Wow- I am so excited that I’m at this point in my career as a blogger! If you didn’t know, in 2020 I went full-time as an influencer. After years of school and cross-country work experiences, I finally was able to take the leap. I want to be crystal clear that this blog post is in no way an opportunity for me to gloat about my success. In fact, my goal for sharing how I made six figures my first year as a full-time blogger is educational.
I want to be able to help other content creators learn from the mistakes that I made and encourage them that it’s possible to make this a legitimate business. You don’t need to have thousands of followers (a majority of these contracts were signed while I was at 20K on Instagram). You also don’t need to constantly share swipe-ups or accept every brand deal that comes your way. All it takes is a solid business strategy and a strong work ethic. So, let’s get started!
So if you’ve been following me for a while, then you know that I’ve been blogging for longer than just one year. I have been writing blog posts, shooting content, editing videos, and designing way too many Pinterest templates on Canva for the past five years. Over that time I was consistently making a few couple thousand dollars here and there. Which to a full-time college student with another part-time job, that was enough to keep me happy!
However, it wasn’t until 2018 that I started to really charge for my content as a blogger! I hit 10,000 followers on Instagram and felt that I was confident enough to really demand my worth every time a brand was in my inbox.
Determining when to monetize your content doesn’t begin with a follower account. If brands are consistently emailing you about working together and your content is creating value (whether educational or from a marketing perspective) then it’s 100% time to charge to ask for monetary compensation. In the end, what’s the downside? That they say no?
Since 2015 I had made about three times what I did in the previous year as a blogger. By the time it was 2019, I reached about $35,000 in revenue. At the time, I was juggling graduating from an MBA program, a recent health diagnosis, a wedding, and moving to a different state.
I knew that if I was able to achieve that type of profit while balancing everything else, I could see some real growth as a full-time creator! Anyone else feels the same way? I used to tell friends that in order to make a full-time blogger salary, you had to be full-time. And while that’s not necessarily the case, it definitely helps. I’m able to take on more projects, be flexible with my shoot times, and put more thought behind the things I post.
I know this is definitely the case for a lot of you! You might wonder if you just had the time that you would be able to have similar success. Being an influencer is in no way an easy way to make money. However, if you’re consistent and providing high-quality content to your audience and brands, success is readily available to you.
For the full breakdown, I made close to $95,000 in 2020 from sponsored content. I’m very proud of the partnership opportunities I had last year. Crest, Hyatt All-Inclusive Hotels, Amazon, Aldi, and Nordstrom are just a few of the campaigns I had the privilege of working on. In exchange for media, social shares, reviews, or blog posts, these brand campaigns were the majority of my revenue.
At 80%, this percentage makes me uncomfortable. Any financial advisor will tell you that you need to have diverse streams of income to ensure that you are safe from financial risk. For example, in 2020 we saw a lot of retailers file for bankruptcy, brands cancel their collaborations due to pandemic losses, or postpone campaigns because of political current events. If your revenue solely relies on ads as an influencer, then that can make you vulnerable to being in positions of financial strain.
Going forward I plan to diversify my income streams by sharing more affiliate links, offering my own coaching services, and digital products for my audience. These were always in the cards for me as I have thought about offering influencers advice 1:1 for quite some time. But it’s now part of my official business strategy, which of course, requires a bit more intentional planning.
My next highest source of revenue was affiliate sales. As an affiliate partner for multiple brands, I’m able to make a small commission on sales purchased through my links. A few of the best affiliate networks for bloggers are companies like rewardStyle, ShopStyle Collective, ShareASale, and Amazon. Similar to what I shared above, my goal moving forward is to continue to find ways to diversify these streams. With this in mind, I’m looking into additional affiliate programs this year that I can join. Rather than networks that focus solely on fashion or beauty items, I’ll be investing my time into offerings that are helpful for small business owners, too!
The smallest source of my business revenue in 2020 as a full-time blogger was freelance content creation. You might be wondering how this is different than being an influencer, right? Essentially, I was a hired model, photographer, or video producer. From there, I was sent the product to create a specific stylized shoot versus having complete creative freedom. The biggest difference is that the brand can use these images on their own social media or website without having to post on my end.
I love doing stuff like this because it allows me to still be creative without the extra brain capacity. It also allows me to develop relationships with brands that might not be a good fit for my current audience. But who knows if they would potentially work in the future!
There are times that I would LOVE to share some of the work but can’t because of contracts. The only validation I receive is a satisfied client, but that’s fine too! It’s still nice to know that I can have returning clients on this end of being a creator as well. I also took on small projects consulting for influencers and other small businesses on social media marketing and digital ads. In 2021, I’ve already put the wheels in motion for this to continue to grow.
It’s one of the most frequently asked questions I receive (besides how to pronounce my name).
There are fears that the industry is oversaturated and that there would be no point in joining now- even if it’s something that you think you would really enjoy. And to that, I say that there is truly no downside! Yes, it takes some confidence to put yourself out there. But if you like sharing about your style, beauty routine, or life as a single mom, then I think having the excitement from sharing that type of content and the emotional catharsis that I could provide are still suitable reasons to move forward.
Let’s be honest. A lot of industries are saturated. The influencer industry is no different. However, the best thing about this type of content marketing is that audiences follow influencers for their personality. You can stand out just by being your true, AUTHENTIC self! Making sure your personality can shine through a screen filled with hundreds of other creators is a great start.
“What if I can’t find people to follow the type of content I want to produce?” Well, if you look on Tik Tok, you learn that there’s truly a community for everything. Backing up that special personality with high-quality content on topics you’re knowledgeable about? Any loyal audience would be lucky to follow!
The best way to get started as a blogger is to just do it! You can improve from your mistakes, read blog posts about tips from other influencers and keep growing throughout the process. But you can’t become the next big influencer (or the side-hustle blogging boss you imagine) if you never start.
I hope you all were able to view this as a resource. I’d love to help you wherever you are on your journey to becoming an influencer! As we continue into 2021, I’m excited to continue to see growth in my own career. I’m proud to share that I’m already 30% of the way to the revenue goal that I shared in this blog post from January. And we’re just finishing Q1! I’m thankful that God has blessed me with this platform and I absolutely do not take it for granted.
Do you like these types of posts? Is there another topic you’d like me to delve deeper into on my next 1? Please let me know if you have a question about anything I shared above in the comments!
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Hey! I came across your blog recently and I love how I can get a variety from it. I just started my blog recently and I guess my question is how were you able to build a community? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Hey there! I’m so sorry I’m just seeing this comment. I’d be happy to chat more over email! tomi@goodtomicha.com
If you need to practice influencer coaching on anyone, hmu! :) I feel stuck at a certain spot and can’t get over the hump to succeed.
Hey April, I’d love to chat! Feel free to send me an email. :) goodtomicha@gmail.com
So impressed and inspired by you!! For the business you’ve built but also for your willingness to share what you’ve learned! You are making a difference and you are a light!
Steph, I’m so appreciative of your constant support! Thank you for your kind words!