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EPISODE 15 ~ MAKE MORE: Instagram Famous: How To Make A Good Living As a Social Media Influencer

Find out what it takes —and what you can make— as a social media influencer.  Yes, if you have thousands of followers —especially Instagram followers— companies will pay you to reach that audience and advertise their brands.  Alicia Chew, a style and food influencer who runs the lifestyle blog Alicia Tenise and has 15,000 followers on Instagram and is giving us her success story. 

Alicia, this is an accidental career for you, right?  How did you get started?

I randomly started a blog in my dorm room. I had interned in NY at Michael Kors the previous summer. I transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University and started a fashion blog to keep connected to the fashion industry. I just started for fun. I never realized I could make money doing it or that I could make it my career.  But now I am celebrating my 6th anniversary of blogging.

In fact, when you graduated, you took a full-time job in marketing, but kept blogging on the side, right?

Yes, I was still blogging and working a full time job for a few years before it was too time consuming to do both. Over time I invested in good photography, telling a story and connecting to the audience. Brands started approaching me and it blew up. I got laid off from my full time job in December 2016. I looked at my finances and realized I was making more off of the blog than the full time job!  So I decided to make it a full time job.

What did your friends and family think of this leap of faith you were making?

I talked to all of my family and friends and especially my mom.  I told my mom if I didn’t make it in 3 months I would get a full time job. My mom totally supported me. She knew I had a talent and passion for it. She did ask me legitimate business questions. Are you going to make this an LLC?   And what will you do for taxes and insurance?  She asked me grown-up adult questions and helped me through those things and all of the accounting and business aspects.

Was there a tense time when you wondered if it was going to work, or did it click right away?

It worked!  Since I was able to start doing this full time, I tripled my income in the first 3 months because I was able to really focus on it without the distraction of a 40 hour work week elsewhere. I really ramped up what I was making and I don’t have plans to go back to a conventional job.

It is working as a full time job. Since I was able to start doing this full time I tripled my income in the first 3 months because I was able to really focus on it without the distraction of a 40 hour work. I really ramped up what I was making.

You’re 27-years-old and you work for yourself.  Will you ever go back to a regular job?

I don’t have plans to go back to a conventional job.  I never would have thought at my age that I would be my own boss and create my own schedule and dictate my day and decide what clients I want to take on or not. It’s the best job I could have ever asked for and it’s the dream job I never knew I could have.

So let’s get specific about what you do as a social media influencer.  First, what are your venues where you reach out to people?

I consider myself a content creator. I am doing whatever I need to do to create content on a multitude of channels. My blog. Social media is a big part of that. I’m creating content and solutions for brands. My blog and Instagram are more curated as a first impression.

I also use Instagram Stories and Snapchat. That is how I show them that I am a real person. I chat with no makeup on and in yoga pants. I want to show that I don’t always have perfect hair and a perfect outfit and perfect makeup. I can be more candid.  I have marble contact paper instead of actual marble. I show people that and they think it is so funny. People get a kick out of the behind the scenes stuff.

So those are your social media “properties.”  Now, describe the 4 ways you make a living through them.

  1. Companies pay a flat fee for a sponsored blog post or Instagram post.  I create visuals and concepts to advertise their product. That brings in the most money.
  2. Affiliate networks. If you see something I wear, I have affiliate links to it and if people click through my post and purchase it, then I get a commission. 
  3. More occasionally I host events – every 2 months or so. I will host and promote an event like a boutique trunk show.
  4. And finally, companies gift me products, which is another form of value.  Although now I only accept gifts if there is no pressure to post anything because that can be a difficult situation.

Give us some examples of companies that have hired you to do sponsored posts and WHAT you did for them.

Banana Republic, Rent the Runway, Pepsi, Brita and Enterprise CarShare, The Ritz Carlton and Visit New Orleans for a sponsored trip to New Orleans.  What I do is curate a photo shoot around the product and show how I incorporate the product in my real life.  I partner with a photographer and do the shoot and that usually inspires the text I write.

Do you try to keep a balance of your own personal posts and the sponsored posts so that your followers don’t get worn out? 

