As you start to grow you’ll begin receiving DMs from companies to feature their products.
Anecdotally this started happening with me around 2000 followers. I checked with other people and they agreed it happens around 2000-5000.
I get maybe 3-5 people a day hitting me up to feature their AI tool.
Most will approach you wanting free coverage. You have a number of options here.
The first is providing free coverage but ask for a some product that you can giveaway to your followers.
This is a nice win-win where you get something to write about, your followers get free product and the company gets the coverage they want. This works especially well with software as you can simply share codes.
Mechanics-wise write a post or thread about the product and mention that you have a certain number to give away. To win one the follower needs to like, share and comment to be entered into the giveaway. After a certain period of time (say, 24 hours) you choose someone at random to give the prize to.
Tweethunter can actually send DMs to winners randomly which makes larger giveaways easier. There’s also WinnerPicker as an external tool. Or simply copy paste all the names into a random picker tool.
I like to use this method with obviously small companies as well as products I actually like.
Second, offer to cover the product but ask what their affiliate structure is. That’s pretty much it : “great, can do. What’s your affiliate structure thanks” is all it takes.
If they have an affiliate programme get signed up so you can receive a % on any sales. Make sure to disclose to your followers that it’s an affiliate link. It’s the legally sound and ethical thing to do.
Third, sponsorship. If your account is larger (10k+) in a valuable niche then the company can sponsor posts.
You can sell a single or package of posts in exchange for payment. Again, make sure to mention it’s a sponsored post.
The exact format of the post will depend on the niche and agreement with the sponsoring company .
How much can you charge for a sponsored post? This is a movable feast - again it depends on the niche (finance posts will cost more than fashion posts for example) and your account size and engagement percentage.
For this I suggest you find and use a calculator - there are lots out there but I like this one.
To give you a rough idea though IZEA run an annual State of Influencer Earnings report and recently found that an account around 10k followers commands $1000-1500 per post.
These three methods are all ones you can use if a company directly contacts you - which they will start doing.