Erzabel Gets Real About The Pressure Behind Influencing

The glamorous side of being an influencer is easy to see, but Erzabel says building a successful online career takes far more work than followers might realize.

The 30-year-old Southeast Asian influencer has built an international audience while creating a lifestyle that allows her to travel regularly. However, she exclusively told The Blast that the freedom came with an unexpected problem: learning how to stop working.

For Erzabel, even a vacation could quickly become another content opportunity.

“I used to be in work mode all the time,” Erzabel exclusively told The Blast.

That mentality followed her even when she traveled somewhere she was supposed to enjoy.

“Even when I travel, like, ‘Okay, I have to take pictures. Okay, I have to make content,’ instead of just enjoying the moment, the holiday,” she explained.

That’s one reason Erzabel is skeptical that building a career as an influencer is as effortless as it can appear from the outside.

“It seems easy, but it’s not so easy,” she said. “You have to be 100% into it, like focus on it.”

Erzabel had wanted to become a model since childhood and began working with local brands while attending university. She eventually shifted her attention toward creating content online and has since attracted an international following, with her largest audience based in the United States.

However, getting an audience is only part of the challenge. Keeping that momentum means constantly adapting.

Erzabel Reveals The ‘Hardest’ Part Of Growing Her Audience

For Erzabel, there is no permanent formula for social media success.

“The hardest is to get more [followers],” she told The Blast. “It means that I have to actively create content, try new stuff.”

That can mean experimenting with entirely different platforms when her existing strategy stops delivering the results she wants.

“For example, this week I tried TikTok, and then if it doesn’t work, I have to try another platform,” she explained. “Just keep trying, just keep creating. That’s the hardest part.”

The uncertainty hasn’t shaken her confidence. Asked whether she has struggled with imposter syndrome as her profile has grown, Erzabel answered immediately.

“No, I always know that I’m going to be successful,” she declared. “That’s always been my goal.”

She applies the same certainty to anyone hoping to turn influencing into a serious career.

“You cannot do it 50-50,” she said. “You have to be 100% into it.”

Traveling The World Created An Unexpected Work-Life Struggle

Travel is one of the biggest rewards Erzabel has gained from her career, but her desire to explore the world existed long before influencing became her job.

“Since I was little, that was one of my dreams. That was my biggest dream, actually,” she recalled.

Once she began earning her own money, seeing new places became more important than buying possessions.

“Instead of buying materialistic things when I had money, the first thing in my head was, ‘I need to travel because now I have my own money,’” Erzabel said.

She now tries to travel every month, sometimes alone and sometimes with friends or her assistant.

The trips also serve another purpose. Erzabel says staying in one place too long can leave her bored and searching for fresh motivation.

“When I travel, I get more inspiration,” she explained.

Switzerland, Iceland and Peru remain on her wish list, while she also hopes to return to China for an experience far removed from the typical influencer getaway.

Erzabel wants to attend a Kung Fu retreat. “Do something different,” she said of the idea.

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Erzabel Says Financial Independence Gave Her ‘Full Freedom’

Erzabel’s current lifestyle is dramatically different from one of her earlier experiences abroad.

Before becoming an influencer, she spent eight months working as an au pair in the Netherlands and caring for three young children.

She recalled the arrangement becoming difficult when she felt her host family was overworking her, including expecting her to participate in family weekends that were supposed to be her time off.

Today, being able to control her own schedule and finances has changed what success means to her.

“It’s really good when you have your own money, to become independent,” Erzabel told The Blast. “You have full freedom, you get to meet people when you travel.”

She believes that independence is particularly valuable for women.

“Now you can depend on yourself,” she said. “You can do whatever you want. You don’t have to depend on a guy or somebody.”

Meeting people from different backgrounds has become another important part of that freedom.

“I feel like people are open books, so you get inspiration from people, from new places,” she explained.

Erzabel Already Has Her Eye On Life Beyond Influencing

Influencing may be Erzabel’s career now, but she isn’t limiting her ambitions to social media.

Her interests have expanded into psychology, mindset and spirituality. She practices meditation, yoga, and breathwork, and says she enjoys learning how people think.

“I’m really into spirituality,” she said. “I like to learn more about psychology and mindset and spirituality.”

There’s also a considerably more sparkling business idea on her mind.

“I really like diamonds, so I really want to open a diamond business,” Erzabel revealed.

For now, however, she remains focused on the career she has already built and the constant experimentation required to sustain it.

The beautiful destinations and freedom may be what audiences see on their screens, but Erzabel says the work behind that lifestyle never succeeds with half-hearted effort.

“You cannot do it 50-50,” she emphasized. “You have to be 100% into it.”