Instagram influencers) was born on shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and the Real Housewives
franchise. And home improvement shows on HGTV and other networks now offer viewers uninterrupted
access to the unremarkable homes and lives of ordinary people.
Free platforms like Instagram make it possible for anyone to show the world her living room, and
potentially profit from it by promoting products. Companies like rewardStyle connect popular influencers
with brands. When an influencer uploads a photograph of, say, a fabulous lamp tagged with a link, followers
who click on the link can buy the merchandise. The influencer then collects a commission on sales that
originate from that post.
Brands also partner with influencers directly or through marketing companies, paying for sponsored
content. (Influencers with smaller followings may receive free merchandise instead.) While earnings vary
widely in an industry that is still developing, an influencer can expect to earn roughly one cent for each
follower, or $1,000 a post for an account with 100,000 followers, according to Later, an Instagram
marketing platform. Influencers with audiences of 50,000 to 500,000 reported earning an average of about
$70,000 a year, with more than half of their income from sponsored content, according to a 2019 survey by
Collectively, an influencer marketing company.
If I hadn’t done the Instagram thing, we would have had to have sold the house, because we wouldn’t have
been able to afford it
“In the very beginning, people would contact me: ‘Can we send you something?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my
gosh, send me all the free stuff!’” Williams says.
It didn’t take long for her to learn that she was worth more than a free duvet cover. “Now, if you want to
send me stuff,” she says, “there is a price.”
Deliver impressive enough results, and a brand may roll out signature merchandise, like Vogelpohl’s line of
rugs from Orian.
Much of an account’s success depends on the enthusiasm of its followers. To keep them engaged, an
account must feel authentic, and that means sharing more than just your new decorative mirror. Followers
will drift off and brands will doubt your marketing potential if few people like or comment on bland
photographs with banal captions peppered with rainbow emojis and a string of advertising hashtags and
links.
To avoid that fate, an account needs to share a certain number of personal anecdotes, complete with photos
of the children and the clutter. But not too much clutter, because no one wants to see a real-life mess, even
if it comes with a deal on a Swiffer.