It may seem like all you need is an interesting look and expertise in a certain subject to becoming an influencer. Although those things are important, it is helpful to have a wide range of other skills. It’s actually the secondary skills that you need to have that will be most responsible for your success.
It requires being something of a jack of all trades to make it as an influencer since you are essentially running a business. A business is not just a CEO, but also a marketing department, sales division, and IT team. All the parts need to be working to be successful. In this article, we will go over what it takes to be an influencer.
1. Design skills
You don’t exactly have to have a background in graphic design, but it is helpful to understand design principles and know how to use some tools. If you already know how to use things like Photoshop or Illustrator then that is a big advantage. If not, then use free tools to do things like making transparent PNG or banner images for social media profiles.
It does help to improve those skills to be able to use the other tools that require more of a learning curve since you will use them frequently. At some point, you can hire a designer to do these things for you, but it costs money and it takes time to get the work done. Doing it yourself will be more economical and even take less time since you don’t have to wait for orders to get done.
2. Marketing skills
Making a name for yourself is the most important thing you can do to become an influencer. It’s the way that you build a following that you can then monetize later on. This means that you have to get very good at marketing.
It involves a lot of understanding of how different platforms work so you can exploit them and get seen. Social media is the most obvious area to start but it is more involved than just posting every day. The content needs to be visually appealing, engaging, and shareable. To do this you have to do some research into your audience and what motivates them.
You’ll also need to make sure that you know which areas are going to be worth focusing on so you get the most ROI from your efforts.
3. Sales
Being an influencer means that you’re able to make money from doing it. You have to figure out how to sell yourself to be able to get sponsorships so you can earn a living. In some cases, the sponsors will come to you and make an offer. However, you will also need to know how to pitch a potential sponsor and convince them to work with you.
Make sure to understand that sales are all about convincing people that you can solve their problem and they should pay you for it. When making a pitch, frame it in a way that they understand the benefit to them working with you.
These are just 3 important assets you need to become a successful influencer. It is not an easy job, but with the right strategy you can create a viable income from it.
