What to do with 100k followers on Instagram

Surprise! Most of those Influencers you see are NOT LOADED. Yeah. It's the truth. So what would you do if you had 100k followers, sell a course, perhaps?

I launched a marketplace for content creators less than a month ago because I know that there is a lot of unexpressed potential in the Creator Economy. 

Frankly, I was impressed with how many people don’t know how to monetize 100k followers. But then again, 100k followers on Instagram or TikTok, or YouTube (the name for a YouTube follower is subscriber, but we already know this, right?) do not translate directly into a lucrative business. 

To become a profitable content creator, you need to be relentless. First, you need an audience. Then, you need to deliver value to your audience. Then, you need to ask for something in return. It sounds easy, but it takes insane dedication.

Follower Inflation

Over time, a person with 100k followers became easier to find. The “aura” effect changed from “Wow, this person has 100k followers” to “Ah it must be a professional creator”. And this is normal. 

It is now easier to get to 100k followers than ever before and the methods keep revolving around four principles:

1. Consistency

   1. POST EVERYDAY - FIrst 6-24 months of a Content Creator

   2. POST EVERY 2-3 DAYS - Most Content Creators

   3. POST EVERY WEEK OR TWICE A MONTH - Substack writers

   4. POST WHEN YOU CAN - Non-creators

2. Authenticity

   1. Nobody is looking to keep up with the kardashians. You need to be authentic and deliver real content to the table. What’s your area of expertise? 

3. Uniqueness

   1. It’s a competitive world. You need your killer feature for your content to make it out there. What will it be?

4. Community

   1. Focus on building and do not be afraid to ask. Feel free to connect with others. Again, do not be afraid to ask others. Build a community. 

I would also add one extra principle that comes around not as often: Fun. It is important to make content that elicits a fun sentiment in your audience. You want people to have an “internal trigger” that makes them want to consume what you create.

You may buy courses to help you get to a high follower count. You may study your nights off. Trust me, it’s all about what I outlined above. 

How do Content Creators Make Money?

So yeah, there you go. Succesfull creators make money with Brand deals. Companies exist to sell, and if you help them sell, JACKPOT!

Now, how can you extract the maximum value off of your follower base?

YOU NEED A NICHE. 

A niche is how you can monetize your personal brand. With a niche, followers know what you do and why - and they trust you for that (and this is why courses became such a natural type of product for these Creators).

With a niche, a brand belonging to the same niche will waste no time trying to hire you as an ambassador. That’s how you win. You need to gain the trust of your audience, but you need to have a specific area of expertise.

Here are some easy niches:

1. Pets

   1. Just get a dog/cat/bearded dragon and treat it well. It’s very easy to create pet-related content.

2. Career advice

   1. Are you in your 30s/40s and successful? No brainer.

3. Videogame-based comedy

   1. Just play a videogame that you like while you record yourself doing your monologue. you can make 10 clips out of 2 hours of playing

4. Minority Culture experiences and explanations

   1. This is a really good one. Are you Italian? Perhaps Italian-American? Why don’t you tell people about your experience growing up etc.?

Be careful with the niche you pick - you may experience a surge of interest all of a sudden and find yourself stuck in a niche forever. Please plan ahead.

To conclude, Creators make most of their money with Brand Deals and if you want to sell Collaborations as a Creator it is very much easier to do so if you have a niche.