Scrolling through your Instagram feed, you’ve probably noticed your favorite creators promoting various products—whether their own or from other brands. Ever wondered if you could do the same? While top-tier celebrities can earn millions from a single post, you don’t need that level of fame to start making money on Instagram.
Instagram creators with as few as 1,000 followers have multiple opportunities to generate income. Whether aiming to build a social media empire or just looking for a profitable side hustle, earning money on Instagram is more achievable than you might think.
This guide will show you how to start making money on Instagram with Seven practical strategies, ranging from affiliate marketing to selling merchandise for your brand. Remember, making money on Instagram isn’t solely about the followers’ count. The best approach depends on your unique content, target audience, and how much effort you’re willing to put in. To maximize your income potential, consider combining several methods—diversifying your revenue streams is a smart financial move as you explore how to monetize your Instagram account.
1. Collaborate with Brands on Sponsored Content
An Instagram influencer is someone who has the power to influence a loyal group of followers. To their audience, influencers are seen as trendsetters, tastemakers, and trusted authorities within their niche.
- Why Brands Partner with Influencers: Brands can’t easily replicate the authenticity of real people sharing genuine experiences. Instead, they collaborate with influencers whose audiences align with their target customers. Brands compensate influencers to create sponsored content that promotes their products through Instagram Stories, posts, and Reels. Understanding What to Charge as an Instagram Influencer
- Content Creation Contracts: Typically, influencer contracts require the creation of content—posts or Stories that act as Instagram ads for the brand. Sometimes, these contracts also grant the brand the right to use the content on other platforms.
- Compensation: Influencers are compensated through fees, free products or services, promises of exposure, or a combination of these. Here are some tips on pricing and contract negotiation:
- Set Boundaries: Be cautious of contracts that only promise exposure or undervalue your worth.
- Know Your Worth: Remember, you’re offering more than just content—you’re providing access to your audience and often, usage rights.
- Benchmark Your Rates: As a reference, influencers with around 100,000 followers can charge up to $500 per post.
- Know Your Audience: Understanding your audience and engagement rate (total engagement divided by your number of followers) will help you negotiate better.
- Seek Legal Advice: Influencer contracts are usually negotiable. A lawyer with experience in this field can help you secure better deals. Finding the Right Brands to Work With
- Attracting Brands: If you have a significant influence on Instagram, brands may approach you with sponsorship offers. However, you can also be selective and proactively reach out to brands that resonate with your values and content.
2. Open Your E-commerce Store
Creators are in an excellent position to sell their products—not just those from other brands. Whether it’s physical goods, services, or digital items, selling products related to your brand can add value to your audience and give them a way to support you.
Design Merch for Your Brand
- Leveraging Your Content: “Content creators have a natural ability to sell products because their content creates opportunities to promote their merchandise,” says Chris Vaccarino, founder of Fanjoy, a company that helps creators produce and sell merchandise to their fans.
- Simple Merchandising Options: You don’t need to build an entirely new brand or product line from scratch. Here are a few ways to create and sell your merchandise:
Print-on-Demand Services: Use a print-on-demand service to print and ship products directly to your fans.
White Label Products: Add your branding to existing products that relate to your niche, like branded resistance bands for fitness influencers.
DIY Merch: Create your merchandise by hand, like silkscreening t-shirts with your designs.
3. Become an Affiliate Marketer
An affiliate marketer is someone who shares unique links to products or services, earning a commission for every sale made through those links. Brands provide trackable links or unique promo codes to help them attribute sales to the affiliate. Unlike influencers who typically earn a flat fee for exposure, affiliates earn money only when their efforts result in a sale.
- Using Affiliate Links: Share a mix of affiliate links in your Instagram bio, Stories, and posts. Include promo codes in captions to increase your chances of making sales.
4. Enable Instagram Shopping Features
Social selling is on the rise, with more users turning to platforms like Instagram to discover and purchase products. This trend benefits e-commerce brands and creators who can now reach their audience where they already spend their time.
- Instagram Shopping Tags: “Instagram Shopping tags are highly effective because they allow users to go from product inspiration to product information in just a few taps,” says Taylor Loren, former director of marketing at Later.
- Creating an Instagram Shop: Start by setting up an Instagram shop—a storefront that appears on your Instagram profile. This feature provides a seamless shopping experience, allowing users to browse and buy products directly from your profile.
5. Sell Your Photos or Art Online
Despite the rise of video and other content types, Instagram remains a photo-sharing platform at its core. This makes it an ideal place for artists and photographers to monetize their Instagram accounts by selling prints or originals.
- Ways to Sell Your Art:
- Photo Selling Marketplaces: Use platforms like 500px and link your profile to your Instagram bio.
- Online Store: Sell your photos or art as prints or originals through your e-commerce store and link to it in your bio.
- Instagram Shopping: Use Instagram Shopping features to sell directly on the platform.
- Stock Image Sites: License your work on stock image sites and drive businesses to your portfolio via Instagram.
- Print-on-Demand: Print your photos or art on items like totes, mugs, and t-shirts using services like Printful or Teelaunch. Promote these products on your Instagram.
6. Offer Paid Subscriptions
Once you’ve built a loyal audience, you can offer them exclusive content through paid subscriptions. Instagram’s subscription program is available to US creators over 18 with more than 10,000 followers.
- Third-Party Subscription Tools: If you’re not eligible for Instagram’s program, you can use platforms like Patreon to earn money from subscriptions. Substack is another option if you want to start a newsletter to accompany your Instagram content. You can even gate your online store to offer unique content for paid subscribers.
7. Dropship products
- Starting a business often comes with logistical and financial challenges, particularly when it comes to managing inventory. However, with the dropshipping business model, you can operate a store without ever having to stock any products.
- By launching a dropshipping business, you can select from a vast array of products offered by different suppliers, such as T-shirts, books, mugs, and pillows. This model frees you from the stress of handling order fulfillment and shipping, and it allows you to set your prices to optimize your profits. When you’re ready to promote your dropshipping venture, consider creating a dedicated Instagram page to highlight your products, draw attention to your website, and boost your sales.
These subscription models not only help you earn money but also allow you to build your email list and maintain control over your audience beyond Instagram.