @cityofshay on Instagram to keep up with all our city has to offer!
Erin Holler: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Shay McCoy: I’m Shay, better known as @cityofshay on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and now TikTok. I am your local Indy resource. I am here to help young 20 and 30-something-year-olds live a full life in the city within their means. I’m trying to show people there are actually things to do here because I don’t like when people say there aren’t.
EH: What kind of content do you create?
SM: I mainly post Indy content, like things to do, new events happening, restaurant openings, date night inspiration, and all that stuff. My main point is to show people “Hey, there’s not a lack of things to do around here!” I also dive a little bit into lifestyle content, like sharing things that I use in my life while living in Indy. You know, you can go to Fountain Square, walk around the cute shops, but also look cute while doing it!
EH: How do you stay in the know on all things Indy?
SM: I try to follow along with local businesses on social media because they’re always excited to update their audiences on events they may be having. I also love checking professional sites like LinkedIn and IBJ to see what may be up and coming in the city. Finding things to do on news pages like INDYToday and other bloggers in town helps as well!
EH: Was there a moment where things took off for you on Instagram or Tiktok? Was it zero to one hundred, or more gradual?
SM: I’d say it was a little gradual in the beginning. Then, in this past year, it really became something bigger. I started in 2019, so I’ve been doing this for over three years. I became an LLC last December. After I started taking it seriously as a business, I realized I am an LLC and I deserve to make money just like everyone else. I’ve started looking at myself as a resource rather than blogging for fun. I still make the same content, but it’s nice to finally be able to partner with people locally in a monetizing way. I feel like it helped boost my content and engagement and has shown people I am a resource if people are looking for something to do.
EH: Once you got LLC status, how did you approach monetizing your content?
SM: Prior to becoming an LLC, I spent over two years creating and cultivating relationships with small business owners, local makers, and other bloggers in my community. Once I gained LLC status, I was able to utilize the connections I had created and find ways to partner with my community in collaborations that had mutual support. It’s always important that I start out any relationship by showcasing how my brand was created to help support, not just for financial gain. Once this relationship and level of support had been established, it made paid opportunities a lot more reachable and mutually beneficial for everyone involved.
EH: What is your creative process in making a video?
SM: When I’m making videos, I use Asana for everything. I keep track of my life, my brain dumps, to-do lists, and content ideas. So it all starts there. If I’m making a video about a place—let’s say a restaurant—I’ll go to that restaurant and get a shot of the exterior, the menu, the interior, and what the food looks like. Then I add everything together and splice the clips. You can add a voiceover, you can add actual Instagram text in there without having to go into the app—because that can be a pain! Then I write the caption, use hashtags, and proceed from there. It has gotten a lot more like muscle memory. Once you get the process going, it’s a lot easier.
EH: What has been the most challenging part of being a content creator financially?
SM: It’s having to spend your own money on things that might be in a video. Sometimes you want to show off things because you love them, they are new, and you want to try them out, but you still have to spend out of pocket for that. Keeping up financially can be difficult. Now that I’m a business, it’s nice because I can utilize business expenses in that way. In the beginning, it was really hard because I didn’t have the job I have now. I had to shift to things that everyone could afford rather than saying “Here’s something really cool.” Not many 20-year-olds can afford to go out every night and dine at St. Elmos all the time!
EH: How do you set boundaries for yourself?
SM: I think it’s especially hard, as my nine-to-five is in marketing. I utilize my lunch break for things that I need to do for my business and I work after I get off, too. I’d say once it hits nine o’clock, that’s my ‘me time.’ I want to read, I want to take a bath, I want to watch Netflix. When I am with my friends and family, especially if they’re not creators, I try my best to put my phone away and focus on quality time. But I have a lot of friends that are content creators, which is nice because you can do the same things together and it’s not weird if someone is videoing.
EH: What are you excited about creating in 2022?
SM: I’m most excited to create more ways for my friends online to use my content and find ways to have it work smarter, not harder. I love creating guides and can definitely see more event curation or even e-books in my future, so you can take them with you and consult them when looking for things to do.
