At the time of writing this, I’ve been with my management company for a little over a year and a half. If you remember, I hit a huge goal of mine and made over $100k solely from brand collaborations at the end of 2021. I talked about how to become a full-time content creator in my last blog post. Once you’ve gained momentum in your influencer career, the next step will naturally be management. So today, we’re going to answer a popular question I get: “How do I know if I’m ready for social media management? (And do I really need it?)”
Five Ways To Know You’re Ready For Management
- You’re making an average of $5,000-$8,000 a month. Not a hard rule but a lot of bigger agencies want to make sure they’ll be making enough by taking you on as a client.
- You’re getting multiple legitimate collaboration requests a week. Not just Product for Review, but brands going in with the intention of paying you, or ones that are willing to negotiate for pay.
- If you’re spending more time emailing and negotiating than you are creating and engaging with your audience. Your managers can help free up your time handling the emails and negotiation process so you can focus more on content creation and growing your social media.
- Brands want image rights constantly and you need help with all that legal stuff.
- You’re growing but not maximizing your new followers and need an effective content strategy.
Some Pro’s of Having Social Media Management
- Less time spent on pitching, negotiating, emailing, and invoicing
- A professional representative advocating for you looks great to brands and can sometimes result in a higher pay
- Access to deals you may not otherwise be considered for
- Insider info from people who make this their entire job
- They’ll watch trends for you and help you plan content that’ll go viral
A Few Cons To Consider
- They have to be compensated so they will take a percentage of your revenue, anywhere from 5-20%
- Some agencies might have a monthly fee + a percentage cut for their services, even if they did not land you any collaborations
- There are scam agencies without a verifiable portfolio, or are run by people without a background in advertising, marketing, and/or public relations
- If they are a newer agency, they might not have a wide network of brands (yet) to pitch you to
So if you have decided that you are ready to take the plunge on seeking management, make sure that they have your best interests in mind, financially and strategically.
How you know you’ve found the right fit with a social media management agency
Schedule a discovery call with the agency/manager and ask lots of questions about the agency! Here are a list of questions to ask:
- What are their immediate plans for you? What are their long term plans?
- How do they plan on implementing said plans?
- How often will they be in contact?
- How many influencers in a similar niche as yours do they represent?
- Are they oversaturated in your market and you might be better off elsewhere?
- References! Who are the influencers on their roster that have seen success and growth after signing?
- How do they make their coin? Do you pay a monthly/yearly fee? Or what percentage will they take from your collaborations?
- How often will you receive your earnings from collaborations?
Remember, if you choose to go with management, you want someone who will help you grow. Your channel, your finances. Keep you accountable and creative. They work for you, not the other way around.
PS: I hope you all know how much your emails, DMs and comments always mean to me. This last month was a doozy and connecting with all of you helps keep me grounded. I try to compile my most asked questions and answer them in my blogs and emails, but if I forget to personally answer a question, make sure you subscribe to my email list so that you never have a question go unanswered!
SAVE THIS POST FOR LATER:
For more information on this topic, check out these blog posts:
- Filing An LLC As A Content Creator
- Filing An S-Corp As A Content Creator
- Preparing For Tax Season As A Content Creator
- Why You Need A Business Credit Card
