YouTube star Alisha Marie, who has 8 million subscribers, explains why she turns down lots of brand sponsorship deals

• YouTube and Instagram star Alisha Marie, who has 8 million YouTube subscribers, said influencers should be turning down more sponsorship deals.
• She said she turns down deals daily, and that she says no more than yes. 
• If an influencer isn't using a product at all in their life, or doesn't believe in the brand, then it's not a good partnership, according to Kamiu Lee, the CEO of the influencer marketing company Activate.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

YouTube and Instagram star Alisha Marie says no to brand sponsorship deals a lot. In fact, she says no more often than yes, she told Business Insider in a recent interview.

"I was offered a deal last week and it was great paycheck," she said. "But it was with an item that I don't use in my daily life. The audience knows, you can't trick them."

Alisha said it's not worth the money if it could damage her reputation with her audience. And she's not alone.

Audiences know when a collaboration is unnatural. 

If an influencer isn't using a product in their life, or doesn't believe in the brand, then it's not a good partnership, Kamiu Lee, the CEO of the influencer marketing company Activate, told Business Insider. 

"It is much more impactful when the influencer is really able to articulate what about this product makes it stand out to the influencer personally versus just repeating a brand's key selling points in their content," Lee said.

Followers can tell when an influencer is faking their excitement, Alisha said.

That's why Alisha prefers working with brands like Starbucks, as it's a product she already uses in her daily life and her followers know that. 

Audience retention is a currency to creators. It's fine to promote a product, but will you be willing to give up the trust or attention because of a bad partnership?

"Obviously it's really hard when you have an actual dollar amount in your face," Alisha admitted, but says she often has to say no.

Avoiding 'questionable digestible' products.

Beyond questions of authenticity, the safety of a product is another factor influencers consider when deciding whether to do a brand partnership.

Amy Neben, a partner and talent manager at Select Management Group - which manages some of YouTube's top influencers, like Eva Gutowski (mylifeaseva), with 10 million YouTube subscribers - previously told Business Insider that she advises her clients against promoting any "questionable digestible" product not approved by the FDA.

"They have a platform that is much more powerful than TV or film for young audiences," Neben said. "We really want to make sure our clients are always thinking about that and using their influence to do good instead of the one-off paid opportunity."

Vaping products are the most rejected type of sponsorship at Select Management Group, surpassing weight-loss teas, Neben said. 

Look to build lasting campaigns, not one-off deals.

Influencers should look to build a lasting partnership with a company, which often looks like a yearlong campaign or a package deal with Instagram posts, video shout-outs, or tweets included in one long collaboration, Lee said.

"This is more efficient," Lee said. "You don't need to learn a new brand guideline every time, and also more efficient for the brand as they won't need to recruit and brief brand new influencers every time."

For more on how influencers are profiting from their success online, according to industry professionals and creators, check out these Business Insider Prime posts:

• YouTube and Instagram star Alisha Marie explains how to pitch a brand for your first sponsorship deal: YouTube star Alisha Marie shared how she's landed brand deals by reaching out to the brand on Instagram.

• How brands can create a successful YouTube star partnership, according to SeatGeek's influencer marketing director: Ian Borthwick, SeatGeek's director of influencer marketing, shared his influencer marketing tips, like taking the backseat to allow the influencer to have creative control.
• How Instagram influencers land their first brand-sponsorship deals: Here are a few different ways social-media influencers can land their first brand-sponsorship deal when starting out