150,000 followers big V tells you the secrets to becoming a profitable KOL

Author: BroLeon

Recently, discussions about how to become a KOL and how to secure big business deals have started to heat up again. Along with this comes the saying, "Do nobles and commoners have different kinds?" Many people gain tens of thousands of followers, ride on trending topics, and start to consider themselves KOLs looking for deals.

Upon observation, I found that many people do not understand some key points. Today, I’ll share some insights. If you aspire to become a true KOL in the crypto space and secure large business deals, I suggest you read carefully.

Recently, many people have asked me how to make money as a KOL.

What I want to say is: the KOLs who can truly make big money are not those who initially set out to earn money from this.

They simply have something to say, something to express, and then, inadvertently, they make money.

On the other hand, those who focus on money from the start often end up with nothing.

KOL stands for Key Opinion Leader, which is usually translated into Chinese as 关键意见领袖.

So, although some people jokingly say that KOLs in the crypto space are as numerous as dogs, and there are many opportunistic influencers, I believe that, strictly speaking, many of them are more suited to be called "internet celebrities" rather than KOLs.

A KOL is not just a joke forwarder, not a drama script creator, not a scantily clad influencer, but someone who can continuously provide independent insights and resonate within a certain circle.

Here’s an example: @myhongkongdoll, the Doll Sister, is a KOL in my classification. Although she is famous for distributing benefits to outsiders, many of her opinions shared on Twitter resonate with me and influence my thoughts.

A KOL who can truly make money first has "people who listen to you and can absorb what you say," and then has "people who are willing to pay you."

Internet Celebrity or KOL

Many people have a misconception that as long as they become popular, they are a big KOL and should be able to secure large business deals. Therefore, in the past period, there have been countless scripts pushed, drama fights, scandalous gossip, and shameless black-and-red tactics, creating a chaotic environment where they think that as long as their posts get traffic, they have won.

In fact, I think they have somewhat confused the "internet celebrity economy" of Web2 with the KOL economy of Web3. Does high post popularity necessarily mean you can secure large business deals? Not necessarily.

There will definitely be business deals, but serious projects that can make money may not seek you out.

The foundation of the Web2 internet celebrity economy is that even if an ordinary person becomes popular due to chance, they can go live and sell products without any burden. Because fans will buy something anyway, and the price difference in channels is not significant; it doesn’t matter where they buy from.

The worst-case scenario for internet celebrities selling products is that they sell low-quality, overpriced items. After all, real products are protected by national laws and regulations, so how far can you go?

But Web3 is different; over 95% of business deals are aimed at extracting money, including scams and malicious links. If you dare to promote such products, your trusting fans could lose money, or even lose everything.

I previously exposed a so-called "KOL" promoting a scam project, and within a day, the project collapsed, costing my community fans tens of thousands of U. When I asked him to compensate, he cried out that he only had a few thousand U in his wallet and even sent me screenshots, which was laughable.

In short, if you only create content to secure business deals, your output is likely to lose its soul. You will write increasingly bland, increasingly pandering, and increasingly vague content. In the end, you will become an account without a stance, without characteristics, and without pricing power.

So what should you do? Deepen your expertise.

You need to ask yourself: In which field do I understand more than others? As long as you are deeper than 95% of people, that’s enough. Then, continuously express your own voice in that field.

When you influence others' decisions, drive a narrative, or spark a mini-trend, you are already a KOL.

This is also why I have always appreciated @KaitoAI, because some small bloggers can really be filtered out by Emerging Yapper and gain more exposure and recognition.

Filtering out the messy information helps many people find valuable KOLs. For example, in the image below, those that had almost no scores suddenly skyrocketed one day; that must mean a valuable article was published, which is worth checking out.

Moving forward, it’s about your collaboration value with projects.

A truly valuable KOL is someone who can help a project achieve strategic goals at a certain stage.

For example, in the past period, project parties needed to create buzz, gather data, and expand their visibility to secure quality CEX positions or further financing. You need to be able to help them ignite attention and attract interest from yield farming studios.

If the project party wants a secondary token price after launch, you need to have the ability to stabilize confidence, guide the narrative, and stimulate market buying.

The essence of KOL and project parties is a "symbiotic relationship at a certain stage."

You need to know what the project needs most at that moment and then ask yourself if you can truly provide that. If you can’t, don’t take the deal. If you can, then you deserve that money. Otherwise, you will likely end up with something you can’t swallow, ultimately damaging your personal credibility.

Personal IP Development

There is a more crucial aspect: Is your personal IP clear? Is it trustworthy?

When others think of you, what do they associate you with? Are you a deep researcher? An independent thinker? A humorous joke teller? A biographer of crypto figures? An Alpha Hunter? Or just a screen full of copy-paste advertising copy?

Your worth depends on whether you are trustworthy in others' minds and how many people trust you.

Actively Choose Projects That Can Achieve Win-Win

I have seen too many people fill their profiles with business posts that don’t filter projects or change copy, and in the end, they don’t even know who they are anymore. You are not an advertising platform; you are an information filter. You need to choose projects, not let projects choose you.

I also receive many collaboration invitations every day. But I reject most of them. Because if a project cannot convince me to invest my money, time, or confidence, I won’t dare to speak for it.

I can’t guarantee that every recommendation will make money, but I can guarantee— I will definitely invest myself. If it loses, I lose with my fans; if it makes money, we earn together. This is my minimum commitment to win-win.

I firmly believe that a good collaboration can allow me to:

• Obtain reasonable income
• Help the project gain market exposure
• Provide my readers with real information and participation opportunities

This is a three-win situation and the entire meaning of what I do. If a three-win situation cannot be achieved, it’s better not to do it. Don’t sacrifice your trust for a small profit and damage your brand. A true personal IP is built through repeated choices, not through exposure.

Finally, to summarize:

Influence is compound interest; trust is a moat.

How much money you can ultimately make does not depend on how many ads you post, but on how likely those ads are to help others make money and how many people are willing to trust you. The compound interest of trust is what a KOL should embody.