Influencer
Evan Andrew Shares His Journey From Growing Up On A Farm To Pursuing A Flourishing Career As A Fashion Creator
Evan Braaten never expected to become a fashion creator. Growing up on a North Dakota corn and soybean farm, 26 miles from the nearest grocery store, his days were filled with driving tractors rather than planning outfits. Now, as the creator known as Evan Andrew, he has built a following of over 218K across Instagram and TikTok, all while maintaining a successful career in tech sales, proving it’s possible to thrive in both corporate and creative spaces.
“Growing up in rural North Dakota, I never dreamed I’d be working in social media,” Evan reflects. “I had 15 kids in my graduating class and lived 26 miles from the nearest grocery store.”
This small-town upbringing played a pivotal role in shaping Evan’s journey. While he initially thought he’d end up in dentistry—not agriculture and certainly not social media marketing—his path took an unexpected turn. “My dad had me work for him during the summers for two years, but he quickly saw that agriculture and farming weren’t for me,” Evan shares. “He told me, ‘If you can figure out how to make money doing what you’re passionate about, I’ll fully support you.'”
The transition wasn’t immediate. “I was pre-dental until my second year of college,” Evan explains. “I didn’t think I’d end up in any marketing field.” However, his creative instincts eventually led him toward a new direction—one where he could combine his passion for storytelling with his professional skills.
Building a Photography Foundation
Evan’s entry into content creation started with photography, capturing everything from senior portraits to weddings. “I’ve always been pretty business-minded and turned my creative side into business,” he explains. “I didn’t want a typical high school or college job. I wanted to support myself, travel, and have fun.”
This experience provided essential technical skills that enhanced his content creation process. “Being a wedding photographer, it’s easy for me to set up a camera. I know how to do it. I know what I’m looking for. I know my angles now,” he says.
After photographing approximately 40 weddings, Evan recognized the weekend-heavy schedule wasn’t sustainable. “Giving up weekends to photograph a wedding was tough,” he says. “I missed a lot of events with my family and friends. I knew I needed a better life-work balance, so I decided to move in a different direction.”
Discovering His Fashion Voice
A year and a half ago, Evan made a calculated decision to focus on fashion content, launching his “30 outfits in 30 days” challenge. The move combined personal history with market opportunity. “My sister would lay out my clothes from eighth grade to senior year, and I had to wear what she picked. I would not wear anything else,” he recalls.
His Midwestern location helped him identify an underserved market. “I look around at what people are wearing in the office. I try to make informed decisions on what both straight and gay men wear,” Evan explains. “How do I elevate it a little bit more while still making it corporate and Midwest, but a little more elevated?”
“I’m not an L.A. or New York influencer and never will be,” he adds. “I’m much more clean-cut corporate than I would like to admit sometimes. And I try to use that knowledge and style advice to style pieces.”
September 2024 marked a turning point when two posts achieved viral success, reaching 10.5 million and 5.5 million views as of writing. “One was an ad for the most amazing sofa you’ve ever seen, and the other a reel for a beautiful shirt from a popular clothing company,” he shares. “Those helped jump my following from 60k to my current 111k. The clothing reel alone helped me gain 40,000 followers.”
This success brought significant opportunities, including Evan’s largest brand partnership. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for many years, and now that the time has come, I have the confidence and knowledge to pursue brands that have more impact and larger followings,” he states.
Managing Corporate and Creator Responsibilities
Unlike many creators transitioning to full-time content creation, Evan maintains a demanding corporate career in cybersecurity sales while growing his social media presence. “I run around like a headless chicken,” he admits. “I’m required to be in the office five days a week. I try to batch a lot of my content on the weekends and be able to film over my lunch hour.”
His schedule follows a precise routine: “I get an hour off at lunch and go home. The best lighting in my apartment this time of year is between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., so it’s a perfect time to batch an outfit or a couple of reels. After my corporate end for the day, I typically spend another two hours on admin work and several hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
“Filming a Get Ready With Me video typically takes me about 20 minutes and then another half hour or so to edit,” he adds. “It adds up if you do that five or six times a week. However, that doesn’t account for the time spent planning.
Platform Strategy and Content Development
Evan implements distinct approaches for different platforms. “My Instagram is very polished, streamlined, and corporate,” he explains. “TikTok is like comedy, but it has a bit more of a lifestyle… it’s much more personal and not as polished. @sweetlifeofevan is a fun 24-year-old who travels, shares dating stories, etc.”
His Instagram strategy prioritizes professional growth and brand partnerships. “My primary focus and strategy is to hit Instagram hard financially. I haven’t made a ton off of TikTok, which is also interesting,” he shares.
IG Stories serve as a crucial engagement tool. “I always strive to have a live story,” he explains. “I always try to include my face in the first story because otherwise, I will probably only get 20% of my average reach. If I include my face right away, they’ll look at the other stories, but they need to see which one they’re looking at.”
His content planning extends months ahead. “I’m already planning content for early 2025,” he shares. “I’m batching a lot of content. I’ll do many of the raw edits now, and when the time is right, I’ll piece together the trending audios with it for the music.”
The creative process follows a systematic approach. “When I plan my content, a lot of it comes down to getting the shots I want,” he explains. “I love to do the standard framework of my creative shooting process. I like to film a GRWM at my house, the trip to the shooting location, and food… throughout that, I’d get a B roll off a close-up shot.”
Evan monitors platform updates and audience behavior closely. “I’m very interested in business and analytical,” he notes. “I look at what captions are captivating the audience. What am I saying that makes you comment? What am I saying in the first three seconds of my video to hook you and make you engage?”
He prioritizes adapting to platform changes. “I try to adapt to whatever is happening in the marketplace or algorithm changes. I want to be one of the first adopters because that is my job as an influencer,” he points out. “When [IG] Reels came out, they pushed it heavily onto everyone’s feeds. The first ones to figure it out got to reach a new audience.”
Music selection plays a vital role in his content strategy. “Picking out songs and soundtracks is one of the hardest things,” he admits. “I need a fast beat, but I also need something that appeals to the general audience. I can’t be reaching just the LGBTQ or just the straight guys. I need to be able to identify how to reach both markets.”
A Midwestern Sprinkle on Luxury
Evan plans to collaborate with luxury brands while maintaining his authentic Midwestern perspective. “Within my brand, “Sweet Life of Evan,” I hope to work with higher-end fashion and travel brands,” he says, revealing that he recently signed his first six-month deal. “I would love to sign a yearly deal with somebody and understand and have transparency between the creator and the brand.”
His advice to new creators emphasizes focus: “Try to stick to three topics. Don’t try to be a jack of all trades. It will be hard to captivate your audience if you only post fitness content every few months or weeks.”
“Be okay with shifting it,” he concludes. “Like my journey; I started in college, and then I was more into posting about the home renovations I was doing with my own Airbnbs, and, now, I’ve made a complete shift to fashion. I’ve been focusing on fashion for the past year and a half, and that’s what brands know me for now.”
