Monetize Your Social Media: How to Make Money as an Influencer & More

Published on April 03, 2024

Did you hear the news?! URLgenius has won Best Influencer Marketing Technology at the 2024 Global Influencer marketing Awards! Proven to increase commissions immediately by 2-5x or more, read on to learn why influencers and affiliates are flocking to the URLgenius platform!

URLgenius Named Best Influencer Marketing Technology at the Global Influencer Marketing Awards

So, your awesome social media content has garnered you thousands upon thousands of followers over the past few years—pretty impressive! Have you considered that now is the time to monetize your social media? Yes?

Well, lucky for you, this post is going to cover all the ways that you can monetize your social following, and how we at URLgenius can help take that money-making to the next level!

How to Make Money on Social Media

1. Become an Influencer

You saw this coming, didn’t you? When it comes to becoming an influencer, the key is to start small—especially if your follower count is closer to the lower thousands range. In fact, Instagram influencers with fewer than 10,000 followers can charge anywhere from $30 to $110 for just one post!

It goes without saying, of course, that the more followers you have, the more commission-earning potential you’ll have. For example, if you have over 500,000 followers or so, you stand to make $7,000 per sponsored post.

Additionally, when you hone in on a niche audience, brands that cater to that specific audience will be even more willing to shell out higher rates because of your targeted audience.

2. Partner Up With Brands

First thing first: Let's talk about the awesome world of teaming up with brands to create some seriously cool content and marketing campaigns. Crafting engaging social media content and marketing initiatives can be a lucrative venture on various social platforms, offering flexibility in earning potential. Moreover, collaborating with brands adds a layer of professionalism to your influencer marketing endeavors, enhancing your credibility within the industry!

Social media creators all over the world are living proof that this strategy works! Whether you're juggling your social media hustle with a day job or making it your full-time gig, partnering with brands opens up a whole new world of income streams. You can invite brands to sponsor your content, develop tailored advertisements and exclusive material, or participate in product launches to broaden their exposure.

And the key to success? Aligning yourself perfectly with their vision and goals. Consider what brands seek in collaborations and tailor your approach accordingly. Crafting a compelling pitch deck or press kit that highlights your strengths and relevant statistics—such as reach and engagement analytics—alongside case studies from previous collaborations can greatly bolster your appeal.

3. Become an Affiliate

Picture this: you're casually recommending products and services on your social media platforms, and boom! You're raking in commissions for every successful referral. It's like being a brand ambassador, but without all the fancy contracts and red tape.

With just a sprinkle of your social media magic, you can dive headfirst into the world of affiliate marketing. Pop your unique referral codes and links into your posts, and watch the cash roll in—no upfront investment required!

Numerous social media influencers and content creators opt for affiliate marketing, sharing their unique codes for brands they endorse. In exchange, they receive commissions for each referred customer, frequently in the form of discounts to encourage purchases.

It's essential to note that not all affiliate networks and programs operate alike. Various fee structures, payout systems, and guidelines exist across platforms. Optimal affiliate programs boast generous commission rates and timely payouts, so thorough research is key to aligning with your objectives.

4. Offer Unique Services

“Unique services” isn’t as weird as it might sound—we mean something along the lines of coaching, consulting, or mentorship. Get innovative and creative with it!

You can opt for a niche specialization, such as assisting product-based businesses in devising effective social media strategies or coaching professional photographers on optimizing their feed-worthy images. Your services can be tailored to cater to individual clients through one-on-one coaching sessions, or you can structure group coaching sessions, establish a membership program, or curate a paid community.

To safeguard your time and maintain a mutually beneficial dynamic, consider packaging your services. This approach prevents your engagement from resembling an employer-employee relationship. For instance, you might offer a package deal encompassing a specific number of posts for a flat fee or provide an audit at a predetermined rate.

5. Sell E-Books or Online Classes

This is pretty much directly related to our previous suggestion, but we’re snowballing here!

Transforming your expertise into courses or ebooks is a passive income strategy akin to productizing your coaching services.

Set up shop on an e-commerce platform (like Shopify) to sell your courses, then leverage your social media platforms to promote them. This approach grants you greater autonomy and a deeper understanding of your business, all while seamlessly integrating with social tools for enhanced convenience.

As you develop your content-driven products, prioritize regular updates to ensure relevance and value. Implementing annual updates is a solid practice, although the frequency may vary based on the subject matter at hand.

6. Sell Your Own Products

Let's talk about selling products directly through your favorite platforms – it's like having your own virtual storefront without the hassle of setting up an entire e-commerce site!

Thanks to the wonders of social commerce, you can now make sales directly from Instagram and TikTok, tapping into your engaged audience's buying power. It's like setting up shop right where your customers hang out!

You can explore various options, such as developing private label products, creating print-on-demand designs, or partnering with drop-shippers for a swift launch.

7. Sell Your Own Branded Merch

If you've established a robust brand presence, why not dive into the exciting world of branded merchandise?

Picture this: your logo plastered on t-shirts, mugs, and more, all showcased to your eager followers. Whether you're directing traffic to your snazzy Shopify store or making sales right from your Instagram feed with tools like Linktree, the possibilities are endless!

And guess what? You don't need to be a design wizard to make it happen. Leave the heavy lifting to the pros—from crafting cool designs to shipping out orders, there are plenty of experts ready to lend a hand. Team up with third-party suppliers who can whip up your creations and send them straight to your customers. It's like having your very own merchandise factory without lifting a finger!

Before you dive headfirst into the merch madness, make sure you're up to speed on the rules of the social media game. Each platform has its own set of dos and don'ts when it comes to selling your awesome goods, so be sure to do your homework!

URLgenius Deep Links (Mobile App URLs) Can Help You Make More Money on Social Media

Last, but certainly not least, here’s a tip to help with every step of the way when monetizing your social media following, especially when it comes to sending your followers to other mobile apps to complete a transaction.

The thing is, that very statement in itself is inaccurate—most of the time, your affiliate link—whether Amazon, Ulta, Nordstrom, or what have you—won’t send users to the corresponding page in the corresponding app. Instead, they remain trapped in the app where they clicked on the link in the first place.

At first glance, this might not seem like a big deal. But trust us when we say it is a big deal. A very big deal.

Think about it—when you’re not sent to the e-commerce app that you’re already logged into, you’re instead stuck on a web page that requires you to log in to make a purchase. The issue is, a lot of people don’t want to log in. And by a lot, we mean most people.

What typically happens is that users abandon the item with your affiliate tags attached to it, and switch over to the desired app to look up the item themselves, where they can immediately make that purchase.

URLgenius affiliate mobile app links take users directly to the app where they’re already logged in, and you get full credit and commission for the purchase—all the tags on your original link are transferred to the new one.

You can also create mobile app URLs for each of your social media accounts, creating a seamless web across all platforms that users can follow and engage with in just a mobile moment. All you have to do is sign up with us, and input all your links into our deep link generator on the URLgenius home page—it’s that easy.

Learn how mobile app deep links in your social media bio can increase by 2x-5x:

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At URLgenius, we're here to help! Contact us for a demo or with questions at info@urlgeni.us about influencer best practices and affiliate mobile app URLs.

If you found this post helpful, check out our other popular how-to posts for affiliate app deep linking:

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