'I cleared my £13,000 debt with TikTok earnings'

Roxanne Freeman built up her online following while working as a slimming consultant

"This has been the turning point for me - it's improved my confidence, my own self-belief."

Single mum Roxanne Freeman says she lived beyond her means and used her credit cards to support her family, even using one to put down a deposit on a caravan.

She had racked up £13,000 worth of debt by summer 2023, but her fortunes changed after she turned her hand to content creation, filming and posting reviews of plus-size clothing on TikTok.

The 36-year-old from Leicester earns commissions on her videos - up to £5,000 a month now, she says - and has cleared her debt.

Roxanne is among a growing number of people turning to social media to boost their income and says: "It's literally life-changing."

Roxanne says she can now afford to do more with her sons

Roxanne was working as a Slimming World consultant when she bought a dress from TikTok Shop and filmed herself trying it on before posting a review for her 1,000 followers in February 2024.

She says she earned £200 in commission from the dress manufacturer in a week - 10% for each one bought via the link she posted with her video - and was soon approached by other companies offering her samples to review.

"In my second month I earned £600 and it just went up and up gradually," she adds.

"I'm now earning up to £5,000 per month from just two to three hours' work a day, it's insane."

• Listen: Roxanne Freeman cleared her debts after turning to social media to boost her income

Roxanne, who now has almost 50,000 followers, has since left her slimming consultant job and relies solely on her income from TikTok.

She says her earnings vary each month depending on her followers, but she has earned enough to pay off her debts and to do more with her sons, aged six and 10.

"I took the kids on holiday - my youngest boy had never been abroad before," she says.

"Sometimes imposter syndrome does sneak in a little bit and I worry, but you could lose any job tomorrow."

Holly and Diego Hernandez's TikTok account has almost 300,000 followers

Like Roxanne, married couple Holly and Diego Hernandez also earn money by posting videos on TikTok.

Holly, from Leicester, and Diego, from Mexico, met on the social media platform when they were 16 and went on to set up an account to document their relationship and daily life.

The couple now have almost 300,000 followers and earn up to £5,000 a month, but they have both kept their day jobs - Holly, 22, is a nurse and Diego, 23, works for a medical supply company.

Some of their income comes via the TikTok Creator Fund, which pays users for their content.

To be eligible, creators must be 18 or older, have 10,000 followers or more and have had at least 100,000 video views in the 30 days before applying to join the fund.

For Holly and Diego, who live in Leicester, they are paid according to their video interactions.

They are also paid by record labels to play particular songs in the background of their videos.

Due to their success, the couple have become a limited company - registered with Companies House - and have signed with a management agency.

Diego and Holly have both kept their day jobs

Holly says: "We were so young when the money came in, and we were going on amazing holidays and buying things.

"I wish there was somebody back then who guided us, because I think we would have invested or saved it.

"In the beginning, I was trying to manage the monetary side of it myself and I found it really overwhelming.

"Things like taxes came into play, so we ended up getting an accountant and becoming a limited company."

The couple post videos most days but admit there are negatives to sharing their lives so openly.

"I think the biggest downside is the trolls," says Holly.

"There's always someone hounding you because of our relationship or the way that we look, the way we speak or the way we dress.

"It can get to you when it's constant."

Estelle Keeber says "influencer marketing is here to stay"

Estelle Keeber, also from Leicester, started a Facebook group aimed at female business owners in 2017 and, after gaining a large following, started charging for her social media expertise.

The 42-year-old says she turned over £1.2m in the first two years and now runs a social media marketing consultancy firm called Immortal Monkey.

"Whether you want to be an influencer or an affiliate marketer, there has never been a better time for people to be jumping in," she says.

"But it does takes time, it takes a lot of hard work, especially if you're building a brand around yourself. It is constant hard work."

Estelle is now setting up a community interest company to link influencers with schools to educate the next generation on content creation.

"I think influencer marketing is here to stay because it's an organic way of marketing," she says.

"Nobody wants to be sold to, whereas when it's organic, people trust and believe in that person - and the bigger brands are really understanding this now."

'Big, fat juicy tax bill'

According to Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform, there are 54 million social media users in the UK and 84% of adults follow an influencer.

But anyone who makes a living from or supplements their income by posting content online is subject to the same tax laws as everyone else.

According to Revenue and Customs, income from creating online content includes gifts and services received from promoting products on social media.

If someone's total income is more than the £1,000 allowance for the tax year, including any gifts and services received, they must tell HMRC about it.

Zubair Ali, managing partner of MyTaxDoc Accountants, based in Birmingham, says three in 10 of the firm's clients are social media influencers.

"Just because you've got a million followers, HMRC won't let it slide," Zubair says.

"The last thing anyone wants is a big, fat juicy tax bill which they haven't got the means to pay for."