“Influence is the new power – if you have influence, you can create a brand.”

Michelle Phan, Businesswoman

Pros and Cons of Working as an Influencer

You think about becoming an influencer?

Great! Working as an influencer can be quite a lot of fun and offers various other benefits.

Yet, there are also some drawbacks related to an influencer career.

In fact, I show you all the pros and cons of being an influencer in this article so that you can better decide whether you still want to go for this career opportunity or for different job options instead.

Influencer Job Profile

Advantages of Working as an Influencer

1. Some influencers make lots of money
2. You can become famous as an influencer
3. Influencer often get fancy products for free
4. You can make money with the things you are interested in
5. You can start your influencer career as a side hustle
6. Many different channels to use as an influencer
7. Most influencers can work indoors
8. You can avoid physical work
9. You can build a community
10. Working as an influencer can be fun
11. You will be quite flexible how to structure your day
12. You don’t have to work in a classical office job
13. Influencers don’t have to work on weekends
14. Good work-life balance
15. You don’t need fancy education to become an influencer

Some influencers make lots of money

One advantage of being an influencer is that they can simply make lots of money.

In fact, the top earners in this field make millions of dollars per year, much more than you would earn in almost all other jobs.

Of course, only a small minority of people will get to this point.

Yet, it is not impossible to become rich as an influencer and if you are willing to work hard for it and also improve your skills every day, you may get to this point sooner or later while tilers and many other people will never get the opportunity to make really good money.

Even if you don’t get rich, you may still earn a decent income from what you are doing, depending on the level of effort you are willing to put into your career.

You can become famous as an influencer

You can also become famous thanks to your influencer career.

Since you will share your videos on YouTube and on various other social media channels, chances are that people will recognize you in public sooner or later and that they want to take pictures with you.

While this might be rather annoying for introverted people who just want to live their lives without getting too much attention, it can be great if you are an extrovert and love to talk to people all day long, even if you haven’t seen them ever before.

Thus, working as an influencer can also be a great career choice in case you want to be the center of the universe and just love the attention and the fame that might come along with it.

Influencer often get fancy products for free

If you reach a certain level of popularity, you may also get many fancy products for free as an influencer.

In fact, big companies have already noticed that influencer marketing can be an important channel to strengthen their brands and also to sell lots of products to their customers.

This means that you will get paid to promote products while you can also keep those products for yourself at the same time.

In the long run, famous influencers often don’t have to go shopping anymore since they just get so many free fancy clothes and other free stuff from companies that would like to see their products being promoted on the social web.

You can make money with the things you are interested in

Another advantage of an influencer career is that you can also follow your passion and can spend your day with the things you are interested in.

While most other people out there are just in the game for the money and don’t like their jobs at all, you can promote the products you really like and can talk about the topics that are most important to you.

In turn, your workday will often not feel like work at all.

If it doesn’t feel like work, it usually means that you really enjoy what you are doing and this is in fact the best way to make money in my opinion.

You can start your influencer career as a side hustle

Another benefit of becoming an influencer is that you also don’t have to give up your job at the beginning.

You can just build your brand on social media as a side hustle while keeping your day job at the same time.

This gives you financial security and can take away plenty of pressure from you in this regard.

After a while, you might have acquired a big enough audience to make a full-time income and at that point in time, you can just quit your day job and go full-time with your influencer career.

Many different channels to use as an influencer

You can also use many different channels to spread your opinion.

Apart from the various different social media channels you can use, you can also participate in forums or create your own membership site.

Opportunities are endless in this regard and if you are willing to put in the work, chances are that you will find the platforms that work best for your products and the type of content you want to share with the world.

Most influencers can work indoors

You will also enjoy the privilege to work indoors as an influencer most of the time.

While other people have to work outdoors during heavy rain, snow or extreme heat, you can sit inside your four walls in front of a computer screen and can do your work in a rather cozy environment.

You can also use air conditioning or heating to make your conditions as comfortable as possible while many other people who have to work outdoors don’t have this kind of luxury.

You can avoid physical work

Another upside to being an influencer is that you can also avoid working in a physical manner.

Quite often, you will just talk about different products or about what’s going on in the world.

While this can be mentally demanding and may also imply a certain level of pressure since you have to engage with your audience on a regular basis, you will not have to do any heavy physical work and can also avoid the long-term health problems that often come along with it.

You can build a community

Not only can you make really good money from your influencer career, but you can also build a real community around your brand in the long run.

