Podcast: How can you make money from your social media profiles? Elma Smit shares secrets from Become an Influencer on 702
More about the book!

In 2019, Elma Smit was hand-picked by two global governing bodies as the face of their World Cup content campaigns, in the space of only six months. Yet, she generated more revenue from influencer work in that same period than from anything else. In Become an Influencer, one of South Africa’s leading content creators and influencers spills the beans on how to build a loyal audience, how to charge for paid campaigns and how to avoid running into a social media meltdown.

Elma Smit recently chatted to Refiloe Mpakanyane on 702’s Weekend Breakfast show about her book Become an Influencer.

‘Huge opportunities for people who are passionate’

‘The great opportunities out there at the moment are in the digital space,’ Smit says. ‘That’s where people are taking the greatest risks, they’re making the most creative work … and you have real-time feedback.

‘There are huge opportunities for people who are passionate about their field of interest, who create content, who can find a niche in which they can build a loyal audience,’ she says. ‘We as South Africans have no reason to think the great big world out there has some secret sauce – they don’t!’

‘What makes an influencer bankable?’ Refiloe asks the questions on everyone’s lips.

‘One thing you need to learn early on is, if you want to be an influencer, it’s not about the freebies. It’s about your community,’ Smit explains. ‘You need to show them [brands] that people really engaged with your content.

‘Brands want to see that when you speak to people about the topic that you love, other people love what you are giving them,’ she adds. ‘As soon as you start helping people, you will build a great community, and as soon as you have a community, you are bankable.’

Listen to the interview on 702: