How to be a Paid Influencer

It is much easier for the people who have achieved a name, fame, and fan following in a specific field. They can easily promote a product or a brand. It might not be this easy for you. You have to build a follower base from scratch. You must achieve the trustworthiness that an individual will visit your account before making any buying decision. But how can you become a paid influencer? Today's brief post is going to resolve this question. Without any delay, let's start!

What are the Steps to becoming a Paid Influencer? 

Although the path to becoming a successful influencer can differ for every individual, the work is the same. They build a fan base in a specific genre by creating value-added digital content. Later, they collaborate with brands to promote them. 

This promotion includes stating facts about the product, raising awareness, and guiding the viewers. This helps a brand to get the required recognition, attention, and trustworthiness. It bridges the gap between the potential consumers and the brand. To ensure the success in this field, follow these steps: 

Choose a Topic You're Genuinely Interested in: 

To build your digital empire, you must opt for a trait you are genuinely interested in. This will help you to be regular in your content creation and bring out your true personality. Remember, the audience is clever. They can identify the authenticity level of the creators in a few minutes. This will help you to gain the trust of the Internet quickly. This topic can be anything, such as makeup, fashion, or even jokes about your school life. 

Moreover, you must find out the answer to 'why.' Instance, famous beauty influencer Shreya Jain uses her handle to empower girls, teaching various makeup techniques and encouraging girls to chase their dreams. Once you get the answer, you can add high value to the content. 

Choose One Channel to Focus on: 

Don't be 'a jack of all trades, master of none.' If you have set your bird's eye view on success, you must restrict yourself to a specific channel. Putting your feet in different channels together will cause burnout faster. You can have multiple handles; however, your return from the other platforms will be zero. To decide on the right channel, consider two things: 

Genre: The right channel depends on your content type. For instance, Instagram is best for makeup and fashion content, while YouTube is best for educational or travel content. Many dream of getting paid while sitting at home and doing their favorite work. If you dream the same, becoming an influencer can help you to fulfill this dream. As per Statista, the global influencer market has tripled in 2019. Experts expect this market to reach 24 billion U.S. by 2024. Indeed, it is one of the most promising career traits as well.

Target Audience: Your target audience plays a pivotal role in choosing the platform. Follow the market trends. Instance: if you target Gen Z, go for TikTok or Instagram, while YouTube is best for millennials. 

You can expand your footprint on different channels or website content once you achieve a strong fan base. Instance Folasade Daini started her journey on Instagram, and after reaching a point, she expanded it to YouTube. 

Create a Content Strategy: 

The content strategy works as a roadmap to reach your goal. Creators enlist the ideas they are going to work on. However, things are not like in the ecosystem of famous creators. 

Famous creators create and post content and then gauge its popularity level to understand the viewers' interest traits. For example, renowned influencer Folasade Daini started her journey by making videos on relationships and dating. However, after gauging the interest traits of her viewers, she quickly shifted to making mom videos, which brought her immense fame. 

Besides this, here are two tips that can help with this: 

Engage Your Audience: You can ask your audience about the content they want to see next. Polls and direct messages are great for this. This helps to foster the feeling of family and love within your audience. 

Competitor Analysis: Look at other content creators, especially the big ones, to get an idea. However, if you recreate an idea, it's better to get permission first. 

Create and Publish Content Consistently: 

Consistency is the key to success in the digital world. Publishing value-added content regularly helps build engagement and increases the chances of being traced by the algorithm. The algorithm helps bring your content to your target audience. Well, it takes a lot of effort. You can maintain a calendar for this. For example, on Monday, you will shoot; the next day, you will edit it and post it. 

Famous travel blogger Alexa Renee stated, "I post at least every day on TikTok and at least 2-4 times a week on Instagram. With consistency comes growth. And I've established trust with my audience. My best advice for someone new is to just start creating. People get so caught up on the platforms and aesthetics, but ultimately, to succeed, you need content.

Engage With Your Audience

The best way to build engagement in your content is to engage with your audience. It fosters the feeling of being heard among your viewers. It shouldn't be like you post content and don't bother about the opinions of your viewers. Always reply in the comments section of your post, even if it is a negative comment. Folasade Daini advised, "If you want to be a successful influencer, you need to offer value to your community."
Here are a few more tips for this:

• Automate your profile with a welcoming message for every new subscriber or visitor
• Directly message your loyal viewers with a 'thank you' note 
• Engage in conversation in the comment section 
• Re-share their story if they have tagged you 
• Build a particular community and share special tips there    

Invest in Content Creation Equipment:

Quality content is non-negotiable if you want to establish a digital footprint. Your good ideas will be wasted if the quality fails to meet the standard mark. If the visuals are not up to the mark, no one will watch them, and tools work like weapons here. So, always invest in your content creation equipment. 

