Jamie Hess On How Influencers Make Their Money

How do influencers make money? I scroll Instagram and am borderline obsessed with knowing how girls posing with purses are paying their bills.

Spoiler alert. Most aren't paying the bills.

In this episode, we're getting a rare behind-the-scenes look at the world of influencers with @nycfitfam, aka Jamie Hess.

Jamie worked for nearly two decades in the fast-paced world of public relations in New York City. She especially loved working with health and fitness clients. She started the @nycfitfam page on Instagram to document her fit lifestyle with her husband.

@nycfitfam became a thing. A big thing. Soon, health and fitness brands were approaching Jamie to try their products and post links to their companies.

Jamie left public relations to turn her side hustle into a full hustle. Two years later, she's carved out a lucrative career in front of the camera on social media and on TV, as a QVC fitness expert.

Jamie credits two things for her success as an influencer.

First, she understands what brands need, thanks to her years in PR. And second, her mom is Joan Lunden. Yes, that Joan Lunden. Jamie says her mother's influence breaking ground in television news on "Good Morning America" laid the foundation for her work ethic.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Jamie turned a side hustle into a full-time gig
• Her warning for anyone thinking about trading a traditional job for a life on Instagram
• How she turned her home into a TV studio to continue on-camera work for QVC
• What it was like growing up on TV during Joan Lunden's 20 years on "GMA"
• Why Jamie and her husband left NYC in the middle of the pandemic and never went back
• The two words Jamie says at the end of every day to stay on track personally and professionally