Want To Become A Influencer … Start Here !
The potential of becoming an influencer!
Today I want to talk about the potential benefits of being an influencer on any of the major social media platforms (i.e. twitter instagram youtube facebook. ) Now some of you may be asking the question “what is a influencer ? “ An influencer is an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience. Typically these people are niche to particular industries examples include cosmetics, cars, technology, travel etc… But their content (the things they take pictures, write or post videos about aren’t always necessarily directly related. A Lot of time these people have grown a following for other reasons not directly related to the industry they have influence in …
How do influencers make money?
Now this is totally dependent on the platform that the influencer uses & no two platforms alike so i’m going to keep this very simple and if you want more information on any of these opportunities . Look them up on youtube.
1. Hosting Events
This is probably the easiest of the bunch as it requires a following of any size in a certain geographical location . Often time local night clubs will hire promoters to recruit people of all follower ranges to post about their event . Its cheap advertisement for the club because 9/10 times they only pay the promoter who recruits you. In exchange for posting you will get free entry to the event and maybe a free drink or two . Be careful in this arena thought the club scene is very deceptive and can be a huge gateway to the world of distraction of individuals who pretend to have everything but actually have nothing .
2. Affiliate Marketing
These opportunities come early on especially on instagram when you have a well defined niche. Companies will begin to contact you offering you free products in exchange you display, wear, or discuss their products in your photos, videos or blog content .
3. Ads
Youtube has this feature built in and attaches ads to all videos on youtube’s and pays the person posting the video a percentage of the profits from each add. Paid ads requires a much larger audience i’d say at least 200k for instagram and a proven niche. But you can charge companies related to your niche a flat fee to advertise their products .
4. Physical Products (aka merch)
The Merch is your own branded products that your followers will buy simply because they bleed your brand . T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, you name it. Once you have cultivated some die hard fans merch is an excellent method to reward yourself two fold by giving your fans a product they will love and use to spread the word.
5. Sponsored Posts
Like paid ads these a normally for larger companies with deeper pockets but sometimes you may be on a contract to produce a specific number of posts about a particular products. Fans typically don’t like this.
6. Brand ambassadors
Similar to sponsored posts or ads typically this will require the influencer to exclusively work with a particular brand . As a member/employee of said organization. Can be very lucrative but this is something that comes later in the game when you really well known .
7.Digital Products (ebooks, podcasts, webinars)
Last but not least , if you have cultivated your following as a expert in a particular industry , for example relationship advice, photography, technology, financial freedom etc… you can create valuable tools to help your followers with whatever it is that you hold valuable knowledge in . And if you aren’t ready for that yet you can simply create a good product or service and sell it to them .
Where do I sign up ?
Pick a social media platform and begin to use it every day . Make compelling and intriguing posts that make you stand out amongst the millions of other users on that platform.
I must point out that anyone looking to be a successful influencer must understand that these individuals work extremely hard to cultivate the following that they have . And even though it may seem easy , it is in fact very difficult and time consuming.