Have all your friends bought the same ‘must-have’ neck cream or an identical dress? The odds are that you’ve been ‘influenced’. There’s a growing crop of 40+ Influencers – people who’ve built a reputation online for their expertise – who are shaping our purchase habits, many partnering with brands that pay them to promote products on social media.
Often supported by photo-snapping friends and family, they create posts that cut through where conventional advertising might not. According to Statista, 25% of UK consumers say influencers have impacted their purchase decisions.
‘We’ve seen a significant increase in content creators forging successful second careers aged 45+,’ explains Lily Taylor, influencer manager at Dopamine Studios. ‘It’s great that brands now recognise their credibility and impact.’
But can a hobby become a career? Meet a trio of women who have pursued their passions to do just that.
'Everything I create is self-taught and self-filmed'
Since starting @hillhousevintage in 2014, Paula Sutton, 55, has forged a career as a vintage-loving interiors influencer, TV presenter and author. She lives in Norfolk with her husband. They have three adult children. Paula’s debut novel The Potting Shed Murder is out now.
"The Instagram chapter of my life was an unintended consequence of leaving our life in London for Norfolk 15 years ago," explains Paula Sutton. "I was determined to find a flexible job that I could do around the school run. I never thought that I’d end up the higher earner!
"My Instagram account evolved from my blog that diarised swapping the city for a more rural life. I had no big plan, so posted about projects around the house. It was some time before I was brave enough to post my face – peeking out from behind my washing!
"In the difficult days of lockdown, I decided to make my feed a place of joy and entertainment. The scrapbook of our country life seemed to strike a chord, as my following grew rapidly.
"It’s still a pleasure to share my life and home with my followers but I’m conscious of our privacy, so there are some areas I don’t expose to the world. My family isn't involved day to day. I have thought about employing an assistant now I have more than 500,000 followers, but I would struggle to let any part of it go. Everything I create, film and shoot is self-taught and self-filmed.
"I had no idea what my Instagram would become when I started, but it’s wonderful to have found a hugely fulfilling second career at this stage in my life. Who'd have thought I'd make the best-dressed list at the BAFTA TV awards in my 55th year?!"
'My following has grown to over 500,000 on social media'
Fashion addict and mum of three Kat Farmer, 51, has offered her style advice on Instagram for more than 10 years as @doesmybumlook40. She splits her time between homes in Suffolk and London. She's also published a book, Get Changed: Finding the new you through fashion.
"I tell people I work in marketing, as I hate the term ‘influencer’ and the negative connotations of 22-year-olds desperate to get on to Love Island," said Kat Farmer. "That said, I feel lucky to have such a flexible and hugely enjoyable job. I work full-time, posting seven days a week and spending two to three hours a day responding to messages. It’s not hard work; I just work hard at it. My kit is very basic – an iPhone and a tripod.
"When I started out, it wasn’t a conscious decision for my feed to be ‘real’ and not a glossy, curated page. That’s just how it started and how I’ve continued: what you see is what you get. I occasionally rope in friends to help with pictures, but if none of them are any good, I’ll just post a loo selfie!
"My Instagram started by sharing tips from my career as a stylist, but it has become my full-time job. It’s great to have financial independence.
"Fashion advice is still the core of what I do but now that my following has grown to over 500,000 on social media, I’m approached to create content for all sorts of brands, from beauty to booze.
"I road test everything that interests me, ask all the questions my followers would want to know and turn lots down. I genuinely want to help my followers buy better, so the only products that ever make it on to my grid are ones I consider real winners."
'Inspiration for my recipes comes from anywhere'
Renu Bhardwaj, 44, lives in Glasgow with her husband Neeraj, and children Arran, 11, and Aria, eight. Posting on Instagram as @hey_renu, she was named Scotland’s Food Influencer of 2024. Her book Celebrate Diwali: Recipes, activities and crafts to do with your kids was published in August 2024.
"As a lifelong foodie, my Instagram always included recipes. But having been made redundant in 2020 and needing a break from the Covid-19-induced challenge of homeschooling, I decided to take content creation more seriously," says Renu Bhardwaj. "I bought some expensive plates, taught myself to take great food pics and got posting.
"People liked my focus on reducing food waste and cooking on a budget. Soon I had 10,000 followers. That was when brands started asking to work with me, and I now have a following of nearly 150,000. Inspiration for my recipes comes from everywhere but often it’s simply what’s in the fridge.
"Sometimes we get invited to new hotel and restaurant openings as a family, so I’ve trained my husband to take decent pictures – although he sometimes has to rein me in when I want just one more angle! The less glamorous side is the hours of editing. I post four times a week and a 15-second ‘reel’ can take four hours to create.
"I often say I have two jobs – working full-time at our local university and then my content creation, where I am paid to collaborate with brands I love, such as M&S, Lakeland and Ninja. As an influencer, there is a rate you can charge for collaborations depending on metrics, such as how many followers you have. It can range from £3,000-£5,000, depending on the company, budget and timescales. These partnerships are great but for now, I need both roles to pay the bills!"
Feeling influential? Try these expert tips
If you'd like to try your hand at building a social media following of your own, these tips are key:
- You only need a decent phone and good lighting - There are tripod stands with lights but natural daylight is usually fine.
- Done is better than perfect - Choose your focus area, get posting and ignore any latent impostor syndrome.
- Don’t compare - It takes self-belief to be an Influencer, and your confidence can take a hit when post responses are low. Focus on your results rather than comparing them with the stats of others.
- Set your rates - Once you have a following, create a rate card of charges for posts. Rates vary depending on the number and engagement of your followers. A micro-influencer (10,000-50,000 followers) charges between £100 and £500 per post.
- Don’t quit the day job - Successful influencers estimate only 20% of their work is paid, and 80% of their time is spent on organic content generation and responding to followers.
How influencers make money
Lynn Carratt, influencer guru and head of talent at Press Box PR, explains how being a content creator can be lucrative.
‘It’s possible for a full-time content creator to earn around £100,000 to £500,000 per year. Between 2019 and 2023, influencer ad spending in the UK more than tripled, reaching £791 million, and this is expected to grow to £869.2 million between 2024 and 2028. Influencers with around 500,000 followers can estimate to earn from £2,000 to £12,000 per post – more for a series of posts – and revenues are only increasing.’
In the UK, Glassdoor reports that the average salary for a social media influencer is over £33,000 per year.
British influencers earn an average hourly wage of £117.48; £137,000 a year if they worked full time, according to a report from Adobe.
5 of our favourite influencers to follow
As well as Paula @hillhousevintage, Kat @doesmybumlook40 , Renu @hey_renu and of course woman&home, why not give these accounts a follow:
- @knackeredmother Wine expert, broadcaster and author Helen McGinn’s down-to-earth approach to vino is worth a follow.
- @willowcrossleycreates Renowned florist Willow shares her insights on what’s in season, flower-arranging tips and gorgeous table centres.
- @ruthcrilly With more than 20 years’ experience in the beauty industry, Ruth posts honest and often witty reviews of products at all price points.
- @weekendcandy Travel influencer Claire Robinson’s account profiles new and unusual places to stay, and things to do across the UK.
- @middleagedminx Jo Good’s lively, irreverent account documents her daily antics, including fashion, beauty, book, restaurant and travel tips.
This article first appeared in the October 2024 issue of woman&home magazine. Subscribe to the magazine for £6 for 6 issues.
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