5 Online Influencer Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: November 19th, 2023

Start An Online Influencer Business

An online influencer business is a company or service that gets products or services sold through popular online users. It can be a very lucrative form of marketing.

As technology has advanced, more and more influencer businesses are starting to rise. These are people or companies who become famous for being influential on various topics.

More and more companies are investing in online influencer marketing because this channel is successful for new product exposure or for sharing news about a brand through voice-overs on popular online videos. You can work with these online influencers in different ways including the use of affiliate marketing or product embeds with sponsorship.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a online influencer business:

1. Afluencer ($24K/year)

Brett Owens, the Founder and Chief Matchmaker at Afluencer, came up with the idea for his business while working on his previous company, LeadDyno. Many prospective LeadDyno customers expressed a need for influencers, which led Owens to start Afluencer and create a two-sided marketplace that connects brands with influencers. Since its launch, Afluencer has seen significant growth, with a 10% monthly increase in influencer and brand users, and a revenue growth of 100% year over year.

How much they make: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500K
Current team size: 0

I Created A Two-Sided Marketplace That Helps Brands Find Influencers

Afluencer is a two-sided marketplace that connects brands with influencers and helps influencers, creators, and ambassadors find paid gigs, with 6,500+ active influencer users and 1,000+ brand users yielding 100% YoY revenue growth.

About

Brett started Afluencer about 3 years ago

Revenue

Brett grew the business to $2K/month

Costs

It cost Brett $500000 to start the business

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2. Inked Sports - Build your legacy. ($120K/year)

How much they make: $120K/year
Current team size:

Helping College Athletes Connect with Brands for Sponsorship

Case study on a successful influencer platform that helped college athletes connect with brands, boasting an impressive 85 athletes and 5 brands on their roster.

Revenue

They grew the business to $10K/month

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So... can you actually make money with a online influencer business?

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3. The Big Talk Academy ($600K/year)

Tricia Brouk, an award-winning director and producer, came up with the idea for The Big Talk Academy after directing a friend's talk. Realizing there was a market for speaker coaches, she immersed herself in online marketing and invested in mentors to grow her business to a 7-figure company in less than 3 years. Brouk's risk tolerance and dedication to serving her clients have led to the success of her virtual and live speaker programs.

How much they make: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
Current team size: 8

How I Went From Zero To A 7-Figure Company Coaching Public Speakers

Tricia Brouk went from having zero online presence to building a 7-figure company in under 3 years by creating The Big Talk Academy, where she offers virtual signature speaking and thought leadership certification programmes, and The Speaker Salon, a live speaker intensive course which grew into a $30k investment.

About

Tricia started The Big Talk Academy over 6 years ago

Revenue

Tricia grew the business to $50K/month

Costs

It cost Tricia $3000 to start the business

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Read by 1,806 founders