According to Sprout Social, the influencer market is on track to be worth $15 billion by the year 2022, up from $8 billion in 2019? Those are big numbers and the fact it is getting bigger means making money as an influencer is easy if you are willing to put in the work.
Making money as an influencer has many levels, but where there is growth in your following there is growth in your bank account. Continue producing great content and engaging with your fans as you explore the different ways to make money.
Make Money by Selling Products: Develop your own product (digital or physical) to sell to your fans and followers. There are many ways to sell a product, Etsy, Shopify, Teachable, Email, or Instagram, among others. For example, if you are a musician, you can create customized songs for birthdays, graduations, or other fan-requested ideas. If a dedicated follower likes what you are doing they will look for ways to support you. If these followers are looking for ways to follow your footsteps they may even look for customized lyrics, or beats to then add their splash of creativity. If they tag you, it can help you gain more awareness about your personal brand. It’s a win-win!
Here’s another example. If you are known for fitness, you may consider creating a fitness boot camp or a 30-day online program to sell for a fee.
If you have your own physical product, you can also sell it directly to the public. For example, let’s say you are a cooking queen and you make a wicked jam, you could bottle it and sell it through your channel.
Make Money through Brand Deals: The social media influencer world is a large ocean with many different fish. The competition for large brand deals is significant and once you start to earn the opportunity to work on big brand campaigns, you’ll be riding that wave to that beachfront property you have always dreamt of.
If you’re there already, great. Most of us aren’t. Smaller brand deals are the starting point for most influencers. The dough may be smaller, but with every deal comes learning and growth, so give it time and energy and you will be on your way to wealth soon enough. When you are starting out, accept lower compensation (such as product or commissions or small flat fees) so you can get the experience you need to earn the right to get the big brand deals. It’s better to do small brand deals than none at all, so try to be understanding and reasonable in your negotiations with smaller brands to get your foot in the door.
Karma is real. Small brands grow into larger ones, so don’t be surprised if you get a repeat invite from the young brands you did a great job for in the past when they grow into large brands with deeper pockets.
Want to learn how to find and negotiate brand deals? Head over to Social Bluebook Academy and enroll in our Brand Deal Accelerator.
Make Money through Affiliate Programs: Most brands, small and large have some form of an affiliate program.
Affiliate links are special tracking links used to give the promoter credit for a sale when someone uses their link to purchase a product. You’ve probably seen affiliate links in bios or heard special promo codes mentioned in videos by creators with a bit of their name or a number at the end.
The great thing about affiliate deals is you are in control. If you wisely choose a product that you know you can stand behind and your followers would love, you’re in business. You as the marketer will get a percentage of every purchase made with your link. Learn more about becoming a great affiliate by taking our Affiliate Marketing Masterclass.
If affiliate links are calling your name, this ConvertKit article offers up a number of ways to market these links, so that your followers don’t think you have just turned into some commercial with every post you make.
You can apply to join directly through brand websites or marketing teams, or via affiliate networks such as Rakuten, ShareaSale, Commission Junction, or many others. You can even join Social Bluebook’s Affiliate Platform and earn 25% of every Pro subscription you help us sell! Sign up here.
Make Money through Ads: This last way to make money on your platforms apply to YouTubers or and bloggers. This way of making moolah is very common but now being overlooked due to how long it has been around. That’s right, I am talking about those lovely ads we see before and sometimes in the middle of YouTube videos and the rectangular ads you see on the side of some websites and blogs.
Ad revenue share is a beautiful way for those starting out and want to make some extra money while putting their content out there. YouTubers keep up to 55% of ad revenue generated by their pages and videos. Sign up for Google AdSense for free.
The amazing thing about being a social media creator is we can make money from the comfort of our home or nearby coffee shop. Start with one of the paths above and grow your revenue streams over time. Be sure to check out our Influencer Business 101 course so you’re set up for success as you start to bring in more cash!