How To Make Money Online: an influencer’s guide

As Webfluential grows we want to continue to empower all our influencers and give them the means to monetize their blogs/ social channels. This month we feature a few of our top business bloggers/ influencers in an Q&A. They have all mastered the art of being successful online entrepreneurs, which is why we’re asking their advice on how other influencers can grow and become successful online.

Here’s what they had to say:

Jonathan Pollinger, the creator of Intranet Future writes about how businesses can use social media to achieve their objectives, even without a budget. When it comes to social media it’s safe to say Jonathan knows it all.

Q: What’s your advice to influencers who would like to turn their blog/ social channels into a successful online business?

A: Get active! Publish blogs; post and tweet regularly and show a genuine interest in your community by engaging with them. Follow, like, share, comment but above all, talk with them.

Q: How can influencers make their blogs more appealing to marketers?

A: Publish and post original thinking and or practical advice and tips. Too many marketing blogs and posts are regurgitated news and comments or waffle. Provide value.

Q: What are your top three do’s and don’ts for influencers?

A: Do

1. Plan and schedule your posts and tweets.
2. Listen and find out what your community values.
3. Engage with your readers and take a genuine interest in them.

Don’t

1. Just be online. Get out and meet your community face-to-face as well, through talks and networking.
2. Steal other people’s thoughts and ideas.
3. Assume that everything you write and comment on is correct. Do your own research.

George Honiball  is an entrepreneur consultant with 20 years experience in business consulting and line management. He shares his extensive knowledge of both social media and business on Twitter.

Q: What’s your advice to influencers who would like to turn their blog/ social channels into a successful online business?

A: Keep your content relevant, interesting and establish yourself as a subject matter expert.

Make sure that you post content at the right time! Thursdays and Fridays are generally quiet, while Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best. Know your followers and engage with them online. Encourage feedback and respond publically to questions or comments.

Don’t be scared to ask for help. It’s better to learn from somebody else’s mistakes. Surround yourself with the right influencers. Don’t expect and demand favours without giving anything back. Do a lot of research before committing to specific products/services, providers or platforms.

Know who your competitors are. Don’t be naïve and think you are the first person to have come up with this idea. Look at their content, website and social media accounts. Buyers are becoming far more selective. They no longer respond to spam with special offers that are not relevant to them (“pray and spray”).

Q: How can influencers make their blogs more appealing to marketers?

A: Don’t rehash other people’s work. Create your own fresh, new content. It’s important to have an opinion. Pick sides but also understand other perspectives. Appreciate that there are many views but make clear what you stand for and believe. Be able to explain “why” eloquently and confidently.

Have fun and enjoy what you are communicating. If it’s boring to write it will be worse to read. Use practical examples of your life lessons. Don’t talk down but make your followers discover with you.

Give your followers a reason to come back regularly. Post different formats of content.  Write but also post pictures and even make videos. The quality does not need to be perfect.

Be real. If you say something that offends or is incorrect, admit your mistakes and rectify the matter. Acknowledge other views and opinions and be prepared to give as well. Forge mutually beneficial relationships rather than dictating, believing that you are the only source of all wisdom and knowledge. This turns people off immediately.

Q: What are your top three do’s and don’ts for influencers?

Do

1. Have fun! Be positive, optimistic, friendly and polite, even to your followers that disagree, criticise or judge you. Other followers will watch how you handle them to see what you are made of. You cannot hide anywhere on social media.
2. Interact regularly with followers publically. Use humour but never try to be sarcastic.
3. Be a responsible social media citizen. Follow back, respond to messages/emails. Try to be a solution and not a problem. Leave a positive legacy and try to make more friends than enemies.

Don’t

1. Be creepy. Disclosing too much or sharing very personal information can alienate rather than endear you to your followers.
2. Be too serious. You must be able to laugh at yourself and acknowledge your weaknesses and faults. People like to see a real, fully rounded person with faults.
3. Sell too obviously! If you are desperate to make that commission or close that final deal for the month you can be viewed as too desperate. You should only try to sell something that will help to solve another person’s problems.

The Money Shed is one of the UK’s largest community, website/blog dedicated to earning money from home. Jonathan Gutteridge created the blog and started his online money-making journey filling out simple surveys online. Over the years he discovered more opportunities to make money online.

Q: What’s your advice to influencers who would like to turn their blog/social channels into a successful online business?

A: Be friendly! No matter what social media channel you are using. Don’t just post generic content over and over again. Engage with as many people as you can!

Content is king. Without  content you won’t have the audience and without the audience you won’t be able to make any money.

Write good, organic, engaging content and over time you will gain an audience. The other big factor when it comes to making money from your blog is trust. Without trust, they won’t be clicking on your links!

Q: How can influencers make their blogs more appealing to marketers?

