4 Things Every Beginner Influencer Should Know
I can admit, I thought being an influencer was a joke. I rmember making a video making fun of influencers by fake promoting this pair of lashes I found at the beauty supply store. It wasn’t until I started blogging that I realized the power of becoming an influencer, building my platform and having the AUDACITY to quit my job and do this full time!
Well technically, I didn’t quit my job, I got laid off because of COVID, so becoming a full time influencer was my only choice. This time that I had to focus on my branding is what helped me land my first paid brand collaboration at $500, and then the second one was $500 within that same week! Crazy thing is that it took me 2 weeks just to make $450 working at the Marriott.
When I tell you that you get paid what you’re worth doing what you love (essentially being yourself), versus getting less than you deserve for what you hate, there is NO better feeling! The only way to close that gap between you and doing what you love, is through confidence and strategy.
Being a Wellness Influencer and truly embracing this self care journey has helped me build that confidence to create content, pitch to brands, and get paid what I’m worth. Furthermore, taking masterclasses, listening to podcasts, reading books and more, gave me the strategy I needed to continue landing brand deals and creating a better lifestyle for myself than when I was working at the Marriott.
Pssst, I was sleeping on a couch while working full time, barely making ends meet. Now I work for myself, collaborating with brands and I have my own apartment, get free trips and free product. This is fun, but it’s still business at the end of the day and I want to help people like you enter this world of influencership (a term I created to combine entrepreneurship and influencers).
Enough about me and my journey for now, I’m sure you’re ready to learn about the 4 things every beginner influencer should know:
1. Your Bio Needs Work-most people skip the part about their bio and just think its about cool pictures, not understanding that their bio is considered their business card. You know how a business card includes the person’s name, their title, where they work and their contact information? Well your bio is just about the same and it needs to have the following: Your name, city, what your platform is about (ex. Showing single moms how to live their best life, or normalizing luxury for black women, etc.), email address (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT) and then a call to action such as, “join my email list” or “read my latest blog.” This shows that you mean business and it helps brands when looking for new influencers.
2. Stop trying to work with big brands in the beginning-aiming to work with only big brands can result in rejections depending on the following and the content you have and this can be quite discouraging. Instead, focus on working with smaller brands, they need love too! If you want to work with Dove, find body care companies and create high quality content for them like they’re Dove. This allows you to build genuine relationships and attract their followers which creates opportunity for following growth, THEN the big brands will be more attracted to you. But don’t sweat it, you can still be poppin without big brands, I’m the perfect example!
3. You need a Media Kit-without a Media Kit, your ability to work with brands is nonexistent. This is what you will use to show brands how amazing and passionate you are. Oh and by the way, you don’t need to have brands on your kit if you are new and just starting out. You can just share your skills and a few of your best blogs. If you don’t have a Media Kit, just google them, however, I do make them for the beginner influencers who hire me as their coach.
4. You will need to invest in your brand-before you expect others to-investing in your brand in the beginning is nonnegotiable. You know the phrase “you are what you eat”? Well you are what you attract. If you put out poor quality content, you will attract poor quality followers who will not like your posts, nor purchase products when you become an affiliate for a company. Invest in masterclasses, e-books, and even a good camera (my good camera is my phone for now). Please note that investing does not always require money, it requires time. Take time in planning content, taking high quality photos, pitching to brands and more. Consider it as planting the right seeds.
That wasn’t too bad right? I hope this helps you as you begin your journey as influencer. If you want to take your influencer journey to the next level, I encourage you to check out my Influencer’s Beginner’s Guide where I show you how to EASILY become an influencer, make sure to grab my free checklist to show you how to hold yourself accountable.