Pivoting from personal finance to Instagram influencing

November 24, 2021 • Issue #121

Hi y’all —

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m thankful for my family, my friends, Dylan O’Brien, white wine sangria, electric blankets, Archive of Our Own, booster shots, Omeprazole, this random Australian TikTok star whose videos I watch obsessively, the prayer hands emoji, the Netflix and Chill’d Ben & Jerry’s flavor, silly voice memo exchanges in the group chat, Spotify Premium, fountain Cokes, embroidered baseball caps and my editor, Mike.

I’m also grateful for YOU. I love writing this newsletter, and I’m so grateful thousands of you (!) take the time to read it.

If I’m being honest, Dollar Scholar is much more successful than I am on my personal social media platforms. On Twitter, I’ve got just under 2,500 followers; on Instagram, I haven’t even broken 370. I dream of being an influencer, but I’m not certain my reach is quiiite wide enough.

Yet.

It would be nice, though, to profit off of my near-constant posting. If Kim Kardashian can do it, surely so can I. How many followers do I need to have in order to monetize my social media? How can I get started doing #ads and #sponcon?

According to Eric Dahan, co-founder and chief executive officer of influencer marketing agency Open Influence, there’s not really a magic number I must hit in order to start making cash.

“You don’t need a massive following,” he adds. “Over time, brands have gotten more and more micro in terms of influencers and creators they work with.”

Admittedly, the bigger the profile the bigger the bottom line. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 368 million followers on Instagram, reportedly rakes in $1.6 million per post. Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, with 279 million followers, and singer Ariana Grande, with 277 million, both clear $1.5 million.

Quantity is nice, but so is quality. Dahan said what matters is the type of audience I have and the type of content I produce. If I’m just running a meme account where I repost other people’s jokes, for example, that’s not super valuable from an advertising perspective. Providing a legit service in a niche subject — like, say, personal finance tips for New York City parents — it’s an easier sell.

“Your first and only real goal is to create great content that engages your audience. Everything else flows from there,” Dahan says.

Greg Lawrance, co-founder and CEO at Ready Go Ventures, told me a solid starting place for good engagement is the 5-8% range. So if someone has 100,000 followers and they’re consistently getting an average of 8,000 likes on their posts, monetizing might be a legit option to pursue. (FYI, 8% of my 370 is like 29, so I’m killin it.)

From there, I need to figure out what might make sense for me to promote.

Alex DiFabio, director of client service at influencer agency Obvious.ly, told me going the nano-influencer route is probably easiest at first. I can sell my services on a site like Fiverr. Or I can begin posting brands I love organically and tagging them, in doing so starting creating a conversation with the brand and getting on their radar.

Just because I’m not #instafamous doesn’t mean I’m out of luck.

“Brands big and small often leverage these organic moments from creators because they know partnering with a nano influencer who shares their point of view may prove more beneficial than working with a huge influencer who may not even deliver good results for them,” DiFabio says.

Retailers will be looking for alignment between my audience and their products. Like, it’d be weird if I started heavily hawking seafood (which I don’t like) or sports equipment (which I don’t use) on my profile. But promoting a concert ticket app or glasses cleaner could work, especially if I have buy-in from my followers.

That’s because DiFabio told me brands often give creators discount codes to share. If a purchase is made with my code, I get a percentage of those sales.

Promo codes work much like affiliate links, which are another avenue I can pursue while trying to drum up cash from my followers. All I have to do is sign up for an affiliate program like Amazon Associates and start sharing my links, which provide me with a kickback when used.

If someone uses my link to order a Kindle, for instance, I’ll get 4%. If they buy a luxury beauty item, I’ll score 10%. If they sign up for Prime Video, I receive $2.50. With those rates, it doesn’t take a ton of clicks to earn a nice chunk of change.

“Small creators can make an impact for brands and for themselves financially in a big way,” DiFabio adds.

Becoming an influencer is basically like running a small business. Dahan said I need to set aside time to think about what I’m producing and come up with a content strategy, even as a fledgling influencer. Do I want to sell merch? Endorse companies? How much time do I envision spending on this?

Planning, hustle and authenticity are the keys to success.

THE BOTTOM LINE

(but please don't tell me you scrolled past all of my hard work)

I don’t have to wait ‘til I’m famous — I can make money off my social media platforms right now. Affiliate links, promo codes and brand partnerships are probably the best bets at the beginning of my #influencer journey. But it might take a while to build up to earning serious cash.

“You don’t need a million followers to make money,” Lawrance says. “Be patient, and more opportunities will open up as you grow.”

VIA GIPHY

RECEIPT OF THE WEEK

check out this wild celebrity purchase

VIA INSTAGRAM

My favorite celebrity Chris, Chris Pine, continued his streak of taking swoon-worthy paparazzi pics this week when he was photographed wearing bright green sweatpants, yellow Birkenstocks and a gray tank top featuring late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The "Notorious RBG" shirt costs $25, and it's not even his only one. What a prince.

INTERNET GOLD

five things I'm loving online right now

1	A German countess left a multimillion-dollar trust to her dogs when she died in the ‘90s, and now the descendants of those pups live the life. For proof, see Gunther, who has not only a private chef and private jet but also sleeps in a bedroom that used to belong to Madonna. Anyway, inspired by the hot housing market, Gunther is selling his eight-bedroom Miami mansion for $31.75 million. That’s a lot of bones.
2	Say it with me: pie charcuterie board.
3	I really loved this piece from Austin Kleon about watching your favorite movies in black and white. Forget Casablanca — apparently, modernish films originally shot in color are particularly good candidates. Kleon says Nacho Libre, Jurassic Park and The Princess Bride take on a sweet noir vibe when the contrast is bumped up. “An old movie becomes new,” he adds. “Magic!”
4	I’m so obsessed with this woman who turned her manuscript into a dress and sword that now I’m wondering if I should print out old Dollar Scholars and make myself a suit.
5	Everyone take a deep breath and watch this hedgehog get a massage.

401(K)9 CONTRIBUTION

send me cute pictures of your pets, please

VIA KEMBER GRIFFIS

Meet Finley, a positively regal pup who is preparing to make millions on Instagram by perfecting his blue steel.

Have a great holiday! LMK if anyone gets into a fight at the dinner table. I love drama, and I’m happy to intervene.

See you next week.
 

 
P.S. Have you ever been influenced by an Instagram ad? What’s your favorite movie? Sound off and send leftovers to julia.glum@money.com or tweet @SuperJulia on Twitter.

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