A: Make sure their blog is mobile responsive and works and displays well on tablets / mobiles / laptops, etc.

Show that you are willing to cover topics that are a bit ‘outside the norm’. This will mean that marketers will contact you for opportunities you hadn’t even thought of.

Post content regularly. At The Money Shed we put up a new post once a week and always see a good spike in traffic on that day as readers expect to see something new to read. If your readers don’t know your posting pattern it can be hard for them to know when to come back.

Q: What are your top three do’s and don’ts for influencers?

A: Do

1. Be flexible in terms of the content you are willing to host.
2. Be willing to do guest posts on other sites for free to help get the name of your blog out there.
3. Develop a ‘personality’ for your blog in terms of writing style.

Don’t

1. Ever think your blog design is finished. Always look for ways to better the experience for the readers.
2. Ignore PR. Even if the content they are offering you is paying peanuts make sure you reply and say ‘thanks but no thanks’. You never know when you might need them further down the line.
3. Neglect social media. It can take seconds to strike up a relationship with someone and who knows what opportunities that might bring!

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Seven Seconds Of Fame | Media Kit Showcase

You only have seven seconds to make a first impression, that’s according to a blog post about the benefits of having a credible Media Kit. As an influencer it’s imperative that you use all the technology available to you to make those seven seconds count. Being an influencer means you get to spend your days creating content about topics you love. It also means mastering the art of marketing yourself to brands, which isn’t always easy.

While Webfluential brought you the technology such as Booked By Webfluential and the Media Kit, it’s up to you to take advantage of this by ensuring your Media Kit is complete and eye-catching. If your Media Kit doesn’t spark any interest, chances are marketers will  pass on by to the next profile.

To give you some inspiration, we are featuring a few influencers who really nailed it in just seven seconds. We’re incredibly proud of the influencer community we’ve built at Webfluential and even more proud of some of these Media Kits!

Tuxedo Trio:

When it comes to our influencers, we never discriminate which is why we had to feature one of our furry influencers. The Tuxedo Trio is a blog about three cats (Jack, Ben and Hugo) who all look like they’re wearing tuxedos! The blog was created in 2011 and includes pet-related product reviews as well as stories, videos and images of the Tuxedo Trio.

For cat lovers the blog includes tips on how to keep your furry friends healthy, active and house trained. Take a look at their very cute and impressive Media Kit.

Howard Blount

Howard Blount, founder and editor of the travel website Backroad Planet, shares his adventures traveling the world and his passion for traveling to remote destinations in search of anything rare. Howard provides his readers with resources such as tips on planning the perfect road trip, which backroads to take, and things he likes and recommends to other travelers. Being a travel blogger his Media Kit naturally includes reviews written for travel brands. Let Howard’s Media Kit  inspire you.

Slick Mummy

Slick Mummy is a parenting blog dedicated to highlighting the little things that make parenting look/ seem easy. A “Slick Mummy” can be defined as a mom who can carry a toddler through an airport in high heels, do the school run in leather leggings, crayon inspirationally and maintain decorum in three languages. This site was created to inspire and bring hope to all mothers.

Have a look at this slick mummy’s Media Kit.

Michelle Harris

Michelle Harris is the creator of TechieMinx where she shares her passion for gaming, gadgets and social media. Being a brand ambassador, Michelle often reviews products for brands. Her knowledge on social media and Influencer Marketing makes her even more valuable to brands.

Have a look at her work on her Media Kit.

Chermaine aka Chammy

Chermaine aka Chammy, is a funky mom and lifestyle blogger who writes about health, beauty, food, parenting, technology and everything in-between. As a stay-at-home mom Chermaine talks about how others can make money from home, leading by example with her very own beauty product line.

Have a look at the brands she’s worked with on her Media Kit.

That is all for today’s showcase! By displaying all the work you have done for brands, marketers are able to see what you’re made of. So don’t be shy to take advantage of all the options available to you right in your Webfluential dashboard. If you want to get really creative you can even tweet your Media Kit directly to brands – letting them know you’re up for collaboration.

To help create your Media Kit that will give you the seven seconds of fame you deserve, we’ve created a basic checklist for you to follow:  

1. Make sure you tell marketers what they want to know
2. How big is your audience? The Media Kit allows you to showcase your following in a neat and presentable way. Who is your audience and how do they align with their brand?
3. Update your Media Kit regularly and show marketers what content you are capable of producing.
4. Make use of all the customizable options so that your Media Kit stands out from the crowd – like custom URLs, backgrounds, content etc.
5. Toot your own horn and tell them why you stand out, even if you do it through featured tweets. Brands aren’t going to know how great you are unless you can tell them and have your Media Kit as your evidence.

Have you set up your Media Kit yet? If so Tweet us a link using #TeamWebfluential and we’ll share it with our audience.

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