Have you ever heard someone say “I want to be an influencer”? It sounds like a great job, have brands pay you to promote their product, travel on their dime, and have lots of people follow you and buy what you tell them too. You don’t have to have a “real job” and can spend your days living your best life. Definitely sounds pretty amazing, but the hard part is actually becoming an influencer. Here are three things you must do first, before becoming an influencer.

1. You have to have a passion. Think of the influencers you follow. Most of them didn’t start out wanting to be an influencer. They started with a passion for something. Whether that was food, or fashion or heath or something else, you get the picture. These people first started by following their passion and sharing it with others. So, if you want to be an influencer you need to find your passion and start sharing it publically whether on Instagram, through a blog, You Tube, etc.
   
   
2. You have to provide value. This may be the most important step of them all. In order to become an influencer you need to provide value to your audience. No one is going to trust you and just start buying what you are selling if you haven’t build a connection with them and given them some kind of value. For example, if you are a beauty blogger and have been giving makeup tips on your You Tube channel for months, and then you start promoting a lipstick, I might buy it because 1. I trust your judgement, and 2. You have been giving me free makeup tips for so long. Once you can consistently provide value, brands will see that and want to work with you.
   
   
3. You must stand for something. If you want to be a successful influencer you have to stand for something, or as we say in the business world, you need to niche down. For example, if you are a food blogger, maybe you niche down and only cook vegan. This will make you stand out from other food bloggers since you don’t just cook anything. Brands will want to work with you specifically because you are a vegan blogger. Taking a stand and niching down won’t make you less desireable to brands, but ultimately more.In order to be successful as an influencer you need to be authentic and have your ultimate intent be to help people, not just sell them!