How Do Influencers Make Money?

This week I’ve been listing to the podcast Under the Influence- it’s entertaining while being educational all about influencers. On one episode, the host briefly walked through how it’s possible to make money on social media. I figured everyone knew how and then I realized- of course they don’t! It seems like such a secret. My relatives and friends sometimes ask how do influencers make money so I thought I’d share the different ways.

how do influencers make money

First of all, in general, an influencer will only make money when they are bringing value to their community. Value can look like lots of different things- entertainment, encouragement, beauty, education, convenience, quality, and problem solving. 

So when an influencer brings value and builds an audience, they create a space that can then support monetizing. There are six key ways that influencers make money- from sponsored posts, affiliate links, advertising, products, services, and tipping.

I’ll walk through each of these in detail below. 

my story of making money as an influencer

My blog is my full time job and has been since August of 2017. I started At Home with Ashley in September of 2015. It started as both an outlet for creativity after my son was born and a yearning to be home with him.

My income as a full time visual merchandiser at 12 furniture stores was essential to paying the bills so I had to work my full time job. When my son was 6 months old, I started my blog and poured my soul into building it up. 

Honestly, lots of days I worried I was wasting my time. I had no clue what I was doing but tried to figure it out bit by bit. The day I quit my full time job to be a full time blogger was a BIG huge deal for me! It meant that I could work from home on my blog while I got to spend time with my son.

It was a dream come true. I’m not at all embarrassed that I make money blogging or how I pay the bills from being an influencer. I’ve worked a full time job for many, many years and most days I work longer hours and it’s more stressful being an influencer.

But with the bad, there’s the good of freedom to work wherever, I get to build a job I love, and I see my son much more. 

As an influencer, most of what I share doesn’t make me any money. I like to share fixing up my house, thrifting, and decorating tips. So how do I pay my bills with that?

the four legs of my income

The girls from A Beautiful Mess (OG bloggers who make great money blogging), suggest on their podcast that influencers should have four income streams. Similar to how a table should have 4 legs to make a stable table. Then, if one gets wiped out, the table can still balance without falling over.

I thought I’d share my four revenue streams and then go into the other options influencers have to make money online.

1- sponsored posts

A sponsored post is when a company pays me to advertise on my Instagram and/or my Instagram stories, my blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter about their product.

These are big money makers. I’ve actually gone over what I and what other influencers charge for sponsored posts on this blog post. In general, the more followers, likes, and comments an Instagram account has, the more they can charge.

Here’s how it works- a company emails me asking me to advertise their product. Let’s say it’s lightbulbs. If it’s a good fit, I send them my media kit which has my rates and different ways they can advertise on my channels. They tell me which option they’d like to do and then send me a contract, some lightbulbs and what they’re looking for in the sponsored post. 

We agree on a posting date. I create the content, send it in for approval, and then post it exactly as I sent it in. Once it has been posted, I send in a report for how the post has performed (how many views, likes, comments, clicks, etc) and an invoice.

I am then paid 30 days later. Honestly, sponsored posts are A LOT of work! But they pay well. The more sponsored posts an influencer does, the more they make. But there’s always a tricky balance of not doing too many so a person’s Instagram feed just feels like a big ad.

more about sponsored posts

I’ve gotten pickier with who I’ll work with on sponsored ads. I like to share companies I love and use. Sometimes it’s tricky because a company will offer you lots of money and it can be hard to say no and keep your integrity. It’s worth it though.

I make 50-60% of my income on sponsored posts. I make more when a post is on my Instagram, stories, and blog since that gets more views for the advertiser.

2- affiliate links

What’s an affiliate link? Instead of using a generic link, I use a company to transform a normal internet link into a commissionable link. Personally, I use RewardStyle. Another popular company to use is Shopstyle. I had to apply and be accepted to be able to use the links. 

So on Instagram stories, Facebook, YouTube or on my blog, I can use my special link so that if someone buys that item or anything from the site the item is on after clicking my link, I make a small commission (around 7%).

For example, in my Florida living room, if I link to the rug and someone buys it, I’d make $17.29 as a commission for referring traffic to Wayfair. Who pays the commission? Wayfair does (or whatever company you link through. Only select companies have approved to do affiliate links). It doesn’t cost the person who buys from the link any extra money.

