Nina Clapperton shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Nina, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I created the first Alt Text GPT – basically an AI bot that can write alt text for any image, PDF, etc. It’s now been used over 25,000 times – and I don’t really promote it.
The GPT basically reads any images or PDFs you upload and creates descriptive text for any user who is using a screen reader to be able to understand the image. I’ve seen a lot of copycats crop up after the fact, but none that can read the file’s meta data to actually identify things in the image, none that prioritize the purpose of the image instead of just focusing on generic info, and none that can also integrate your SEO or marketing goals.
It feels like the first thing I’ve been able to make that has contributed to making the world a better place.
My grandma was blind. She got me into the idea of using alt text so she could see my blog photos of New Zealand. Then I started using a screen reader for my ADHD. Now, I leave any website without alt text or with a keyword stuffed, non-descriptive blurb.
For disabled people, the online world is often more accessible to us than the real world. I want to make sure every website welcomes us – and alt text is just one part of that.
If you want to check out the GPT, it’s free to use. Go to ChatGPT and search for “she knows alt text” under the GPTs and then you can use it an unlimited amount!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey hey! I’m Nina Clapperton, founder of She Knows SEO. I’m a neurodivergent, disabled, purple-haired, chronically online girl who started a business out of spite and grew it to $100k months. I don’t have a typical “founder story”. I started my travel blog for fun and so my grandma knew where I was in the world. I didn’t take it seriously as a business until like 3 years later, and then gave myself a 1 year challenge to get it making at least $2k a month.
In 6 months, I grew to 65,000 monthly readers and a month later had my first $10k month. By January of the next year, I was consistently making $30k a month from a travel blog I’d started while sitting in a dog bed.
I never planned to be an entrepreneur or to make any money. Honestly, I figured I’d be living in a barn with horses or on my sister’s couch.
But once I cracked the code to grow an online business without social media (introverts ftw!) and monetize it without needing 1 million viewers, everyone wanted to know my “secrets”. I can’t keep a secret to save my life, so I shared. And then people asked to pay.
I resisted that for a while, but ultimately founded She Knows SEO – which turns 5 in 2026.
Now I run a multi 6 figure business solo.
My whole business ethos is “follow your fun”. I wake up excited to work every day. I don’t plan like crazy or join millions of masterminds. I let my interests guide me, even if it feels a bit strange or like it doesn’t quite fit the “brand”. It’s the reason I’m now adding new elements to my business, like a new accessible travel branch.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My Baba. She was everything to me and I owe basically my whole personality to her.
I grew up neurodivergent, so I got corrected constantly. Everything I did was just a little bit off what I was supposed to do. But Baba never cared.
She used to tell this story about my indecisiveness. We were at a toy store and my cousins picked out their toys ASAP. But I always took my time and needed to look at basically every doll just in case. She wanted to go sit down while I looked, but I grabbed her hand and demanded she stay with me. So she did.
I did stuff like that a lot, so my family all have similar stories but they’d say it with judgement or disdain. Baba always said it with this big smile on her face.
She let me be me, and celebrated me for it.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I recently got diagnosed with OCD – not the germ kind, the anxiety kind. It turns out there are tons of different subsections I’d never heard of.
One of them is the anxiety that you’re faking your whole personality and you’re secretly this horrible person.
Basically my whole life, I’ve been convinced I’m terrible. That anything I do, even like volunteering with rescue dogs, I’m only doing to fake this personality. Like there’s this evil version of me I don’t even know about, but it’s the real me.
That fear that there was something lurking has held me back and made me second guess everything in my life. It made me feel like everyone in business was doing me a favour when they wanted to collab or when they asked me for anything. So I’d give away everything I could, even if the person was clearly using me.
I slowed down everything trying to “prove” I’m good to these other people. And I’d take it as a stab in the gut if anyone didn’t like me, because they were proving this thought right.
The diagnosis has helped me heal a lot of that. I understand now that it’s just a compulsion and a form of intrusive thoughts that I have to deal with. I’m able to prioritize my business now and realize my own value.
It’s also helped me realize I’m actually good at what I do and I know a lot. I think I attached “useless” to the idea of this “evil Nina”, so I was sure I was just tricking everyone into thinking I know marketing.
Nope! I know marketing very well.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
First, they’d say my dog. And they’re not wrong! Theo is the biggest part of my life, and a huge part of my businesses (whether I want him to be or not, but he’s a showdog at heart!).
But beyond that, they’d say equity.
I think people mix up equity and equality. Equality would be that everyone gets the same thing, but some people need more or less. Equity is making sure things are evenly distributed to match people’s actual needs.
I always want to make sure peoples’ needs are met, whether they’ve said them or not.
In my work, I create accessible forms of every single thing I sell – even if it costs me more time and money to do so.
Outside of work, I do the same. I’m all about making sure every person at the table has gotten enough to eat, has the supports they need, and has things they need without needing to ask twice. If you tell me once that you struggle with stairs, we are never taking stairs again!
I think meeting needs is such a basic form of care and support. We need it more in society, and especially in businesses. But also in friendships and just daily life.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
When I had my first $100k month, and then the second, and then the third.
I always thought I’d feel happy when I had money – even like $5k a month. But it didn’t come. So I assumed I needed more to hit that like “eek!” feeling.
Then I’d hit a new benchmark, and feel nothing.
I really only got the good vibes I wanted from telling other people and having them tell me it’s exciting. And even then, I’m pretty sure I was like a dog when you go “who is so good? who is so good?” and you’re amping them up. I don’t think it actually came from the income.
I hit a huge investing goal because of my business success before I hit 30. It’s a number I always thought would make me finally feel excited or even just safe – although I guess there’s nothing “just” about safety.
But I sat there as my financial advisor excitedly cheered me on over the phone, and I felt meh.
I’ve learned that:
1) Money doesn’t equal happiness
2) I have deep rooted trauma that is the cause of my safety issues, and money can’t solve that (except by paying for therapy)
3) I only value money when other people value it, and then I’m really just valuing their praise
I’m working on myself now and decentering income from the narrative of my self worth and my success.
I know it always feels like people who make good money go like “oh money isn’t everything”, but wow it really isn’t. Community is definitely more satisfying, Focus on that!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sheknowsseo.co
- Instagram: @ninaclapperton
- Twitter: @ninaclapperton
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/seofortravelbloggers
- Youtube: sheknowsseo
- Other: Podcast: She Knows SEO
Other Site: ninaoutandabout.ca
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