Are you an influencer? Are you trying to figure out how to make money as an influencer? I always get a ton of questions and DMs about how to get paid as an influencer. I have been blogging since 2009 and created my blog in 2012. So I’ve seen the whole influencer marketing game from the beginning. I also worked for a beauty brand and implemented its first influencer marketing program. So I have experience on both sides, being an influencer and also working on the brand side as an influencer marketing professional.
What is an influencer?
You may be wondering what an influencer even is? Influencers have a certain amount of notoriety online and engagement with their audiences. Influencers are also thought leaders in their niche or area of expertise. Many different brands want to capitalize on influencers and their authentic audiences, and thus they partner with influencers.
I want you to know that you don’t have to have a huge following to be an influencer. Nano influencers are on the rise, and I recently read somewhere that if you have 500 you can start making money. You don’t have to wait until you have 1,000 followers to start working with brands, you can start right at this very second. If you have the ability to engage with your audience, and your engagement is good and authentic, you will get noticed by brands.
What are the basics of making money as a blogger/influencer?
There are two very important things you should be doing if you want to be noticed as an influencer. You should be 1. creating and sharing quality content and 2. engaging with your audience.
Share Quality Content
The quality of your content will determine the impression that you make on potential brand partners. Brands are looking for creators who share quality content that also fits their brand as well.
When brands are searching for influencers to work know that the numbers don’t always matter. Brands will look at your reach, and engagement rate. Make sure your page is up to par as well because brands will also go through your content and your social media pages, just to see what type of content you create and if you will be a good fit for a brand partner. So make sure your posts make sense and are on-brand for you and your niche.
Whatever content you post on social media should be high-quality content. This is especially if you want to start working with brands and make money on social media. Again I want you to know that you can start with what you have. You don’t have to have an expensive camera to start with. The new iPhones have a pretty good camera. You can also invest in a basic DSLR if you want better photos as well.
Engage With Your Audience
This is super important. Coming from the brand side and managing influencer marketing campaigns I can tell you that brands will look at your engagement rate when they are searching for influencers to work with. It’s important that you build an authentic, engaged, and loyal audience from the beginning. I’ve built relationships with my community and they support me and I support them. Remember engagement is a two-way street! You have to give engagement to get engagement.
How To Make Money As An Influencer
There are so many ways that you can make money as an influencer. When I first started out I had no idea about many of the ways that influencers made money.
Sponsored social media posts & blog posts
Sponsored posts are one of the most popular ways to make money as an influencer. A sponsored post is when brands pay you to promote a certain product or service on your social media channels and blog in exchange for compensation
Brand Ambassadorship
Another way that you can make money as an influencer is by becoming a brand ambassador for brands. Let’s chat about how brand ambassadorships work?
Many are confused with what a brand ambassadorship consists of. A brand ambassadorship involves a contract for a certain period of time. Influencers sign on to create content and promote the brand’s products or services for a specific period of time. As a brand ambassador may also be asked to work events, depending on what the brand is looking for. These can either be paid ambassadorships where you are paid a stipend each month or you can also make a commission if you are given a code to promote the brand’s product or service.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing a popular way that many influencers use to generate income. I have an affiliate code for a few brands that I work with. I will not say that this w Each time someone uses my code I get a commission off of the sale. The commission is usually a small percentage. Some brands have a flat rate that they pay based on the product sold. This could be a big moneymaker if you have high traffic to your website.
Create digital products
Creating digital products is a great way to make money as an influencer. I recently started selling digital products and I love them. If you are an expert in your niche create digital products and sell them on your blog.
I hope these tips help and start to get you thinking of ways you can make money as an influencer!
