13 Ways You Can Make Money From A Large Social Media Following

There are much better options than just charging for posts... :-)

So you have a ton of real, engaged followers on social media. Congratulations!

So now, how do you monetize that. It's not like Instagram pays you anything to make a post.

I turned to 13 prominent influencers, who each shared their ideas about how an influencer can monetize his or her brand.

Enjoy, and best of luck to you!

Plan an event where you can meet your followers and people can purchase tickets

Events: Plan an event where people can purchase tickets, or try to host an event and get paid to do so. This may be for more established influencers and stars, but is an amazing way to monetize your brand and meet your followers in person! - Fitness & Health Expert, Sofia Rodriguez

Funnel, funnel, and funnel some more

Funnel, funnel, and funnel some more. Not too long ago, I had so many things going on but still wasn’t really sure how to monetize many of those things or how to get people’s eyes on it. It wasn’t until a friend was staying with us who’d just attended a conference brought up funneling that the light went on. It’s such a easy thing to do but I’d totally overlooked it and the art of streamlining. By the next morning by funnel was up: on my IG bio, YouTube, blog, facebook, all linked to my paid coaching services and amazon affiliate influencer page. Simple, but effective, plus it cost me nothing but time to do. - Eve Dawes of FitnessByEve

Target your dream brands — and work for free

Start by targeting your dream brands — and work for free. When I started Damask Love, I did a lot of work for free. I set my sites on a few brands that I loved and would ask them to send me product. Sometimes I would even purchase the product myself. Then, I would create content and tag them in the post, or email the blog link to their marketing team. Slowly but surely, this strategy allowed me to build meaningful relationships with brands that are now a huge part of my monetization. - Amber Kemp-Gerstel of Damask Love

PR/Social Media Consulting

PR/Social Media Consulting. This avenue of monetization is something that I’ve been able to do partially because of my consulting experience. However, many influencers in the industry have opened up their own PR or Social Media consulting firms, and they are able to do so because of their experience in this realm and their ability to develop a brand. I’ve worked with some clients as their social media consultant to help them develop impactful content, work on their engagement, organize their posting schedules, select influencers to work with, build their following, etc. - Joseph Lucido, founder of The Lucido Life.

Design a product and dropship / retail from your website, ebay or Amazon

Design a product like a wristwatch and dropship / retail from your website, ebay or Amazon . Alexander Cooper, Actor and Producer

Paid speaking engagements

Via goo.gl

A few other ways an influencer can earn income is through paid speaking engagements, hosting events on behalf of a brand, or through consulting gigs. As a blogger/influencer becomes more popular and grows their authority on a subject, they can command higher rates. - Lifestyle Editor Christina-Lauren Pollack

Write a book based on what you are posting about

Write a book. Use what you are posting about, see what the pinch point is and write a “how to” book. Not only does the book bring in monetised sales, but you can then branch out to other influencers to promote your brand and book through affiliate marketing. - Nicola Knobel of My Inner Creative

Sell E Learning resources, like courses, ebooks, coaching, & mentoring

Sell E Learning resources, like courses, ebooks, coaching, & mentoring — This is what I do personally, as it’s so personal to my life & experience. I want to have a positive impact on others and help them achieve their goals, while preventing them from making any of the same mistakes I did early on. There’s so much I learned in my professional career that was never taught in school, or by my parents. - Jake Fowler, Founder of The Exceptional

Build a community out of people who want what you are offering

Build a community out of people who want what you are offering. I share a blog and a chapter of a book every week on my website and social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) I reach out to my readers and look to hear their voices telling me I’m on the right track. - Author and Musician Adam Cole

Collaborations

Collaborations — I think collaborating is a good thing because it’s basically two people coming together with 2 diffrent platforms to work on one amazing venture which will leave people excited.

Like for example if Kevin Durant and Floyd Money Mayweather collabed to raise money for a charity event it would make a lot of money because it’s to different genres coming together as one. - TV Personality Isaiah Jenkins

Offer advertisements or sponsored posts on social media and your blog

The most common way to monetize your brand as an influencer, is to offer advertisements or sponsored posts on social media and your blog. This is such a tried-and-true way to monetize your brand, and adding an extra layer to these services like takeovers and exclusive content is a genius way to remain relevant and attractive to potential clients. - Influencer Dalton Primeaux

Become an ambassador for a brand earning commission

Commission: becoming an ambassador for a brand, earning commission via instagram shop or offering readers discount codes can all be highly lucrative. For example, the app ‘brandsnob’ gives you £250, every time a brand you referred spends over £500 on booking influencers. The app OnlyFans also offers you lifetime commision on any user you have referred. - Nia Davies, Founder of Yugenial

Create Content That Helps and Educates People

Kepios / Via goo.gl

Post things that will help or educate people. No matter if it is inspiration quotes, fitness, skin care or fashion tips, you must create content that others can see and utilize your tips to create a strong trusting brand. - Jason Rosell, Founder of Caliente Fitness