How The LA Girl Gwen Lane Launched a Multi Six Figure Business with Less Than 100k Instagram Followers: The YouTube Power Hour Podcast 171
“If you’re committed to being an influencer, then you should be in for the long haul.”
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Ready to learn all about working with brands with an influencer marketing SUPERSTAR? Wait no further, because IG Influencer and expert Gwen Lane is here to give you all the tips on attracting brands and making a full-time living as an influencer! Get ready for the journey and I hope you enjoy the ride.
Gwen was working in digital marketing and entertainment for 10 years before she ever thought about building her brand. She started it out as a hobby on Twitter in 2014, but that quickly into a passion she couldn’t ignore. Twitter, turned into her blog, an that turned into an Instagram profile, and 6 months later she was already monetizing her brand. In 2 short years, she was able to quit her job and become an influencer full-time!
“There comes a point where you need to decide if this is going to be something you’ll take seriously as a business or not.”
She believes that if being an influencer is something you feel called to do, and you’re doing it to add value to peoples lives, you’ll stick with it for as long as it takes to become successful. She has zero time for the get rich quick clique. Gwen teaches YouTubers how to monetize their content outside of the built-in ad platform and she’s definitely holding nothing back in today’s episode.
“Stick to your audience and your content because you want to be the one that a brand goes to when targeting your people.”
6 Key Interview Takeaways
- Niche down in the beginning. Know your audience and stick with them. Study their personality. Their likes and dislikes. The problems that plague them and the dreams they’re aspiring towards. Get close to them by creating content for them and them alone, and then you’ll become their close personal confidant. And as their confidant, you’ll help them by recommending products and services that can genuinely help them. Brands will also seek you out to reach them.
- Get out of the Free Fall. Gwen uses the term “free fall” to describe the moment when influencers get stuck getting free gifts and privileges from brands in exchange for their influence. She says there comes a time in every influencer’s life when they have to make a decision. That decision is to turn down a brand deal, no matter how sweet the gifts are, because building a business and earning monetary income is more important. It is scary to turn a brand down or to push back for money instead, but it will be well worth the sacrifice. You might end up getting both the free gifts and the correct compensation for your influence.
- How to attract brands. Genuinely follow the ones you like (and want to work with someday) and engage with their content. You need to be on their radar before you ever approach them for a deal. Let them see you using their products so they can see how you’ll fit if they were to do business with you. Also, look at the influencers those brands are already working with, what characteristics do they have that make them a good fit? Do you have any in common?
- Smart brands build relationships with micro-influencers. Big influencers charge big money for posts, and while it’s great to get a Kardashian to post a product once, audiences now need to see that product multiple times to trigger them to make a purchase. So while the reach is there, the depth and frequency don’t compare to working with a smaller influencer who loves the brand and is an advocate. They will post about it multiple times and with so much honest emotion that the brand will get more sales in the long run. That’s why it’s important to focus on your niche and not your numbers.
- It takes time to grow. Gwen asks all her students “why are you doing this? Is it to make an impact or is it to be famous?” I am fully aligned with this question because we’re not teaching people how to get rich quick. Becoming an influencer can be a long and arduous road, so ensure you’re doing it for the right reasons. The people who start for the money usually give up and the people who do it for the impact usually make it.
- Post content that sparks a conversation. We touched on content a couple of times in this episode. You want your content to drive engagement. Ask for peoples feedback, ask a question, make your comments section a community area where people can feel safe and open to sharing with you and each other. More and more, brands want to see that influencers can stimulate discussions in the comments about their products
Resources
My favorite free SEO tool for YouTube: TubeBuddy
(Discount code ErikasBuddy for 20% off the paid version)
PR Guide: How to Get onto PR Lists and Get Lots of Free Product
Getting Started on YouTube: The #1 Downloaded Free Niche Discovery Workbook
Connect with Gwen
Facebook Group:
Podcast Music Credit: Boop by x50 @x50music
Music provided by Free Music for Vlogs youtu.be/o52xQkQWzyU
