Influencer marketing: Is it a good side hustle?

Open full sized image

Content is king, but is it lucrative?

© DC Studio/stock.adobe.com

You see them everywhere on TikTok and Instagram. Social media influencers share products and document lavish travel. They may offer advice about investing and share their favorite apps for trading stocks. Perhaps your favorite “finfluencer” has a budget tracker you can buy.

But what is an influencer, and how does influencer marketing work? Whether you’re looking to earn a bit of cash on the side or become a full-time social media star, knowing how influencers make money—and how much—can help you determine whether a career in front of the camera is for you.

A social media influencer is a content creator who has built a following for a specific topic on networks and websites such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. In the realm of personal finance content, a social media influencer is often called a finfluencer (a portmanteau of finance and influencer).

Influencer marketing involves social media influencers selling goods and services to their followers. An influencer may, for example, create content and post it on Instagram. A marketer with a product to sell might pay that influencer to post about the product, hoping that the content creator’s followers trust them enough to buy it.

There are tiers of influencers, categorized by how much money they can make for sponsored posts. The terms and amounts vary depending on who is defining them. Industry trade site Influencer Marketing Hub, for example, breaks influencer tiers into three categories:

Social media influencers employ different strategies that can be used simultaneously to make money:

How much money you can make with influencer marketing depends on several factors, including your audience size and how enthusiastic your followers are. Nano-influencers make an average of $195 a post, according to Influencer Marketing Hub. But it’s possible to make more if you have an engaged audience that trusts you and is eager to buy what you’re selling.

Many social media influencers use multiple strategies to earn money. They might accept sponsored posts from companies while engaging in affiliate marketing. Some finfluencers make money from ads that run alongside their financial content while also selling their own digital products, such as investing courses and budgeting templates. Others hold retreats and events, sometimes in partnership with companies, allowing followers to meet them in person and buy goods in person.

Although some social media influencers make five figures a month, most don’t earn nearly that much. Less than half (48.5%) of influencers say they make money from their accounts, according to HypeAuditor. Of those who do, the average influencer with fewer than 10,000 followers makes about $1,420 a month.

If you want to become an influencer, it’s important to understand the effort needed to grow your business, whether it’s a side hustle or a full-time gig. The good news is that it’s possible to be successful, even if you’re a nano- or micro-influencer. What’s more, companies that use influencer marketing prefer working with smaller, less expensive creators who may still have highly engaged audiences, Influencer Marketing Hub says.

If you’re considering becoming an influencer, there are some things to keep in mind:

1. Topic and type of content. Typically, a successful content creator becomes an influencer by focusing on a niche, such as personal finance, travel, fashion, beauty, crafts, or do-it-yourself (DIY). Focus on creating compelling content that others find interesting and useful.

2. Platform. Consider which social media platform your potential audience is likely to use and where marketers might want to see your content. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the most popular sites for companies that use social media influencer marketing include:

3. Time and effort put into growing an engaged following. Finally, consider how you can cultivate an audience that trusts you, which includes creating interesting content that others find useful. One of the best ways to build your business as an influencer is by offering engaging, visually compelling content that prompts viewers to take action.

Influencers who made money from their accounts spent about 29 hours a week creating content (about four hours a day), according to HypeAuditor.

It’s possible to make money through influencer marketing, but it can be difficult to differentiate yourself in a saturated market and make more than $2,000 a month. If that challenge doesn’t faze you, consider starting your business as a side hustle and build your social media profile while maintaining your day job until you’ve built a sufficiently large, loyal following for your influencing efforts to be sustainable.