This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Ghost influencers and the art of viral storytelling. Got a fun one for you here today, really interesting thing. You might've never heard of this. In fact, I have not, but these days with AI, with fake news, with, I don't know, like what can you believe, what you see online, all that kind of stuff, I guess I shouldn't be shocked. So we're gonna explore the rise of ghost influencers, anonymous personas creating real engagement for brands.
Specifically, we'll hear how one edgy social media manager turn this idea into an actual business. Inside Usful School is all about unconventional ideas, unconventional, interesting ideas, sometimes that raise all sorts of questions, like what kind of world are we living in, but hey, we're focused on the practical, nitty gritty details. This is the Throwback Thursday segment, where we go back to the archives, pull out somebody's story and say what has changed? Like what have you done differently? Like what's your business been like over the past couple of years?
Often there's a point of evolution or pivoting perhaps. I don't always like these start-upy words, but you know what I mean? They made a change in some way. So we could also call this one from the Department of Presented Without Comment. I'll just let you hear the story, okay?
This is the story of social media manager running what they call in their own words, a ghost influencer agency. Okay, fun times, gonna pass that over to them. I'll be back at the end with a few words of wrap up. [Music]
It all started with a frustration I couldn't ignore. I was working as a social media manager in Chicago writing content for local businesses, but something was missing.
The brands wanted engagement, virality and personality, but most of my clients didn't have the time or charisma to step into the influencer spotlight themselves. That's when I decided to stop asking and start creating. If they didn't want to be the face of their brand, I'd become it for them. The result, a ghost influencer agency, where I create influencer style content for brands using pseudonyms, fictional personas, and even AI enhanced tools. Think influencer marketing without the actual influencer.
The idea came from a simple insight. People engage with people, not faceless brands. But hiring a real influencer was expensive and unpredictable and many small businesses couldn't afford it. So I pitched something new to a local boutique client. What if I created an AI generated influencer, complete with a name, backstory, and curated posts to represent the brand online?
They agreed to try it and within a month, the account was pulling in comments, shares, and even DMs from real customers asking for product recommendations. From there, I refined the process. Each ghost influencer starts with a clear persona, a fashioned obsessed girl for a boutique, a rugged outdoorsman for an adventure gear shop, or a quirky foodie for a local bakery. The content is designed to look authentic, like the influencer just happens to love this small business. And because I control the entire persona, I can ensure every post aligns with the brand's goals.
I began charging $1,500 per month for small packages, 12 posts, four reels, and two story series, all designed to mimic organic influencer content. My first three clients were enough to replace my previous freelance income. And by month three, I had six clients bringing in $9,000 a month. The ghost influencer concept wasn't just edgy, it was highly profitable. I hired a part-time content creator who helped with the video editing and creating engaging captions.
We also started experimenting with AI tools for voiceovers, enabling us to produce talking head videos for clients who want that extra personal touch. Of course, not everyone loves the idea of ghost influencers. Some critics see it as deceptive, but I make transparency a priority. I also see it as creative storytelling with a purpose. Each persona clearly links back to the brand, and I never accept personal sponsorships for these accounts.
It's all about the client. Today, our agency has 10 clients, bringing in around $15,000 a month. We've even expanded into stealth branding, where ghost influencers see trends and conversations designed to subtly promote our clients. It's a little edgy, sure, but in a crowded social media landscape. Sometimes you have to break the rules to stand out.
[Music]
All right, as I said, what a world we live in. And you know, you can think about this and be like, okay, you know, is this legit, or should I have some ethical concern about it? I think part of it depends on what the brand is and what messaging you're producing. So many things are AI created these days. My mom rode into Alaska Airlines with some feedback, and they wrote her a nice note in return, but you could tell that the note was completely written by chat GPT or some kind of system like that, just the way it sounded.
And you know what, my mom was really happy with it. She was just like, it's so nice that they wrote this long thing back. And I'm like, okay, I guess that's fine, right? These are all things that we're kind of figuring out these days and kind of working through. Anyway, I do appreciate different perspectives.
I appreciate our listeners out there who are doing interesting things. Let me know what you're up to, what you think, and who you'd like to see featured from our archives of nearly 3,000 episodes. So excited to hit that mark this year. And I so appreciate our global community, sidehustleschool.com. There's notes pages for every episode, some resources.
We're gonna actually update the website at some point. I'm just so busy making episodes and doing other things, but we're gonna work on that this year too. Until then, new episode every day. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
[Music]
From the Onward Project.