I try not to  have a overwhelming amount of sponsored content.  My goal is to have about 25% sponsored content.

Do you go after brands you like?   Or do they always approach you? 

In the beginning I got my work through media groups.  You enter a bio and social media channels and they match you up with brands that are doing collaborations.   Some other media networks have projects already ready to apply to and you have to make a pitch.  I had to pitch a lot at first, but that has evolved.  If I have a dream brand I will send a thoughtful, curated pitch to them.  But lately I haven’t had as much time to pitch.  I’ve gotten contacted by a lot of different companies.

What happens when it’s not a good fit?  Awkward!

I have had some interesting requests and if I can’t think of an authentic post to go with it, I have to decline it. I have had some weird requests from agriculture departments and oil companies. Why would I talk about that when I do fashion, food and travel?  My readers are female between 25 and 34. They don’t care about agriculture or oil, so I have to stay focused on what my reader wants to read.

Authenticity is crucial, right?

You have to be very careful about sponsored campaigns. Your audience might not respond. You cant appear like you are money hungry. I have to make sure whoever I partner with is true to my brand and won’t throw my readers off.

What is the most fun part of your job?

There’s a lot of travel I have been exposed to because of this career path. I do some travel blogging.  I work with tourism boards and have been able to do domestic travel. I just went to Phoenix, New Orleans and Memphis and NC. I’m excited to explore these places in America.  I am an only child. My mom is a single parent. There was only so much we could do when I was a kid.

What is the hardest part of the job?

Most of my day isn’t glamorous. I have to look at brands, communicate professionally, convince brands they should pay me, read contracts.  When people look at what I do it all looks glamorous but I do my own accounting and book keeping a lot of business stuff. I am self employed and pay taxes on everything I earn so I have to keep track of my expenses and income. You have to be able to do that too.

How do you decide how much to charge?

I have a figure in my head I want to make a month. I can’t lowball myself and I have to go for the highest payment that I possible can. Some companies will say no, but some will say yes. With what I do it’s better to take less sponsors at a higher rate than taking lots at lower rates and creating all that work for myself without as much money.  I can negotiate a lot better deals.

I know you don’t like to say how much you make —because you’re classy that way —but tell us, in general, how much successful social media influencers can make.

There are influencers who make six and seven figures a year. I make significantly more than I did in my job in marketing. What I do makes me pretty comfortable. But I get paid on a project by project basis. Sometimes five times a week or every two weeks.

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People listening are going to be intrigued, so I want to share some of your best advice for being a successful social media influencer.  First, you say figure out what makes you different.  Explain.

When I show my personality I knew that was what differentiated me. People see me as a person rather than someone always in perfect clothes. I am personable. My readers will email and feel they can talk with me. It’s like I’m their friend. They feel they can shoot me an email or message. Making yourself seem like a person and not a persona takes your brand to the next level.

Second, you say, you need to be a good written and visual communicator.

I am a writer and went to school for communication. Need strong writing skills and to tell a story.  I am also a photographer and use a professional grade camera. If it is a shot of me I hire a photographer but I take other pictures myself.

Third: know how to read contracts.

You have to know how to read contracts. Brands will try to slip things in, so you have to really understand what you are agreeing to. A lawyer helped me write a contract that works for me and she helped me know what to look out for in a blog contract to see if something is there that wouldn’t be in my favor.

Fourth tip: learn to save money.

Have to learn to save because it’s an inconsistent pay schedule. There are times when I can splurge and other times when I have to budget because it’s an inconsistent pay schedule.  Not having a paycheck every 2 weeks has made me way more savvy financially than in the past.

And finally, you say, do it for love not money.

My biggest piece of advice is do if because you love it. Don’t do it thinking you will make a lot of money overnight. I didn’t make a dime the first year and a half I blogged but I loved what I did and loved working on my craft.

Alicia Tenise Chew, thank you so much for the great content. And, lucky us, Alicia has written a guest blog post with advice for you on how to turn your social media brand into a full time job.

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EPISODE 14 ~ MAKE MORE: Side Hustles: Make More Money The Modern Way

According to TheStreet.com, more than a quarter of people age 18 to 26 have a side hustle, another way of making money in addition to their main job.

