How To Become a Nano Influencer and Make Money in 2024

In 2024, influencers do not have to have millions or even thousands of followers. This presents a great opportunity for small social media creators to earn real money for the content that they create. Becoming a nano-influencer is an appealing side hustle for anyone who wants to earn money by promoting products or partnering with brands through social media but has under 10k followers.

If earning money by posting on Instagram sounds like something you might enjoy, this article will guide you through how to become a nano influencer in 2024. We have spent time studying nano influencer success stories to understand how this side hustle works and how you can start earning money with it.

Of course, all side hustles require initial effort and persistence. We provide a comprehensive guide that covers how to start earning money as an influencer however, it is up to you to apply each step and to hold yourself accountable for long enough to see any results.

A nano influencer is a social media user with less than 10k followers who creates amateur content and earns money through product promotions or brand partnerships.

The main responsibilities of a nano influencer include creating content on a regular basis that promotes products or brands in a relatable and trusted way. Nano influencers are expected to build up a strong relationship with their followers. This often makes their content more valuable to brands than that created by larger influencers who may not have the same level of trust online.

Because nano influencers come across as regular social media users, consumers are less likely to notice paid or promotional content. Moreover, when followers do notice, they are more likely to trust the products that are being promoted. This is because nano influencers actively interact with their audience so appear to understand them better than larger influencers do.

Nano influencers encourage genuine interactions which lead to higher conversion rates.

To grow their audience and build up a relationship, nano influencers usually share content daily that offers a personal insight into their lives. Over time, nano influencers become a familiar face that their followers engage with.

How do nano influencers make money?

There are two main ways that nano influencers make money in 2024:

• Affiliate marketing

• Brand partnerships / sponsored content

Sometimes, companies will also offer free products in exchange for content.

Affiliate marketing involves signing up to an affiliate marketing program and linking the products that you promote through your social media content. Every time that someone purchases with your link, you will receive a small commission.

Brand partnerships involve working directly with brands to create content as part of their wider social media marketing campaign. These partnerships often come with a fixed contract that outlines a rate of pay per post (or similar). For example, you may receive a set rate of £100 for making a reel that promotes a clothing brand.

Some nano influencers earn through both affiliate marketing and brand partnerships. However, others will stick to just one.

In general, affiliate marketing is easier to start but does not offer guaranteed income. However, brand partnerships require more initial effort but offer the advantage of knowing how much you will earn from the content that you create.

The easiest way to become a nano influencer in 2024 is to join an influencer agency. However, you can also start making money as an influencer with no followers by reaching out to brands directly or signing up to affiliate marketing networks.

In the following guide, we will outline the steps to building your social media page, monetizing your content and earning your first paycheck as a nano influencer.

Step 1: Choose your niche

Successful social media influencers create content that targets a specific niche and audience. This helps them to plan effectively and to content with their followers.

The niche that you choose will impact the type of content that you create as well as the platforms that you should use.

For example, fashion content creators create shorter, image content and use platforms such as TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram. On the other hand, gaming content creators create longer content that is suitable for YouTube and Twitch.

Your niche will also affect what your followers are looking for within your content. Users who follow fashion accounts are probably looking for outfit inspiration whereas gaming account followers may be looking for strategies and expert insight into their favorite games, for example.

When choosing your niche, you should ask yourself a few questions.

1. What type of content do you enjoy creating?

2. What are your main interest skills? Think about areas that you could add value to here.

3. Are you comfortable showing your face?

If you are not comfortable showing your face, you can still earn money on social media. We have a whole guide on how to make money on YouTube without showing your face. However, it may be more difficult to build a relationship with your audience without showing your face.

Step 2. Create high-quality content

Nano influencers should create high-quality content that adds value to their niche, whilst remaining relatable. This often means posting a mixture of planned, well-executed content as well as personal, amateur content.

When creating your content, the main focus should be on value. Does the content deliver what your followers are looking for?

The best way to create content that appeals to social media users is to spend time researching why your target audience might choose to follow you. Understanding this will help to guide your content plan and reduce your chances of spending time on irrelevant content.

Aesthetics play a huge role in social media so you should also put a lot of energy into making your page look good. That could mean finding a theme that fits with your niche, using filters or even investing in editing tools.

Another element of creating content is leaning into trends. This is particularly effective for helping potential followers to discover your account. Social media platforms sometimes push content that uses trending themes, hashtags, sounds, or filters. Try to add trending content into your plan to increase your chances of appearing on explore pages.

Upload new content daily to your social media pages

The key to being successful in ANY side hustle is consistency. If you want to make it as an influencer, you will need to post content every single day.

The exact number of daily posts depends on the social media platform that you use.

For example, Later.com recommends that Instagram nano influencers post 3 main feed posts per week as well as several story posts each day. The guidelines around how often to post on social media vary from platform to platform however, all recommend posting multiple times per week.

As well as uploading content regularly, it is also important to continue posting for at least 3 months before making any changes to your plan. It may take several months before you manage to make any money as a nano influencer, which can be frustrating. However, the initial effort can pay off well in the long run with many nano influencers earning £100+ per post.

Step 3. Build a relationship with your audience

You need to build a strong relationship with your audience to promote products to them successfully.

