Influencers are some of the most effective marketing assets in today’s digital age. In some cases, these individuals are actively driving the content creation industry for some brands, and how many micro trends are shaped and formed.
Thanks to their ability to craft an aspirational lifestyle and test a wide variety of products in the market, influencers’ recommendations are highly valuable for brands and followers alike.
This is why recent influencer surveys found that up to 57% of Gen-Z respondents and 41% of all adults surveyed want to be in this line of work.
That said, being an influencer is easier said than done. Aside from constantly having to grind as essentially your own production company, being an influencer means you always have to have content ready. Without anything fresh to cover, you can easily get overlooked in favor of the millions of other hopefuls online, given that Linktree’s found that 200 million content creators monetize their work.
For an aspiring beauty influencer, this means that you should have a steady stream of products to feature.
Of course, if you’re just starting, doing so can be challenging, given that you’ll likely have to acquire them on your own first. Thankfully, there are ways to do so without breaking your budget or your posting schedule.
As a new influencer who may not be on PR lists yet, and you’ll have to pay out of pocket for certain items (especially if you want to keep up with the latest trends and releases). Start with products that are already cult favorites on your buy list so you know you will get good use out of the products your purchase. Some of the best beauty and skincare reviews come from authentic experiences that are had outside of the influencer market.
The good news is that buying these products doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg if you do so through exclusive online beauty deals. Looking at the selection of products from QVC for example, you can easily find a wide range of the newest beauty collections at more affordable promotional packages and prices. This includes goods from premium brands like Bobbi Brown and Elemis, which are also often sold out in physical retail stores.
Additionally, trusted platforms are often able to partner with big-name labels for online exclusives. For instance, in the aforementioned shopping platform, you can find special deals like Benefit brow pencil duos and Sigma Beauty face brush sets, all with reduced prices that are unheard of in brick-and-mortar stores. Using these, you can buy yourself even high-end beauty products while still being mindful of what you can afford.
Later, even after you’ve established your following, purchasing from these online deals can be a practical option to balance your content with a degree of unsponsored posts.
If there’s one that many beauty influencers will say, it’s that they have so much product and so little time. Naturally, this means that many items are barely used, if at all, which is a waste. Aside from this, if you’re still in the stage of your career when you’re buying your own products, having plenty of items on hand that you won’t maximize after your post is also impractical.
As such, it’s also worth looking into subscription beauty boxes. Offered by numerous companies, these boxes offer makeup, skincare, fragrance, and haircare items that have been selected to suit individual profiles. As a result, subscribers can receive products that actually align with their interests and preferences. As an influencer, this can help you ensure that the products you get are curated to suit your online style and niche. At the same time, since these are usually offered in travel sizes, it reduces the amount of product that you’ll have to go through.
Since the monthly cost of such a box is cheaper than constantly buying full-price, it’s easier to squeeze into your working budget.
Finally, in many box providers, you can find collaborations with big beauty names. For instance, Ipsy recently worked with Patrick Starr, who selected several of that month’s box items, which included high-street brands like One/Size, Fenty, and Kosas.
You can also do unboxing content by doing hauls of all of the items in your subscription boxes, so you’re getting double content out of the same mix of products.
According to reports, a growing number of beauty businesses are becoming more keen to work with micro and mid-tier influencers. This is because, aside from being more financially accessible, their more modest following also creates a more “relatable” community that online followers are happy to join. Since they’re also perceived to be more authentic, smaller influencers can often drum up more sales conversions. For example, Trigwell Cosmetics, which is a self-described small cosmetics business, sold out 2,500 of their limited edition puffs in just under six hours following an influencer post.
You can find a BLAQ face mask review on this very site as an example of a small brand that created a ton of viral buzz leveraging influencer marketing.
As a new influencer, you can use this information to your advantage by offering your platform to SMEs. Since these businesses are less likely to have the resources to formally onboard bigger influencers, you can instead request an exchange deal of sorts. Through this, they can offer you products for free that you’ll then review or feature on your accounts. This is a win-win situation, so long as you know the product is trustworthy and you do the brand justice in your post.
In the long run, this can also help build your credibility among other brands while also securing a working relationship that can be helpful as your following swells.
Looking for more inspiration before starting your own blog? Here are some benefits of becoming a beauty or fashion blogger to get your gumption going.
Written by Kiera Brooks, published by Day in My Dreams
In accordance with the FTC regulations for Influencers, this post is in collaboration with Kiera Brooks. I hope you’ve found this post informational and inspiring!
