How Much Do Influencers Really Make?

Ever wonder what it is like to have a million followers and that ever-coveted blue check mark? I thought it meant million dollars homes to match and very little work to be done. I mean, how long could taking a photo or making a 15 second video take? It is like the world's easiest job, right? Boy, was I so wrong.

THE WORK

Turns out, it is harder than just snapping a photo when you feel like it or making a 15 second video after rolling out of bed. It is spending many hours consuming content to know what is currently the trend and what type of content is performing well. After you have figured that out, you then need to figure out how to make it your own and how to make the content resonate with your audience. It is the immense pressure to constantly be putting out quality content. Take a few days off? Unfollowed. Video wasn't entertaining enough? Unfollowed. Heaven forbidden you say something people don't like- you're cancelled. After putting out content, you must spend some time engaging with other creators and responding to your followers. I never want to seem ungrateful so I try to reply to everyone. When you have a million followers, that can easily be 200 or more messages per day to try to reply to. If you try to reply to all comments, then that could easily be 1,000 or more comments to reply to every day.

The other thing no one talks about is brand deals. I will get to payment in a minute, but I was surprised that high-paying brand deals don't just fall into your lap. You have to spend a considerable amount of time reaching out to brands yourself and curating a message specifically to them. While I thought brands would be excited to work with someone with so much reach, I was surprised to learn that 75% or more of brands never even respond to your message.

THE PAYMENT

So, here's the big one. Big influencers make tons of money, right? Wrong.

At over a million followers, I am shocked at the amount of brands that reach out to me asking if I can post about their product in exchange for their $10 product and no payment. A brand would never go to a TV station and ask them to produce and air a commercial for them in exchange for a face wash. They would be embarrassed to do that and they should be embarrassed to offer influencers that.

When I am offered payment, I am shocked at how low the payment is. I am regularly told that $500 is too much to ask for. Although I am thankful for any offer, it is important to me to not constantly be putting out ads to my audience. Due to this, I usually only take two brand deals per month.

So, after having one million followers for a few months, I have made about $1,700 per month. While I am grateful for this opportunity, it is not anything luxurious.