However, in the beginning, you can do the job with some basics. For instance, if you are opening a channel on YouTube, in the initial days, you can shoot with your smartphone in natural light. However, with a growing audience, you must invest in a good camera, a lighting setup, a microphone, and editing software. These things will help enhance the overall quality of your video. 

Learn from Successful Influencers:

Learning from the leading influencers is one of the best ways to grow as an influencer and to become a paid one. Often, successful influencers share tips on community engagement, how to price your service, how to pitch for the brands, and how to negotiate. Follow their tips to grow your empire. 

You can also watch the interview podcasts of famous influencers to learn the trends and set a roadmap. Beauty and fashion influencer Malvika Sheth shared, “I'm constantly seeing how other creators are leveling up their businesses because I think it's really important, and the influencer industry is always changing. So, staying up to date is quite important.”

Hopefully, these tips will help you to start your creator journey and to become a paid influencer. If you want to level up the game, you can book a call with famous influencers. However, that is not mandatory. Following these tips and your passion is quite enough.

What are the Best Ways to Make Money as an Influencer?  

Once you grow your audience base, is it enough to become a paid influencer? Are brand promotions the only way to earn as an influencer? Influencers earn through various ways, such as affiliate marketing, online classes, etc. Do you want to know more about it? Let's dig into the details: 

Affiliate Marketing:

Global affiliate marketing is worth over $17 billion now and is expected to reach $27.78 billion by 2027. Influencers earn a significant amount of money from this. Do you know how? You can earn by sharing custom links or referral codes. 
Here are the steps you should follow to become an affiliate marketer and to earn through it: 

• Collaborate with a brand 
• Get your code or link 
• Promote the brand
• Share the referral code or customized link with your audience

You will receive a commission with every purchase using that code or link. 

In an interview, beauty and fashion influencer Malvika Sheth shared, "A lot of people in my community would ask me, 'Where did you buy this? Or where did you shop this?' And I'll share my affiliate links with them. Being able to directly give people those links sometimes does help. And it adds up to a decent amount of income.

Advertising Revenue:

Do you love a passive income? Then, advertising revenue is for you only. These advertisements work like a digital billboard on your website. In this, the marketers run advertisements related to your content on your website, and with every click on that advertisement, you will receive an amount. 

This is called Pay-Per-Click (PPC), and applications like Google AdSense help to execute it. For example, you are an educational blogger, you have written a piece on how to do influencer marketing for the aspirants on your website, and a digital marketing education institution runs ads on it. Readers will click on it to learn about the topic in depth or to pursue it in the future, and voila! With every click, you will get money. 

Online Courses and Products: Depending on your genre, you can sell digital products after building a strong follower base and gaining trust. For example, if you are a beauty and skincare enthusiast, you can sell a dedicated skincare regime to your followers after a one-to-one consultation. 

If you are a travel blogger, you can sell tour guidelines with all the necessary details, such as hotel names, guide numbers, etc. Downloadable resources, eBooks, online tutorials, templates, etc. are great digital things to sell. 

On the other hand, after achieving the desired success, you can help the other aspirants by providing online courses. Many influencers offer a one-on-one session that helps newcomers understand the quality and standard of content creation. 
For example, Folasade Daini also provides this kind of class. Once you achieve the goal, you can also make your speech and templates ready to sell.  

Physical Products and Merchandise:

Many influencers introduce their product line once they get the desired name and fame. Which kind of products you are going to sell depends on your genre. For example, Huda Kattan is one of the most famous beauty and fashion bloggers in the world, with 53 million Instagram followers. She has her own brand, Huda Beauty. 

Huda Beauty has secured its place as one of the luxury makeup brands in the world and gained huge popularity among enthusiasts. 

Just like makeup products, influencers also start their own merchandise. For example, Chiara Ferragni is one of the top fashion bloggers in the world, with 29.5 million followers on Instagram. She has a brand by her name and four flagship stores. However, if you plan to open merchandise, gather the required knowledge first. 

Subscription Based Platforms:

As an influencer with a booming follower base, you get plenty of ways to earn money, and subscription-based platforms are one of those. These platforms provide a space to sell dedicated, subscription-based content. Moreover, Instagram offers an in-app subscription service where influencers can only offer featured content. 

This content can be blog posts, video content, or anything else. Patreon, OnlyFans, and Substack are some of the renowned and popular platforms for this. For instance, if you are a healthy lifestyle influencer, you can sell customized food charts on these platforms. 

