I’ve always appreciated when creators are transparent about what they earn online. It helps newer creators understand what is realistic, what isn’t, and what brand partnerships actually look like behind the scenes. 

My goal with this post isn’t to brag about anything. There are creators earning far more than I am. I just want to share some real numbers so you can see what one year as a small creator actually looks like.

I started my running account in September 2023 after I realized I was spamming my personal friends with too many running posts. I wanted a place to connect with other runners and share the fun of my new hobby. 

Since then, the account has grown steadily, but I’m still very much a micro-influencer.

What is a micro-influencer?
There isn’t one universal definition, but most people describe it as someone with roughly 10,000 to 100,000 followers who has a strong niche and engaged audience (it me!). 

Brands like working with micro-influencers because we have tight-knit communities and our recommendations tend to feel more personal… dare I say because most of us just kinda ended up here without trying to turn this into a business.

I’ve had my account a little over two years now. My posting has slowed down a lot during pregnancy, and I have far less energy to engage with my running friends than I used to. 

But that’s the nice thing about creating online. Your account is always waiting for you when you’re ready to jump back in.

This year, almost every dollar I earned came from brand partnerships. I’m a full-time stay-at-home mom (and now homeschooling – more on that later), so I don’t rely on this income. I don’t have some other job that I’m trying to quit. I view it as extra money that helps cover some of our family’s expenses, and I’m grateful for that.

Below is exactly what I made in 2025 from brand deals, plus a few smaller income sources.

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How Brand Partnerships Work

Most of my paid work comes from:

• Reels

• Story sets

• UGC videos (user-generated content)

• Allowing brands to use my videos for ads (called “usage rights”)

• Packages that combine all of the above

When you see me share something sponsored, it usually falls into one of those categories. Sometimes it’s one reel. Sometimes it’s a reel plus 30–60 days of paid usage rights. Sometimes it’s a few story sets spread across several weeks.

I do not include Meta bonus payouts in my income because they are extremely small. My statements from Meta are usually under one dollar. I think the most I ever earned in one month was $4. For me, it simply isn’t worth counting toward my annual totals… I don’t think I could even pay for one Starbucks trip with what Meta paid me this year 😉 

Working With Talent Agencies

Over the past two years, I’ve tried working with two different talent agencies. For anyone unfamiliar with how that works, a talent agency is supposed to negotiate deals on your behalf, handle communication with brands, and ideally bring new partnerships to you. 

In exchange, they take a percentage of any deal they secure.

In theory, it’s a great system. If you’re a larger creator with dozens of inquiries coming in every month, it probably makes a lot of sense to have support with negotiations and email management. But at my smaller level, it ended up not being worth it. 

My first agency only brought me one paid deal during the time I was with them, and the second one didn’t bring me any. And since negotiating my own partnerships has never bothered me, paying someone else a percentage didn’t feel like a helpful trade-off.

I’m sure that creators with much larger platforms see a real benefit from agency representation. But for where I am right now, I’ve found that managing my own brand inquiries works just fine. When you’re smaller, you tend to know your audience well, you know which brands fit your page, and you can communicate your value directly without an extra layer in between.

Why I Rarely Do Product-Only Partnerships

I get a large number of inquiries from brands asking me to create content in exchange for product only. At this point, I’ve been charging for my work long enough that I rarely agree to those partnerships. 

The only time I’ll consider a product-only exchange is if it’s a genuinely high-ticket item I already wanted, or something I would have bought with my own money anyway.

The reality is that creating content takes much more time than most people realize. There is concept drafting, an approval process, revisions, filming, editing, and posting. Because I’m with my kids for most of the day, I have a very small window of quiet, daylight hours to film branded content. 

That means I have to be extremely selective about what I say yes to.

There have been many times when a brand sent me a product, I tried it, and it simply wasn’t good. Sometimes the quality isn’t there. Sometimes it tastes bad. In those cases, I chose not to move forward with the partnership. It’s important to me that anything I share is something I actually enjoy and can honestly recommend. 

If I wouldn’t tell a friend to spend their money on it, I’m not promoting it online.

The Fun of Free Product

While I don’t agree to many product-only partnerships, I’m extremely grateful for the amount of free product I received. In some ways, it feels almost more fun than getting paid. (Okay, not really… but it definitely adds an extra layer of excitement.) 

Getting running shoes in the mail or a cute workout set delivered to my doorstep simply because I ended up on a company’s PR list is something I don’t take for granted. Plenty of companies just want to ship you products, no strings attached, because they’re hoping you genuinely enjoy it and decide to authentically share it with your audience, or just start purchasing for yourself. Which I have definitely done!

This year alone, I received a really nice treadmill, eight pairs of running shoes, drone cameras, and a whole bunch of other thoughtful goodies. 

