10 tips on How to become a successful influencer and make money.
Let’s start with the definition of an influencer.
An influencer can in some ways be classified as a role model. Similar to a role model, an influencer is someone who has a fairly large, engaged, and loyal following of fans.
These followers often rely on the influencer to give references and advice that they can follow and trust.
They can also be defined as authority figures in their niches. Most people wonder how and why a successful influencer is so influential, but the answer is simple, they share their personal lives on social media which allows them to build personal connections with their followers.
So, therefore, when becoming an influencer its important to stay true and be honest with your followers, otherwise you will lose their trust.
What makes you stand out as an influencer is YOU. There is nothing else you need to acquire than what you already have. Your audience will follow you because they resonate with you, your personality, and your lifestyle.
Now that we know just how awesome becoming an influencer sounds, let’s find out how to become a successful influencer and make money!
How to become a successful influencer and make money.
Personal account to business account
First of all, you should start centering your Instagram page as your resume or portfolio. From now on you are going to carefully consider each post you make because it will display the type of content that brands can expect from you.
But…before you do any of this you must change your personal account to a business one or you can have two separate accounts, one for business and one for your personal life.
By changing your account to business, it will allow you to track your posts-performance, give you access to your insights, add your industry on your profile so others easily know what you do and you can also add a contact button for when brands come knocking down your door.
Find your niche BEFORE you become a successful influencer
This is an important step to take BEFORE you decide to become an Influencer. If you are not familiar with the term niche, then you should start doing some research as you will be hearing this word A LOT.
Finding your niche is crucial because if you’re going to build a business around you being an influencer, you’ll need to know the direct market you’re speaking to.
As an example, you’re someone that never uses beauty products, (you’re a minimalist) but you begin promoting them to your audience, this will create doubt amongst your loyal followers and brands will see this as a liability.
Here are a few of the most common niches:
- Travel
- Lifestyle
- Fashion
- Food
- Beauty
- Sports
- Gaming
- Entertainment
- Tech
- Health and Fitness
Try to go even deeper. If you choose tech, then as an example, you only focus on pink tech or for beauty your niche is skincare as opposed to makeup.
Finding your niche is not always easy, but it is possible to have more than one, just make sure that these niches go well together like fashion and travel work really well.
As a successful influencer, you must PICK YOUR PLATFORM
Being an influencer does not necessarily mean you have to make use of every social media platform there is. Once you have found your niche start researching where they hang out.
The different platforms could be Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok.
You need to prioritize your platform based on your target audience. For instance, if most of your followers are millennials then you would focus more on Instagram and TikTok, but if they where older you would be more focused on Facebook.
To do this you can use a site called MarketingProfs.
Prioritize your content
A lot of influencers have become well-known because of their high-quality content.
Consider the influencers that you have been following for a while, they most likely post meaningful photos that add some kind of value. You need to find a way to make your content stand out above the masses on social media.
You get different types of content such as photos, videos, or blogs. The most important thing when becoming an influencer is that you create your own voice and use your unique personality to make your followers respect and stay loyal to you.
Know your audience
You need to have a deep understanding of your audience. This is an easy way to ensure that your content appeals to them over and over. Get to know your audience and find out what they like and what they are interested in by asking them questions and responding.
This will allow you to consistently stay engaged and keep them wanting more from you.
One way to find out what your audience is interested in is to pay close attention to your comments on a post, blog, or video. This will allow you to know what your followers are saying or how they are feeling about your content, you may even get next-level ideas from them.
Most social media platforms allow you to view your analytics which will make it easier for you to get to know your audience.
Remember to check this frequently and stay on top of the latest trends, as they’re constantly changing.
Recognize the importance of hashtags
This is key!!!
Leaving hashtags out of your content is like baking a cake without flour.
Believe it or not, hashtags are very important, especially if you are trying to grow your audience from scratch.
The first mistake that influencers make on Instagram is they don’t spend enough time thinking of appropriate hashtags. The correct hashtags will allow your content to get far greater reach and be noticed by your specific target audience.
Don’t add hashtags just to fill up space. Make sure that they are relevant to your content as the latest algorithms are picking this up!
Try using a third of each:
Low-range hashtags: 1k – 50k
Mid-range: 50k – 100k
High-range: 100k +
This gives you a better chance of exposure and so that your photo doesn’t get lost in the masses.
Related post: Instagram Updates You Need to Know, Hashtags & stories Highlights
Consistency is key
Previously I spoke about publishing high-quality content, but in order to keep your followers happy and engaged, you need to be consistent with your content.
When you deliver consistent content, your audience will start to look forward to your next post and it will create anticipation. This will allow you to not only build on your relationship with your followers but it will also boost your engagement.
If you do not have enough content to post consistently, rather than posting lower-quality content, keep your followers engaged in a different way, such as uploading stories about things that they can relate to.
Collaborations with other successful influencers
What does it mean to collaborate?
Collaboration means reaching out to an influencer in your niche and figuring out a way that you can create content together.
I know this sounds a bit far fetched especially if you are a new influencer, but you will be surprised at how many famous influencers are willing to help you because they know that they were once where you are now.
If you don’t land a collaboration with a major influencer then turn to other micro-influencers that have a new audience you can put yourself in front of with a collaboration.
Another effective way to boost your audience engagement is to do giveaways and contests, who doesn’t love a giveaway?
Usually, you can offer them prizes in exchange for comments, likes, and follows.
Create a website
Creating a website always sounds like a hassle, but these days they have made it possible for everyone and anyone to do this easily.
You’re probably wondering what creating a website has to do with becoming an influencer, but let me tell you, this is a secret weapon to help you become a successful influencer.
Here is why, you will use your website to establish credibility, you will be able to showcase your content on a larger platform and go into more detail about what it is you do and can offer to land deals or collaborations.
Overall it spells out a professional presence and shows that you’re serious about it.
Respond to your fans
As your audience keeps growing you are going to receive more and more engagement such as comments, DMS, and feedback from your followers. You must reply to all of these. If a follower makes an effort to comment or message you they will expect you to do the same.
If you do not respond to them they will feel discouraged and will most likely unfollow you. Don’t make the mistake of using bots (they will know), this will start to break the trust between your followers and result in less engagement.
After reading this I’m sure you feel a bit overwhelmed and that you are not sure where to start, therefore I’m so excited to share this content in so much more detail with my ultimate Influencer starter pack.
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This includes media kit templates to easily present yourself to brands, lists of agencies that you can contact plus you can get access to the EXACT email templates I used that resulted in my first $1,000 month in brand sponsorships.
This is just about a STEAL, so why not make the most of it?
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Related post: How to Make Money on Instagram and get paid for sponsored posts