If Life as an Influencer Is So Easy, Why Aren’t We All One?

There’s no denying that there’s a certain breed of ‘influencer’ that anyone older than Generation Z finds a little difficult to relate to. The vloggers who don’t tidy their room very well before delivering a monologue on their seemingly average day, and the fashion bloggers who have endless pictures taken whilst balancing on obscure urban landscapes. 

But if life as an influencer is really as easy as always standing near a great source of natural light, while a willing friend with a good camera captures you hauling cardboard bags around the posher side of Oxford Street, then why aren’t you one?

Perhaps before answering that, we should look at why you would want to be one. Successful blogs, vlogs, and Instagram feeds all generally come from the need to express oneself. Instagram is home to many artists who either use it as a way to break away from a less creative day job (like @zobolondon who was a TV producer before leaving to become a freelance social photographer), or more established creatives looking for a new way to experiment – Maisie Cousins being a good example.

The nature of releasing work into the public sphere means that if you take in the feedback you’re given (whether you ask for it or not), you’ll almost definitely be left with a commercially attractive product. You don’t get that with a picture in the Tate, and it’s certainly a lot easier to take down.

But the most obviously attractive reason is cash. The highest paid YouTube star is currently PewDiePie, worth $12 million. His channel description is ‘playing videogames with your bros’. It seems like the easiest way to become a millionaire after inheriting it, but how easy is it really to build a profile?

And would the life on an influencer really be for you? Here are some tried and tested techniques that you’d need to master.

Post every day

Not as easy as it sounds. The key to a good following is to give yourself as many opportunities for your content to be shared as possible, and to give your followers the smallest chance to forget you.

Find a speciality

Ideally you should be able to sum up what you do in one sentence. The beauty of having platforms that so many people can share on is that it has encouraged so many online subcultures. Essentially, they’ll always be someone out there who’ll be interested in your point of view – so in many ways the more niche you are the better.

Have a network

There’s a reason why techniques like guest blogging are used so regularly. It’s the best way of introducing yourself to a new audience who think in a similar way to you. Encourage other similar authors who speak about the same things as you, and very soon they’ll be repaying the favour.

Be prepared to overshare

For a lot of people, this is the least attractive part. Creating social content now is just as much about the author as the audience. Real connections and loyalty come from attachment, and the more personally connected someone feels to you the more likely they are to subscribe. 

Fairly simple steps aren’t they? And luckily you don’t have to be obsessed with makeup or gaming to get going. Actually in many instances the more niche specialities are the most successful – like this hydraulic press channel with over 742k subscribers. That could be you.