How to Make Money on Instagram (10 Ways)

How to make money on Instagram

Highlights

Knowing how to make money on Instagram is essential to maximizing your earning potential on the platform
Reaching out directly to brands through corporate sponsorship or affiliate commissions are some of the most popular routes
If you’re more entrepreneurial and offer your own services, coaching, digital products, memberships, and live events are also effective avenues for monetization
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Have you been wanting to take your money-making potential on Instagram to the next level? Many people are taking advantage of selling on Instagram, advertising on Instagram, and doing Instagram influencer marketing that it’s never been a better time to cash in!

You might be asking, “Can you make money on Instagram? I thought that ship has sailed!” Don’t you worry. In this post, we will go over 10 different ways on how to get paid on Instagram that will generate revenue for your small business and engage you with your existing followers.

Services

If you’re a business owner, you’re probably way ahead of the game. Offering your services over Instagram and letting consumers reach out directly, has been a fantastic way for business owners to monetize Instagram for great profits. If you’re not currently offering any services, perhaps ask yourself how you might serve your audience. Do they follow you for your personality, skill set, resume, taste, etc.? Perhaps it’s time to liven up your entrepreneurial spirit and use your existing pool of consumers and see how you might utilize your talents. You could even have introductory offers for your first customers, making your connection to your followers that much more engaged.

Products

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Merchandise is one of the most popular avenues that Instagram influencers utilize. Reaching out to brands directly will offer you the chance to establish connections that could prove beneficial down the line. While some Instagram influencers run into issues once they have the products (in terms of storage, pick-up or using them properly), establishing contact with those brands and first-hand experiences for your followers is a very tangible way of showing authenticity. Depending on your given success with a certain product, you may be able to continue selling on Instagram if and when the product becomes the next iPhone!

Info products

With these products, you’re going to be showcasing courses that either you’ll be teaching yourself or promoting on another’s behalf. If you have expertise in a certain field or believe strongly in another’s course and can market it to your followers, this can be a great way to monetize Instagram. The trick here is that you’ll need to cut through the plethora of existing content out there. To do this, make sure that what you market is credible so that viewers feel confident giving the course a listen. Show off your knowledge, and in the process, show that making money on Instagram is possible.

Digital products

 

Adjacent to info products, digital products provide a great way to making money on Instagram. Instead of a proper course, you want to make sure this product can be distilled into a single file. While that may include a course, it could also be an e-book, lecture, tutorial, template, presets, stock footage, or you could share your YouTube video on Instagram. The great thing about choosing digital products over info products as a creator is that you’re going for volume of sales, and selling a single file makes scaling up much more attainable. If you’re making videos, make sure that you confer with the proper Instagram video format (also check out how to make vertical videos). If you have credibility and a product worthy of download, you’ll be making money on Instagram in no time.

Brand deals

This is one of the most popular ways how to make money on Instagram and is a consistent vehicle for Instagram influencer marketing. If you’re an Instagram influencer, you know how important it is to establish great relationships with brands to maximize your earning potential from followers. Typically, you can get paid around 10 dollars per 1,000 Instagram followers, thus allowing you to make around $100 per post if you have around 10,000 followers. Although your particular deal might be different (hopefully you make much more!), your job will be keeping in touch with your followers regularly and showing brands that your engagement makes you an ideal candidate for deals.

Affiliate commission

This is sometimes seen as the gateway to brand deals. When you log in to the Instagram store, check out the deals that are available for commission. Since these aren’t explicit brand deals, feel free to promote them in your stories, TikTok videos, or IGTV ads. And what’s great is that you can begin right away and not wait until you have a certain follower count. By promoting brands that you’re familiar with, you can see how to make money from Instagram in no time!

IGTV ads

ig ads

Although YouTube still dominates long-form video content, Instagram has been trying to beef up IGTV recently. To do that, placing ads in your IG reels has been a way for content creators to get paid on Instagram. If you’re looking to beef up your social media videos, or want to know how to make an IGTV video, check out the links above. IGTV ads are turning into an interesting and profitable avenue for advertising on Instagram.

Get all you need to create the perfect video

Coaching

In a more hands-on approach, you may consider direct coaching with followers who turn to you for your expertise in a certain field. Maybe you have an enormous following and find beginning influencers are turning to you for advice. Monetize that! If you have expertise elsewhere, feel free to offer direct one-on-ones to prospective clients. You’ll want to make sure, though, that you truly have something to offer so that your brand is not affected negatively. If you feel confident that you have something to offer, coaching can be a great way how to make money from Instagram.

Live events

Given the changes of the pandemic, a lot of events are still online for the foreseeable future. That’s why it’s a great time to capitalize on the opportunity for a reduced-cost event if you’re asking yourself, “Can you make money on Instagram?” Whether an IG influencer or heading corporate training, the lack of overhead for a virtual event is a terrific way to monetize Instagram to your benefit.

Membership subscription

If you’re looking for a more consistent way how to make money from Instagram, membership subscriptions are the way to go. Maybe you’re a writer, photographer, filmmaker, or offer another form of service. By offering exclusive content to paid subscribers, you’ll open reliable income streams by selling on Instagram. If you’ve been doing Instagram influencer marketing for a while, you know that consistency is hard to find. Finding that consistency with membership subscriptions is a great way how to get paid on Instagram.

Conclusion on How to Make Money on Instagram

“Can you make money on Instagram?” The answer, at this point, is a giant YES! Check out the options above and see what works best for you. Whether you decide to go directly to brands or want to offer services yourself, knowing how to make money on Instagram is a prerequisite for being competitive and on your social media game.

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Jonathan Mateer is a writer based in California. Currently attending UC Berkeley, he covers topics such as filmmaking, storytelling, politics and culture.

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