If you produce great content, people will like your posts and follow you on many different social media channels.

Your community will also support you during difficult times in your life and this can give you great support to overcome those dark periods.

It can also feel great to see many people liking your content and this can also make you much more confident.

Working as an influencer can be fun

In general, many influencers have not started famous and hadn’t been in just for the money.

In fact, many of them just wanted to share and discuss their ideas with others and didn’t expect to become famous and influential at all.

They just enjoyed all the discussions and the monetary upside came slowly but surely.

Therefore, make sure that you also enjoy the process of becoming an influencer more than the money that may come along with it.

If you will not get to the point where you make good money, you will still have found a nice hobby for you.

You will be quite flexible how to structure your day

As an influencer, you will also have the great luxury to structure your day like you want it to be. Most of the time, you will not have any fixed appointments.

Instead, you will be the one who can decide when you want to work or not. It will also be up to you how many times you want to post and when it is time to go on vacation.

This can give you a great feeling of freedom since you will just have nobody who could dictate you how your day has to look like.

In fact, you will be your own boss and can do whatever you want as long as you comply with the law.

You don’t have to work in a classical office job

You can also avoid working in a conventional office job as an influencer.

While most people who work in those office jobs are just in for the money and don’t like their work at all, you will be able to do whatever you want and don’t have to waste your time in the office.

You can also work at home instead of having to work in a rather artificial environment with many other unmotivated people.

Of course, not all people who work in office jobs are unhappy.

Yet, from my experience, the majority of people is and secretly don’t like their lives at all.

As an influencer, you can do what you like and what you think gives you meaning instead of just doing some work that actually doesn’t make the world any better.

Influencers don’t have to work on weekends

Due to your flexible schedule and your ability to take breaks whenever you want, you also don’t have to work on weekends as an influencer.

Instead, you can spend precious family time with your loved ones and make many nice weekend trips.

You will also have plenty of time to spend on your hobbies or you can also just relax in your garden. I am sure you will know how to spend your leisure in the best possible manner and that you find things that you like even more than work 😉.

Good work-life balance

If you reach a certain level of popularity, you will also be able to enjoy a decent work-life balance as an influencer.

Since you will get paid good money for promoting products, you will often only have to work a few hours a day to make a living out of what you are doing.

Of course, this isn’t true right from the beginning since you will have to put in plenty of work to build an audience.

Yet, if you are willing to make this upfront time commitment, chances are that you will be able to reap the benefits later on in your life and that you will no longer have to put in the hours once you reach a certain level of fame.

You don’t need fancy education to become an influencer

Another benefit of becoming an influencer is that you also don’t need to go to college or to get any other fancy education.

In fact, you don’t even need a high school diploma to become an influencer.

Your grades will also not matter at all as long as you produce content that other people want to watch and share with their friends.

Hence, there are just no barriers to entry and everyone who has a working internet connection can start his or her influencer career from one day to the other.

Now that you know all the advantages of working as an influencer, it is time to also talk about the negative aspects that come along with it.

Disadvantages of an Influencer Career

1. Influencers have no job guarantee at all
2. Your income will depend on your level of popularity
3. Your influencer account may get closed
4. You may end up jobless from one day to the other
5. Many influencers don’t make a living from what they are doing
6. Influencers often get nasty comments
7. Also your kids may suffer from your influencer career
8. It may be hard to find a different job
9. Many people don’t think being an influencer is a real job
10. Few mistakes can ruin your career
11. You have to put in the work
12. Many influencers fail in the long run
13. Questionable future job prospects
14. No barriers to entry means fierce competition

Influencers have no job guarantee at all

One problem with being an influencer is that you will also have no job security at all.

Since you will work self-employed, you will only make money if you monetize your audience in various different ways.

For instance, let’s assume you make money by presenting a certain product on your channel.

Quite often, you will get paid by the company to create a positive image around this product.

Yet, if the company decides that it no longer wants to work with you, you will lose your income from one day to the other.

Of course, you will also be able to promote other products.

However, be aware that you will just not get a paycheck as an influencer on a regular basis and that you will experience serious income swings in the long run while programmers and most other people just have a steady income and don’t have to worry about significant income swings.

Your income will depend on your level of popularity

You should also not assume that all influencers earn similar amounts of money.

This is just not the case. In fact, your salary will greatly depend on your level of popularity as well as on your overall reach.

