• Develop a niche based on your expertise

Being an influencer also means being an inspiration for other people who view your products or profile. Hence, you should choose a niche that you have expert knowledge about. When I talk about expertise here, I mean supreme expertise, nothing less than that! Never get into a niche because your competitors or peers are doing it. Fashion and fitness are two common niches that we see today, but there is nothing wrong if those aren’t your core competencies. You may be good at something unique such as pet care, home-gardening, organic cooking, etc.

Spend some time in choosing your niche so that you can influence others to follow your products, thereby making enough money for yourself from the same. People are bound to be put off when they see half-baked posts with only fillers and nothing new to learn from. So, be very careful in choosing your area of expertise and then work on it.

• Consistent posting of content

Regardless of the social media platform you choose, you need to be very consistent with your posts. You can become a good influencer only when your posts are engaging and creative. People should need a reason to follow your profile and read your stories or updates. So, choose a particular day and time to share new articles, links, posts, photos, stories, etc. Make it a point that you let your subscribers and followers know to hit your profile during this particular time to view new updates. This will keep them intrigued.

Make use of technological advancements and apps that help you schedule your posts on a consistent basis. As an influencer, you should also know to engage your followers healthily. Take a close look at the comments and feedback posted by them and ensure that you reply to them on a regular basis so that your followers know that you give them the importance and your time.

• Track your engagement statistics

Are all your posts being viewed with the same intensity by your followers or subscribers? Is there a particular time of the day when engagement is at its peak? Is there a particular post that has attracted the most number of views or comments? You need to get answers to these questions to know your strengths and areas of improvement. Knowing more about the viewing history of people who visit your account is very important for you so that you can choose the right influencer strategy. These analytics tools and tracking details are available to you when you switch to a business account from a personal account. I would suggest you get a business account, even if you are just starting out your influencer journey because you need to track your followers rigorously.

• Coordinate with bigger names

While being your influencer can bring quite a lot of visibility to your business, nothing beats the power of a renowned brand, isn’t it? For example, if you have chosen the niche of home-gardening, look for bigger brands in this niche with the help of hashtags and visit their profiles to see if they have used influencers as part of their marketing strategies. You may contact them directly and request to coordinate with their brand so that your visibility goes up by several notches higher than it already was. If luck is by your side, the big brand could also promote you as an influencer on its page, thereby giving you quite a lot of reputation.

• Approach big brands with a good pitch

When you want to earn money as an influencer, it is important to work authentically and ethically. Follow big brands from your favourite niche and write on their social media handle (or to their email address) on how you can endorse their product well and how it is going to result in a win-win situation for both the parties. Make your pitch sound attractive but simple. Tell them the strategies that you have to promote their brand across your blog and social media accounts. When the brand is convinced that you will do a great job as an influencer, you have crossed half the bridge!

• Don’t forget to follow up

This is a very important step that most influencers miss to do, thereby missing out an opportunity to make a lot of money. You have done the hard work of creating your pitch and getting a reputed brand to agree to sign you as their influencer. You have also done the hardest part of the work of endorsing the product ethically, thereby giving the product the much-needed visibility. Contrary to popular belief, an influencer’s job is not over here.  Use your analytics tools to know how well your influencer strategy has performed and the percentages of sales that your marketing strategies had created.

Make a report of your success with facts and figures. Send the report to the brand to let them know how they have benefitted by signing you as their influencer. By doing this, you are cementing your place in the brand’s mind to sign you for their next campaign as well.  Even if they don’t sign you for the next project immediately, they will surely remember you because of the awesome report that you have submitted and the way you had diligently followed up with them.

Being an influencer, you have the creative freedom to market your or your client’s product in the way you want to improve visibility and increase sales. However, it is very important that you never follow short-cuts or unethical ways in the process, in a bid to earn quick rewards.