In 2021, I had a dream. I wanted to be an influencer, one with endless PR packages, brand collabs, and money. I spent hours sacrificing my ideal screen time, watching lipstick swatches, pasta recipes, and how I could travel to Europe for less than $2000. I could see myself doing this. How hard could it be?

So I began my influencer journey with travel vlogs and reels with trending audio, consistently engaging more than 5,000 people each day. Then I procrastinated, lost momentum, and gave up.

Then, a friend launched her art page on Instagram. Fast forward to today: she has nearly 10,000 followers and is a brand ambassador for Factor Notes.

This wasn’t luck. Becoming an influencer is about consistency, learning new skills, and understanding your audience.

This guide is built on both my mistakes and my friend’s success. Whether you’re starting from 0 followers or you’re stuck at 1000, I’ve researched the best courses that will help you increase that number.

Head directly to:

• Why Learn to Be an Influencer?
• Why Trust Us and This Guide?
• Best Influencer Courses
• Free Resources

Why Learn to Be an Influencer?

Influencing is much more than posting aesthetic pictures and videos.

It’s about sustaining a connection with people through a screen, and it’s a lot harder than it looks. You’ve got to be good at figuring out who your audience is and how they respond to each piece of content. Plus, you need to keep up with the ever-changing algorithms, trends, and news, all while having business acumen.

This is why the best influencers get paid well.

While mega-influencers make thousands of dollars a post, the demand for smaller, local creators is growing as well. A nano-influencer can get $200 for one post.

And it’s not just collaborations that pay influencers. If you push the limit, use your potential, you can make money through:

• Affiliate marketing: Earning a cut when people buy something through your promoted link.
• Selling your own stuff: Creating and selling your merchandise/starting a business.
• Brand partnerships: Promoting a brand long-term
• Paid subscriptions: Offering exclusive content to a dedicated community.
• Event appearances: Getting paid to show up for events.

Now let’s be real: not all influencers make a fortune. Most influencers earn less than $15,000 a year. It’s not a stable job you can just coast through. Like any creative career, it takes serious learning, consistency, strategy, and grit.

This guide provides resources and courses to help you develop these skills, turning your hobby into a sustainable career.

Why Trust Us and This Guide?

At Class Central, we’re building the “Tripadvisor for online education.” Our mission is to help you make smart choices in a world overflowing with courses. We have helped over 100 million learners with over 250,000 online courses on our platform.

We curate Best Courses Guides (BCGs) so you don’t waste hours sorting through options. Our guides bring you the comprehensive free and paid resources, so you can focus on learning instead of searching.

For this guide, I wanted to go beyond theory. I combined my experience as an unmotivated Instagram influencer and “on the way” LinkedIn influencer. Plus, I spoke to my friend (with 10k followers) who has cracked the code to getting more followers.

The courses are practical, easy to follow, and offer real-world techniques to grow. I’ve divided them into two categories:

• Courses for beginners looking to build fundamentals.
• Courses covering platform-specific strategies to master individual platforms.

I’ve gone through Class Central’s catalog of influencer marketing courses and picked the best learning courses for you.

Best Influencer Courses

Course Highlight	Workload
Best Course for Basics (Coursera)	4 Hours
Best Course for Beginners (Udemy)	3 Hours
Best Course for Instagram (Udemy)	12 Hours
Best for Organic Growth (Udemy)	6 Hours
Best for YouTube (Udemy)	14 Hours
Best for TikTok (Coursera)	8 Hours
Free Resources	Varies

For Beginners

When you’re starting, you post, experiment with trending audios or hashtags, and hope your content gets noticed. With trial and error, growth is usually slow and inconsistent. It might decrease your motivation to create more.

That’s where these courses come in. They teach the fundamental principles of content creation and explain why some posts go viral. You’ll learn how to identify what resonates with your target audience, how algorithms reward certain behaviors, and how to build engagement.

An influencer’s role isn’t just to “post online.” It’s a mix of:

• Content strategist (knowing what to post and when).
• Community manager (building trust and relationships with followers).
• Brand storyteller (creating a voice people connect with)
• Data analyst (reading metrics and adjusting strategy)

These beginner-friendly courses show you why trends work, how to spot opportunities early, and how to turn consistent effort into consistent growth.

