Top Ways Influencers Generate Revenue [Infographic]

The dynamic world of influencers has exploded in the past few years. No longer are celebrities confined to TV screens, movies, and magazines; they have emerged from everywhere to carve out a profile in their own niche.

Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube are the platforms of choice for most influencers, although Snapchat and Vine are also popular channels. Many influencers adopt a multi-channel approach, in support of their own blog, to maximize their audience reach.

Influencers permeate every interest group and industry. Whether you’re looking at travel, sports, parenting, health and fitness, food, marketing, business, art and photography, lifestyle, or anything in between.

If there is a collection of people with a passion, there are those who become true flag bearers for that passion.

These people are commentators, critics, inspirational leaders, and risk-takers. They are the people that an online community looks to for entertainment, education, and information. They have clout, and they have influence.

In recent years, influencers have begun to earn a very good income from their positions. Brands have recognized the power they have to generate awareness and buzz. And even the biggest multinational corporations have invested in macro and micro-influencers.

This is a huge shift away from the traditional focus on large-scale media buying. It is partly due to the fact that success and return on investment can be measured much more tangibly.

This isn’t the only benefit.

Through the use of influencers, brands can target very specific audience groups – without fear of a scattergun approach. The demographics and interests of a particular influencer’s following is easily understood, and this is very appealing to marketers and advertisers.

Although brand relationships make up most of an influencer’s revenue, there are other ways to make money. In the infographic featured below, we look at the top ways that influencers generate revenue, from consulting, to ad revenue, to sponsored social media posts.