Amber Ketteringham quit her job within six months to become a full-time influencer minder.
The mum-of-two, who goes by the alias ‘Amber Paul’ online, is the brains behind popular Instagram and TikTok page Influencer Updates AU, notorious for targeting Australian social media stars for various big and small blunders to denounce.
Now the Geelong-based accountant has revealed the secrets behind her success – including how much money she makes airing out influencers’ dirty laundry.
Amber was breastfeeding a four-month-old baby while on maternity leave during the lockdown and found she had plenty of free time.
So she did what many young Australian women do with a smartphone when they need a quick chat: she checked out her favorite influencers.
Geelong-based accountant Amber Ketteringham (pictured) quit her job within six months to pursue full-time influencer monitoring
“My motivation for opening the account was that none of my friends or family cared about anything I had to say,” Amber told Chron Australia on Thursday.
“Even online, not many people were talking about Australian influencers at the time.”
“My sister Kayla, the owner of Tribe Skincare, suggested I start a TikTok page where I can talk about the interesting things Australian influencers are doing.”
Amber launched Influencer Updates AU on TikTok in November 2020 to gather her celebrity fever and while away the time during Covid.
Her first post was on YouTuber Ashley Mescia, revealing her breast augmentation surgery, which racked up 50,000 views in a matter of hours.
Amber said she was shocked by the tremendous interest in her content, as Australian influencers are “not famous enough for mainstream news”.
The mother-of-two, who goes by the online name “Amber Paul,” has already made $50,000 in just a few months by denouncing misbehaving influencers on Instagram and TikTok
Amber has over 60,000 followers on Instagram and 70,000 on TikTok, making her more popular than many of the people she covers
Her account’s popularity skyrocketed from there, only after she struck gold with a viral video that garnered nearly two million views.
The video was about OnlyFans star Mikaela Testa and her then-boyfriend Atis Paul, who had just moved into a luxurious Gold Coast home with a $100,000 rock wall.
Atis’ sister Anna, also an OnlyFans model and influencer, also moved into the multi-million dollar waterfront mansion with her boyfriend Glen Thomson.
The two couples, all in their early twenties and living extremely extravagant lifestyles, were naturally objects of fascination to millions of ordinary Australians stuck at home.
“My motivation for opening the account was that none of my friends or family cared about anything I had to say,” Amber told Chron Australia on Thursday. Pictured with her sister Kayla
Amber’s first viral video revolved around social media star and OnlyFans creator Mikaela Testa (pictured)
From there, Amber delved deeper into the lives of around 200 Australian influencers, covering their successes, controversies and breakups.
Within six months, the working mom’s TikTok following grew to 70,000 and she expanded her online presence by opening an Instagram account.
In July 2021, the Instagram page Influencer Updates AU was launched and has steadily grown to more than 60,000 followers over the course of two years.
When local news outlets started covering Amber’s videos about the country’s most controversial influencers, she decided to make it a full-time job.
That year, Amber launched a subscription service on Instagram, charging her followers $20 to be added to her “close friends” list, giving her access to exclusive content through the end of the year.
Amber makes many videos about Anna Paul (right) and her boyfriend Glen Thomson (left)
Fitness influencer Tammy Hembrow (pictured) is another of Amber’s regular targets
Amber claims her only concern is to provide “updates and facts” about influencers’ lives, not to criticize every mistake they make. Pictured with Sophie Cachia
Followers who sign up get access to daily Instagram Stories, exclusive Q&A, and the names of influencers featured in the accounts’ blind items.
Blind items are scandalous – sometimes defamatory – news stories about celebrities, but with the names of the people involved removed to avoid legal repercussions.
Amber gets these bizarre tips from followers with insider knowledge.
Thanks to her exclusive content, Amber has attracted 2,500 paying subscribers, which has earned her more than $50,000 to date.
“Family and friends keep asking when I’m going back to work,” Amber said.
“They fail to understand that I make more money on Instagram than I did when I was ‘working hours’ and that I spend hours every night managing my account.
“Even my husband. “He sees money coming into the bank account but still doesn’t know why.”
And it looks like Amber wants to increase her profits over the next year by using Instagram’s monthly subscription feature.
“It’s about providing more content as easily as possible,” she said, adding that the feature gives her more control over which of her followers see exclusive content.
Amber’s earnings and growing social media following have now made her more successful than some of the stars she covers.
However, she dismisses critics’ accusations that she is just another mockery account bullying influencers under the pretense of “calling her out”.
The former accountant has made social media her full-time job so she can stay home with her two children, ages one and three. (Pictured with her sister Kayla)
Her daughters are named Aria and Evie
Amber claims her only concern is to provide “updates and facts” about influencers’ lives, not to criticize every mistake they make.
“We all make mistakes in life and it’s just that influencers’ mistakes are visible to all of us, can be judged and criticized,” she said.
She added, “It’s important that we don’t attack influencers for making mistakes” as long as they learn from them.
Still, she has created a “blacklist” of influencers who have blocked her from seeing and reporting on her Instagram content.
The list includes names such as Martha Kalifatidis, Suzan Mutesi, Michael Finch, Jade Tunchy, Karina Irby and Emma Claiir, whose account has since been deleted.
During an appearance on influencer Anna McEvoy’s podcast in June, Amber had to hit back at allegations of “bullying”.
“Are you concerned that you are contributing to online bullying or trolling?” asked Anna.
“Yeah, I’m definitely worried,” Amber admitted.
“The comments section of my posts is something I’m still not really sure what to do with in the future.”
Amber’s big sister Kayla (left) runs popular beauty brand Tribe Skincare
Tribe Skincare is known for using influencer marketing to promote its products. (Tully Smyth is featured in a sponsored post for the brand)
She added, “And yes, I’m worried about influencers reading the comments.” A lot of influencers have blocked me, which is probably why.
“I don’t want to contribute to bullying, but I definitely assume I’m doing what I don’t like.”
Amber said she enjoys running Influencer Updates AU as a full-time job because it allows her to stay at home with her two daughters, Aria, three, and Evie, one.
However, she has had to cut down on the time she spends on account management and admits she used to spend up to eight hours a day on Instagram.
She revealed she quickly burned out from the hundreds of comments and messages she had to filter through in addition to sourcing and creating content.
Then a letter threatening legal action over “defamatory” comments on her posts forced Amber to change the way she runs her account.
During an appearance on influencer Anna McEvoy’s podcast in June, Amber had to hit back at allegations of “bullying”.
She explained that she’s spent the past few months “minimizing” the public content she posts, with most of it disappearing behind her $20 paywall.
Also, every Friday night, Amber gives a live five-minute recap of her top news stories before hosting a Q&A session for her followers.
Meanwhile, her big sister Kayla has also found fame in the influencer world.
Kayla is behind popular beauty brand Tribe Skincare, which, ironically, largely thrives on influencer marketing.