How does Social Media Influencers make Money

With over 3.4 billion social media users across the globe, this has given rise to the iconic phrase and profession of ”influencer”. But while most people pine for their lifestyle of travel, parties, and free designer goods, influencing is, in fact, a full-time job.

Though it may not look like it to you, the social media consumer who only sees a snippet of an influencer’s entire day, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. But the question remains — how do they actually make money?

If you’re wondering how to get paid as an influencer or build up your social media following to support your goals, check out this blog for more.

How To Get Paid as an Influencer: Different Income Streams

So, you and everyone else with a social media account have probably found yourself wondering, how much do influencers get paid, anyway? Well, the amount can vary based on a huge range of factors. What’s most important to know is that all social media influencers had to start somewhere. And most of the time, it’s with a blog.

To add to this, most social media influencers may earn several streams of income from different accounts — not just an Instagram account, for example. Most importantly, being an influencer is so much more than just a ”hobby”, as most people tend to assume.

Social media influencer income can differ substantially from one person to the next. And this has a lot to do with how much they dabble with online. If you’re interested in earning an income as an influencer, here are some proven methods:

1. Affiliate Marketing

This is probably the most popular and simplest means of earning money if you have a decent social media presence. However, it’s not always easy to master. You’ll need to have an authentic social media following and a decent number of followers, usually in the thousands, to garner some affiliate attention.

The idea of affiliate marketing is pretty simple. An influencer promotes a product or service and is then compensated whenever a person makes a purchase from the link they shared. How much do Instagram influencers make through affiliate marketing? This depends on the brand or company they’re working with.

It also depends on how much each customer spends. Most of the time, earnings are based on a certain percentage, which usually falls in the range of 5-30 percent. What an influencer earns through affiliate marketing also comes down to how many affiliate programs they work with.

Some of the most common affiliate partners that influencers tend to work with include Amazon or smaller brands that run their affiliate programs through CJ Affiliate.

2. Blog or Website Display Advertising

As mentioned earlier, all influencers have to start somewhere, and for many, that’s with a blog. If not with a blog, then many influencers will have their own personal or business websites. Some influencers might use both.

Another great way to earn a passive stream of income as an influencer is with display advertising. What does this entail? An influencer signs up with a third-party provider and gets paid to advertise a certain code on their blog or website.

You can earn money in one of two ways with display advertising. The first option is cost-per-click (CPC) advertising. An influencer receives a small amount of profit each time a blog or site visitor clicks on the displayed link.

The second option is with a cost-per-thousand network (CPM). An influencer earns a set amount of income for every 1000 ad impressions. This means that no one needs to click on the link or ad, but you’re paid for just displaying it.

The trick here is to generate as much traffic to your site or blog as possible.

How much do Instagram influencers earn through display advertising? Again, the amount varies and also depends on how much traffic your blog or website receives on a monthly basis.

For some influencers, they can earn up to $500 per month for displaying just one ad. If you decide to display more, your earning potential only increases.

3. Brand Campaigns and Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts and brand campaigns are another means of earning a decent income as an influencer. Brand campaigns are similar to affiliate marketing campaigns. Essentially, a brand asks an influencer to promote their product in exchange for payment.

This gives rise to sponsored posts, where influencers create content to promote a certain company or brand and their products.

The same goes for travel bloggers and influencers. They are paid to promote the destination and location of their travels, while the brand or company covers the cost of the trip. The trade-off is that an influencer must produce certain deliverables for compensation. Such as blog posts, travel guides, videos, and social media posts.

So, how much do influencers make per post? There are a number of variables at play. Most of the time it depends on the number of followers you have, i.e. your reach, and the product or service you’re promoting.

Celebrities can earn up to $100,000 or more for brand campaigns and sponsored posts. While your average influencer with a few hundred thousand followers may earn anywhere from $500-$5000 per campaign.

Then there’s also brand ambassadorship. This involves a long-standing arrangement between an influencer and a brand to promote their products or services. The compensation for these arrangements is much higher due to the level of promotion involved.

4. Online Courses, Ebooks, and Subscriptions

Influencers also have the chance to get creative with various streams of income because of the reach they have. This gives them an opportunity to create online courses, write ebooks, and offer subscriptions.

Online courses usually provide their followers with some form of educational content, such as workout guides or training programs, downloadable cookbooks, etc. This is a direct means of income for an influencer as you pay a fee to download the guide or sign up for a monthly subscription.

Subscriptions are a great way to earn a regular stream of income. Essentially, you’re offering your followers access to additional content that’s usually behind some type of paywall. Due to the reach of many influencers, it’s easy to promote your own products and make money by doing so!

5. The Sale of Photos and Video

If an influencer is particularly skilled in photography or video (and most generally are), this is another prime opportunity to make money from the content you produce.

Travel influencers, for example, are able to take incredible photos or video footage of destinations and sell it to certain brands. The same goes for beauty, fashion, and lifestyle influencers.

Most influencers have a huge stock of high-quality stock images they have created. They use their talent and this stock imagery to sell to brands and websites that need fresh content for their own social media feeds.

While this is not the most reliable and steady stream of income, it can still earn influencers some extra money, especially if a photo or video goes viral.

How To Become an Instagram Influencer and Start Earning Money

If you’re interested in building up your Instagram following in order to promote your modelling or acting career and earn yourself some income, here are a few top tips. Your first is to start a personal blog. You can also use it as an online modelling or acting portfolio to further promote yourself.

You want to follow these important steps after that:

1. Prioritise High-Quality Content

If successful influencers all have one thing in common, it’s the quality of their content. It’s clear as day that they put real effort and consideration into what they post. This is the best way to make an impression on any brands you may work with and also build an authentic following.

The quality of your content determines your reach, engagement, and relevance as an influencer. So take the time to produce only the best quality for your Instagram profile and blog.

2. Focus on Authenticity and Engagement

One of the best ways to solidify your success as an influencer is with an authentic following. This means that your followers consume your content because it’s unique to you, it’s useful and engaging.

Brands will look at how engaging you are with your followers, too. They want to see that you put effort into replying to comments and creating content that serves your audience. Always remember to create content that’s two-sided — how does it serve you and how does it serve your audience?

3. Become Part of an Influencer Network

This is a fool-proof way to not only meet like-minded influencers and get inspiration from them, but to meet up with brands you’d like to work with. You don’t have to have a huge following to join an influencer network, you just need to be willing to put yourself out there.

An influencer network matches you up with brands that fit your characteristics so that the content you produce actually suits you and your audience. If you’re lucky enough, you may even get to choose the brands you want to work with!

Looking for Influencer Representation?

Now that you know a little more about how to get paid as an influencer, you want to find the best representation to get your name, and personal brand out there.

Hunter Talent is one of Australia’s leading acting and modelling agencies to help you achieve your goals as an influencer. If you’re wondering how our sign-up process works, check out our FAQs.