*By Lauren Babbage* It's a new variation on the strike-it-rich dream of the social media age: Quit your full-time job to get paid for creating viral social media posts ー for your pet. Dogs, monkeys, and opossums are among the pet influencers taking over Instagram and cashing in big time for their masters. "Payments are based on the following and the engagement," said Loni Edwards, the founder and managing partner of The Dog Agency. "The ones with millions of followers are commanding the $15,000 per post, and then the smaller influencers are more in the thousands." It's not as easy as simply posting photos of your napping tabby or your dachshund wearing a diaper. If you want your pet to be insta-famous, Edwards recommends: 1. Decide on a solid brand. 2. Create quality content. 3. Post on social media consistently. 4. Engage your audience and build a following. 5. Write witty captions. The social-media influencer endorsement deals aren't limited to pet-related brands. Recently, "human-facing brands" have started paying famous pets to help market brands such as Urban Decay, Budweiser, Mercedes Benz and more. "We work with hotel groups, we work with cleaning products, movie studios, and tons of human-facing brands." Edwards said in an interview with Cheddar. She added that pets can sometimes be more effective at social marketing than people. "The content tends to be more creative because its a pet doing a human thing," Edwards said. For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-your-dog-can-make-you-15-000).
