You know that cheesy saying “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life?” (Confucius said that if you’re wondering). Well, Almost a third of influencers are full-time “career influencers,” doing what they love every single day. Some indicators that it’s finally time for you to follow suit and transform your passion into a career are: daydreaming of taking that perfect OOTD pic instead of finishing that spreadsheet due by 5p, a crazy Saturday night is staying up editing posts (and you’re happy about it), content calendars rule your life (what even is a normal calendar?), a meal isn’t a meal unless you stand on chair to take a picture of it, and the list goes on! If you can relate to the majority of those, being an influencer may be more than just a hobby for you. Is it time to make it your career? As an influencer marketing agency, LMS has worked with our fair share of successful career influencers and gathered some inside tips on how to finally make that push from #sidehustle to day job.
How to tell if the time’s right?
Being ready to give up your salary is just the first step. Your social accounts need to be ready to attract paid partnerships so you can actually live off of your career influencer earnings. Here are some indicators that it’s finally time to make that push:
- You have loyal followers. Their loyalty needs to translate into high engagement rates. From our experience, brands want at least an average 2% engagement to even consider an influencer for promotion. Your followers should be showering you with likes and comments. To know your engagement rate, use engagement calculators, like this one.
- It shouldn’t be your first rodeo. Whether it be for product or payment, you’ve endorsed a brand before. This way you’re familiar with the process of brand partnerships and have started building an endorsement repertoire that you can highlight when trying to land bigger partnerships.
- You have an influencer community. Your questions will be endless and you’ll need answers from people who have been in your shoes. Our LMS Inner Circle, a community of over 600 influencers, is a great resource for established influencers who need advice, inspiration, and answers to all of their questions. Interested in joining? Contact us at heythere@discoverlms.com.
Getting started
If you’re ready on all fronts, your next step is preparing to launch your career. Here are some steps to help you grow as an influencer and make your decision to go full-time worth it:
- Strategize. Content creation is what gets you more followers and more partnerships. Be prepared and create a content calendar that spans at least three months into the future. Don’t forget to decide on consistent post days and times. Use social media analytic tools to figure out what day and time combos work best for your followers.
- Know your worth. 80 percent of full-time influencers charge a flat rate per post, you should know yours. Ask fellow influencers and gauge how much you should be asking for your promotion. There are so many tools, like this one, to help you figure out an idea of how much you should be asking from companies. *However, especially when starting out, be flexible! Experience is what will help you land bigger partnerships, so don’t shut the door on great opportunities solely based on if and what they can pay.
- Grow your network. Connect with other influencers, specifically ones with large followings, collaborate with ones who have shared interests and niches. A collaboration will introduce you to new audiences and increase your following, and in turn your engagement rate, making your posts worth more.
What to expect?
Don’t know what exactly to expect from your switch to career influencer? We’ve put together some common outcomes of going from micro to career influencer:
- Be prepared to hear ‘no.’ You’ll be putting yourself out there to companies and while some will be excited to work with you, others will decide it’s not a good fit. Keep in mind brands have strict criteria and limited budgets, so don’t let that ‘no’ discourage you. Our “How to land your dream partnership” blog post talks a little more on how to turn those ‘no’s’ into ‘heck yes!”
- You won’t have a dependable schedule. Being a full-time influencer is like being in a one man band. You play all the instruments. You’re never guaranteed a weekend off and traveling may no longer be considered a vacation. While it may seem you’re always working, the joy that comes from being an influencer makes up for the long hours.
- Social media will become your life. It’ll be your career and your hobby and you’ll constantly be on some form of technology, staring at a screen. This is what you signed up for, but make sure you carve out time to unplug. Find hobbies that pull you away from your multiple gadgets and schedule in time to do them everyday.
It’s 2018. A new year means a fresh start to create the life you actually want to live. You have tips, tricks and a good idea of what to expect – now it’s your turn to finally turn those double-taps, endless tutorials and product promotions into a career. Interested in learning about opportunities to work with some pretty cool brands? Or, need help getting your brand’s story out to prominent micro and career influencers? LMS can help! Contact us at imgame@wearelms.com and check out our blog for more helpful tips.
