Rachel Brathen鈥檚 r茅sum茅 really needs only one thing on it: . Thanks 鈥╰o photographs of oceanside yoga poses, personal anecdotes, and, yes, her good looks, the 26-year-old has attracted more than 900,000 followers since she joined in 2012. Brathen is part of a new generation of social-media stars who are turning their following into dream careers (more on that later). She teaches sold-out yoga workshops and retreats across the world, and her yet-to-be-titled book will be released in Sweden (her home country) this fall and in the United States next spring.
FACE RECOGNITION: During her first year on Instagram, people began recognizing Brathen, then a yoga teacher at a small resort in Aruba called , on the street. At a 2013 surf expo in Orlando, Florida, fans convinced her to hold an impromptu class. Yogis squeezed into every corner of the studio and spilled out into the lobby. 鈥淭hat was the first moment that I really thought I could do something bigger with this platform,鈥 says Brathen.
TELL A STORY: Brathen credits her inspirational captions for her success. 鈥淚 focus a lot on what I write,鈥 she says. According to Darren Lachtman, who helped found , a platform that connects brands with social influencers, Brathen鈥檚 touchy-feely posts鈥搇ike 鈥淓verything you need is already inside you鈥濃攈elp build a personal connection with her audience.
FAR-FLUNG: There鈥檚 one big upside to Brathen鈥檚 gig鈥攖he travel. 鈥淚 live on this tiny island, so it鈥檚 very limited in terms of what you can create here,鈥 she says. This winter, she鈥檒l go to Thailand and Costa Rica to teach workshops and classes.
Sharing the Wealth
Want to use social media to turn your passion into a career? Do what these guys did.
Instagram followers: 1.1 million
The surfer wanted a picture of a wave to hang in his house, so he started swimming with a camera and posting the images online. Today he鈥檚 an award-winning photographer.
Facebook likes: 鈥9.4 million
Stanton started taking photos of people he met on the street for his Humans of New York Facebook project in 2010. His work has inspired copycats from San Francisco to Tehran.
Instagram followers: 11,400
The climber鈥檚 hand-drawn maps of places like the Grand Tetons and Mount Everest may receive only a thousand likes on Instagram, but he translated that into an online print store and a clothing company called .