How Influencers Make Money; Poparazzi Pops to the Top

Our new chart shows how reliant creators are on brand deals to earn a living—and the opportunity for other sources (think tips, courses) to catch up. 

Seventy-seven percent of creators depend on sponsorship deals with brands, which is three times as much as every other revenue source combined, found a May survey of 2,000 creators conducted by NeoReach and Influencer Marketing Hub, two marketing platforms. This usually comes in the form of a creator recommending a product to their social media audience and disclosing they were paid to do so.  

Ad revenue share, which includes social networks like YouTube that give creators a portion of revenue from ads running on their videos, was the second-largest category, making up 5.4% of overall earnings. Tipping, affiliate links and courses ranged from about 2% to 3% of revenue, according to the survey.