Today we're looking into a topic that's quite controversial - and that's should influencers hire managers? 

We assume that the argument in favor of hiring managers is that some influencers feel underpaid and a manager can help get you more money for your hard work, even after taking their cut. Managers are also there to help protect influencers and handle all the contracts, legal matters, etc.

However, in my opinion the answer to this question is no, and here's why.

INCREASED RATES

While increased rates are favorable towards the influencers, they're not so much for the brands and agencies trying to hire you. And we're not talking about a slight increase, we're talking an increase for four or five times higher than previous rates. But does that mean as an influencer you're going to make more money? Not always, because we just don't do those extreme deals. We're also working on a budget, and if suddenly you prices are jacked up four or five times than what we're used to, we move on to the next influencer. We just simply can't afford you anymore with these inflated prices.

LACK OF COMMUNICATION

Now that you've hired a manager to act as the middle man, the communication that we've historically had and the relationship building we do during the campaign is suddenly gone. Instead of talking to you and understanding what you're driving toward, understanding your background and how it aligns with a particular program, we're dealing with a third-party. Things tend to get lost in translation when we're going back and forth, breaking down the relationship.

UNNECESSARY REQUESTS

Also, it seems that a lot of these managers feel they need to constantly prove their worth to their influencers by interfering with processes and procedures unnecessarily. We've had influencers who have signed the same contract five, six, seven times, and all of a sudden there's all these unnecessary red lines and requests that we're simply not going to accept. So again, the deals break down.

We've also see deals break down when we write to an influencer we've worked with before unaware that they've now hired a manager, explain to them a program we have for them, and then receive a note back saying, "That sounds fantastic, I'm cc-ing my manager here." That line, "I'm cc-ing my manager," almost always kills the deal. The manager suddenly jumps in the middle and comes up with ridiculous rates or clauses in the contract that we simply can't abide by.

So, if you're and influencer that's thinking about hiring a manager, we suggest that you take some time to balance the pros that they're promising you with the cons that we've outlined above. It's unfortunate that we're unable to work with so many talented influencers that we've built relationships with, but influencers need to understand that we have our own constraints as well.

If you're looking for help building an influencer marketing campaign, and trying to develop the right strategy, contact us today to get the ball rolling!