The more people you reach with your posts and your videos, the more companies are willing to pay you for that since they will get a higher return.

Consequently, if you lose your level of popularity due to various popular reasons, chances are that you will also lose a major part of your income.

Your influencer account may get closed

In the worst case, your social media account may also be closed down.

You may have behaved against the rules on the respective platform and getting banned is just the natural consequence of your behavior.

While this may not be that bad for private persons, it will be detrimental to you since you will no longer be able to monetize your audience on the respective social media account.

You may end up jobless from one day to the other

You should also never think that your income as an influencer will be safe.

There are just too many different variables in this game and if you are unlucky, many companies may stop working with you from one day to the other and you may just lose all of your income overnight.

Hence, working as an influencer will also not be for you in case you prefer a secure job where you get paid on a regular basis.

Many influencers don’t make a living from what they are doing

You should also be aware of the fact that most influencers are just not able to make a full-time income from what they are doing.

Sure, a small minority makes millions of dollars.

However, similar to professional athletes, most influencers don’t make good money from what they are doing and often even need a second job to survive.

Influencers often get nasty comments

Another disadvantage of being an influencer is that you will also often get nasty comments.

In fact, while your fanbase will support you in difficult times, other people who don’t like you will try to bring you down on a constant basis.

Some of them will even insult you and this can be really annoying and exhausting over time.

Consequently, before you decide to become an influencer, make sure that you have the stomach to deal with those nasty comments in an emotionally healthy manner.

Also your kids may suffer from your influencer career

If you reach a certain level of fame, you will also become a public figure and will get many annoying comments along the way.

However, what many influencers underestimate is that also their kids will often greatly suffer.

Other kids in school will often make fun of them and bully them around and you should therefore make sure that you are willing to risk the emotional healthiness of your kids before you go for an influencer career.

It may be hard to find a different job

As a famous influencer, you will always be in the spotlight.

While this might be great at the beginning, it can also become a problem once you decide to go for another career path.

Especially if you state rather controversial theses in public, chances are that many companies don’t want to employ you anymore since they feel like their brand safety will be at risk.

Many people don’t think being an influencer is a real job

You will also have a hard time convincing your family and friends that an influencer career is good for you.

In fact, many people will just not believe that working as an influencer is a real job and that you can make really good money from it.

Hence, your family and friends may also try to convince you to go for an alternative career path and you should make sure that you are emotionally strong enough to deal with negative comments related to your influencer career plans.

Few mistakes can ruin your career

Another downside to becoming an influencer is that only few mistakes may ruin your career.

For instance, if you say something stupid that has political character, many brands may no longer be willing to work with you and your career may be ruined from one day to the other.

You have to put in the work

Many people also underestimate how much work it really takes to become a successful influencer.

It just looks quite easy when you see other famous influencers on camera.

In fact, if you have reached a certain level of fame, the hardest part is already done.

Yet, it is will be a hard job to build a significant audience and you will have to put in lots of hours to get to this point.

Thus, if you are not willing to work hard in the beginning, you will likely not make a decent living from your influencer job.

Many influencers fail in the long run

You should also be aware of the fact that many influencers just fail in the long run.

Many of them are short-term successes, yet few of them really have the stomach to stay successful for many years or even decades.

Therefore, make sure to have a backup plan in case you need to make money in other ways.

Questionable future job prospects

In general, working as an influencer is a rather new phenomenon and just a few decades ago, you weren’t able to make money as an influencer at all, at least not in the way most influencers grow their audiences.

This also means that the era of influencers may be over pretty soon in the future since the world always changes and if this is the case, you should rather go for a more stable career path instead of relying on an influencer career.

No barriers to entry means fierce competition

Since you will not need any fancy education for becoming an influencer, this also means that everyone can play the game and that the number of people who want to make money on social media will be enormous.

Consequently, competition will be quite fierce and you will really have to put in the work to stand out from the crowd.

Top 10 Being an Influencer Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become an Influencer?

Now that you are aware of all the advantages and disadvantages of being an influencer, it is up to you whether you still want to go this career path or if you rather want to work in a different field instead.

If you are still interested in becoming an influencer, you should also get detailed information on the income, future outlook, working hours, work-life balance, duties, educational requirements and job satisfaction of influencers.

Also make sure to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of working as an artist

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a tutor

Advantages and disadvantages of working as an animal trainer

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influencer_marketing

https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-an-influencer/

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/social-media-influencer-pay

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

Wanna support my blog? Share it!