In 2022 the influencer marketing industry grew to a $16.4 billion industry, and it is only expected to grow in 2023. This growth is leading to many new opportunities for content creators of all sizes to make money online and brands have learned that the best way to get exposure with their target audience is by working with influencers of ALL sizes.
The social media industry has changed so much over the past several years and it’s not just the big influencers making money today. Micro influencers are starting to land deals with dream brands and are bringing in deals well into 5-figures. I’ve talked to nano influencers with as little as 5,000 followers who are landing free trips, receiving free products, AND getting paid to create content for big brands.
This year the social media industry is going to continue to shift as brands continue to spend more money and attention on micro influencers. This allows for smaller content creators to tap into opportunities to make money through sponsored posts, user generated content (UGC) and more.
Now with brands needing more access to content more than ever, this has led to a booming demand for UGC content and now creators with no following at all are working with big brands and tourism boards and are getting paid to feature their content on their page.
The number 1 mistake people make is waiting too long to get started.
I hear this time and time again and many content creators can really start monetizing way before they think. Influencers undervalue their content, and they think there is some sort of magic follower number you need to be at before you can start getting paid from brands.
I am here to tell you that it’s not true.
The best way to find success in content creation as an influencer is to start working with brands early on. It’s a great way to gain exposure and build your portfolio as you work on brand collaborations (whether they be gifted or paid).
Brands are starting to focus more on the quality of content and not so much the follower count
so now is the time to start reaching out to brands for brand collaborations, content creation
and more.
Whether you have 1,000 followers or 100,000 followers, this blog post is for you. If you aren’t
monetizing yet, I will show you the best way to get started.
And if you are already making money online, let’s talk about how we can get you to the next
level as a content creator.
How to get started with Influencer Marketing
Social media is the easiest way to make some extra cash because it really allows you to utilize your unique skills, and you can do it from the comfort of your home, a vacation, anywhere.
Whether your skill is writing, photography, videography, branding, networking, etc., there is room to market your personal brand and grow a space that is unique and individual to you.
This post will focus on getting paid for content creation and how even as a nano influencer you can start monetizing this year!
The best way to grow your personal brand as a content creator is by making sure you look professional on every single social media platform. You’ll want to ensure your account is open to the public and all the content you share is a reflection of the best way you want to be represented. When you put out amazing content and interact with your followers, it helps increase your engagement rate and that is a huge draw for brands looking to partner with nano influencers.
Your engagement rate is a big deal when it comes to brands, and they often find it more valuable to work with a micro influencer with a strong engagement rate over a micro influencer who has a much smaller engagement rate. Smaller content creators are more likely to connect with their audience on a personal level and this is an important strategy to piggyback on.
I always recommend starting a new Instagram page, so you have a clean slate to work with, but if you have already grown a following, you’ll want to take some time to clean up your social channels so that is on brand with the types of companies you are hoping to work with. This helps brands know that you’ll make a good fit to represent their company.
Narrowing down your niche
The next steps after you’ve cleaned up your account on every social media platform is to narrow down on your niche. The best way to narrow down on your niche is choosing something that is authentic to you, something that is already a part of your everyday life. For example, my niche is family lifestyle & family travel- it’s a reflection of our everyday life so partnering with companies that are good fit in those categories works for us and help bring brand awareness to my partner’s target audience.
Next steps are to find what works best for you and narrow it down.
Here are some categories that might be a good fit for you:
- Lifestyle
- Beauty
- Travel
- Family
- Fashion
- Home Décor
- Food & Recipes
A great way to find inspiration is by following other social media influencers in the same niche. Not only will this lead to inspiration for content, but it can also give you an idea on the brands other content creators are working with, and ultimately you may want to send out a brand pitch to one of these companies down the line too.
Narrowing down to a specific niche is the first thing you should do before you event start creating content. Once you have that determined, you can start by creating a list of content ideas and organize those ideas within a calendar.
You can also get my Free content calendar and access to 80 post ideas here!
Getting noticed as a nano influencer
A nano influencer is classified as a micro influencer with less than 10,000 followers. It’s a booming market and many brands partner with smaller accounts.
The reason why it’s easy for a nano influencer to get noticed by a big brand is because social media sites have been SEO optimized to serve as a search engine by keywords.
The first thing you want to do is ensure your Instagram has a bio that reflects the type of content you create. Using keywords and hashtags is important in getting noticed as the right brand may find you through these terms through a quick search.
For example, if you are a travel content creator, you would want to include that in your bio using key terms like travel blogger can help a tourism board or hotel find you for a future collaboration.
Ensure all of your posts have key terms and hashtags as this will provide good SEO and help brands find you for future paid brand deals.
Another good idea is to interact with other brands you may be interested in working with and follow other content creators. Engaging with these accounts a few minutes every day is the best way to do quick networking.
What should you charge?
There is not standard when it comes to rates in the influencer marketing industry. There is no formula to follow, and every content creator determines the best way to provide pricing for each specific brand collaboration.
So many factors also come in to play when it comes to deciding what you want to charge. Some of the things you need to think of are the quality of your content, your engagement rate and exclusivity, usage and whitelisting terms.