The best way to build a relationship is to engage with your followers, post personal content, and put yourself in a relatable light. You should always respond to messages, like comments, reshare posts, and provide followers with exclusive insight that makes them feel as if they know you in person.

It takes time to build a relationship with your followers. You must stay consistent and regularly adjust your strategy according to your engagement rates.

Step 4. Collaborate with other influencers

A good way to increase your reach and tap into existing audiences is to collaborate with other influencers in your niche.

This is a great way to increase your following whilst establishing yourself as a serious creator. By collaborating with other users, you may get noticed by brands who are already working with the influencers that you collaborate with. This could make it easier for you to start making money as a nano influencer.

When choosing users to collaborate with, consider the size of their audience, how authoritative they are in their niche, and the type of content that they typically create. You should try to collab with creators who have similar content styles to you but a larger following or more authoritative reputation.

By collaborating with another influencer, you can reach their audience and they can reach yours. Collaborating is a mutually beneficial solution that will help your online presence to grow.

The best way to find collab opportunities is to reach out to other creators directly. Show genuine interest in their content and then pitch your idea for a potential collaboration. You should start with smaller nano influencers and then start reaching out to creators with larger followings as you gain experience.

5. Sign up to an affiliate marketing program

Once you have built up a relationship with your audience, the next step is to join an affiliate marketing program so that you can start monetizing your social media accounts.

There are a number of affiliate marketing programs for beginners that don’t have any following or traffic requirements. However, some programs may require you to make a certain number of sales within a specific time frame in order to keep your account. This is something that you should look into before choosing a network.

After signing up to a program, you will be able to create affiliate links for products that you would like to promote.

At this stage, you must be very careful about the products that you decide to affiliate. Choose products that will provide value to your followers as well as products that you genuinely like yourself. Your audience will be able to tell if you are promoting something for the sake of making a quick buck and this could encourage them to stop following you.

Avoid over-posting affiliate content as this can come across as pushy. Instead, make an honest post about the product that explains why your followers might like it, and then continue posting your usual content. It can be tempting to post lots of affiliate content to increase the chances of someone clicking your link however, this will ruin your engagement in the long run.

6. Join an influencer agency

If you want to earn a steady income as a nano influencer, you should sign up to an agency. Agencies connect brands with influencers and make the process of finding partnerships much easier.

In 2024, there are a lot of agencies that accept nano influencers. However, you will need to provide evidence of good engagement rates to be able to attract brands.

Joining an agency is the last step of the process because you will need to build up some experience first. Never the less, if you post consistently and engage with your audience, you might be able to join an agency after around 6 months.

Before signing up for an agency, it is a good idea to create an influencer portfolio. This will make the process of applying to agencies more straightforward.

Once you have signed up with an agency, it will become easier to expand your social media side hustle and maybe even turn it into a full-time career. Agencies will be able to provide you with advice on how to land brand deals, grow your following, and improve your content.

Also read: How to make money on Instagram

It is hard to believe that you could earn a significant income on social media with less than 10k followers. However, an increasing number of brands are looking to work with smaller influencers who have a close relationship with their audience. Nevertheless, making money as a nano influencer is not as straightforward as it might seem.

We took to the internet to find out what it’s really like to work as a nano influencer in 2024.

Firstly, an article published by Business Insider told the story of a TikTok influencer, Ayomi, who was able to land a brand deal with just 2000 followers. Ayomi attributed her success to her carefully planned content strategy. She explained in the article the importance of monitoring your engagement to work out what appeals to your audience. Ayomi also disclosed that she posted every day, twice a day for the first 60 days of her nano influencer career.

During our research, we also discovered the importance of creating a good pitch. YouTuber Jade Beason explained in a video that a good pitch is sometimes more important than your following or content for landing brand deals. It may take several attempts before you manage to land a brand partnership. This is normal and you should not be deterred by a few ‘nos’ in the beginning.

The reality of being a nano influencer in 2024 is that it takes consistency and planning. The most successful influencers post daily and monitor their performance to understand what works with their audience. They also spend time learning the art of pitching to brands so that they can land deals despite having a low following.

According to research conducted by Shopify, nano influencers can charge up to $800 per post. However, the amount you can charge will depend on your niche, your engagement rates, and the social media platform for which you create content.

For example, TikTok is the highest-paying platform for influencers whereas Facebook and Twitter fall at the lower end of the scale. A study by Search Engine Journal found the the average nano influencer on Instagram makes around $315 per YouTube video, $43 per Instagram story and $100 per Instagram post.

Even if you charge the lower rates, it is possible to earn a decent amount of money as a nano influencer. You could easily earn an extra £500 per month by posting 5 Instagram posts or 10 Instagram stories.

Of course, the rates mentioned about do not account for affiliate marketing. There is no limit to how much you could make through affiliate links as a nano influencer in 2024.

Conclusion

To become a nano influencer in 2024 you will need to find a niche, post content consistently, and monitor your performance to improve your strategy. Nano influencers make money through affiliate marketing or brand partnerships and can charge fairly high rates for their content. Making money with this side hustle requires a lot of time and effort. However, successful nano influencers are able to make a steady income doing something that they genuinely enjoy which makes the effort worth it.