And many people over age 26 are getting in on the act as well. Plus, as we’ve seen on Easy Money, people are turning their side hustles into their main gigs when they start making more money or having more freedom thanks to their side hustle. SO, the street.com put together a fascinating list of the 5 most lucrative side hustles that I just have to share.

Number 5: Social Media Influencer. Sure enough, I have a friend who makes a nice living based on a list of about a million politically like-minded people he cultivated on Facebook. But the current trend is to be an Instagram Influencer. If you have a few thousand followers, companies will pay you to promote their products. And actually, on Episode 15 of Easy Money, we talk with a top Instagram Influencer about how she does it and what it takes.

Number 4: YouTuber. If you can create YouTube videos that garner millions of views and subscriptions, you can become a millionaire through advertising or sponsorships. And there’s CRAZY stuff that attracts views. For example, my daughter watches some lady who plays with Shopkins toys on camera and she has 8 million subscribers! The Street gives the example of Colleen Ballinger who has a You Tube channel called Miranda Sings. The YouTube site has gotten her a standup comedy tour, a Netflix series, a book deal and $5 million dollars since 2008.

Number 3: Online dating consultant. What??? Yes, people are paying other people to write clever dating profiles for them, take or choose the best photos of them and even write witty chit chat for them to use when interacting with potential dates. I wish I had known! I’ve written profiles for many friends for free! TheStreet says you can make up to $200 dollars an hour as an online dating consultant.

Number 4: Domain Name Prospector. You know how you sometimes come across web pages that are listed for sale? They’re owned by people who dream up great domain names, register them for a few dollars a year and wait for big business to come a calling wanting to buy that domain. I recently tried to buy a couple of domains myself and they wanted $25,000 for them. Domains are like virtual real estate and they can be ultra-valuable. For example, according to The Street, in 2009 the domain insure.com sold for $16 million dollars! And finally Number 5: Search Engine Optimizer. These are pros who help businesses get more web traffic by choosing the keywords people are searching the most often, helping them get links back to their site from other sites, and staying on top of Google’s ever-changing search rules to take advantage of them. Some also specialize in “referral networks” of professionals who support each other. And how much money can you make in SEO? According to one SEO pro, he can make as much as $100,000 for a single job.

There you have it, an overview of 5 modern ways to ‘make more’ money. I will try to do in-depth interviews with people in each of these fields in the coming months on Easy Money.

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EPISODE 13 ~ MAKE MORE: Jewelry Buyers: Know The Right Way To Sell Your Jewelry And Get More For It

Today’s topic comes from an Easy Money listener that wants to know the right way to sell jewelry

“Hi, my name is Jenny and I live in Virginia. I love what you’re doing with the Easy Money podcast and I wonder if you can do a segment on how to make the most money selling your jewelry. I’d like to know whether it’s worth paying for an appraisal and whether it’s better to sell jewelry online or in person.”

Jewelry is an asset that’s laying around a lot of homes collecting dust, when it could be collecting money, so I appreciate this question. You want to know how to make the most possible money, but you should also think about how much your time is worth and balance the two. I recommend being thorough but not obsessive.

I do recommend getting an appraisal, because you want to know the value, unless you are absolutely positive your jewelry isn’t worth much. But beware, I asked master gemologist appraiser Martin Fuller your question and he said he’s had clients come to him on numerous occasions believing something was costume jewelry, when it was actually fine jewelry! This guy was full of stories. Once a client brought him a sapphire and the old appraisal attached to it said it was worth $18,000. But the stone looked unique under his microscope, so he recommended advanced testing and it turned out to be a rare Kashmir sapphire worth about $500 thousand dollars!

Appraisals range from $150 to $350 per hour. You should choose somebody who’s a member of the American Society of Appraisers, the International Society of Appraisers or the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. Keep in mind the appraised price represents the retail value of the item, not the amount you can actually expect to get. Ask the appraiser if he or she can give you an idea of the resale value as well.

