So You Wanna Be an Influencer?

Jules LeBlanc, of Los Angeles, was recently celebrating her 20th birthday in New York City. She documented much of her journey, from her sightseeing stops to a dinner out with family to all the packages that had piled up at her home in her absence. Later, she edited the clips into a 15-minute vlog—or video blog—and shared it on YouTube with her more than 4 million subscribers.

Recording and sharing footage of her daily activities like this is a regular undertaking for the social media creator.

“I just pull out my phone . . . and I start vlogging my day,” she says.

LeBlanc has made online content since she was a child, when her parents posted family videos on YouTube. Today she makes a living by sharing her own photos and videos with millions of fans on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

Jules LeBlanc, of Los Angeles, was recently celebrating her 20th birthday in New York City. She recorded much of her trip. She filmed her sightseeing stops, a dinner out with family, and all the packages that had piled up at her home in her absence. Later, she edited the clips into a 15-minute vlog, or video blog. She then shared it with her more than 4 million subscribers on YouTube.

Recording and sharing footage of her daily activities like this is a regular task for the social media creator.

“I just pull out my phone . . . and I start vlogging my day,” she says.

LeBlanc has made online content since she was a child. Her parents posted family videos on YouTube. Today she makes a living by sharing her own photos and videos with millions of fans on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

“It’s crazy that I’m getting paid to do this,” she says. “I would be doing it anyway.”

For some, LeBlanc’s life sounds like a dream. More than half of Americans between the ages of 13 and 26 say they’d like to be social media stars, according to a 2023 survey by Morning Consult. The creator economy is worth about $250 billion globally, and financial firm Goldman Sachs predicts that the value could hit $480 billion by 2027.

But getting rich—or even just getting by—as a creator takes more than a phone and a clever idea. An estimated 50 million people make money as creators, developing their own personal brands and online audiences. And of those creators, about half earned less than $15,000 in 2023 (see graph, below). That’s not exactly private island money. A single adult needs to make at least $45,000 annually to support themselves in most U.S. states.

“People think that money drops from the sky,” says Wayne Geerling, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies the creator economy. “They underestimate the work that goes into it.”

“It’s crazy that I’m getting paid to do this,” she says. “I would be doing it anyway.”

For some, LeBlanc’s life sounds like a dream. More than half of Americans between the ages of 13 and 26 say they’d like to be social media stars. This is according to a 2023 survey by Morning Consult. The creator economy is worth about $250 billion globally. The financial firm Goldman Sachs predicts that the value could hit $480 billion by 2027.

But getting rich—or even just getting by—as a creator takes more than a phone and a clever idea. An estimated 50 million people make money as creators. They develop their own personal brands and online audiences. About half of the creators earned less than $15,000 in 2023 (see graph, below). A single adult needs to make at least $45,000 annually to support themselves in most U.S. states.

“People think that money drops from the sky,” says Wayne Geerling, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies the creator economy. “They underestimate the work that goes into it.”

Many creators post on YouTube, America’s most-used online platform. YouTube launched in 2005 with a simple idea: “Broadcast yourself.” Today the platform—now owned by Google—has about 2.7 billion monthly users. People worldwide watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube every day.

All those hours include a lot of ads for products and services shown before, during, and after videos. Companies pay YouTube to run them, and they’re one of the ways creators make money.

To profit from ads, creators’ channels must first meet certain requirements—including having at least 1,000 subscribers. In addition, those making YouTube Shorts (clips lasting 60 seconds or less) need to rack up at least 10 million views on their content within 90 days. If you make longer content, viewers need to have watched at least 4,000 hours of it within the previous year.

Meeting these targets isn’t easy. YouTube has more than 114 million active channels. Only about 3 million of them are eligible to earn any money at all through the ads embedded in the videos.

Let’s say your channel meets all the thresholds. It’s time to cash in—sort of. YouTube pockets 45 percent of ad money generated from long-form videos and 55 percent from short clips. As a result, YouTubers earn an average of 18 cents per ad view. So a video with 100 ad views may rake in just $18.

