You already do the hardest part of this job for free.
Someone in your comments asks where you got the bag. A follower DMs to ask if the cream you mentioned actually works. A friend tags you under a restaurant post because you were the one who told them about it. Every week, you move people to buy things, and every week the business that made the sale gets the money while you get a "thank you".
Businesses know this, which is why so many of them want creators. The problem is rarely that nobody wants to pay you. It is that the way most deals happen, in DMs, with no clear offer, no clear price and no clear payment, makes it far too easy to work for free or get paid late.
This guide is about fixing that: turning what you already do into services a business can actually order, and getting paid properly when they do.
What businesses actually pay creators for
"Influencer" sounds like one job. It is really a handful of different services, and businesses buy them for different reasons:
- Sponsored posts. A post, Reel or video on your own Instagram, TikTok or YouTube that features the business.
- Product reviews. Your honest take on a product, on your page.
- UGC (user-generated content). Videos or photos you make that the business posts on its own pages. You are paid for the content, not for your audience.
- Video mentions and shoutouts. A short mention inside content you were making anyway.
- Livestream promotion. Featuring a product while you are live.
- Reels and Shorts made for the brand. Short-form video built around their product.
- Brand ambassador arrangements. An ongoing relationship over weeks or months rather than a single post.
- Community promotion. Sharing an offer in the WhatsApp groups, channels or communities you run.
Knowing which of these you are selling matters, because each one is priced and delivered differently. A UGC video, for example, does not depend on how many people follow you, which is good news if your following is still small.
Step 1: Turn "I can promote you" into something someone can buy
"I can promote your brand" is not an offer. A business cannot say yes to it, because it does not know what it is getting.
A service is specific. Write each one down with:
- What you deliver. One Reel? Three Stories? Two UGC videos sent as files?
- Where it goes. Your page, or theirs?
- When. How many days after you receive the product or the brief.
- Revisions. How many rounds of changes are included.
- Usage. If they post your content on their own pages or in ads, for how long.
So instead of "I do promotions", you might offer "One Instagram Reel plus three Story frames, posted on my page within five days of receiving the product, one round of changes", or "Three short UGC videos delivered as files for your page, two rounds of changes".
The more clearly you describe it, the easier it is for a business to say yes, and the harder it is for the job to quietly grow into five times what you agreed.
Step 2: Price the job, not the mood
There is no single right rate, and anyone selling you one number for every creator is guessing. What you can do is price consistently:
- Time. How long it really takes you to plan, shoot, edit and post.
- Whose page it goes on. A post on your page is worth more than the same video sent as a file, because your audience is part of what they are buying.
- Usage. Content a business can run in its ads for months is worth more than a one-off post.
- Speed. A job needed by tomorrow costs more than one needed next week.
Quote per job, keep your own simple rate list so you are not reinventing the price every time, and be comfortable saying what something costs.
Step 3: Give businesses somewhere to buy, not just a DM
DMs are where a lot of creator money disappears. The details live in a scroll of messages, nothing is written down in one place, and when it is time to pay, you are the one chasing.
It helps to have a place where your services are listed like products, with what each one includes, so a business can enquire about a specific service rather than "something".
On Shopnest, that is a Creators shop. It is a kind of shop built for creators and influencers, and it sells services rather than stock. It has its own Influencer & Creator Services categories: sponsored posts, product reviews, UGC content, video mentions, livestream promotion, social media shoutouts, Reels and Shorts, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube content, brand ambassador services and more. Only Creators shops can list in those categories, so a fashion store or a salon cannot.
Opening one is free, and the free plan lets you list up to 20 services. See how a Creators shop works.
Step 4: Get in front of businesses that need you
Be honest with yourself here: nobody finds you just because your shop exists. A shop is where a business buys. You still have to get businesses to it.
Start with businesses you already talk about. The skincare brand you keep recommending, the restaurant you post every month, the boutique your followers keep asking about. Send them your shop link with the specific service you think fits them. A specific offer gets answered far more often than "let's work together".
Put your shop link where people look. Your bio, your highlights, your link-in-bio page, and anywhere a business might check before contacting you.
Use the Nesters Community board. Inside Shopnest, businesses post what they need, and they can address a request to Creators, something like "need three Reels for our new menu". You can post what you offer on the same board. Replying to a post opens a private conversation between the two shops.
Two things make the board work for you:
- Address your offer to businesses, not creators. When you post, you choose who it is for. Pick Commerce businesses (shops selling products) or Service businesses (salons, tailors, photographers and the like). If you address it to Creators, only other creators will see it.
- Re-post when it expires. A post stays up for one to four weeks and then disappears. Free shops get 10 community posts a month, and replying is never capped.
Step 5: Get paid properly
On Shopnest, a business buys your service the same way anyone buys anything:
- They enquire about a service.
- You send a quote that says exactly what is included.
- They accept and pay by card, bank transfer or USSD.
- The money goes straight to your own bank account.
Shopnest takes 0% commission on what you sell. Paystack, which processes card and bank-transfer payments, charges its own processing fee, and that goes to Paystack, not to Shopnest.
Two habits will save you a lot of stress:
- Agree everything in the chat before you send the quote. Deliverables, dates, revisions and usage, all in writing, all before a price.
- Start the work once the order is paid. It is the simplest way to stop chasing money after the post is already up.
Your content and your accounts stay yours
Nothing about how you create has to change. You write your own captions, shoot your own videos and post on your own accounts, on your own schedule. Shopnest does not post on your behalf and does not touch your pages. The shop is simply where businesses order and pay.
Mistakes that cost creators money
- Saying yes in DMs without anything written down about what is included.
- Forgetting usage. If a business runs your video as an ad for months, that is a different job from a single post.
- One vague rate for everything. A Story mention and a three-video UGC package are not the same work.
- Posting before payment is confirmed.
- Addressing your board post to the wrong audience, and wondering why no business replies.
A second income: earn from products you already recommend
Selling your services is one way to earn. The other is promoting products for a commission: you share your own link to another seller's product, and when someone buys through it, you earn the commission that seller has set. It is free to join, needs no stock, and works alongside a Creators shop. Read about the Shopnest affiliate program.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a big following to get paid as a creator?
Not for everything. UGC is content the business posts on its own pages, so you are paid for what you make, not for who follows you. Sponsored posts on your own page do depend on your audience, so the services you offer can grow as your following does.
Is it free to open a Creators shop on Shopnest?
Yes. Opening a Creators shop and listing your services is free, and the free plan includes up to 20 listings. Selling bookable time slots, such as a live session or a shoot, needs the Pro plan plus the paid Bookings add-on.
How do businesses find me on Shopnest?
Through the Nesters Community board, where businesses post what they need and you post what you offer, and through your shop link wherever you share it. There is no creator directory, so post your offer, re-post it when it expires, and share your link yourself.
Does Shopnest take a cut of what I earn?
No. Shopnest takes 0% commission. Paystack's own processing fee applies to card and bank-transfer payments and goes to Paystack.
Can I do affiliate marketing as well?
Yes. You can promote other sellers' products for a commission through the affiliate program at the same time as selling your own services.
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Ready to stop working in the DMs? Open your Creators shop for free and list your first service today.
