Paid Influencer Campaigns: How Do You Find Them?

Kicking off a career as an influencer is a thrilling ride, but it doesn’t come with a how-to manual. If you’re stepping into this world, figuring out how to make regular cash as an influencer is a big deal. Sure, there are many ways to earn money online, but if you’re looking for a steady paycheck, paid campaigns are your best bet.

Types of paid campaigns

Let’s dive into the various types of paid campaigns that can help you turn your influence into a steady income stream.

Sponsored posts

You’ve probably heard of sponsored posts if you’re following any influencers, but this is one of the top ways to work with a brand. A sponsored post is where a brand pays you, the influencer, to post a photo or video of you using their product to your social media. The brand will tell you the requirements for the post and price they’re willing to pay. You can negotiate that price with the brand or offer them your rates.

One of the best ways to get started on sponsored posts is by using IZEA’s Marketplace and setting up a free profile. Fill out the profile completely and brands can search you out there for their next sponsored project. You can also search Casting Calls where brands promote current projects they want to work with influencers for and pitch yourself for these opportunities.

Brand partnerships

A brand partnership is normally longer term than a sponsored post and may include you posting to multiple socials throughout a specific amount of time. For example, the brand Seed is a probiotic who works with multiple YouTube influencers who talk about their product for maybe a minute or two once a month in a video. The influencer couple Julia & Hunter work with Seed on a monthly basis and will talk about how they use the product and then link to it in their description box. Brand partnerships are the perfect way to create more consistency in your overall income as an influencer.

Brand ambassadorship

Becoming a brand ambassador is another form of paid campaigns as an influencer. Companies like Lululemon have ambassadorship programs set-up where you’ll test out new gear for them and talk about it on your social media. 

Product collaborations

Product collaborations are a form of paid campaigns that many businesses choose to do. You may see this in the makeup world, where a brand will work with an influencer to create a product together. Some smaller businesses do this as well, like Lolli Co., which partnered with a local influencer to create a new baby clothing item. This is an ideal partnership for both brand and influencer if you’re interested in creating products of your own. It’s a win-win for both parties.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing isn’t necessarily a paid campaign, but it is another way to grow your income as an influencer. Make sure you’re linking any products you’re using or if a brand has sent you a product, ask for a coupon code for your followers or a trackable link. Sometimes brands will pay for the clicks and other times they a commission on purchases they get on a post using your link.

Finding the right brand partnerships

When looking for partnerships with brands, you’ll want to make sure you ask yourself a few questions:

Is the brand providing a product or service you care about?

Sharing products you love with your audience should be the most important. You’ve grown your audience on authenticity, so stay authentic to yourself. If you’ve never tried the product, ask the brand if you can try it out for a few months before agreeing to a partnership.

Do you feel like you have enough creative control?

Another point to look out for when finding the right brand partnership is ensuring the contract clearly states that you have creative control. Most brands will require some pieces, like saying certain details about the product or showing it at a certain time, but creative control should be mostly with the influencer. They’ve chosen to work with you because of your current content and your audience, so it’s important that you stay true to yourself in the process.

Do you enjoy working with the brand? 

If you’re signing up for a partnership, whether short-term or long-term, you’ll want to have a good relationship with that brand, especially if you’re hoping to work together again. Make sure to ask questions with your contact, follow them on social media if you don’t already and really get a feel for what the brand stands for and if it fits with your values. 

Creating content for paid campaigns

When creating content for paid campaigns, you’ll want to be sure you’re creating the highest quality content possible. Not only do you want to work with this brand again possibly, but it’s also essential to do your absolute best when creating sponsored content for any future partnerships. Sometimes brands will ask you for examples of previous posts you’ve done with brands so they can see just how much effort you put into it. The higher the quality, the higher the price as well.

Here are a few tips for creating high-quality content for a brand partnership:

• Be creative with your post. Don’t be afraid to do things differently than other influencers.
• Don’t be too promotional. Posts should still fit who you are as an influencer.
• Use a high-quality camera (even your phone) and take some time editing the photo or video to make it fun
• Stay within the rules and guidelines of the contract.
• Complete your content on time and send it to the brand for approval.

Once you’ve started working with brands on sponsored posts, you can begin to get a feel for how you like to incorporate those paid posts into your overall content. Don’t be afraid to add in sponsored content here and then on your platforms — this is how you make money as an influencer, and your followers will be excited to support you on this career path. Get started by making a free profile on IZEA’s Marketplace today.