Many creators post on YouTube, America’s most-used online platform. In 2005, YouTube launched with a simple idea: “Broadcast yourself.” Today the platform is owned by Google. It has about 2.7 billion monthly users. People worldwide watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube every day.

All those hours include a lot of ads for products and services. They are shown before, during, and after videos. Companies pay YouTube to run them. The ads are one of the ways creators make money. 

To make money from ads, creators’ channels must first meet certain requirements. They must have at least 1,000 subscribers. In addition, those making YouTube Shorts (clips lasting 60 seconds or less) need to have at least 10 million views on their content within 90 days. If you make longer content, viewers need to have watched at least 4,000 hours of it within the previous year.

Meeting these targets isn’t easy. YouTube has more than 114 million active channels. Only about 3 million of them meet the requirements to earn any money through the ads in the videos.

Let’s say your channel meets all the requirements. It’s time to cash in, or sort of. YouTube pockets 45 percent of ad money generated from long-form videos and 55 percent from short clips. As a result, YouTubers earn an average of 18 cents per ad view. So a video with 100 ad views may rake in just $18.

That’s why most social media stars diversify their income streams, meaning they earn money from several different sources. For instance, YouTubers can post links for products in their content. Every time someone clicks on a link and buys an item, the creator earns a small percentage of the sale. YouTubers also sell channel subscriptions and merchandise like T-shirts and baseball caps.

But the main way creators make money is by teaming up with brands to sell stuff. Maybe you’ve noticed that your favorite gamer always guzzles a particular sports drink. Or that a popular sneaker channel often gives away a certain sock brand. Such deals make up 70 percent of creators’ income, according to Goldman Sachs.

That’s why most social media stars diversify their income streams, meaning they earn money from several different sources. For instance, YouTubers can post links for products in their content. Every time someone clicks on a link and buys an item, the creator earns a small percentage of the sale. YouTubers also sell channel subscriptions and merchandise like T-shirts and baseball caps.

But the main way creators make money is by teaming up with brands to sell stuff. Maybe you’ve noticed that your favorite gamer always drinks a particular sports drink. Or that a popular sneaker channel often gives away a certain type of sock. These deals make up 70 percent of creators’ income, according to Goldman Sachs.

These partnerships take different forms. A company might fund an entire video themed around a product, for example, or supply free goods for a creator to unbox.

“I’ve worked with some really cool brands,” LeBlanc says. “They’ll send you clothes, and you get to try them on and film about it. . . . I feel like a lot of my creative juices get to flow, because I’m like, ‘OK, this is for somebody else, so it has to be even better than what I’m putting out for myself.’”

Brand partnerships are one of the main ways that creators make money on other platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, as well. (TikTok also offers a monetization tool called the Creator Rewards Program for those who meet certain requirements, such as having at least 10,000 followers and creating videos that are one minute or longer.)

Paying creators can pay off for brands. Advertising research firm NCSolutions found that 66 percent of 12-to-27-year-olds in the U.S. bought a product after it was featured in a creator’s content.

You don’t need millions of followers to get deals. So-called nano creators—those with 1,000 to 10,000 followers—charge brands $20 to $250 per post, according to Viral Nation, an influencer marketing firm based in Canada. At the other end of the spectrum are mega creators, with more than 1 million followers. They can charge more than $10,000 for a single post.

The more engaged subscribers are—regularly liking, commenting on, and sharing content—the more money a creator can earn, says Joe Gagliese, co-founder of Viral Nation.

“You could have millions of followers, but if they aren’t actively engaging with your content, your influence is limited,” Gagliese says. “In contrast, a smaller creator with a highly engaged audience can have a much greater impact.”

The partnerships can take different forms. A company might fund an entire video themed around a product or supply free goods for a creator to unbox.

“I’ve worked with some really cool brands,” LeBlanc says. “They’ll send you clothes, and you get to try them on and film about it. . . . I feel like a lot of my creative juices get to flow, because I’m like, ‘OK, this is for somebody else, so it has to be even better than what I’m putting out for myself.’”

