Answering Your Most Asked Questions About Being a Social Media Influencer

What do you want to know most about being a social media influencer in 2021? I’ve rounded up some of your MOST ASKED QUESTIONS and I’m spilling all the tea today! After 4 years of content creation and blogging, I have a lot to share. Let’s jump in to the questions.

Q: Do you pay taxes on your blogging income?

A: Yes! I file my taxes each year as a sole proprietor. I am looking at establishing an LLC for Hello Emily Erin this year to make filing taxes a bit simpler. As of now, I pay yearly taxes, but many influencers pay taxes each quarter. I will consult my account before making any major changes to how I pay my taxes! In order to pay taxes, I hold on to any tax forms that brands provide to me and keep a monthly record of my income and expenses, being as specific as possible. I discuss more about how I manage my finances in this blog post and even include my finance tracking excel spreadsheet for free!

Q: How did you start pitching to brands?

A: My advice? Start small! When I started in 2017, I would DM boutiques and small businesses with a similar number of followers to mine and ask if they’d like to do a trade-based collaboration. They would typically send me a clothing item or two in exchange for a post on Instagram. This helped me to get comfortable with the pitching process and ultimately helped me to attract larger brands. Doing so helped me get established as a content creator and as a partner who could deliver on deadlines and expectations from brands. I also joined influencer collaborations to help me get more comfortable before cold pitching brands. Joining these platforms helped me build up my “resume” as a content creator and pitch more confidently. You can read more about my start in this blog post!

Q: Is it hard to meet brand deadlines?

A: Yes, sometimes it can be depending on what is going on in my life. However, I think it is incredibly IMPORTANT to prioritize your time as a content creator. There have been many times I’ve declined a brunch invitation so that I could go shoot content. I do recommend batching your content and trying to shoot as much as you can in one day. This helps me manage my time better and maintain a work-life balance. Looking for more info on time management? Check out this post!

Q: Do you have a personal Instagram account?

A: YES! And I would recommend this to anyone starting a blog or content creation side hustle. When I first started out I was really embarrassed about having a blog, so this helped me to compartmentalize the two. I like that I can keep my personal life a bit more private and not subject my friends and family to a larger social media following on my Hello Emily Erin account when sharing photos of them. Back in college, I wanted to share sorority photos, gamedays, and date functions and some of my friends weren’t as comfortable being on my main platform. I plan to keep the accounts separate as long as I am a content creator. There are some posts that go up on both accounts as I do like to share a little bit of my personal life, but I have rarely if ever featured anyone else on my Hello Emily Erin IG account. I keep my personal account on private (please don’t try to find me!)

Q: Do you have any tea on other content creators?

A: This is one of your spicier questions! Honestly, no. As a whole, everyone I’ve met in the community has been incredible and so supportive of each other. That’s something I’ve always loved about this community. Of course, some people are more genuine than others, but for the most part, everyone is so SWEET!

Q: What is your income total for this year so far?

A: Of course, one of the most frequently asked questions I get on Instagram! This year, I have contracted $36,650.37. When I say contracted, that means that not every collaboration has been finished yet. My completed collaboration total for this year, meaning finalized and paid out, is $26,850.37. Looking to attract more brand partners? Check out this post on how to get noticed!

Q: What is your highest paid brand collaboration this year?

A: My highest paid campaigns this year are averaging between $2000-$3000, with most closest to the middle end. These campaigns include a number of deliverables and sometimes, usage, exclusivity clauses, and timeline fees. I talk more about how I’ve increased my fees for brand collaborations in this post!

Q: What is your lowest paid brand collaboration this year?

A: $250 for a set of stories. My rate has since gone up – I try to increase my rates on a quarterly basis. Looking for more info on rate structure? I discuss my rates strategy here!

Q: Do you want to be a full-time content creator?

A: Yes and no. I like the stability of a corporate job and enjoy what I learn about marketing in my day-to-day. I think having a corporate career gives me some structure and that helps me manage my time better outside of work. I’ve always been a strong proponent of having multiple streams of income. So, if I were to ever go full-time with blogging, I would likely have another business on the side. I have been consulting on the side for most of 2021, so I would probably work to build that business up in addition to my content creation work. Short answer: for now, I am enjoying the stability and experience my full-time job provides me!

That’s all the questions I’ve got for now for now! Any other questions you’d like me to answer? Share down below and maybe I’ll make this a regular post!