How Instagram nano influencers make money with under 10,000 followers

• “Nano” influencers are generally defined as having fewer than 10,000 followers on Instagram.
• And some have turned their social-media hobbies into part-time jobs or side hustles.
• Here’s how several creators earn money as nano influencers on Instagram.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

“Nano” influencers may only have a few thousand followers, but that’s not keeping them from turning a social-media hobby into a paying side hustle.

Take Jen Lauren as an example.

Lauren is a part-time lifestyle influencer who now has 3,600 Instagram followers and about 4,000 YouTube subscribers (a few hundred more than when she was interviewed by Insider). She makes money as a creator on Instagram and YouTube through brand sponsorships, affiliate links, and YouTube’s Partner Program.

For one sponsored Instagram post, Lauren will charge about $350, she told Insider in November when she had just under 3,000 followers.

A recent report from HypeAuditor that surveyed 1,865 influencers outlined just how much nano influencers like Lauren charge per Instagram post and earn, on average, each month.

Nano influencers have become increasingly important to brands and influencer-marketing agencies because of their niche content and highly engaged audiences. They also typically have lower rates than influencers with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers.

And platforms specialized in helping nano influencers connect with brands, like Heartbeat, have emerged.

While reaching 10,000 followers on Instagram is a major milestone for aspiring influencers – getting on more brands’ radars, building a bigger audience, and having access to Instagram’s swipe-up feature in Stories – some nano influencers are making money in spite of their smaller follower counts.

So how much money are nano influencers actually earning?

Here’s a comprehensive list of Insider’s coverage of how nano influencers are building businesses:

How much money 4 nano influencers charge for brand deals on Instagram:

• Khadijah Lacey-Taylor, a fashion and lifestyle influencer with 9,800 followers
• Laur DeMartino, a nano influencer and full-time college student with 5,200 followers
• Jen Lauren, a part-time lifestyle influencer with 2,900 followers
• Amber Broder, a part-time skincare influencer and full-time college student with 2,300 followers

Examples of real media kits that 3 nano influencers use to pitch brands:

• Laur DeMartino unpacks the 9-page media kit she sends to brands
• Jen Lauren breaks down her 3-page media kit she used
• Kayla Compton, a lifestyle influencer with 1,900 followers, shares her 8-page media kit