How to Make Money as an Influencer/ Content Creator
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Last Updated on March 8, 2025 by Tiffany
There are SO many ways to make money as an influencer or content creator that many people don’t know about. SO many people think they need a huge audience and partner with lots of brands to make money, but this isn’t the only way.
I’m going to teach you my favorite and the best ways to make money as an influencer. Coming from a gal who has been doing this for years!
What is an influencer or content creator?
There has been a lot of shade thrown at influencer the past few years and I’m here to defend the art. Influencing is a real career and it’s also a lot of work! While I consider myself a content creator more than an influencer, they are quite similar, let me explain bestie.
An influencer is someone who shares their life online and has built a stable career off social media. Emma Chamberlain is one of the biggest influencers of my time and is a multi millionaire.
Content creators can share so much more than just their life and their topics can range from travel, recipes, to lifestyle. I am a blogger and content creator who shares food/travel content on Tik Tok, Instagram, Youtube, and my newsletter (I wear a lot of hats!).
Don’t think you can just post a video one time and go viral and make $70k. While it’s very possible to make great money from this work, you actually have to work for it. Let’s discuss a little more about what this career entails.
Is there real money in influencing?
The short quick answer is yes. Like, an insane amount of money honey. Since becoming a full time content creator, I’ve made more money than any of my previous jobs and then some.
Some of the best ways to make money as an influencer or content creator are brand deals or digital products. I’ve had brand pay several thousand $ for one Instagram video. And that’s just one stream of income!
The Influencer Middle Class
It’s important to note that while there are a good amount of people making millions from influencing, most are middle class. What does this mean? It means that most people who do this full time make a middle class salary-myself included.
This salary can range anywhere from $35,000 USD to $90,000 USD. I am far from a millionaire content creator, but I’m comfortably nestled in the middle class range and I’m SO happy about that!
So, if you want to become a full time content creator and think it may seem unachievable, don’t worry, you’ve got this!
Is Influencing a stable career?
Yes, influencing can be a very stable career. However, you have to be financially responsible and treat your platform as a business from day one.
I think it’s very important to be very smart when it comes to this type of business. Its still very new and its been less than 20 years since this influencer thing really took off.
Do followers matter?
Yes and no- let me explain. While a high amount of followers is always great, the amount of engagement and views you get provides heavier weight.
For example, one of my favorite all time food YouTubers with 22k subs gets the same amount of views as another creator with 130k subs. A high following is great but engagement is where honestly it’s at.
If you’ve got 400k followers on IG but are getting low engagement, brands aren’t going to like that. We are witnessing the death of the follower and the rise of the algorithm. This can be a curse and a blessing depending on which way you look at it.
How to make money as an influencer- The Tips
Digital Products
Selling digital products holds such a special place in my heart as an income source! Basically any niche can create a digital product and make lots of money from it.
A very popular food content creator made an ebook for Jamaican recipes and she made over $26,000 USD during the month of Father’s day because of a sale she promoted! Plus, this stream is completely passive once you’ve finished writing and designing the material unlike brand deals.
Commissions/Affiliate
I’ve seen creators make $10,000 per month simply by just recommending certain products to their audience. Commissions and affiliated links are honestly one of my FAVORITE ways to make money as an influencer because its passive income.
Having passive income streams is so important because you make money while you sleep. If a creator gets sick and needs to take a week off work, no worries.
They don’t have to be in fear of not posting and not making money because affiliate links are constantly live and automatically payout each month!
Exclusive Subscriptions
No, I’m not talking about OF. I’m talking about a paid membership for exclusive content that isn’t available on your regular socials! Okay, that sounds a lot like OF but let me explain!
Patreon is one of the best subscription services creators use to offer exclusive content to their viewers.
For example, one of my favorite reading YouTubers offers a reading club for her viewers at around $10 per month. If a creator can get 100 people to sign up, that’s an extra $12,000 per year!
By the way- you don’t have to only rely on Patreon! If you’re a food creator, you can create a website and offer 3 recipes for free and your other recipes are available for a $7.99/ month subscription.
User Generated Content
User generated content (aka UGC) is basically regular people showing how they use a product. You may have seen a lot of this off Tik Tok ads. This is different because instead of a brand paying for exposure to a creator’s audience, they are simply paying the creator to make the content.
This stream of income is perfect for those new to influencing/content creation and is still a great way to make money.
Monetized Newsletter
Every content creator/influencer needs their own newsletter. Let me repeat myself. If you want to be a full time influencer, you need a newsletter!
Think about it, even if you have five million followers on all platforms, you still don’t own those accounts. Facebook, Tik Tok, and Instagram own those. However, if you have a newsletter plan, you will always own it.
Plus, having a newsletter if great for promoting and selling products or offering discounts to your loyal audience! I always promote my products in my newsletter and have ben able to make a great amount of sales this way.
Also, another amazing way to monetize your newsletter is by collaborating with a brand or affiliated links! One of my favorite travel bloggers always includes affiliated links to hotels or his books in his newsletters.
Brand Sponsorships
Basically everyone who is an aspiring influencer or content creator knows about making money via brand collars. How this income stream works is that a creator will get paid to promote a product for a company.
I highly recommend this income stream, especially for those with highly engaged or large audiences because brands are willing to pay more!
Social Media Consulting
Many successful content creators that make big bucks actually teach others how to make their own businesses! Creators can create consultations on any topic that they have an expertise in.
For example, for me as a food content creator, I can offer one on one meal planning consultations to clients with personalised recipes per month. I’ve seen creators charge $100 per session. If you get 5 clients per month, that an extra $500 bucks!
Youtube Adsense
This stream of income is from the ads on YouTube videos. If any aspiring creator wants to take their content full time, I always always ALWAYS suggest YouTube! This is because you can make money from brand deals, digital products, bust most importantly ads.
YouTube Adsense pays far more for long from content compared to short form on any other social media platform. For example, if a video gets around one millions views on Youtube, that creator will get compensated around $30,000 USD.
If those same views are made on Instagram or Tik Tok, the payout may be a measly $400 USD. That’s a huge difference!
Trips/ Retreats
Believe it or not, there are many travel social media influencers that make a full time income by hosting trips around the world!
Whether you partner with a company or plan a group trip yourself, trips/retreats are a brilliant income source. Especially for travel creators or those in yoga/food!
To make the offerings even more attractive to your audience offer special services. This can look like personal cooking classes for food creators or anything you desire.
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