Best Course for Basics (Coursera)

• Rating: 4.8 ★ (5,000+ ratings)
• Duration: 4 Hours
• Cost: Varies

Professor Jonah Berger unpacks the science behind why certain ideas, products, or posts spread while others disappear. Based on his best-selling book, he talks about the psychology of sharing, the principles of word-of-mouth, and the power of social influence.

I found this course incredibly valuable for reframing how I think about content. Instead of guessing or blindly following trends, it gave me a structured, scientific way to analyze what the audience likes.

The course has four modules. Each covers a key driver of virality — why some messages stick, the hidden influence of social networks, and more.

The teaching style is engaging, which makes complex theories easy to understand. It’s one of the most insightful courses you can take.

Strengths

• The instructor explains psychological principles in a clear, engaging, and relatable way.
• It covers the core science of virality, giving this art a scientific basis.
• The bite-sized format makes it easy to complete while still leaving you with memorable takeaways.
• It is great for anyone who wants to understand why some content goes viral.

Drawbacks

• The course feels more like a series of polished lectures than a hands-on workshop.
• While examples are engaging, the course lacks in-depth case studies or assignments to practice the concepts.
• At just four hours, it’s more of an introduction than a comprehensive training.

Best Course for Beginners (Udemy)

• Rating: 4.6 ★ (100+ ratings)
• Duration: 3 Hours
• Cost: Varies

This course is a practical roadmap for aspiring creators. It is taught by Ken, a full-time travel vlogger, who blends real-world experience with actionable strategies. He talks about building an audience, securing brand deals, and monetizing across multiple platforms.

It focuses on the day-to-day realities of content creation: picking a niche, producing consistently, and managing partnerships. The lessons are broken into short modules. He covers everything a beginner needs, from choosing equipment to repurposing videos across platforms for maximum reach.

What I liked most was Ken’s honesty. I know being an influencer is tough, and he doesn’t just highlight success; he explains where he went wrong and how to avoid the same mistakes. That level of transparency is rare in any course.

If you’re serious about getting started but don’t know where to begin, this course gives you a solid foundation. It won’t make you a pro overnight, but it will save you months of trial and error.

Strengths

• The course is clear, concise, practical, and transparent, with the instructor sharing his experiences as an influencer
• He covers the business aspect of content creation in detail: ads, sponsorships, products, and brand deals.
• It is helpful for beginners because it removes guesswork around equipment, workflows, and platform differences.
• He gives templates, media kit guidance, and negotiation strategies to secure brand partnership deals
• He covers content repurposing.

Drawbacks

• The examples are rooted in travel vlogging, which may not help influencers in other niches.
• For some topics, the instructor just introduces the framework, but doesn’t explain it in detail.

Best Course for Instagram (Udemy)

• Rating: 4.5 ★ (2000 ratings)
• Duration: 12 Hours
• Cost: Varies

This course gives you a clear strategy, execution, and application. It’s theoretical and practical. Each concept comes with assignments and case studies, so you can apply what you learn immediately and analyze what’s working for you.

The framework is simple to follow: you’ll start by building a strong, optimized profile, then move into content strategies designed to boost reach and engagement.

From there, the course goes deeper into Instagram Ads Manager. It is broken down step by step, showing you how to create high-converting campaigns and use data to refine them.

The instructor addresses the challenges influencers face and provides comprehensive coverage of essential topics, with the section on optimizations and Ads giving you the confidence to accelerate your growth.

Strengths

• The course covers everything from basic to advanced techniques.
• It helps you create an optimized content master plan that attracts followers and converts them into paying customers.
• You’ll unlock business opportunities through Instagram collaborations and increased visibility.
• The course teaches you to run every type of Instagram ad.
• The course shows you how to identify competitors, analyze their strategies, and outperform them.

Drawbacks

• The heavy focus on advertising may not appeal to those who want organic growth.
• Some modules seem outdated, but they teach strong foundations of Instagram Ads.
• This is a long course; if you’re looking for a brief one, this isn’t for you..

Best for Organic Growth (Udemy)

• Rating: 4.7 ★ (1200+ ratings)
• Duration: 6 Hours
• Cost: Varies

If you’re a new influencer who can’t invest in ads or expensive courses, this is the course you need. It will arm you with the tools, strategies, and mindset to grow organically.

The instructor walks you through the end-to-end process, like setting up your profile and content creation. You’ll also learn the psychology behind why people follow, trust, and buy something online.

