How to earn money as a Micro-Influencer + Free media kit
Tags: Instagram Marketing, Instagram, Influencer Marketing Tips, Influencer Marketing, Instagram Stories

Yes, Micro-influencers are a “Hot demand “ for brands and businesses. Here is how to make money with your Instagram account.

This article will go through a step-by-step strategy to make money as a micro-influencer and approach brands. Also a bonus, you can download a FREE media kit template that has helped me and other influencers to earn money & grow their visibility.

Who is MICRO Influencer?

Normally, a micro-influencer has about 1k — 10 K followers on their social media and a decent engagement rate. An influencer is the one who shares about the products, services they use, and their lifestyle or information. So if you are someone in between 1k -10 k followers and haven`t made any money yet, this article is for you.

First steps when starting as a Micro-Influencer?

It may sound like “Old -school” but, having a plan and strategy helps you get the best results when you start as a micro-influencer.

The list following things before you are going to approach brands:

What type of Influencer you would like to be: Mom blogger, lifestyle blogger, travel blogger, sustainable lifestyle blogger, fast fashion blogger, and so on. Do not be EVERYTHING: — It is easier to grow when you niche down. Make a list of the 10 most popular brands you would like to work with. Buy products from the brand you wish to work with ( will explain why- down below) How much time will you spend daily engaging and growing your account? If you have any ads budget or investment budget ( buying products, making ads, or someone can do your services) Do not quit your full-time job until you have made money for at least 6 months.

Once you have placed your strategy and timeline ( for more about strategy and how to do it, follow for more)

Step 1: Make FREE Instagram posts.

The easiest way to get brand attention and grow your following is to share your experience or products that you have been using so far.

Take some great photos/videos ( Especially REELS) — and share your insights.

Once you upload them on your social media — Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok — make sure you TAG the brand and MENTION the brand. It can happen that even though you have few followers, they reach out to you and ask to share their photos or pay for the rights. Although when you are just starting and do not have much content, it`s unlikely to happen. But if you keep on posting and sharing — there is a great chance.

Reels videos are viral in 2021, and Brands tend to share and give more “credit” for them if you are serious about growing fast.

When Brand shares your “content,” you are guaranteed to get new followers.

Step 2: Be Consistent & Keep on posting for 6 months — every day or more.

Before reaching out to brands, you need to have something to show them that they can take you seriously and pay for your service.

Brands will not pay just for anything; they need to know that there is a return when investing in you or your post.

Here is why doing the “free” work, in the beginning, is very IMPORTANT. This shows your value, creativity, and things you can actually often for a brand.

Here is why I highly recommend making yourself a daily journal/strategy that helps you to keep track of your content & goals.

Step 3: After 40–60 posts — start reaching out for brand partnerships.

Brands may start reaching out to you earlier and asking for “gifted” collaboration opportunities. Which is great & here I am about to tell you what you should do now:

YES AGREE WITH GIFTED COLLABORATION. ADD EXTRA OFFERS TO MAKE MONEY.

It is easier to charge money when a brand reaches out to you, as they are interested in your content and collaboration. It is a little trickier when you approach brands by yourself.

But here are the secret tips that will help you to earn money and work with brands.

Offer your Instagram post for FREE!

Wait, what? — Offer my Instagram post for Free?

If the brand reaches out to you, make them an offer for a FREE INSTAGRAM post( gifted product).

Next, explain that if they would like to have better exposure and bring more brand awareness.

You also offer different content creation options for sponsored posts.

For example, Instagram Reels video, a blog post about the brand, Video on your Youtube channel, Shared on Instagram stories, etc.

Example: Dear Brand ( add the name)

“Thank you so much for reaching out to me & I am more than happy to work together with your brand.

I have been using your products(services) past 5 years, and as you can see, I have been recommending it to many of my followers and friends.

This is why I am more than glad to OFFER FREE INSTAGRAM POST IN EXCHANGE FREE PRODUCT.

( Now it is time to “Hook” the brand) — My target audience is mainly women from the United States, their age is between 25–35, and my current engagement rate is about 8%. My daily story views are about 400–600 per day.

But not only that, but I also have an SEO optimized blog, and I am very active on Facebook, Tiktok, and Youtube.

For this reason, if you are interested in having other services, I am more than happy to discuss these options. As we know SEO optimized Blog posts and Youtube videos are evergreen for the brand and more beneficial.

I would like to send ( or attach) my influencer media kit where you get to know more about me, my statistics, and other offers you might find suitable for your brand. “

This is just one example of how you can reach out to the brands( modify your offers and statistics).

But why I bring out to offer FREE INSTAGRAM POST & then all these extras.

It is quite simple; it`s an old marketing trick — When something is offered for FREE — it sounds like a must-have!

But when a brand receives a professional email & media kit involved- They see your professionalism and are willing to pay for the extra services or options.

This means while it looked FREE in the beginning, you actually end up making money in the end. The more targeted audience you have & relevant information, the better chances you have that the brand will close the DEAL.

“HOW TO PITCH FOR A BRAND I HAVE DREAMT OF WORKING TOGETHER WITH?”

Here we have to know that reaching out to big brands is harder. They already have a following, clients, and business that is doing pretty well.

So the chance that they will pay for a small creator can be harder, but not impossible. WHY?

BECAUSE It all depends on how do you approach them, your pitch needs to be unique and has value:

EXAMPLE PITCH FOR REACHING OUT TO BIG BRANDS.

Dear BRAND X,

My Name is ………………………, and I am a content creator and micro-influencer from Texas.

Recently I saw that you launched a new product called ……. & honestly, I am not going to lie here; it was the first thing I bought.

You can see my review and story here ( add the link to your post).

In fact, this is why I decided to reach out to you and see if you are interested in potential collaboration.

I will be more than happy to offer a Free Instagram post on my Instagram feed for gifted products/services.

( now, share more about your target audience, people, and brand you have previously worked with).

To know more about my social media accounts & statistics, I have an influencer media kit to give the best overview of why I am a great person to work with. “

“WHAT IF THE BRANDS SAY NO”

Yes, you need to be ready when the brand says they are not interested in working together. Think a little bit about applying for a job; you will receive negative answers — but do not stop because someone said no.

Here is a fun fact from myself, first when I started growing my Instagram account, there was a brand that said I am not the best fit for their brand and collaboration.

Once my following was growing, they reached out to me just for Instagram posts & then I told them that I no longer offer Free Instagram posts on my Feed, that now I charge for it.

Guess what? They paid for my posts + all the extras. In fact, back then, this brand ended up being my first highest-paid collaboration.

Sometimes the time is not right, and sometimes you are not yet ready to work with this brand.

But you need to keep going.

Here is why I give away FREE Influencer MEDIA KIT — That you can edit on Canva.com & Add your own pictures/ edit text or use the template text I have made there that worked for my pitches ;) — Edits. recommended to add your own personal touch