The economics of influencing: How creators really make money

Hello everyone, welcome back to my channel

Hello vlogmas. This is the not my arms challenge, clearly. It may not seem like it today, but many of the biggest names on YouTube started their

channels with no equipment, no strategy, and no real plan. Sometimes the hardest part about being a YouTuber is not knowing what to upload

But over time, those hobby videos turned into full-time jobs. And now that content creation is a career, what can an influencer expect to make

These companies have money to spend. Oh, you'll give me $5,000 for this 30-second video

Let's face it, seeing a post like this, you're bound to ask the question

could I make a mint off some engagement? The majority of our creators are earning above six figures

With that said, we still see such a demand from micro-influencers, those just starting getting their first brand deals or first AdSense checks

And they have that panic set in if I don't know how to navigate this

Let's put it in perspective. Global influencer marketing is a nearly $17 billion business, and it's expected to grow 16-fold over the next decade

So how exactly are creators making all this money? It really is fun to see

Those micro-influencers, those greener creators, if the algorithm gods bless them one day or they just strike a lucky viral moment

they can go from making a couple hundred dollars a month to tens of thousands of dollars every single month

Katie Calloway is with Cookie Finance an accounting company that works exclusively with influencers and content creators The path to making money looks different for everyone So we asked creators where their income really comes from Walmart Costco those kind of brands for partnerships

So that's where the bulk of it comes from. I also work with small locally owned businesses

Almost five years after starting her page and more than 133,000 followers later

Denise now partners with household brands and explores her city for a living

The creator behind Dallas Foodie Fix says when it comes to local businesses

she sets her own rates and only a small portion of her money comes directly from the social media platforms themselves

That's because payouts from the platforms themselves are often meager. Recent data for 2025 shows most creators earned around two to four cents per 1,000 views

translating to $20 to $40 for every $1 million. And that's an average, with some payouts on platforms like TikTok as low as $0.05 per 1,000 views

Compare this to the YouTube Partner Program, where a channel with 100,000 monthly views can make $10 to $30 per 1,000 views

In short, relying on ad payouts from platform views alone just can't cut it for most creators

I also do a lot of events, local events here in Dallas. And those I usually like to set up as commission based

So I make a pretty good chunk there too. Enough to sustain herself and enough to become a full-time creator in 2023 after she was laid off

deciding to bet on her growing brand. My goal for the month is pretty much the same, but the actual income definitely fluctuates

And then also the timing on when that money comes in can fluctuate too

Lifestyle creator Savion Jordan told us the same thing While YouTube does pay better than some other platforms the majority of her money also comes from brand deals

And those rates differ. On Instagram, Savion has 68,000 followers, and on TikTok, nearly 189,000

When it comes to these brand deals, I can charge people, hey, $10,000 for a TikTok video for 60 seconds

And they're like, okay, cool. Another element to the profit equation, platform rules

The most viewed YouTube video in the world, Baby Shark, has 16 billion views

Despite those massive numbers, the company behind the smash hit generated about 13 million in profit

a lot to some, but far less than one might expect given the reach

So what happened? YouTube restricts ads on made-for-kids content, limiting personalized ads

in disabling comments and notifications after a 2020 federal trade commission settlement over

children's privacy. The result was severe drops in profitability for many kids' content creators

and creators face mounting uncertainty daily. TikTok could get banned at any point, so

someone could also just have a flop and a video and their whole channel dies

If making money off views is a challenge, why not sell somewhere else? Think modern day QVC

I would say the biggest shift that we've seen in the last 12 to 18 months over here

really is the growth of social commerce, specifically on TikTok shop. These aren't your typical influencers

A lot of these people are just really getting lucky with promoting the most bizarre random

products like a pillow or a set of headphones, even just vitamins

And while creators treat this work like a business so does the government I would say before you get that first paycheck whether it be from a brand deal whether it be from affiliate links

make sure that you are putting aside 30% for taxes. When asked what the most common misconception about content creation was, these creators said it's that people think it's easy

I'm over here constantly filming, constantly editing. I always have something to post

And I think that's what they they don't understand that this is really a full time job

Like people work nine to five. OK, well, now I'm working all the time, 24 hours

I've had brand deals that have, you know, gone on for six months

Obviously, I wasn't working that entire six months, but just like the back and forth negotiations and then the approval process and so forth and so on

I think that if they realize how much time and effort went into, you know, a little 30 second video, that that would change their mind

And remember that Eve Jobs post proving that even a single photo can take off and make money

Katie said it's a viral moment all creators hope for. If the algorithm gods bless them one day or they just strike a lucky viral moment, they can go from making a couple hundred dollars a month to tens of thousands of dollars every single month

Yes, the work is more than people realize, but creators also say there's a reason they keep showing up. The pressure is real, but so is the payoff

off. When a supporter comes up to me and oh my gosh I've been watching your videos since high

school and your video about God really helped me get closer to him and oh you and Corey are so

inspiring like that is that's everything to me like that's why I do it. I'm Kennedy Felton with

Straight Arrow News and for more on this story and others head over to san.com or download our mobile app