One of the parts I loved is the sponsorship section. You will learn how to turn the growth into real deals, partnerships, and income. The integration of AI tools makes this course so much more valuable for all of us who are comfortable with ChatGPT and Gemini.

Strengths

• The course content is practical and offers tested strategies.
• It contains up-to-date AI strategies with clear tutorials.
• It has a strong focus on branding and storytelling to ensure that you are building an engaged audience.
• The lessons are short, fun, and packed with value.
• It explains monetization well and offers direct methods to land deals..

Drawbacks

•  It doesn’t cover advanced growth strategies.
•  Certain concepts moved too quickly for me without enough breakdown (like carousels or charts).
•  The AI prompts would be easier to use if copy/paste or PDF options were provided.

Best for YouTube (Udemy)

• Rating: 4.5 ★ (4000+ ratings)
• Duration: 14 Hours
• Cost: Varies

I’ve taken and reviewed numerous YouTube courses, and this course is one of the rare ones that actually delivers a comprehensive roadmap.

What stood out was the balance between strategy and execution. The instructor shows you how to use tools (like VidIQ, TubeBuddy) to find keywords, test them against competitors, and plug them directly into your titles and descriptions.

YouTube is constantly evolving, and the instructor ensures he updates the content based on new trends, algorithm changes, and platform updates.

The course provides real-world strategies and direct access to the instructor, too.

Strengths

• It covers everything you need (channel setup, SEO, thumbnails, ads, monetization, branding) to get started as an influencer.
• The course provides practical strategies and exercises for enhanced engagement.
• It talks about real monetization strategies beyond ad revenue.
• The instructor offers quick responses to questions.
• The course covers aspects like YouTube Live and Shorts strategies, which are harder to crack.
• The explanations are simple and clear, even for non-native English speakers.

Drawbacks

• It is a long course, and it can feel overwhelming.
• If you’re already advanced in SEO or analytics, some material may feel introductory.
• Subtitles in other languages are missing, which would be helpful for non-native speakers.

Best for TikTok (Coursera)

• Rating: 4.8 ★ (60+ ratings)
• Duration: 8 Hours
• Cost: Varies

This course is an excellent way to get started with TikTok. It walks you through the platform’s features step-by-step, from setting up your profile to understanding how the algorithm actually works.

What I found most valuable is that it introduces you to tools that can make you more productive as a TikTok influencer. You’ll learn how to create your first video and make content that aligns with the platform’s algorithm and your audience.

If you’re a beginner or a business owner looking to get into short-form video creation, this course provides a clear and effective starting point. If you want to dive deeper into marketing, I suggest checking out the rest of the specialization.

Strengths

• The course content is simple and does not require prior knowledge of TikTok or influencing
• It offers a hands-on approach where you can create your first TikTok.
• It offers a clear explanation of data analytics.
• It guides you to join conversations, trends, and communities.
• Practical assignments ensure that you apply what you’re learning.

Drawbacks

• Existing TikTok influencers may find it too simple.
• Examples of how businesses in different industries could use TikTok would make it even stronger.

Free Resources

• Juno School’s course focuses on competitor research, content calendars, trend tracking, and engagement hacks.
• Modern Millie’s YouTube guide helps you if you want to grow as an Influencer. This is a 12-month plan so that you can have the best social media strategy, see quick growth, and start making money as a content creator.
• Great Learning’s Instagram Marketing Fundamentals is a course that focuses on building an audience, generating leads, and analyzing competition specifically on Instagram.
• The TikTok Academy provides relevant courses, webinars, and tutorials on the platform.
• This TikTok course is sufficient to get started with being an influencer on TikTok.
• This video from Mike Yanda helps you build a TikTok following in just 30 days.
• I love this Reddit guide, and I urge you to check it out.

As an influencer, you might be struggling with video editing. You can try these free resources:

• Edit videos on Canva
• Make YouTube Shorts
• Edit videos on Apple Devices
• Edit videos on Windows devices

I hope you’re feeling more confident about starting (or restarting) your influencer journey. With the right courses and consistency, you’ve got everything you need to grow your follower list. So take that first step and show up for your audience.

P.S. As an influencer, you’ll really benefit from our guide to the Best Personal Branding Courses.

Did this guide help? We’ve got 200+ more for you. Check our Best Courses Guides to find your next course!