Once you know the value, the next thing you asked is whether to sell online or in person. I can tell you now that experts I spoke with say in person is better. I also found that to be true in an experiment I conducted when I was an investigative reporter at Good Morning America. We tried selling the same jewelry at multiple places and the local jewelry shop in New York City gave us, by far, the best offer. We sent $350 worth of gold to several online buyers and one of them only offered us $90 dollars for it, another just $66 bucks! If you do decide to sell your jewelry online, for the convenience, know this: When we rejected the companies’ offers, they always made counter offers, sometimes even doubling their money. So play the game.

A more comfortable option might be to sell via an online consignment shop. This can work in your favor, because individuals typically pay more for jewelry than professionals do. Just make sure your profit isn’t eaten up by consignment commissions. One site that stands out is called IDoNowIDon’t, named after the diamond rings it receives from broken engagements. The cool thing is that as the seller you send your jewelry to the company and the buyer also sends their money. iDoNowIDont appraises the jewelry and makes sure the money clears before completing the transaction.

All that said, selling your jewelry in person to a local shop may still be the best option. There are coin shops, consignment store, pawn shops, and jewelers. The American Gemological Society keeps a list of local jewelers who buy jewelry. No matter which type of store you choose, you should get at least three estimates —more if you’ve decided it’s worth your time and/or you own high-value items. Fuller, the master gemologist has a little trick: He says to “Tell them you are required to get at least three offers for the family,” as if someone has died or something, I guess. Jewelry industry people know that means they should put their best offer on paper. A little undercover advice and a little insider advice. Enjoy!

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EPISODE 12 ~ MAKE MORE: Make Money From Home: Check Out These Modern Home-Based Income Opportunities

As a longtime consumer reporter, when people used to ask me about work-at-home opportunities, I always cringed, because most of them were scams. So I love that, thanks to the internet, the work-at- home landscape has changed completely and not only are there legit opportunities, there are lucrative ones!

I’ve already done interviews with people who produce music and videos and write resumes and sell them on Fiverr, a woman who sells fashion on Poshmark, a guy who shoots stock photos for Snapwire, and another who teaches from home via Skillshare. If you haven’t heard those episodes, by all means, circle back to them. Great stuff if you’re looking to work for yourself from home.

But today I want to do more of a survey of several work-at- home options. Some websites connect freelancers with clients, which is a game changer and a very modern way to work at home.

Other companies actually hire employees to work from home virtually. Some even offer benefits like healthcare coverage and paid vacation. Here are several options, in alphabetical order, that I recently researched for a Washington Post piece.

First, there’s Convergys which has 3 types of home-based opportunities: customer service, sales and service, and technical support. This is one of those companies that is looking for actual employees and offers benefits.

Flexjobs is a site where companies list all sorts of jobs for freelancers to consider, many of them in somewhat technical areas like accounting, project management and engineering.

Skyword.com is an interesting one because it is looking for videographers and writers who can create content for brands. Native marketing, sponsored videos, that sort of thing.

SutherlandCloudSource.com. Ding ding! For those who like the stability of being an actual employee, this is the other of those opportunites. Sutherland has everything from entry-level jobs like call center operator to higher-level positions like business analyst and they are available to do at home.

Tutor.com is one of several sites that employee freelance tutors who are qualified to teach students and help with homework in subjects from Calculus to Zoology.

Udemy is another platform, somewhat like Skillshare, where people create and teach online courses. Classes can be technical like how to create animated graphics or homey, like how to make sourdough bread.

Wonder is for all you researchers. Wonder calls them “analysts” and assigns them to research all sorts of things for clients. The clients are real companies like Shell, PwC and Deloitte.

Zintro.com is a freelance platform for consultants. We’re talking highly specialized folks in fields like biochemistry, FDA compliance and waste water. The smart thing Zintro does is have clients deposit their payments up front to make sure consultants get paid.

And finally, we have Zirtual, which hires and trains college-educated virtual assistants. They then get assigned to assist small businesses and sole
proprietors.

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EPISODE 11 ~ MAKE MORE: Voice Over Jobs: Turn Your Natural Talents Into A Full-Time Career

What if you could make money using the voice you were born with? Do you have a sexy, sultry voice? Are you good at all kinds of accents? Voiceover work could be your vehicle. Redd Horrocks transitioned into voiceover work a few years ago and wait till you hear how well she’s doing at it.

