Some even have promoters/agents who help them curate content in advance of their "launch" so that they land with a splash and generate a lot of traction right away.

But then you're running a business, trying to make payroll, and balancing a lot of administrative stuff on top of being the star of the "content."

I really don't know how it's economically feasible for most people; I was an attorney on a number of deals with large clients that had promotional contracts with influencers. A very small number of influencers were getting huge contracts (a six-figure contract for 2 posts each month for 12 months), but most of the influencers were just getting free product and a few hundred dollars... Hard to run a mini ad agency on so little.