Is Being An Influencer Easy?

One thing I regularly get from other people as someone who now makes an income from blogging is, "Wow, what an easy job! I could do that." I get this statement on such a regular basis now that it's prompted me to stop and think a few times, "Is my job as a content creator easy?" And it's also prompted me to write this blog post, because I'm sure a few people have wondered this too.

To answer this - yes and no.

I feel like with any job that's in a field which is perceived to be 'fun', there comes the opinion that said job must also be easy. Like it's impossible to have a job that is a lot of work that you also still enjoy. I also feel like this relates a lot to creative industries in general, such as acting, music, online creation and photography. There appears to be an underlying resentment from people that these jobs aren't exactly 'serious' like in the way being a doctor or a banker is.

The other week I was out with a group of my fiancé's work colleagues who, upon finding out that I make money from Instagram, literally couldn't wrap their heads around it.

"So you make money from just taking a photo?"

I tried to explain that it was more than 'just taking a photo', and that actually what I do takes a lot of work, research and energy. Of course I love what I do, but it doesn't mean that it's a walk in the park either. Despite this, I don't think they were really getting it. Being an 'influencer' is still such a new job that most people can't figure it out. All they can see is photo = money. And anyone can take a photo, right? So anyone can make money from it?

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way complaining about my job here. I flipping love doing Instagram. It's my passion and the fact that I make money from it is just a bonus. But with money comes the pressure to create better content and better content is created through hard work, like any job. And I'm also so aware that it's not as hard as other career tracks. I think that having a job that you also enjoy doing is a massive privilege and most people don't get that in their whole lifetimes. But it doesn't mean it's a piece of cake.

I've been doing this for five years now and I only really started making money for it about a year and a half ago. Everything else was just work I put in to create something I was proud of so I could get where I am today. If I had a pound for the number of times I had cried after being let down by a brand, or been insulted in the street while taking photos, or woke up while it was still dark to put on makeup so I could get somewhere before anyone else, well, I probably wouldn't have to work at all. There's so many elements to creating the photos I create that do affect my life in both positive and negative ways. I don't think I've had a real 'holiday' in the last three years!

It's just proved by the number of people over the years who have asked me for advice on starting an Instagram account or blog, only to leave it abandoned after three months because they expected the cash to roll in, not realising that they have to put in a ton of effort for essentially no pay off, except your own personal satisfaction.

So in a way, yes my job is easy because I love it, but it's also hard because I love it too! When you love something you want to work constantly so it's the best it can be and I probably spend way too much time doing that if I'm honest!

I absolutely commend anyone in any job because like most good things, there is always a price to pay, even if it's not immediately visible on the surface.

I still think we have a very long way to go for online content creators to be taken seriously by both the media and some of the general public, but every time I see this industry making gateways I feel so inspired to drive myself even more.

So in a nutshell, my job isn't easy, but I love it, which makes it fun, but not easy. I didn't really answer this very well, did I? x

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