5 Ways on How to Make Money as a Social Media Influencer
Before you can make money by influencing, you need to have an audience to influence. The most important thing is that you start with a small, manageable audience and grow it organically.
Don't try to build a large following right away. Keep it simple and focus on one platform at a time. Start with Twitter or Instagram, whichever feels more natural. Choose your handle carefully and make sure it's consistent across all your social media sites.
Find your niche—don't try to be funny if humor doesn't come naturally, don't try to be controversial if that isn't who you are—whatever makes the most sense for you as a person is the best approach for building an engaged audience of followers who identify with what you're doing and want to see more of it from you.
1. Become known as an expert in your field.
An influencer is just a fancy term for an expert in a particular field. If you want to be known as an expert, it's important that you're actually knowledgeable in your area of expertise.
You might be tempted to want to become an influencer in multiple different fields, but this isn't the best way to get started—you can branch out later. Instead, focus on one topic at first. You don't have to limit yourself permanently, but starting with just one subject will keep you from spreading yourself too thin early on and will make it easier for people to understand what you do.
2. Partner with brands in your niche that want to reach your audience.
You can begin to make money through social media by partnering with brands in your niche that want to reach your audience. However, be sure that the brands you partner with are a good match for your content and brand. Look for great affiliate deals and consider relevant companies that produce the products and services you talk about.
So how do they find you? The best way is to make sure they can find you! Be sure to include a link to your Instagram profile in the bio section of your blog or website, if you have one. You can also offer to do mentions or shoutouts for them, as well as post their product or service on your Instagram feed for a fee in exchange for money.
3. Partner with other influencers on projects.
In some cases, you may want to collaborate with another influencer or a group of influencers. You can help each other grow your audiences and build your brands. This can also be a good way to get more exposure for your brand, especially if you work with an influencer who has a much larger audience than you do.
In addition to helping each other promote content, you can share costs for giveaways or sponsored content that might be too expensive otherwise.
Finally, when working on projects with other influencers, use this opportunity to get feedback on your ideas and learn from them. For example, they might have suggestions about what kinds of products they think their audience would be interested in buying. They may even know about companies hiring influencers that you don't!
4. Get sponsorships by landing brand deals.
If you've got a sizable social media following, there are several ways to make money as an influencer. The most common way is by landing sponsorships or brand deals. Brands pay you to post about their products or services on your accounts.
Influencers usually get paid in one of three ways:
- An up-front, one-time fee
- A percentage of sales generated from the posts (this usually happens AFTER they receive the up-front fee)
- A commission if they have affiliate links that generate sales referred through them (this is similar to getting paid a percentage of sales, but it's based on a commission structure and will be part of an ongoing business relationship).
5. Getting started as an influencer is time-consuming but it can pay off if you're willing to put in the work!
If you want to be an influencer, you are going to have to invest a significant chunk of your time. In addition to constantly creating new content and scrolling through social media, you will also need to dedicate time to attending events and networking with other influencers in your field. Most importantly, you will need to develop a thick skin while trying not to take comments personally. While some people might criticize your content, others will praise it so keep that in mind and not let a few bad apples spoil the bunch!
