How to Start an Influencer Marketing Agency? Step-by-Step Guide

Starting an influencer marketing agency prerequisites factors, like performing market research to identify a niche, target audience, and competitors. This is later accompanied by creating a business plan, building a network of influencers through vetting, and reaching out to potential clients with a personalised plan.

Let’s walk through this blog for a detailed explanation of the above-mentioned points, along with additional ones, and estimate the average cost of starting an influencer marketing agency. 

Quick Answer

To start an influencer marketing agency, begin by conducting market research, identifying your niche, building strong connections, designing a blueprint of your business plan, and getting done with legal and financial formalities. Hire top talent, and spread the word on social media. 

How to Start an Influencer Marketing Agency?

Starting an influencer marketing agency requires more than just commitment and zeal. It necessitates creating a business plan, defining our budget and target audience, and handling legal & financial setup. 

Here’s an extended analysis of the entire process:

Step 1: Researching The Market Thoroughly

After familiarising yourself with the workflow, the initial step is to conduct thorough market research. To conduct a detailed market research, ensure the following:

1. Define Objective: This objective clarifies the purpose and streamlines the process.
2. Developing a Research Plan: Choose appropriate research methods and develop your own unique market research plan. 
3. Collect Data: Initially, directly from the audience, later by analysing the information collected by others.

Step 2: Determine A Realistic Budget

This thorough market research gives you a clear idea of the amount of resources one needs to invest. Consider a comprehensive approach to the budget, keeping in mind the factors like the amount to spend on the campaign, influencer payments, and potential ad spend.

You will need to spend around INR 15,000–INR 35,000 for basic operational costs, and a lump sum amount to influencers according to their type. 

Cost Breakdown by Influencer Type
Influencer Type	Follower Count	Average Cost (Per Post)
Nano Influencer	<10,000	INR 2000– INR 5000
Micro Influencers	10,000 – 100,000	INR 5000– INR 25000
Macro Influencers	100,000 – 500,000	INR 50,000– INR 2,00,000
Celebrity/Mega Influencers	>1,000,000	INR 2,00,000– INR 10,00,000+

Step 3: Set Up A Business Plan

To set up a business plan, structure a document that covers all the key areas comprehensively, like:

• Executive Summary (a concise overview of the entire business plan)
• Company Description (detailed information about your agency’s legal structure, location, and the unique value it provides) 
• Market Analysis (a thorough examination of the influencer marketing industry, your target market, and the competition)
• Services Offered (clearly define the specific services your agency will provide)
• Marketing & Sales Strategy (Your plan for reaching potential clients and turning them into customers)
• Organisational & Management Team (Details about the structure of your company.)
• Financial Projections (The numbers section, demonstrating financial viability and profitability)

Step 4: Build Your Online Presence

Build a professional website and social media profiles to showcase your services and expertise. Follow the steps below:

• Demarcate your audience. Tailor your message and content to reach them effectively.
• Create engaging and relatable content that helps viewers connect and ensures possible future association.
• Increase your visibility by using the requisite hashtags and better SEO usage.

Step 5: Legal and Financial Setup

Legal and financial setup, in simple words, is the adherence to laws, regulations, and rules governing a company’s financial and ethical activities.

Adhere to the following steps:

• Form a legal entity (e.g., sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation)
• Obtain licenses and permits 
• Register for taxes
• Open a business bank account

Step 6: Build A Team

Building a team of diverse talent demonstrates increased productivity, innovation, and profitability for the long term. 

• A skilled person with shared vision and values may integrate well with your company to give it a new shape.
• A dedicated team brings creativity, which in turn improves efficiency.
• Retaining such a team curtails the expenses of training an employee. 
• A company that works with talent gets an edge in the market, and it becomes the most attractive place to work. 
• Boosts productivity as the employee perceives them to be recognised. 

Step 7: Hire Diverse Influencers

Start acquiring influencers manually and with the help of artificial intelligence. 

Manually: 

• Use search engines and social media.
• Search using hashtags and keywords.
• Look for trending posts.
• Use location-specific hashtags.
• Analyse the engagement rate of the influencers.

Artificial Intelligence: 

• Analyse audience data (use AI tools to scan thousands of profiles to find influencers whose followers match your target audience).
• Leverage hashtag analysis (ask AI for relevant hashtag ideas to find influencers).
• Utilise smart filters (smart filters to efficiently identify influencers who truly resonate).

Step 8: Acquire Clients

To acquire first clients, follow the listed points:

1. Leverage your existing network:
   • Inform everyone you know.
   • Reach out to your professional contacts.
   • Attend networking events,
2. Create and promote valuable content:
   • Build a strong online presence.
   • Share your expertise
3. Reach out to new clients directly:
   • Send personalised cold emails
   • Offer initial incentives
   • Connect with decision-makers in marketing departments.

The above 8 steps summarize the complete guide to starting an influencer marketing agency. Listed below are the fundamental services, an influencer marketing agency provides. 

Services Provided by Influencer Marketing Agencies

There are certain fundamental services rendered by influencer marketing agencies, which strengthen the collaborations between brands and influencers, making the process effortless and effective.

These core services are:

1. Campaign Strategy: Interpreting the goals and identifying its niche.
2. Influencer Identification & Outreach: Screening influencers and pitching strategies and campaigns to them.
3. Contract Management: Planning and managing content with the goals of campaigns.
4. Content Creation Support: Creating exquisite content that complies with the ethical standards of social media.
5. Performance Tracking & Reporting: Using tools to track the key performance of the posted content and providing factual reports to make informed decisions.

Therefore, one such agency that provides budget-friendly, authentic services is Influencersplace. Set off as a startup back in 2021, with a team of 10, they gradually grew into a team of 50 by 2024, and by 2025, they started their journey offline. As a team of influencer marketing experts, they recommend some of the services and a list of influencers for your reference.

Final Thoughts

In a nutshell, initiating with an influencer marketing agency needs proper planning, strategy, and execution. Complying with legal and financial obligations, retaining talent, winning the trust of customers as well as brands, and building networks along the way. 

Ensure you have a clear vision of a business plan and a rigid determination. Embracing technology and improving yourself through customer service, building authentic relationships, will help you become the principal stakeholder of your chosen locus.

Author’s Note:

In this blog, I have listed all the possible suggestions to bear in mind before you start your own influencer marketing agency. Glance through this blog to get a precise conception of the possible steps to follow. I’d suggest you DM Influencersplace to discover budget-friendly service options and get inspired by their journey from just a blueprint of ideas to becoming the best influencer marketing agency in India.