Fifteen years ago there was no such thing as a social media influencer, but fast forward to 2023 and there are now an estimated 50 million full-time ‘creators’ worldwide. It isn’t hard to understand the appeal; no nine-to-five, no domineering boss, no skills, experience or talent necessary. Little input for potentially incredibly high returns, especially if you successfully find a niche.
I cannot think of anything less appealing than broadcasting images of where I sleep to the world
A cleanfluencer from Northern England went from working at M&S to sharing her cleaning tips full time which led to a book deal with Penguin; Live, Laugh, Laundry (I kid you not). A young woman in America known as Miss Excel claims to make $250,000 to $300,000 a month for her spreadsheet explainer videos on TikTok. It is therefore understandable, albeit depressing, that 54 per cent of Americans aged between 13 and 38 aspire to become influencers.
There are influencers for everything: beauty, fitness, illness, and increasingly, home renovations.
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