

Once they did, she diligently posted them on Instagram and her YouTube channel. Still, it wasn't exactly free – she had to pay a $20 shipping fee, and then they took about a month to arrive.

But it’s easy to see why Emma was swayed by the proposition – some top influencers earn up to six figures for one post, and why not say yes to some free stuff?Īt the time, Emma's combined items were selling for around $123 on the Sandflair website, but she was given a discount code that brought the cost down to zero.
Often, it doesn’t even to have anything to do with the number of followers you have. “I felt very excited as I was really trying to build my following and potentially become an influencer.”Ĭollaboration offers like the one Emma received aren't rare on Instagram: They pop up all the time as messages or comments, cheerfully telling you they “love your style! DM to collab x”. “They offered to make me one of their ‘brand ambassadors’, which meant I would receive one free bikini, one free piece of jewellery and one free pair of sunglasses,” she remembers.
