This article will discuss do influencers travel for free. As an aspiring photographer or blogger, you are always encouraged to seek out online influencers.

They will be the ones to help you find those dream gigs or increase your exposure, while earning a bit of extra pocket money on the side. They know their audience and are quite active on social media so it is much easier to start a conversation with them.

This will also open the door for you to ask them to share their stories or show you how to use the products that you are interested in.

For anyone who is looking for a bit of extra cash to pursue a side hustle, I would strongly advise you to check out influencer marketing. You can even set up your own website as an influencer and you can share it with your audience.

This will mean that you can take on brand collaborations for a fee and other opportunities like free travel to connect with your followers and introduce them to some of the latest and greatest products.

Do influencers negotiate?

Another thing that you will come across very often is the issue of influencers negotiating or trying to haggle with the brands they work with. It seems a bit crazy to some of us but this is a common practice.

According to a recent survey carried out by the PR firm, Weber Shandwick, a quarter of digital marketers have had the opportunity to negotiate fees for their services. As much as this is a good thing and probably offers them more leverage, I would urge you to understand the impact that this has on the brands and influencers themselves.

In an ideal world, brands should be giving influencers that little bit extra just to get their content shared with their audience. This would be far more beneficial to everyone than to have them accept a lower fee just to get it done.

It is almost like the adage ‘you get what you pay for’. The brands are looking for the top talent to help them achieve their goals.

If you are going to be working with them, you should see that as a plus, not a negative. At least you are working with the best in your field, which means you are more likely to have great results.

Is Instagram good enough?

Most of us use Instagram as our main social media platform. It’s free and easy to use and it has grown to be one of the most successful photo sharing platforms in the world.

With more than a billion users a month, Instagram now more popular than Facebook and is a great way to promote your own images and those of your followers. However, what happens when you get a request from a big brand, who needs to have a large collection of images from you, to be featured on their website?

This might seem like a golden opportunity for you and you will no doubt be desperate to get the job but it isn’t all it seems. You might be able to get a lot of interest from brands but if you are unable to deliver the quality that they require, this may damage your chances of securing a big commission from the brand.

An abundance of online tools can help you to get the job done to a high standard and you can also include location details for each image for added visibility. With so much information at your fingertips, you can have the best chance of securing that lucrative project.

How do influencers get free trips?

Let's start with what you can do to get influencers to do product reviews in exchange for a free trip. First, you will need to find influencers that are active in your industry.

These people are your brand ambassadors and they are your best chance to increase sales. I can speak from experience because I was one of these people before I started Lattice Social.

I met an influencer and she told me she was going to be in NYC and she asked if I wanted to meet with her for a day or two to promote her online product. I met with her and she provided me with a video and pictures of her showing off her product.

In exchange for the video and photos, I spent a lot of time networking with her online and with her followers.

The way this particular deal worked was that the influencer got the trip as part of the sponsorship. The blogger took a trip to NYC and the influencer got the trip and then a few days after the influencer came back, she paid for her airline tickets, hotel room and also paid for food. It is an honest exchange and it is effective.

The second method is when a company sends a marketing team to a city, typically for one or two weeks. I have done this with my company, Lattice Social, many times.

The company pays for hotel rooms, food and activities for its marketing team.

If you are working with a company that spends $500K or more for a market research company to come to your city, this would not be the best way for you to find influencers. So the other option is to use freelancers, nonprofits and other local influencers who are based in your city.

The third option is when you bring the influencers to your city and make them do a product review on your company's website. The influencer will be flown to your city for a few days, and they will be paid for the review, hotel stay and airfare.

When you compare all three options, I would say that the best way to find an influencer that does a product review in exchange for a free trip is to find influencers that travel. Then you will be able to test this out and see how the influencer responds to a product review.

You will be able to see if the influencer is excited to promote your product or not.

The bottom line

If you are an aspiring photographer or influencer looking to make a little bit of extra money, influencer marketing is an excellent option for you. The possibilities for making some serious cash and gaining new connections is endless.

It may take some time to build up your followers but once you have done this, it is likely that you will have them for life. So if you are looking to build a successful side hustle, this is the way to do it.