Social Media Influencer

3 Social Media Influencer Success Stories [2025]

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Updated: April 17th, 2025

Social media has become integral to people's lives and daily routines. Given the importance of social media, brands are flocking to different social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok in the hope of connecting with their target audience.

A popular approach taken by these brands is engaging social media influencers. A social media influencer has established credibility in a specific industry and has access to a vast audience they can persuade to act based on recommendations.

Anyone can become a social influencer so long as they have the right strategy. Choose a popular niche based on your interests and start creating relevant content.

In this list, you'll find real-world social media influencer success stories and very profitable examples of starting a social media influencer that makes money.

1. Miss Excel ($2M/year)

Miss Excel offers an interactive and enjoyable way of learning Microsoft Excel tips and tricks.

Most of Miss Excel’s revenue comes from selling nine courses and a bundle.

Kat started her career in consulting where she taught Excel training workshops for her company around the country. But when COVID lockdowns hit, Kat realized she wasn’t happy with her job.

Kat loved teaching Excel, she liked helping people, and she loved to dance. A friend suggested, ‘What if you put your Excel tips on TikTok?’ 48 hours later, she posted her first 14-second video.

How much money it makes: $2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 3

Kat Norton Built A $2M Business Off The Most Boring Topic Ever: Excel

Founder of Miss Excel, Kat Norton, built a viral social media account that teaches millions how to use Excel, amassing 950K followers on Instagram, 939K on TikTok, and hitting $2M in revenue by 2023, all with startup costs of just $1,000 and a growth strategy focused on TikTok dance trends.

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2. Frugal and Frills ($36K/year)

After becoming a mother for the second time and wanting to find a way to combine her financial background with her everyday life as a mother, Asia Crawford decided to start a blog. Despite having no prior knowledge of website design or blogging, she taught herself everything through YouTube tutorials. In just two years, Asia has grown her blog to 18.5K Instagram followers, 1.2 million monthly viewers on Pinterest, and 12.5K monthly blog pageviews, generating between $1,500-$3,000 in extra income every month.

How much money it makes: $36K/year
How many people on the team: 1

How I Started A $2.5K/Month Blog About Motherhood, Life And Travel

How one mother built a profitable frugal motherhood, life, and travel blog from scratch, using Instagram, Pinterest, and paid sponsorships to grow from 0 to 18.5K followers and generate $1,500-$3,000 per month in less than two years.

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3. YourAverageTechBro ($30K/year)

Dohyun Kim, the founder of YourAverageTechBro, stumbled upon creating social media content during the pandemic. After realizing the potential of short-form videos on TikTok, he leaned into his competitive advantage as a software engineer and began creating content that resonated with his audience. Currently earning an average of $3,000 per month, Dohyun plans to expand his revenue streams through original content and product sales in the future.

How much money it makes: $30K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 1

How I Grew A Niche TikTok Account To 155K Followers

Dohyun Kim shares his journey starting as a software engineer on YouTube and pivoting into short-form content on TikTok and Instagram with 155,000 followers and 11,000 subscribers, currently averaging $3000/month across ad money, sponsored content, and course sales.

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Read by 4,674 founders