How Alix Earle Climbed to the Top
Inside the 23-year-old TikTok creator turned podcast host's candid approach to content.
It wasn’t all that long ago that TikTok superstar Alix Earle was browsing
LinkedIn for marketing gigs in preparation for her college graduation last May.
“Going into my senior year of college, I didn't expect any of this to happen — I was applying to jobs and then all of a sudden, my social media just took off,” said the University of Miami graduate in conversation with Jenny Fine, WWD's executive editor, beauty, at SXSW.
Though Earle had been steadily building a TikTok following since entering college in 2019, it wasn't until the end of 2022 that her follower count began to soar, with audiences gravitating toward her rawfeeling content and, of course, her nowclassic “Get Ready With Me” videos.
“The second I started being honest and candid with my audience and community was when I started to develop an audience and community,” said Earle, who now has more than 6.5 million TikTok followers and launched her weekly “Hot Mess” podcast under Alex Cooper's Gen Z-focused podcast network last fall.
“I'll overshare a little bit — sometimes I think people are like, ‘OK — TMI,' but I think that's part of what's special about our relationship, is that I try to let my audience in on my life and let them feel like they really know me — the good and the bad,” said Earle.
Staying in tune with her audience — who she's fittingly coined “Earle Girls” — has been proven key to content planning and growth.
“They're at the forefront of all my decision making. I'm always thinking, what are they going to get from this? Is this going to be beneficial for them? If it's a product I'm promoting — is this something they're going to be interested in?” she said.
Having made a name for herself in particular when it comes to beauty product recommendations — Earle's cosign played a significant role in last winter's repeat Mielle Organics rosemary hair oil sellouts — navigating brand partnerships with care has become of the utmost importance.
“My audience feels that trust that I have with them. I don't want to ever be a sellout and say ‘ yes' to things where, you know, it's just so obvious when you're promoting something that you don't actually like or use,” said Earle, who has long been open about her struggles with acne, and subsequently inked her first global ambassadorship last month with Hero Cosmetics to front the brand's pimple patches.
And though she may not be utilizing it in the way she anticipated, Earle has in fact put her marketing degree to use in her career as a full-time content creator. “It's been such an advantage in how I view everything, strategize my videos and use analytics — even with the hashtags I used to use last year,” she said.
It'll likely come in handy further down the road, too, as the 23-year-old continues to venture into new terrain.
“My overarching goal is to start my own company and be able to promote my own products,” said Earle, adding that at present, she is open to considering ventures across fashion, beauty or otherwise. “I want to take my time and find out what I will enjoy spending all my time on. That's why the podcast was such a big thing for me — just taking a step back and having people get to know me before I say ‘yes' to something.”