An influencer is still a top business revenue model that can generate a very lucrative income. Here is how to get started as an influencer – the best rules for 2020!
According to Business Insider Intelligence which estimates, based on Mediakix data the “influencer marketing industry” is on track to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022, up from as much as $8 billion in 2019.
However, rules for building an influencer brand are changing and will drastically evolve in 2020 and beyond.
“Influencers will need to start thinking like publishers, creating engagement including photo search solutions (hence Pinterest relevance) to earn content marketing credibility and build trust to achieve survival sustainability.”
(This article contains highly selected affiliate links where we receive financial compensation, thank you for trusting in us.)
Gone are the days of simply recommending products with self-proclaimed love as an endorsement.
Today’s influencers will need to attract niche audiences by becoming experts in subject matters.
Shop Kylie Cosmetics Featuring Exclusives @ Ulta Beauty
Take for example “Kylie Jenner” focused her subject matter on “lip kits and makeup” which dubbed her as the “gold success standard” among all influencers and those aspiring to do it exactly as Kylie did to create a billion-dollar empire….If you truly understand content marketing, it’s easy to see that Jenner operates like a content marketing pro similar to KOLs “key opinion leaders.”
KOLs are the subject matter experts, they basically own “search keywords” in a sense. Their thoughts and viewpoints as opinions are highly sought after especially by media outlets. Plus KOLs reach isn’t limited to the origin of social media platforms. They are subject matter experts in varies niches and areas of expertise. Big data firm CBNData suggests in China the influencer economy (known also as “online celebrity” ) is estimated to be equivalent to $17.16 billion, double its size in 2016.
The new shift demand from brands will be targeted towards hiring more “micro and nano” influencers. Brands are looking to receive an objective ROI “return on investment” in their influencer marketing campaigns.
Nano Influencers – Following size between 1,000 and 10,000 followers.
Micro-Influencers – Following size between 10,000 to 100,000 cap. They haven’t crossed 100k followers yet.
Macro or Mega Influencers – Following size between 500,000 to over 1 Million followers or more.
Top Macro or Mega Influencers – Following size between 10 Million followers or more.
“Finally, brands have come to understand the realization that, having a larger amount of followers will not connect their products to consumers eager to make purchases online or in-store.”
It’s actually just the opposite and hiring micro and nano influencers don’t solve the problem altogether.
To be purposeful for brands “all influencers will need to develop content engagement” around their subject matter expertise.
Typically, the majority of micro and nano influencers are not properly established or set up to capitalize on their revenue earning potential. “That’s what this article is going to change!”
Step 1 – Establish Subject Matter Expertise Focus Areas
Determine what your specific niche focus subject matter expertise will be. Select anywhere from 2 to 4 focus areas that are closely related to a lifestyle option. Like for example “people who eat well” like to also “workout” regularly.
“Beauty, Fitness, Health, Food, etc.”
As an influencer, you need to be able to create content engagement about your subject matter expertise consistently. To sound or appear believable you should also live the lifestyle.
Step 2 – Develop Your Own Self-hosted Online Platform
The biggest mistake that most influencers make, especially micro and nano influencers are not having their own self-hosted website!
Influencers should be utilizing their social media channels as a marketing strategy for engagement to drive traffic back to their own self-hosted websites. Building their own online empire, which looks more attractive to brands and demonstrates diversity outside of social media channels.
WordPress powers over one-third of the web. This is because WordPress powers 34% of all the websites on the Internet, including those without a content management system (CMS) or with a custom-coded CMS. WordPress also holds a 60% market share for content management systems on websites with a known CMS.
The Best Web Hosting
The preferred self-hosted platform is WordPress and selecting Bluehost as your service provider. For a limited time receive a 30-day money-back guarantee when you order through our site.
FREE Domain Name for 1st Year
FREE SSL Certificate Included
1-Click WordPress Install
24/7 Support, Starting at $7.99 $3.95/month*
Step 3 – Create Your Influencer Media Kit
For this very reason, you need your own self-hosted website. Inside your influencer media kit should contain your “website address, resume, and marketing portfolio” offering important data to help brands want to work with you and hire you for your subject matter expertise.
“Keep in mind your influencer media kit should be designed to attract sponsorships and future partnerships!”
The “Influencer Media Kit” should also be available for brands to download online from your website. However, it would be a good idea to protect it and utilize the opportunity to sell sponsorships directly inside.
Take advantage of having your own self-hosted website by featuring a special page to learn more and download your Influencer Media Kit using software like SendOwl
As an eCommerce platform SendOwl allows you to create and upload your Influencer Media Kit, that you can provide to others at no charge or a fee to download to gain access to your offer. In general, you don’t want to charge to download your Influencer Media Kit that you want brands and media outlets to receive.
However, inside your Influencer Media Kit through SendOwl you can sell sponsorships directly! “Increase your revenue earnings and brand awareness at the same time.” Special bonus: Receive SendOwl with a 30-day free trial!
Step 4 – Build Affiliate Marketing Brand Relationships
Affiliate marketing should be a brand relationship that all influencers must consider in 2020 and beyond. Affiliate marketing generates at least as much as email marketing! Contributing to 15% of the total revenue made through digital marketing efforts. It’s anticipated that in 2020 and for recent number updates in 2019, affiliate marketing will outperform email marketing.
“This is a global industry worth well over $12 billion!”
Making affiliate marketing very relevant to your influencer revenue business model. Where 81% of brands rely on affiliate marketing programs.
An easy entry into affiliate marketing is to work with a network that doesn’t require you to individually apply to partners in their program.
MagicLinks is designed for creatives, a top preferred affiliate marketing network for influencers looking to generate six figures and above, no matter if they are just getting started as emerging or well established. Through this platform once approved influencers can apply to top retailers without being rejected. MagicLinks has relationships with more than 3,500 retailers and a product catalog of more than 500 million products from which to share and earn from subject matter expertise. “Perfect for every influencer!”
The top earnings are influencers who create and share subject matter expertise for at least 30 links per week with followers and logging in to their accounts daily to monitor this data. “That only requires creating 6 links a day through the weekdays to post and share with fans!”
Influencers will also need to follow FTC guidelines by disclosing the links are also #Affiliate or #Ad sponsored to stay in compliance.
Influencers find it much easier to gain approval through MagicLinks to become an affiliate marketing partner with top retailers, where they are often rejected through other networks. There is no charge to apply and once approved influencers can start selling affiliate marketing products and earn top commissions with no setup or signup costs involved.
Enroll in “MagicLinks” Affiliate Marketing Network
Good luck!