Evan Smith calls his TikTok page with over 200,000 followers and 33.9 million likes “the instagram bible.”
And with tens of thousands of dollars earned from fans who pay for and listen to his Instagram advice and a partnership with Adobe Lightroom, it’s clear that many people agree.
Smith, 19, has posted over 500 videos in his “instagram rating return” series, where he rates the aesthetic of a particular person’s Instagram account and offers advice on how they can improve their design skills.
“I have become OBSSESSED with rebranding my insta because of this series,” one user commented last month with the crying emoji. The comment received over 1,000 likes.
When it comes to his ratings, Smith isn’t afraid to share what’s on his mind, even if the criticism is harsh. In one of his viral videos, which received over 100,000 likes, Smith starts off by saying, “There are so many things wrong with your profile.” He then tells the user to rename her Instagram story highlights and delete five photos.
“LMAO this was brutal thank you,” another customer wrote in the comments section alongside the praying emoji after receiving a rating.
Smith’s honesty is what followers pay him for. He started rating his friends’ Instagram accounts on TikTok in 2022, when he was 16, after noticing social media profile ratings were becoming a trend.
“I always was into my Instagram feed,” Smith explained. “It was always something I was hyperfixated on, no matter where I was or what time of my life.”
Sometimes, his friends didn’t even find out about their feature until the video was posted. But at least from their replies in the comments section, many of them appreciated Smith’s feedback.
He kept going and began rating strangers’ accounts when they requested him to. Smith recalled that he received 900 comments when he made a video saying people could put down their Instagram username for a rating.
By the fall, demand was so high that Smith told followers he would move them up the waitlist if they paid $3. He remembers waking up the day next to $300 in payments.
A few months later, demand was still so high that Smith raised prices again. He also gave followers the option to purchase private ratings for $12 and feed designs for $25. For the feed design, Smith sends the customer a few questions about their aesthetic and then goes on Pinterest to find pictures to curate a sample Instagram feed based on the responses.
According to Smith, last month he made about $1,090 when he temporarily offered monthly submissions and brought in $2,700 from TikTok’s Creator Fund. After making a video proposing a partnership with Adobe Lightroom, the brand paid him to create three preset filters. He’s also worked with the Instagram Creators program.
While Smith admitted to spending his earnings on more frivolous things like a Prada bag earlier on, he said he’s now working with his dad to invest the money in the stock market.
He also paid for this year’s spring break trip to Paris and London with his own money, including from what he earned doing the Instagram ratings.
“The fact that I was able to do that for myself — I felt so proud of myself,” Smith said. “I’m trying to spend it more on experience[s] and looking into the future.”
This summer, Smith, who is studying media and communications at Pace University, is a digital media intern for a boutique, where he helps manage the brand’s social media account. In the future, Smith wants to continue working in marketing and social media.
“I want to turn this into something long term,” Smith said, acknowledging how fame and money can often go away for influencers after a few years.
For years, people have sought out strangers’ advice for their photos. On the subreddit r/PhotoshopRequest, users request edits for a specific picture. And for all the talk about making Instagram casual again, in 2022, influencer Jaci Marie Smith’s Instagram photo dump recipe video got 239,800 likes.
Smith said that a lot of people tell him they like to binge-watch his long-running series, which contributes to his Creator Fund earnings as his videos are mostly over a minute long and qualify for the program. Some users have also tried to do their own Instagram ratings videos, and Smith said he often gets tagged in them by fans accusing the creator of copying Smith.
Sometimes, he even gets recognized in public.
“The other day, this girl stops me on the sidewalk,” Smith said. “She’s like, ‘You’re Evan Smith. You rate the Instagrams.’ She was like freaking out.”
While some people have criticized Smith for focusing too much on Instagram and being superficial, Smith argued that Instagram is a fun medium he uses to express himself. By looking at his Instagram page, Smith said, people can see who he is — a teen from a beach town in Massachusetts who loves to travel and hang out with his friends.
“Some people paint and do art,” Smith said. “I like taking really cool photos.”