Note, a blogger should disclose when they use an affiliate link on social media or on their blog.

more about affiliate links

It takes time for the small commissions to build up- especially when an influencer is starting out. On RewardStyle, a blogger gets paid 90 days after an item is purchased using the link AND when they hit a threshold of $100. 

For me, affiliate links make up a small portion of my total income (10-15%). It all builds up and I’m grateful for this source of income.

I’ll include a screenshot of my affiliate income from a few days ago-

 

Some influencers are much more successful with this revenue stream than I am. There are many bloggers who make a MILLION dollars a year through their affiliate links! (source)

I like using affiliate links because it’s a convenient way for people to buy what I have in my house. I can suggest items I love and have in my home or have used to create a DIY project and then make a small commission on them.

3- advertising

On my blog I have sidebar ads, a video ad, and a banner ad on my blog. I am with an advertising company called Mediavine. Essentially, the more views I get on my blog, the more I get paid since there are more views on ads on my site. 

To be accepted with my ad company, I had to apply AND have a certain amount of sessions (website visits) to my blog before I could add this revenue stream.

I’ve been with my ad company for 2 years and am SO grateful for them! I was already blogging frequently before being accepted so it was great to be able to get paid for views to my blog! It added income to something I spend about 3-5 hours doing 5 days a week.

more about advertising

If I publish a new blog post and promote it on social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest), I see extra views and make around $20-$50 for those views. The more interesting, exciting, and value I put in these posts, the more people click over.

Most my income comes from older blog posts that get views everyday from Google and Pinterest. These are VALUE filled! I will sometimes go back into these posts and make them even better (like with new graphics or information I’ve learned) so I can keep helping people who view these posts since they get seen by hundreds of people a day.

Right now my posts on making an IKEA banquette, affordable wallpaper, my Air BNB welcome template, wallpapering over textured walls, and quartz countertops are my most popular and what drive the majority of my traffic and ad income. Here’s a peek at what those posts made me income wise in April 2021.

For me, ad income makes up probably 30-40% of my income. I am paid 90 days after the ads are viewed. I am paid once a month.

Again, there’s people who make way more than I do with this revenue stream. I’ve been trying to learn SEO (search engine optimization) to increase this amount this year.

I look at it like how a TV show has commercials or a magazine had ads, my blog also has ads to keep it running.

4- rental property

My last revenue stream is my rental property I have on Air BNB. Right now, I’m renting out my house in Florida. I started our Air BNB in March 2020- it was a little rocky starting out to say the least. But now, things have evened out and we’ve been fully booked out.

This isn’t a huge income maker, but it does cover costs of the house and a little extra.

An Air BNB is a great option for especially home decor bloggers as it gives more spaces to decorate and share.

It was always my dream to be a snowbird in Florida, but the extra content is a great benefit!

The rest of these are other options influencers have to make money. I don’t currently use them, but wanted to cover them as well.

5- products

Lots of influencers create products to sell in order to make more money. These can be anything from an ebook to merchandise (clothes, prints, hats, etc.) to an app to selling presets. 

As long as these fill a need with their audience, they can be really successful! I know a blogger who makes a million dollars from an ebook she sells!

I sell a few things in my shop, but they don’t make that much. Just wanted to be honest about where I do and don’t make money.

6- services

Another, similar option to products is services. This is doing consultations or classes. Say an influencer charges $200 for an hour teaching about social media or helping someone design their house. Another service could be being a speaker or acting in a commercial.

Essentially, it’s when an influencer trades their time for money to provide a service.

7- tipping

The last option is for an influencer to ask their readers for a tip if they enjoy the content. This can be paid on Venmo or PayPal. Some bloggers choose not to do affiliate links or sponsors and keep their space ad free in exchange for asking for tips.

Alright, so there are seven different ways for how influencers make money. Did any of these surprise you? Instead of one paycheck from an employers, it’s bringing in money from lots of different places that hopefully add up.

I don’t think that these should be a secret! They’re all straight forward ways to make money (if handled well). I hope this was helpful and interesting.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

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