I’ve just introduced you as a voiceover artist, but first you ran away with the circus right?

I am a former circus-production pro, a Stage manager and technician for the circus. What caused you to drop the circus act and pursue voice work?

I had capped out at the top of my career, so I started doing voice overs. I’d always done them – more as favors for friends. It was the first thing I ever did in college. A friend was doing video game creation for his final project. He asked me to come in and do narration on the main character. He had me do this action role —what it sounded like when someone fell off of a building and did all this action. It was so much fun.

You also needed the extra income, right? Necessity is the mother of invention —or reinvention in this case!

In my 20s I was in a huge amount of debt. I needed extra income and I started narrating audiobooks. I worked in theater and had a friend who was an actress and she had been approached by a company that needed someone with a British accent. I am from the southeast of England and am British. So I did two audio books. Back then I spoke exclusively in a British accent.

You can now speak in either a British OR American accent. Please tell me —in an AMERICAN accent— how you learned to do that and how it has helped your voiceover career! I generally work in an American or British accent so that’s double the clients I can attract.

So you moved into voiceover work full-time in 2014. How many projects have you done and what are they like?

I have done a total of 35,000 projects. I do 300 a week. My range is six words to 10,000 and $5 to $500. Generally just narration. I do a lot of corporate work. I record voice mails, explainer videos, educational and instructional messages, app games, elevator messages. Everything you can think of I have done. It’s very
broad.

You mentioned $5. That’s because you do most of your voiceover work over Fiverr, the freelance marketplace where many services start at $5.

How can you make a living charging so little?
The reason why this system works for me is volume. I can do a lot of work in a short period of time. Something for $5 will take me less than a minute because I’ve really figured out how to do it. I am a really good cold reader. I can read anything accurately the first time. If I can do one of those a minute and 30 in an hour. That’s a significant amount of money. My stuff is all about volume and repeat clients. A client may pay $5 for this job and that may lead to a $200 project.

So if volume is the key, how much do you work?
I am usually in studio for 4-5 hours a day. And an hour to hour and a half of administrative work. But clients are global so have to be available around the clock. I am connected. I don’t take days off. Christmas was my last day since August. Important to me to be accessible to my clients. How I make income I have. Being constantly available means I make more money. I don’t have sick days or paid time off. So I work a lot. It’s a terribly rude question, but I ask it every time: how much money are you making as a voiceover artist?

I make over six figures. It is a very good income. I have had growth every year. First year I didn’t make six figures but maintained growth rate of 20-30% per year. How meaningful has this nice living been for you?

We bought a home. Paid for our wedding in cash. My husband is able to now be a full time student – he wanted to go back to college to be an engineer. The opportunities have been massive. We have the kind of life we never thought we could have and are pursuing what we want to do. You’ve also been able to take some nice vacations. Tell us how you funded your trip to Napa.

I paid for an entire trip to Napa for a weekend once on 78 different public service announcements on herpes. Maybe not super glamorous but lucrative.

I want to share some of your advice for people interested in getting into voiceover work. First, you say client care is crucial. Explain.

The most important thing I tell people is client care, customer care is key. You have to look after your clients. They are your number one priority. If you look at it like that and strive to do better, there’s no reason someone can’t take their skill all the way. It’s about tenacity. What sort of equipment and software do people need to get started?

You don’t have to spend big money on products to get started. I had a really barebones studio when I started. I was recording in my closet. Clothes were my dampening sound! My microphone was used from Ebay. Really good mics aren’t expensive.

Don’t use massively expensive software. You can edit on Audacity. It’s free, easy and fabulous and all I need. With voiceovers it’s all about the enclosure and the mic. There can’t be any ambient noise. And finally, what about being savvy about your fees and earnings? Put the correct value on yourself and ask for more money. You want to make everyone happy but you can’t overwork yourself for a low amount. If you accept that you have value and pursue people recognizing that value you can do so much better than settling.

I think anyone these days has to be money savvy. One of the hardest things about freelancing is budgeting but if you live within your means you are fine.

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