Eminem joins a secretive text-message startup, sponsored content rates drop, and a new media kit library

Welcome back to this week's Influencer Dashboard newsletter!

As always, this is Amanda Perelli (from home) with a weekly update on what's new in the business of influencers and creators.

This week, my colleague Dan Whateley and I published four influencer media kits from creators who are popular on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Brand sponsorships are one of the main ways influencers earn money — and the first thing advertisers ask for during a pitch is a media kit.

But what does an influencer media kit look like?

It's a document that creators use to show a brand the need-to-know information on their digital business and the impact they can have. The media kits we published — which were the exact ones the influencers used — range from 8 to 24 pages, and include audience demographics and rates, all wrapped up into one digital booklet that reflects what the influencer has to offer.

These are the 4 creators we spoke to:

• Roberto Blake: 445,000 YouTube subscribers. Blake is a tech YouTuber who shared his 11-page media kit in February, which features a scale of the different rates he charges for a collaboration.

• Marina Mogilko: over 2 million YouTube subscribers. Mogilko runs three YouTube channels: language, technology, and business. She shared her 24-page media kit in May that breaks down case studies of past sponsorships.

• Macy Mariano: 105,000 Instagram followers. She said media kits are "a good way to express who you are and what you've done so they can see your past and current work."

• Girls in the Valley: a TikTok collab group with over 10 million followers. They use this 8-page document to pitch their collab-house group to brands.

See the landing page with all of the media kits, here.

You can read most of the articles here by subscribing to BI Prime. And if this is your first time reading Influencer Dashboard, subscribe to the newsletter here.

Eminem is sharing a 'personal' phone number with his fans. Here's the invite-only startup behind it that's betting texting celebs and influencers will be a big business.

You can now text the music artist Eminem on his "personal" phone number: 313-666-7440.

The rapper is using the text-marketing app Community, which allows him to promote a new line of merchandise he's releasing.

Dan broke down what you should know about how Community works and why the invite-only platform has taken off recently among celebrities and influencers alike.

Community gives each celebrity a unique phone number that they send out to their followers. Fans can sign up to receive texts from a public figure like Eminem by filling out an informational form, similar to how a brand or media company might ask customers to opt in to receiving promotional emails or newsletters.

Check out exactly what Community is and how influencers are using it as a marketing tool, here.

$220,000 from YouTube last year: How a personal-finance creator went from filming videos in a Walmart parking lot to a lucrative career

Ryan Scribner started his YouTube channel in 2016 by talking to a camera that he attached to the steering wheel of his car.

Now he runs a channel with 623,000 subscribers all about investing apps, stock market advice, and other personal-finance tips.

I spoke to Scribner who shared that his YouTube channel earned $220,000 in 2019.

Outside of YouTube ad revenue, Scribner said he relies on money earned through course sales, the stock market membership site he runs, and affiliate commission.

Read more on his digital business and how he built it, here.

22% of influencers have lowered their sponsored content prices in recent weeks, according to a survey of 515 creators

As the demand from advertisers for sponsored posts falls, many influencers have decided to lower their rates.

Dan reported that 22% of influencers have dropped their prices for sponsored content in recent weeks, according to a new report by the influencer-marketing platform Mavrck.

"I would estimate that the average macro influencer would reduce their rate if it means they are building a long-term partnership with a great, strategic brand," said Mae Karwowski, founder and CEO of the influencer-marketing platform Obviously.

A drop in sponsored-post opportunities has forced many influencers to lean into alternative revenue streams, like merchandise, direct-to-consumer products, and membership programs.

Read more on the reported drop in rates, here.

Seeking nominations: Top investors in the influencer industry

Dan and I are putting together a power list of the top venture capital and investment professionals funding the companies focused on digital creators.

We want to hear from you on which investors have been the most innovative and impactful in the industry. Please help us out by submitting your ideas through this form by June 1. Email us with any questions: aperelli@businessinsider.com and dwhateley@businessinsider.com.

Check out our other influencer power lists, on leading publicists, top TikTok managers, and YouTube agents, for an idea of what this list will look like.

What else happened on BI Prime:

• How much money a YouTube star with 100,000 subscribers makes: Joe Farrington told me that his fitness YouTube channel earns about $560 a month from the ads that play in his videos.

This week on Insider's digital culture desk:

• What the future holds for TikTok child stars: Rachel Greenspan spoke to psychologists who said that outsized social media fame may pose long-term problems for teen influencers who have become celebrities online.

• TikTok stars arrested on drug charges: Hanna Lustig reported on a recent arrest involving two famous TikTok stars from the collab house Sway LA, and what led up to the incident.

• Tana Mongeau joins OnlyFans: Kat Tenbarge wrote that YouTube star Tana Mongeau launched a page with the adult-focused subscription service OnlyFans, and within 24 hours of launching, she was offering $74 of video content, including a 7-second video for $5.

• Parenting YouTubers get backlash for 'rehoming' adopted son: Margot Harris wrote that the YouTube creator Myka Stauffer (700,000 subscribers) is receiving backlash online after revealing that she and her husband placed their son, who they adopted from China in 2017, in a new home.

Here's what else we're reading:

• What it's like to renovate influencer homes: Samantha Grindell from Insider spoke to the design team, Mr. Kate, who shared some of their tips, including how to transform a space with a small budget.

• A U.K.-based YouTuber signs with A3 Artists Agency: Geoff Weiss from Tubefilter wrote that with A3's recent U.K. office opening the team has been focused on expanding globally.

• Instagram launches monetization features: Sarah Frier from Bloomberg wrote that Instagram will run ads on IGTV and let creators sell badges to fans. The company will give 55% of ad revenue to creators, like YouTube.

• Step Chickens and the Rise of TikTok 'Cults': Taylor Lorenz from The New York Times interviewed Melissa Ong, founder of the most powerful "cult" on TikTok, Step Chickens.

Thanks for reading! Send me your tips, comments, or questions: aperelli@businessinsider.com.

Subscribe to the newsletter here.