Influencers are making news in today’s business world, ensuring they cannot be taken any less than other professions. But how do they get funded? How does the lender’s sector see influencers? Are influencers’ potential enough for lenders to see them as reliable? Let us understand the nuances of offering loans for influencers in this blog post.
What are influencers?
Influencers promote brands and help sell products through their videos on social media platforms. They collaborate with brands and create content accordingly to advertise the same on social media. Social media influencers encourage their followers to buy the products they promote on their social media pages.
How to Become an Influencer?
Are you interested in becoming an Influencer? Here are simple and easy ways to try your hands at it:
- Choose your domain
- Decide your social media platform (YouTube, Twitter, etc.)
- Achieve mastery over your field.
- Define your skills, personality, and ability.
- Optimize your social identity.
- Let brands know you are open to collaborations.
- Understand your audiences and their preferences.
- Plan a content strategy.
- Maintain a healthy relationship with your followers.
- Build your community.
- Create your website
- Establish your identity through SEO skills
Influencers and income
Influencers are everywhere on social media and have many options to make income. Once they can create a large following across the many social media platforms, the options increase. A professional influencer earns between $1500 and $4000 monthly through marketing.
The various ways to earn income through influencer marketing are:
- Blogs
- Promoting and selling through videos
- Display advertising
- Affiliate marketing
- Promoting their products
How good is the influencers’ economy?
Influencers are yet to be considered a stable income group with the capacity to repay loan payments. However, things are slowly shifting as financial services startups look at the influencer’s economy as their potential customers. These Fintech companies are ready to fund the influencers with capital that would help them to hire more professional editors and technicians and have a better studio space. With more and more influencers creating their brands, FinTech startups are angling into funding these influencers to build their brands and focusing on marketing their loan products for middle and top-level influencers.
Loan or credit options for the influencers
Like any other professionals, influencers also need funds to grow their businesses. The checkpoint is that the asset value for the influencers is their followers, which is variable. This comes as a reason for the high-interest rates for the influencers. Influencers are also entrepreneurs on their terms so they can opt for small business loans. However, from the point of view of a bank, the balance sheet of influencers never looks good because of its variable nature. Some of the influencers also go for venture capital. When traditional banking oversees the influencers, many FinTech startups offer business cards with higher credit limits.
Mortgage for influencers
A mortgage is an option for the influencers if they need a loan to create funds for their business. A mortgage loan requires documents that show consistent income. As self-employed, an influencer must provide papers with their 2-year income and dividends received. In short, an influencer is seen as a sole proprietor or a limited company.
- An influencer can opt for a mortgage loan with sufficient papers as a Sole trader. However, filing tax assessments before applying for a self-employed mortgage loan is essential.
- An influencer can use a mortgage loan as an employee or a director. Here, the risk increases if the influencer is seen as a director with low remuneration. However, like any other salaried person or an entrepreneur, it is essential to keep the accounts and annual income up to date and ready to be filed for the loan.
How to prepare for a mortgage loan as an influencer?
For most borrowers, applying for a mortgage loan comes in easy steps. All one has to do is provide the following:
- Recent pay slips.
- A general tax form from the previous year.
- A letter from the employer.
- An assessment notice from the previous year.
But is it the same for the influencers? For example, how do they qualify for a mortgage loan with an inconsistent income sheet?
Preparation
Planning, preparation, and paperwork are the key to making the loan process easy. Also, this helps in availing of favorable rates and terms. A bit of planning ahead is all the work needed. However, the documents required by the banks or lenders are:
- Two years of tax history
- Articles of incorporation if incorporated.
- Tax filing for the previous years
Stress Test
Most self-employed people are eligible to claim business-related deductions, but this could present a problem because the deductions may lower their income, making it harder for them to qualify for a mortgage. That’s because the stress test, which determines whether they can continue to pay their mortgage when interest rates rise, is a requirement for receiving a mortgage. The test is the rate your mortgage provider offers + 2%. So, a mortgage holder must demonstrate their ability to pay the mortgage at 7.57 percent if the fixed rate is 5.57 percent plus the stress test’s additional two percent.
Cash management and reliable information
Good cash and credit management are vital to a favorable rate. Influencers, independent contractors, content producers, and seasonal workers can now qualify for a mortgage. Ensure to receive and give accurate financial and personal information from your banks since lenders are still highly diligent about anti-fraud situations and the integrity of paperwork. It comprises details such as whether you received financial help with the down payment. Yet, they have relaxed several conditions, such as calling for significantly greater down payments.
Final Thoughts
The lenders and traditional banking system are yet to see influencers as business owners or people with real jobs. However, things are changing for good in the lender’s industry, with new financial startup companies being positive with the influencers. With influencers gaining paramount importance in marketing and advertising, days are close when they are considered potential enough by lenders and bankers.