It truly felt like Christmas every time a package showed up. 

None of this is guaranteed for creators, and it’s not something I feel entitled to. I’m genuinely thankful for every piece of gear that brands chose to gift me, and it added a lot of joy to my year.

How I Price One-Off Partnerships vs. Long-Term Ones

Most of my brand partnerships this year were one-off deals. When a brand wants a single reel or story set, I charge more for that. One-off campaigns require a lot of energy up front, especially since every brand has a different approval process, different expectations, and different creative guidelines. It also takes time to familiarize myself with a new product and align it with my content style. 

Because of that, my pricing for one-off campaigns reflects the amount of work required.

I did have one long-term partner this year. For them, I charged less per reel because we had an ongoing monthly arrangement. I created one reel each month, and I genuinely enjoyed that consistency. They trusted my creative direction, gave me complete freedom, and were easy to work with. The lower rate made sense because the workflow was predictable and sustainable, and I didn’t have to start from scratch every time.

At the beginning of the year, I had around 25,000 followers. Here at the end of the year, I’m at about 37,000. From a pricing standpoint, follower growth alone didn’t make a dramatic difference in what I charged. 

The bigger shift happened internally. As the year went on, I became more confident in the value I bring, the engagement my account maintains, and the quality of content I deliver. I also learned more about what other creators were charging. 

So I started asking for more. 🙂

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LTK Income

I earned $714.39 from LTK this year (here’s my account).

This is not a platform I use strategically or consistently. I’m not trying to earn significant commission income. I mainly post on LTK when I start getting flooded with DMs asking where something is from. Posting it once saves me from answering two dozen messages individually. 

I’m only one woman, and responding to that many link requests takes more time than you’d think 🙂 

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What I Earned Month by Month in 2025

Here is a simple breakdown of my brand income this year. I broke it out by separate brands and included some details of the deliverables so you can see what a realistic month looks like for a micro-influencer.

January

Brand 1: $850 (1 reel)
Total: $850

February

Brand 2: $550 (1 reel)
Brand 3: $850 (1 reel + 30 days ad usage)
Total: $1,400

March

Brand 4: $400 (2 UGC videos for their website)
Brand 5: $1,000 (4 UGC videos + a high ticket item)
Total: $1,400

April

Brand 6: $550 (1 reel)
Brand 7: $0 (product only for 1 reel – this was a clothing company that I love so I was willing to do a product-only exchange for a bunch of new workout clothes haha)
Brand 8: $0 (product only for 2 reels – this was a high ticket item that I really wanted and would have spent my own money on)
Total: $550

May

Brand 9: $1,250 (1 reel)
Total: $1,250

June

Brand 10: $650 (1 reel)
Brand 11: $1,500 (1 reel + 45 days of usage rights)
Total: $2,150

July

Brand 12: $650 (1 reel)
Brand 13: $1,200 (1 reel)
Total: $1,850

August

Brand 14: $1,500 (1 reel)
Brand 15: $6,500 (full package: multiple reels, stories, and usage rights)
Brand 16: $2,000 (1 reel + 30 days usage)
Total: $10,000

September

Brand 17: $650 (1 reel)
Brand 18: $2,200 (1 reel, stories, and 30 days usage)
Total: $2,850

October

Brand 19: $500 (3-frame story set)
Brand 20: $650 (1 reel)
Brand 21: $3,500 (1 reel + 2 months usage)
Total: $4,650

November

Brand 22: $425 (2 story reposts)
Brand 23: $0 (product-only for 2 reels; high ticket item)

Total: $425

December

No paid partnerships

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Grand Total for 2025

Brand Partnerships: $27,375
LTK Commissions: $714.39
Meta Bonuses: too small to meaningfully count
Overall Total: $28,089.39

This is about double what I earned in 2024.

For a stay-at-home mom who started this account two years ago just to keep from annoying her friends with running posts, this number is more than I ever expected. At the same time, it’s a reminder that most micro-influencers are not making six figures. 

The big paydays you see online are not the norm. Income varies widely depending on the season of life you’re in, the niche you’re in, and how much energy you have to pour into content.

I slowed down significantly this year as my running tapered off during pregnancy. My posting has been more sporadic, and I’m spending far less time engaging with the community. But the beautiful thing is that the account is still here. 

When I have more capacity again, I’ll return to it with fresh energy. Nothing disappears when you take a break.

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Final Thoughts

If you’re a newer creator, I hope this breakdown gives you a realistic idea of what a micro-influencer can earn. The income is helpful, but it has never been my primary motivating factor. What I value most are the friendships, the in-person race meetups, and the feeling of belonging in a community of people who love the same hobby.

The money is simply the bonus on top… and helps pay for new running shoes 😉