How Influencers/Bloggers Make Money

This is a question that I get asked all the time: How did I become a fashion blogger? People think my job is just to take photos, but there’s much, much more.What does a social media influencer do?An influencer is someone who influences others and is admired by others. An influencer builds relationships with their followers and gives an honest review about a product or experience.

Affiliate Marketing

A blogger can make 10-15% on commission from a product sold via their blog. I have worked with companies like Nasty Gal and received 10% commission, but affiliate marketing works only if you have a lot of people interested in that product.

Gifted Collaborations

Bloggers can be given products to highlight in their posts such as clothes, accessories and even food/beverages. The company gets positive exposure and the blogger receives a product that’s value can range from $30-$500. For example: I was able to work with a brand that sent me a credit of $250 for their merchandise. It all depends on your engagement as a blogger and what you can offer other companies.

Paid Sponsorship

This is where influencers make the most money: an influencer can make anywhere from $100 to $10,000 on a single post. It all depends on how well the blogs KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) report is. While the typical influencer with 5,000 followers can make about $50 dollars, to be really successful the blogger must be able to report KPIs such as the number of blog visitors, average views per post, average inbound links per post, average comments per post, social shares per post, number of email subscribers, and positive statistics from prior campaigns (number of conversions, profit per conversion), etc. It is very important to track these metrics in order to attract large sponsors.

Writing An Article for Other Platforms:

Having a proven track reccord, can be an entryway to providing content for other companies. Your blog is your portfolio! Companies commission copywriters and guest bloggers, with various rates of pay. You may start at $190 per article, but as you build a good track record you will be in a position to ask for more. Often the only requirement is that the article be delivered on time.