You're navigating fan interactions. How can you establish boundaries without seeming ungrateful?

As long as you have been upfront about expectations and deliveries, there is nothing to be worried about. You give your best and don’t expect everyone to be happy at all times. You can keep some happy most of the times but you can’t keep everyone happy all the times. The criticism is basis of growth take it like that.

I recommunicate the days and times that I have office hours to my clients when they ask for me to complete work on Sundays. I've learned that it's always great to defer rather than say I can't do that right now

To clearly communicate your boundaries, you will need to be clear about what your boundaries actually are. This is something that will require some reflection, as changing your mind later can convey confusion and a negative impression. That mentioned, everyone is entitled to change their boundaries based on their experience. It will however be preferable to be sure from the outset.

Communication is key in all aspects of life, although the way we communicate to a family member or a coworker is most likely different there are ways to ensure effective communication. Be open and honest with those around you with what you expect from them and what they should expect from you so we can reduce the amount of conflict and disappointment.

When redirecting or maintaining control, it’s easier to redirect when there are clear rules and expectations. Because it’s not a personal attack when you make corrections. It’s not a matter of opinion, it’s reinforcing rules that people agreed to when entering the community. It’s not about just respecting the brand or an individual, but all individuals in that space. Clearly communicate rules that are designed to allow everyone’s voice and be heard. Then, when someone goes outside those boundaries, you reinforce the rules (not just when it’s convenient). That way you establish trust, fairness and a community.

One thing I've found helpful is to implement boundaries on my end. To treat social media as a job. This means that I log in during work hours and I log out at the end of the working day. This way, I am able to implement boundaries and protect my personal time. It is very important to be present and emphathetic to those who reach out. They deserve presence.

It's easy to act with emotion day to day, however, our emotions can be inconsistent and it's important for everyone to feel valued and appreciated. So no matter how you're feeling or how your day is going it's key to give everyone the same level of respect and appreciation.

Auto responses are a great tool to let someone know that you took the time to prepare a response and give guidance even if it’s not in the form of a direct and personal response. This also gives you a buffer to be able to pre-screen messages, and determine which, if any, you want to respond to with further detail.

This is a great boundary to not only show your time is valuable to others, but also to honor your self-care with boundaries allowing yourself to turn off after hours. The rule I tell clients is, “just because your phone is ringing or accessible, doesn’t mean you have to respond immediately”.

Expressing appreciation is beneficial for all involved. It will not only make your fans feel valued, but it will also be a boost for you as well. It feels gratifying in itself. Practices like keeping a daily gratitude journal can promote your own feelings of gratitude and support you in expressing your appreciation.

It's easy in today's world to compare yourself to others as well as participate in negative self talk. So, in a world full of negativity and criticism be the reason for someone's smile.

Interacting with fans or trollers on social media is all about mindset. As a creator always leverage user psychology or neuro emotional response mechanisms to respond or educate those who may not be genuinely aware.

Really understand your audience and what they want from you. The reason they want to interact with you more is because they care about you and want to know more about you. Finding additional content avenues such as behind the scenes videos, daily stories on snapchat, and exclusive videos can be a great way to continue to interact with your audiences and satisfy that need of interacting with you. Recognizing your fans can also be a great way to alleviate this as them feeling recognized by someone they look up to is one of the other reasons they want to meet you. Talk to your audience about how interactions make you feel and see if there can be a middleground