MONEY MATTERS
YouTuber films tell-all video about how she makes her money… and people are saying they’ll never trust other bloggers again
WE'RE officially living in the age of the influencer - where fashion bloggers with huge online followings have more sway than print magazines and YouTubers are effectively 21st century celebrities.
But one British YouTuber has honestly answered the questions we're all dying to know... how exactly do influencers make a living?
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Lily Pebbles' 'How I Work with Brands' video has been viewed over 50,000 times since she posted it to her YouTube channel on Sunday morning.
In the 40-minute long video, the 30-year-old YouTuber and recent author breaks down her work with brands into four distinct categories: affiliate links, display advertising, brand partnerships and sponsored content.
So whether she is posting a swipe-up link on Instagram or partnered with a brand on a full-blown campaign, all of these are ways in which Lily and other British influencers are making money from their respective social media platforms.
Having previously recievied backlash for a sponsored video she did with Special K, which one viewer called "painful to watch", the YouTuber said she waned to be "totally transparent" with her 466,000 subscribers.
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To start off with, Lily said how a "brand will either contact either myself or my agent Gleam", who also represent beauty blogger heavyweight Zoella, before sending her the product to try for free.
She continued: "If I like it, Gleam will then requested from the brand their campaign messagings... and I then decide the creative and decide what will work best for me and my audience."
Remaining coy on the subject of exactly how much she earns from the collaborations, Lily said:"I know what my worth is. I've been [blogging] for eight years and I know what brands spend on other forms of advertising."
Revealing how YouTube advertising revenue varies from influencer-to-influencer, depending on their views per thousand viewer, Lily also said that she has removed advertising from her blog but does have a discount press card for some of her favourite high-street stores.
Surprisingly, she also goes on press trips for free but is not paid to promote the products unless the video has specifically been sponsored.
Despite being "terrified" to post the tell-all video, Lily has been flooded with positive comments from her viewers with many saying that they wish more YouTubers would be as honest.
One wrote "such an interesting video and helpful to understand what does on in the background when working with brands" while another follower said "other influencers give you honest YouTubers a bad rep."
Another added: "It's about time someone covered the behind the scenes of vlogging. I love your honesty and explanation of adverts and freebies, there are so many other bloggers who flaunt their freebies they receive its gross and unhealthy."
Self-declared "work-wife" Anna Newton of also chimed in with: "Thank you for making this video L.P. You are always do good at educating both people within and out of the industry in such an articulate way."
Since being one of the first full-time bloggers back in 2013, Lily has grown an audience of over 402,000 Instagram followers along with her flourishing beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel.
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