So how do you charge for content when you are a micro influencer with a small following?
Here are some things you need to take into consideration:
- Your time- how long is it going to take you to shoot for this project?
- Props- Are you need to purchase any props or additional items to bring this campaign to life?
- Who’s involved- is this a project with just you, or is your entire family on board?
Many influencer marketing platforms will have set rates and you will then decide if you feel you are the right influencer for the project based on the rates and deliverables. Many of these projects are set rates and there is often not much wiggle room when it comes to a particular brand.
If a brand is reaching out directly for a paid brand deal, you will have more flexibility in determining what you want to charge for this project and you can take the above questions into consideration for the best way to move forward with pricing.
How to find brands to work with
Instagram is one of the easiest ways to find what brands you want to work with.
The contact button on their page is usually directed for social media collabs and is usually the best way of reaching a brand.
In addition, you can use a company’s website to find the best brand contact to ensure your pitch is targeted to the right person. Between Instagram and the company’s website, you should not have any issues in finding the right email address.
Often times the brands you contact may work with PR companies and they will send your information to their PR reps at an agency. Working with PR reps at an agency can open many doors of opportunities as they often work with other brands in the same niche and this person can become your brand contact for many different collabs.
Creating UGC content- the best strategy if you don’t have a following.
Now that we’ve covered how to work with brands for sponsored posts as a micro influencer, it is now time to switch gears and talk about the ways non-creators are working with brands to monetize online.
So what is UGC content?
User-generated content is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms. This content is purchased by brands to use your content on their social media channels.
Brands need content, so they work with digital creators to purchase content to share on their own social channels. UGC content does not even require a post from you on your personal page, which has opened the door for ANYONE to be a content creator- regardless of how many followers you have.
The nice thing about UGC content is you can determine your pricing based on your time and quality of your work and do not need to factor in things like your following or engagement rate.
If you have experience making TikTok videos or photography, this is for you.
This is how it works.
This is what happens after you getting accepted into a UGC campaign.
A brand will ship you a product to create content with or will ask you to shoot at a destination (for tourism boards and travel brands).
The brand will provide you with a set of deliverables (example: create 5 unique videos), a list of talking points they want you to touch on in the audio, and any do’s and don’ts they’d like to see in your content.
You will be provided with a document with all of this information along with deadlines.
Next steps will be creating content. You’ll want to take consideration where you are going to shoot, travel time, props, etc. when planning out your content creation for your band deal.
The next steps after submitting usually entail a brand approving, rejecting or requesting edits for your submitted content.
Once everything is approved and submitted, you get paid- a price that is often set by you!
Influencer marketing platforms to sign up for
Influencer marketing platforms are the best way to get your foot in the door with influencer marketing and UGC creation as they easily connect you with the right brands.
While many of these platforms first originated to connect brands by creating an influencer marketing campaign, a lot of these platforms have shifted to finding the right influencer for UGC campaigns.
The first step is to sign up for all the influencer platforms as that will allow you to opt-in to specific campaigns. These platforms break down if a brand is looking for content for for a sponsored post from an influencer.
Click here to get a list of UGC creator
platforms to sign up for!
Once you are approved on an influencer platform, the next steps are to sign up for e-mail notifications and ensure your bio is up to date. The best way to grab a brand’s attention is by including brief info about yourself but also sharing examples of some of your best content.
Check these influencer marketing platforms weekly to see if there are any campaign that might make a good fit. Often these platforms will separate by UGC content versus sponsored post to make it easily to identify which campaign would make a good fit.
It’s never too early to start pitching
Once you have a few UGC campaigns under your belt, you can start pitching brands to see if they would be interested in partnering up for a collaboration.
When sending out a brand pitch email, it is always a good idea to find a contact name to personalize your message (see above on finding the right contact). Keep your pitch short and sweet but showcase your very best work.
If you do not have example of your best UGC posted on your on social media channels, you’ll want to share media kit templates or a portfolio that showcase the various types of work you are able to create.
When it comes to an email pitch- no one wants to read a full essay on why you want to work with them.
However there are some essential pieces of information that you should always include in the perfect pitch.
There should be 5 elements included in a brand pitch email.
By following these most important steps you’ll find more success in cold pitch emails to help you land a brand’s attention through the perfect pitch.
- Let’s start with possibly the most important part- the subject line. This helps grab the brand’s attention before you get started.
- Introduce yourself, briefly mention who you are and why you want to work with a brand. If you already use the brand, mention your favorite products. If it’s something you want to try, mention what you’ve heard and why you’d love to do a review for them.
- Mention why you are a good fit to work with the brand. How does your style of content creation match what this brand is posting on their social channels?
- Specify exactly what type of content you can provide– photos, content, guest blog posts, etc. You want brands to visualize what you’ll provide so get as specific as possible.
- Include your social media links, content samples, and let them know you are open to exploring ideas and chatting further about a possible opportunity.
That’s it! These simple elements will help you get noticed and drive your message home.
Now that you know the in’s and out’s of making money as a nano creator and a UGC creator, you are ready to get started. Make it your task this week to sign up for these 15 influencer marketing platforms so you can start monetizing online in 2023!
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