Or, if you are a fashion influencer, you can sell dedicated video content here. Substack is ideal if you are a blog writer and want to send a dedicated newsletter to your subscribers. 

Product Collaborations: 

After making a solid follower base, you can monetize your influence through product collaborations. Here, you have to team up with a brand to create a product line and will need to promote that among your followers. Now, the brand will depend on your genre. It can be makeup, clothing, or anything. 

For example, a few years back, the famous cosmetic company Mac introduced its festive kit in collaboration with renowned beauty blogger Shreya Jain. She has 439k followers on Instagram and 756k subscribers on YouTube.

Imagine, as a beauty blogger, getting the chance to help them build a specific range and promote that, and with every purchase, your bank account will smile a little more. 

Please note that product collaborations are not limited to physical products only. For instance, if you are an education influencer and make videos on digital marketing, you can collaborate with a coaching institute or app to promote their courses. 

Sponsored Content:

For an influencer, sponsored content is one of the easiest ways to earn money. Brands pay you to make personalized content using and promoting their product directly to turn your followers into their consumers. Here are some valuable tips for this: 

• Always be creative with the script of sponsored content 
• Content must be crisp and according to the choices of your target audience 
• Be honest with the review    

Unlike affiliate marketing, you don't need to share any link or code here. You need to make videos only and tag the brand. Here, you are working as a video advert for the brand. 

Sponsored content is also not limited to the digital arena only. You can promote a brand by writing paid blog posts or reviews on your social media handle. 

 Brand Ambassadors:

To flourish, a brand needs to build its high image and reputation in the market, and brand ambassadors help with that. Here, social media influencers introduce the brand and build its image. As an influencer, you have to promote the brand organically and help build the image. 

There is a chance that in the initial days, brands will offer incentives for working as their ambassadors. However, you will get a handsome amount of cash after building a solid base. Do not forget to have a clear conversation about payment and work methods before starting the task. 

Selling Ad Space: 

If you wish to be an Instagram influencer, then selling the ad space might not be helpful for you. However, shifting your focus to website or YouTube content creation can be a good money stream for you. Here, you have to let the brand marketer run ads to your space, and with every click on the advert, you will get some money. Influencers with high traffic earn pretty well through this. 

However, as most viewers are using ad blockers, influencers are shifting their focus from this. 

Start a Podcast:

Over 464 million people listen to podcasts across the globe. It is predicted that this market will be $ 504.9 million by 2024. So, an average listener listens to podcasts at least 7 hours a day, and the number is rising. Famous influencers have already jumped to leverage this trend. For example, social media influencer Logan Paul started his journey on YouTube and is currently into podcasts. He has over 23 million listeners. You can also follow the same. However, you must invest in the proper setup and equipment to start this. After making a listener base, you can kickstart earning through subscriptions or collaborating with brands to promote them. 

Creating "Members Only" Content: 

As a blogger or influencer, creating "member only" content can help to give an ecstatic moment to your bank account. Here, you must make unique and more value-added content for the devoted followers who have paid you subscription fees. However, you must keep the general content free to maintain the follower base. 

This dedicated content can be an email newsletter, live video updates, behind-the-scenes footage, or more in-depth content. Patreon is one of the best platforms for this. However, you can start a unique community in your channel to avoid Patreon fees and share the sacrifice content with those. 

Tipping and Donations:

Many influencers have gone beyond the subscription game and started a tipping and donation system. Unlike the subscription method, here, all the content remains free, and only willing subscribers support their streamer. If you want to maintain equality among your followers, this is one of the best ways. 

Twitch and YouTube are the best platforms for this. Twitch directly helps subscribers pay money to their favorite, while YouTube lets you monetize your channel. However, YouTube will charge 30% of your revenue. 

Public Events and Appearances: 

If, you are thinking that as an influencer you can earn money by only promoting brands and making content then you are a little behind in the game. Once you become a successful influencer, you receive celebrity status. Fans and followers love to see their favorite streamers and listen to them live. For this, brands host events frequently. You will be able to earn enough from these events once you reach this point. 

Conclusion 

Becoming a paid influencer undoubtedly requires quiet handwork. You must constantly read about new products coming to the market and be aware of market trends. Following trends will help you stay relevant and tracked by algorithms. 

One of the best tips for becoming a social media influencer and making money is to understand your audience's pain points and create content regularly based on those. If you follow the tips mentioned here, you can surely achieve the goal. Then, you can easily go through the monetization process. Best of luck for a prosperous future ahead!