How do I start an Influencer Talent Agency

This post was syndicated?from?my blog, where the full article, FAQs & checklist are here.?

Embarking on the journey of starting an influencer management agency feels like stepping into a vibrant universe where creativity & collaboration take center stage. Imagine a blend of strategic thinking, a genuine passion for digital influence, and a sprinkle of entrepreneurial spirit.

Table of Contents

• Why did I want to be an Influencer talent manager?
• Influencer Marketing Skills
• Why do you want to work in Influencer Marketing?
• What you need to know before starting an Influencer Talent Agency
• How do you invoice a brand as an Influencer?
• How much do Influencer agents make?
• How much does an Influencer Agent cost : A comprehensive guide
• What's your Ideal influencer profile?What influencer niches or verticals do you want to work in??Do you want full time influencers vs or influencers who do content creation on the side?Should you care about the age of your talent??Does influencer follower count matter??Do you want to work with someone who is undiscovered or already established?
• Who needs an Influencer talent manager? Who doesn't need an Influencer talent manager?
• Do all Influencers have a manager?
• How can I attract clients to my influencer management agency?
• Finding and Collaborating with Influencers
• How can I differentiate my Influencer Management Agency from competitors?
• The Role of Diversity and Inclusion in Influencer Marketing

?As I reflect on the early days of beginnings as an Influencer Talent Agent, I’m reminded of the moments when the idea took root. It was all sparked by two days with one woman. More on that! So, pull up a seat as we dive into the intricacies of establishing your very own influencer management agency. This experience promises not only professional fulfillment but also an intriguing exploration into the ever-evolving landscape of online influence. This is going to be a very personal article, written directly from my experience, and heavily influenced (of course!) by all the questions others ask me about “how do I start an influencer agency.” Let’s go!

What you don’t know about me yet but is relevant to the success I’ve had in this role, is this. At this point of partnering up with Lorraine in 2017,I had had a career working on political campaigns for 8 years under my belt. I worked on 2 presidential campaigns along with every political position in between. I had lived abroad three times in Spain while also backpacking around the world for a year.? I’d also been running my own business for 6+ years. Where am I going with this??

By this point, I had a set of skills that served me very well & set me up to be a successful Influencer Talent Agent.?

Influencer Marketing Skills

• I am not afraid to ask for help
• I’ve been selling and marketing others and myself for decades
• I do well with the unknown & not knowing things
• I ask a lot of questions (if you know me, you know how true this rings!?
• I am very comfortable talking about money?
• I’m very organized.
• My brain can see the big picture while never losing sight of the details and what actually has to happen day to day
• I’m quite communicative
• I give direction and feedback well

What you need to know before starting an Influencer Talent Agency

When you partner with someone to be their Influencer Talent Agent or Manager, they are putting a lot of trust into you. They are handing over their business baby for you to watch over, take care of and nurture. This is NOTHING to be taken lightly.?

As an Influencer Talent Agent, you are responsible for being their voice, their advocate and their biggest cheerleader in rooms and conversations they aren’t privy to.

You are responsible for positioning them as a great brand collaboration partner and to make the case as to why a brand should partner with them.

The creators on your roster look to you for guidance, sage wisdom, strategic insight & perspective on a range of things :

• how to grow their brand
• how to get over an influencer slump
• how to manage their mental health
• what to do when they are creatively burned out
• how to go after their ideal brand collaboration partners
• how to turn down projects without closing the door on future ones
• how to put their foot down to pushy brands
• how to upsell a gifted or trade opportunity into a paid one and so much more.

You are reading agreements on their behalf and advising them where to sign as is, approve some redlines or if you can negotiate different terms. These are agreements that speak to whether a brand can use the influencer’s image and likeness in perpetuity, on billboards or digital ads for the rest of time. If you miss those details and your creator signs, that could have lasting, drastic consequences and financial implications to your client’s brand and your influencer talent management agency.?

Don’t forget that when you start an Influencer Talent Management Agency, you are starting a proper business. You have to follow all the federal, state and local guidelines about how to set up your business structure, fill out the appropriate paperwork, sometimes annually, pay all the right taxes on time & represent yourself in good faith. I can’t speak to what that means for you because every state and city has different rules and regulations. I live in Denver, CO and there’s a whole host of things I have to do monthly and annually to stay in good standing with the city and state.?

Make sure to do your due diligence, not just asking your entrepreneur friends what they do. You also need to check with your Secretary of State, an accredited Tax person & accountant who is familiar with your industry, online businesses and your geographic area.?

It will cost you money to start a business. To file paperwork, to set your business structure, to get an Employee Identification Number aka EIN and so on.?

Don’t take this lightly. As I mentioned before, you’re not just responsible for representing your business well but also that of your client’s. Once you become their manager, you’re inherently tied together.?

Another thing that is absolutely worth mentioning when you start an Influencer Talent Management Agency is your finances. Specifically,? how are you keeping yourself afloat at the beginning of getting this agency going? You need to have a decent sized nest egg that you can use to cover your expenses, including paying yourself, while things are building.?

If you’re lucky enough to partner with talent who has a lot of inbound requests and you’re able to close deals for them quickly, it will be a while before you see that money.??

For example, let’s say you close a deal in January for $5,000. The first wave of content goes live at the end of February and another wave is posted mid-March. The creator’s analytics (their metrics and measurement on the engagement etc of their content) gets turned in a week later.?

This signals that the creator’s obligations are now fulfilled and an invoice can be sent. It’s now the end of March and the project is net 30 (hopefully). This means you and your creator won’t be paid, assuming it’s not late (FYI 90% of the time, payment is late) until the end of April….for a project you closed in February.?

I’ve signed multiple five figure agreements that I can’t split into 50% upon signing and 50% upon completion of deliverables. And the deliverables won’t be done posting until months after my talent signs. And the agreement might be net 45 or 60 (we desperately try to avoid or negotiate that but sometimes you can’t). And then again, payment might be late.?

....to read the rest of the article, please head over to my website > https://www.johannavoss.com/how-do-i-start-an-influencer-talent-agency/