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I actually don’t think it’s clear at all that IG influencers make money at all. I imagine that it’s similar to Twitch or Youtube - you have a very small 0.1% minority at the top making most of the income and everyone else scrapes by.

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I think a lot of the lower-tier influencers look at influencing as a source of freebies rather than an actual job. They don't make much of an income, but they're perfectly happy just with the free things they're given to promote.

Not Instagram, but I know someone who is a food scene/restaurant blogger on the side. She likes going it (and does a good job). She gets some trips and probably money/benefits here and there but it's definitely more of a hobby with some perks than what a lot of people here think of as a side-gig much less a significant employment stream.

I know someone else who does hiking equipment reviews who I expect is in a somewhat similar boat.

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