Hi, this is Amanda Perelli and welcome back to Influencer Dashboard, our weekly rundown on the influencer and creator economy. Sign up for the newsletter here.
This week, I spoke with a
Kim Pratt, who is a skincare influencer and YouTuber, is a member of the Amazon Influencer Program, and for every purchase someone makes through one of her links, she earns a commission ranging from 4% to 10% through the program, she said.
But still, she often doesn't make much money on that first purchase one of her followers makes, since the products she links to usually range in price from $5 to $20. Her secret weapon on Amazon is that she also gets a cut of what her followers buy for a day after being directed to Amazon with her link.
"You get a cut of everything that person buys for that 24-hour period," she explained.
So, how much money does she make as an Amazon Influencer?
Typically, Pratt's Amazon affiliate revenue is higher than her monthly YouTube revenue (earned from the ads that play in her videos), she said. But those numbers can fluctuate. In June, Pratt had her best month on YouTube, earning around $7,000, according to a screenshot of her analytics dashboard viewed by Business Insider. On Amazon, she earned around $6,000, shes said, which was near her monthly average from the platform in 2020.
In our conversation, Pratt also broke down Amazon's livestreaming program for
Her take: It is better in theory than in practice.
Read more about Pratt's business and on how features like livestreaming work on Amazon, here.
Plant influencers are landing brand deals and growing their followings online
While sheltering-in-place during the pandemic, many people are looking around their houses and apartments and wondering, "Should I buy more plants?"
For advice on the subject, some turn to "plantfluencers," the social-media influencers who specialize in sharing content about — as their nickname suggests — plants. And during the last few months, several houseplant brands like The Sill have seen spikes in plant demand and sales.
My colleague Sydney Bradley spoke with several "plantfluencers" and brands about the houseplant trends they've seen and how they're adjusting to the growing demand for greenery.
"I think folks are looking for an opportunity to green-up their space and to make their homes that they're working in have a little more light to it," said Christopher Griffin, whose @plantkween Instagram account has grown by nearly 150,000 followers since March.
TikTok salary data shows pay for US jobs in engineering, product, data science, and more
It's been a busy week for TikTok.
On Friday, President Trump told reporters that he planned to ban the short-form video app outright. By Sunday, the ban was off, with Microsoft announcing that it was in talks to acquire the company's US operations by September 15.
Despite political headwinds, TikTok is forging ahead with its hiring plans in the US, staffing up in roles that will help the company compete with digital-media powerhouses like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. And many of its new hires in the US are being offered six-figure salaries, according to wage data from the US Department of Labor.
In order to better understand how much TikTok and its parent company ByteDance pay US-based employees, my colleagues Ashley Rodriguez and Dan Whateley analyzed the US Office of Foreign Labor Certification's disclosure data for permanent and temporary foreign workers.
The data include salary offers from TikTok and ByteDance from roughly 240 foreign-labor certification applications that were submitted and certified between October 2019 through June 2020.
Read the full post for more on how much TikTok pays employees, here.
More creator industry coverage from Business Insider:
Instagram news
Poshmark clothing resellers are becoming Instagram influencers to increase sales (by Sydney Bradley)
We are seeking nominations for the top beauty and fashion brand ambassador programs for influencers (by Sydney Bradley and Amanda Perelli)
TikTok news
We spoke with a cosmetic nurse with TikTok star clients on the enhancements they ask for, like "glass skin" and lip and jawline fillers (by Amanda Perelli)
Marketers are still planning ad campaigns for TikTok, but some are amending contracts so they can move spending to another social platform if needed (by Dan Whateley and Lauren Johnson)
Ask an influencer: "What was your family and friends' reaction to your initial success online?"
Ur Mom Ashley (833,000 YouTube subscribers): "When I first started YouTube, my family was apprehensive about me having a career in social
media . However, as my channel has grown, they've come to appreciate all of the hard work that goes into my job and are incredibly supportive!"Dayna Bolden (83,000 Instagram followers): "My friends and family were surprised at the success because at the time being a full-time influencer was not a 'thing.' This world of influencer marketing was still relatively new, so to create a career on social media was something that they have not seen. They were definitely surprised by it but ultimately very happy to see my success and to see that I created something for myself doing something that I am very passionate about. I have been able to grow my business year after year and increase my earnings. Now all my family and friends understand what I am doing and are truly rooting for me every step of the way."
Ramzy Masri (136,000 Instagram followers): "Everyone has been super supportive. It's always interesting what does well on social and I think some friends were surprised by how quick the reaction was to my work and how fast things went viral. What can I say, people love rainbows!"
Submit your questions about the influencer industry or for creators to aperelli@businessinsider.com. We'll answer your questions in an upcoming issue of Influencer Dashboard.
This week from Insider's digital culture team:
YouTuber Joey Graceffa is under fire for old blackface videos (by Palmer Haasch)
LA influencers won't stop partying. Few have said whether they've spread the virus (by Kat Tenbarge)
Jake Paul's Calabasas mansion was searched by the FBI on Wednesday (by Rachel Greenspan)
Here's what else we're reading and watching:
- With the coronavirus crushing advertising, some YouTubers turn to subscriptions (by Lucas Shaw and Mark Bergen, from Bloomberg)
Tatcha is debuting its new cleanser in Animal Crossing (by Lauren Rearick, from Nylon)
Banning TikTok would be devastating for creators (by Travis M. Andrews, from The Washington Post)
David Dobrik will host a dodgeball competition series for Discovery Channel (by Kimberly Nordyke, from The Hollywood Reporter)
Why TikTok stars will survive no matter what (by Meg Zukin, from Variety)
Thanks for reading! Send me your tips, comments, or questions: aperelli@businessinsider.com.