Getting paid to look fabulous and talk about fashion is many people’s idea of an absolute dream job. Being an influencer is a bona fide career now, but how do you go about getting started? And can you become a successful influencer if you’re on a tight budget?
It really is possible to make, potentially, a lot of money by promoting products and brands on social media. There are three main ways that influencers generate income: brand sponsorship, affiliate marketing, and free products. How much money an influencer makes varies wildly; this depends on a range of factors, such as how many followers you have on your platform, the extent to which they engage with your posts, and the duration of the campaign being promoted.
Ultimately, whether it’s a lucrative little side-hustle or develops into a multi-million dollar long-term career, the money is there to be made in the world of influencing – and setting up may be easier than you think!
Get the Look
If you want to be a superstar fashion influencer, you’re going to need to get the look. Luckily, this can be done on a budget. Start by thinking about your own personal style: many successful influencers have a signature style, whether that’s an overall ‘look’ or key accessories or colors that are present in all the ensembles they wear in their posts. Think about yours: do you rock a vintage look, or perhaps you’re never without an interesting and ever-changing stack of bangles? Incorporating your own personality is important and will also help you to stick in the minds of your viewers.
Even a tiny budget isn’t an obstacle when it comes to dressing like an influencer. Repurposing old clothes is the perfect way to create a bespoke, fabulous look for free. Cropping sweaters, taking up a skirt, and adding fabric panels or embellishments to dresses are all wallet-friendly ways to restyle your existing wardrobe.
Accessories can also be used to take a look to another level: choose a few key classic pieces, such as a simple name or initial necklace, like here, and a couple of on-trend items, like a chain belt and a pair of seventies style tasseled earrings.
Shop vintage and second-hand stores for thrifty, unique pieces – stock tends to change on a near-daily basis, so visit regularly and as close to the opening time as possible for the best chance of bagging a fashion bargain!
Choose Your Platform
To begin, choose the platform (or platforms) you’re going to use. It’s vital to choose the platform that will best suit the type of products you’ll be promoting.
For fashion influencers, Instagram is likely the best choice due to its visual nature: use photos and IGTV stories to engage with your audience and show them the fabulousness of the looks you’re putting together in all their glory.
Pro-tip? Focus on getting your follower number above the 10,000 mark: once you hit this milestone, you get access to the platform’s swipe-up feature – this allows you to give viewers a direct connection to your website or to the clothes or accessories you’re promoting.
Another excellent solution is to be more flexible by sharing the content on several platforms. For example, Instagram is using the reels, which is similar to type of content shared on Tik Tok. Also, we have to mention that FB and YT implemented similar solutions as well. The main advantage of these short videos is that they are very efficient in promoting.
Besides that, not all people are using multiple platforms, which means that it is a great way to increase your popularity.
Devise a Posting Schedule
To build, grow and maintain your following, you’ll need to be posting regular, engaging, high-quality content, and a posting schedule can help you to stay on top of this. Use a schedule to plan out topics, campaigns, as well as ideas you have, or concepts you’d like to develop further; it can assist in keeping up to date with all your obligations once you begin to get sponsorship and marketing deals, too.
Scheduling software is an inexpensive tool that allows you to create content to be automatically posted at specified dates and times. The key is to determine the right time to share the content, but also to find the right amount of videos in particular time. For example, it is not always a good option to share a lot of videos every day, but not being present enough is even worse.
Promote Your Platform
Next, come up with some ways to build your audience by promoting your social media presence. Cross-promotion is always a winner: advertise your platform on your website or any other social accounts you’re active on to build your follower numbers.
It can also be really effective to partner up with other up-and-coming influencers in your niche to promote each other’s channels – this is not only a free way to get some invaluable advertising but also helps create a network.
Make Contact with Companies and Brands
Once you’re all set up on your chosen platform, and you’ve built up your follower numbers and are getting plenty of regular engagement, it’s time to reach out to try to secure some sponsorship and affiliate marketing deals!
For new influencers, you’ll probably do best to target smaller companies or newbies to the market like you! You could even get in contact with local, independent clothing stores and boutiques to see if they’d like to work with you for a nominal fee or even for a few free items of clothing. This is a great way to get started and will help you build up your reputation so that you’ll be ready, in time, to approach larger brands.
Starting small and putting in the work means that you could be swapping the high street for the luxury fashion houses of Paris and Milan one day as your fashionista influencer career goes from strength to strength!
Try To Be Unique
The most important part about becoming a popular influencer is to find a particular style or method that will attract a lot of people. It can be a new trend on Tik Tok, or a set of videos and photos that you will share on Instagram or FB. The point is to share a message instead of simply sharing entertaining content.
On the other side, the type of audience you are trying to reach is also very important. That will have an effect on the content. For example, even if you are sharing educational content, you should try to make it more entertaining if you are targeting younger generations.
The Bottom Line
Becoming an influencer is very popular these days. However, you should keep in mind that it cannot happen overnight. The point is to prepare the content and determine the groups of people you want to target with it. Also, be sure to create a strategy that will help you improve your branding and help you become a recognized face online.
