The Beginning

Road to 5K: I'm Treating My Instagram Pages Like a Marketing Experiment

Starting from nearly zero followers, two very different creative accounts, and zero guarantees. Here's why I'm documenting all of it.

Hi, I'm Cheyenne, and I have two Instagram pages that barely anyone knows exist. One is dedicated to handmade pony bead and perler bead jewelry (bracelets, necklaces, the works), and the other is my portrait photography page. Both are passion projects. Both are currently very, very small.

This blog exists because I decided to stop just hoping they'd grow and start actually figuring out what works, and sharing everything I learn along the way.

The pages (and where they stand right now)

@noneofyourbeadswax

99

followers

Pony bead & perler jewelry · festival community · pun lovers

@cheyennewatsonphotography

19

followers

Portrait photography

The goal

Get at least one of these pages to 5,000 followers, through intentional, documented marketing experiments. Not hacks. Not buying followers. Real strategy, real results, real failures.

@noneofyourbeadswax99 / 5,000

@cheyennewatsonphotography19 / 5,000

Why document it?

Because most "how to grow on Instagram" content is either vague, outdated, or written by people who already have large audiences. I want to be the person building in public from the actual beginning, so that other small creators and aspiring entrepreneurs can see what really happens when you try things from scratch.

Every technique I try, hashtag strategies, reel posting schedules, collaboration outreach, trending audio, niche communities, I'll track the results here. Wins, flops, and everything in between.

A little about the pages

@noneofyourbeadswax is a pretty niche corner of the internet. Pony bead and perler bead jewelry has a real community, especially in the music festival world, and the page leans into puns hard (the name should tell you everything). It's quirky, colorful, and handmade with love.

@cheyennewatsonphotography is where I share my portrait work. Photography is a more crowded space, which makes it an interesting contrast to the bead page, different competition level, different content type, different community dynamics. Both are part of this experiment.

What this blog will cover

Each post will log what I tried, what the numbers looked like before and after, and what I actually think happened. I'll write about content strategy, community engagement, hashtags, collaborations, timing, and anything else I test. I'll also be honest when something tanks.

This is as much a personal brand journey as it is a marketing one. I'm genuinely trying to build something, and figuring out if I can turn creativity into a business is part of the story.

Thanks for being here at post one. It only gets more interesting from here.