Peloton instructors become Instagram stars, the influencer PR power list, and a TikTok famous cat

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Peloton instructors become Instagram stars, the influencer PR power list, and a TikTok famous cat
emma chamberlain cosmopolitan cover

Photos by Eric Ray Davidson for Cosmopolitan

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YouTube star Emma Chamberlain.

Welcome to this week's Influencer Dashboard newsletter!

As you likely know, this is Amanda Perelli, and I'll be briefing you on what's new in the business of influencers and creators.

First up, my colleague Dan Whateley and I highlighted the top 14 PR pros and publicists for YouTube creators, Instagram influencers, and other digital stars.

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With the rise of social-media influencers, top public relations firms have developed digital departments and now work with popular creators, particularly helping them land coverage in traditional media outlets. For instance, YouTube star Emma Chamberlain (8.6 million subscribers) is represented by Align Public Relations for interviews and events, and recently the company worked to place her on the January cover of Cosmopolitan.

Want to see who the other powerhouse PR pros are? Check out the full list here.

You can read most of the articles here by subscribing to BI Prime. And if this is your first time reading Influencer Dashboard, subscribe to the newsletter here.

How Peloton's 21 fitness-influencer cycling instructors use Instagram fame to market the brand and keep customers coming back

Alex Toussaint - Peloton Trainer and Instagram InfluencerPeloton

Alex Toussaint is a senior cycling instructor at Peloton and an Instagram influencer with over 100,000 followers.

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Some Peloton instructors have become Instagram influencers and are helping market the brand with their social-media fame.

Peloton is an at-home fitness company that offers livestream and on-demand fitness classes to its subscribers, many of whom use the company's custom bikes and treadmills. The company hires popular fitness instructors to stream classes to thousands of users in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, with 21 cycling trainers and an additional 11 instructors who teach treadmill and yoga classes.

Dan spoke to Alex Toussaint, a senior Peloton cycling instructor with 105,000 Instagram followers, on interacting with Peloton users and promoting the brand - and himself - daily on social media.

Dan wrote that Peloton's trainers actively encourage users to reach out on social media, sometimes shouting out their Instagram handles at the end of classes.

Read the full post on Peloton's cycling instructors promoting its brand on social-media.

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How do influencers pay taxes? 4 steps to conquer tax season as a self-employed social-media creator

Morgan Yates

Morgan Yates

YouTube creator Morgan Yates.

At many jobs, a portion of your income is automatically deducted from your paycheck for taxes. But when you work for yourself, you are responsible for deducting this amount out and for keeping track of every dollar you earn.

Social-media influencers often work for themselves, which can make their taxes a lot more complicated.

How do they navigate tax season?

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I spoke to Eric Bronnenkant, the head of tax at Betterment, a firm that offers digital investing advice, along with several influencers across Instagram and YouTube, on their tax-season tips.

They broke down four steps for conquering tax season as a social-media creator, from the best ways to keep track of both your income and expenses, to what you can deduct as a business expense.

Every time YouTube creator Morgan Yates (313,000 subscribers) gets paid, she moves a percentage of that revenue straight into a separate bank account, so that it's immediately out of sight, she told me.

Read the full post on how social media influencers face tax season, here.

Inside the business of an 'adventure cat' TikTok influencer, who has 2 million followers and earns up to $60,000 for a sponsored video package

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JJ Yosh and his cat Simon are an Instagram and TikTok influencer teamDavid M. Rule/JJ YoshJJ Yosh and his cat Simon have built large followings on Instagram and TikTok by filming and photographing their hiking trips.

"Adventure cats" has become a popular genre of content online, going viral on platforms like Instagram.

Dan spoke with JJ Yosh, the owner of one adventure cat influencer named Simon, about the duo's digital business. Yosh has built a large following on Instagram and TikTok by filming and photographing his hiking trips with Simon.

The pair have a combined 2.8 million followers across their Instagram and TikTok accounts. Their largest account is Simon's @backpackingkitty channel on TikTok.

Yosh told Dan that he switched to focusing on social media full time in 2018, when it became more lucrative than his previous career commercial modeling and acting.

With the help of his manager, Yosh said he usually sells sponsored content as a package, attracting five-figure deals from brands. The pair has worked with a variety of companies including Procter & Gamble, Intuit, and Petco.

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Read more about the business of a viral TikTok adventure cat and its owner, here.

What else happened this week on BI Prime:

YouTube video of the week: How much a YouTube creator makes, spends and saves in a single month as a minimalist

Kyra Ann

Screenshot of Kyra Ann/YouTube

Kyra Ann is a YouTube creator with 76,000 subscribers.

CNBC's "Millennial Money" series, which breaks down the budgets and finances of young people, has taken over YouTube. Many YouTube creators are jumping on the trend and filming videos about their expenses.

Kyra Ann is a YouTube creator and minimalist with 76,000 subscribers. In her most recent video, she broke down exactly how much money she makes, spends, and saves in a single month as a minimalist.

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She has three revenue streams: her day job at a nursing home, Amazon affiliate links, and YouTube. As an influencer, she earned $158 from Amazon, and $1,817 from YouTube AdSense this month, which is more than what she earns a month at her day job, she said.

Here's a breakdown of her monthly expenses, according to her YouTube video:

  • Rent: $675, Kyra lives in Massachusetts near Boston, she said.
  • Laundry: $20, she said normally she spends up to $50 a month, but recently she stopped drying her clothes to cut the cost.
  • Phone: $72, Kyra said she has the cell phone service provider Sprint, and that she receives a discount on her bill through her job.
  • Food: $60, she noted that she works in a kitchen, so most of her meals are free.
  • Electric: $15, she doesn't own a TV, and she said in the video that she typically has two floor lamps, her laptop, and her phone plugged in.
  • Car gas: $80, Kyra said she plans to purchase a Tesla soon, and she that she currently owns a Honda SUV.
  • Spotify: $10, and she added that her account includes a membership with Hulu.
  • Other: medical: $45, heat for her apartment: $176, car insurance: $76, retirement: $100, an app: $5, eyebrow wax: $15, gift: $50.

Total February monthly expenses: $1,399.00. For a full explanation of Kyra's monthly finances, check out the YouTube video here.

Send tips or feedback to me at aperelli@businessinsider.com.

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