Brand partnerships are one of the main ways that creators make money on other platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram. TikTok also offers a monetization tool called the Creator Rewards Program. For that, creators need to meet certain requirements, such as having at least 10,000 followers and creating videos that are one minute or longer.

Paying creators can pay off for brands. Advertising research firm NCSolutions found that 66 percent of 12-to-27-year-olds in the U.S. bought a product after it was featured in a creator’s content.

You don’t need millions of followers to get deals. Nano creators have 1,000 to 10,000 followers. They can charge brands $20 to $250 per post, according to Viral Nation, an influencer marketing firm based in Canada. At the other end of the spectrum are mega creators, with more than 1 million followers. They can charge more than $10,000 for a single post.

The more engaged subscribers are—regularly liking, commenting on, and sharing content—the more money a creator can earn, says Joe Gagliese, co-founder of Viral Nation.

“You could have millions of followers, but if they aren’t actively engaging with your content, your influence is limited,” Gagliese says. “In contrast, a smaller creator with a highly engaged audience can have a much greater impact.”

Making online content for a living may seem fun, but the amount of effort it takes might surprise you. LeBlanc usually captures two to three hours of footage for a vlog. She’s a fast editor, but piecing all those clips together into a 10- to 20-minute video for social media is time-consuming.

And take the world’s most successful creator: Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast. The 27-year-old from North Carolina is famous for his extreme challenge videos, cash prizes, and charitable giveaways. What goes into a viral MrBeast clip? Donaldson has said that sometimes 12,000 hours of footage are shot for a 15-minute clip. Even with a production team of 300 people, videos can take five months to complete, from idea to upload.

Donaldson has about 380 million subscribers—more than anyone else—on his main YouTube channel and earns more than $700 million a year from his channel and other ventures. In interviews, Donaldson has described the pressure to top himself as “brutal” and “a never-ending treadmill.” Former employees have accused him of creating unsafe and unhappy working conditions. Donaldson has said these claims were “blown out of proportion.”

Making online content for a living may seem fun. But it takes effort. LeBlanc usually captures two to three hours of footage for a vlog. She’s a fast editor, but it is time-consuming to piece all those clips together into a 10- to 20-minute video for social media.

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is one of the world’s most successful creators. The 27-year-old from North Carolina is famous for his extreme challenge videos, cash prizes, and charitable giveaways. What goes into a viral MrBeast clip? Donaldson has said that sometimes 12,000 hours of footage are shot for a 15-minute clip. The videos can take five months to complete even with a production team of 300 people.

Donaldson has about 380 million subscribers—more than anyone else—on his main YouTube channel. He earns more than $700 million a year from his channel and other ventures. In interviews, Donaldson has described the pressure to top himself as “brutal” and “a never-ending treadmill.” Former employees have accused him of creating unsafe and unhappy working conditions. Donaldson has said these claims were “blown out of proportion.”

The content creation field is ever-evolving: Trends come and go quickly, new platforms and formats emerge, and technology keeps changing. That makes it an unpredictable career path. Today, for example, many people worry about how artificial intelligence may affect creators. Will virtual influencers become more popular than human ones?

In the meantime, the secret to success, says LeBlanc, is posting videos that make you proud. Geerling, the University of Texas professor, advises aspiring creators to remain open to jobs beyond being on camera. As the industry grows, top talents will need more people to edit videos, track audience preferences, design merch, and more.

“Have a backup plan,” he says. “And be prepared to put in lots of hours.”

The content creation field is ever-evolving. The trends come and go quickly. New platforms and formats keep emerging, and technology keeps changing. All the change makes it an unpredictable career path. Today, for example, many people worry about how artificial intelligence may affect creators. Will virtual influencers become more popular than human ones?

In the meantime, the secret to success, says LeBlanc, is posting videos that make you proud. Geerling, the University of Texas professor, advises aspiring creators to remain open to jobs beyond being on camera. As the industry grows, top talents will need more people to edit videos, track audience preferences, design merch, and more.

“Have a backup plan,” he says. “And be prepared to put in lots of hours.”