How to Monetize Your Instagram

Instagram has tremendous potential for making money. After all – the social network has more than 1.440 billion users. According to statistics, the majority of its active audience is between the ages of 25 and 34. They are financially capable people who actively purchase a significant amount of goods and services.

Instagram monetization is a legitimate way of generating income. Advertising profiles, selling products and services, and creating content for other accounts can all be good money-makers.

Types of accounts to monetize on Instagram

To understand how to make money from Instagram or become an influencer, you must first choose the right type of account. Each has its own monetization characteristics.

Selling (commercial) profiles

These pages are maintained for the purpose of selling goods or services, therefore, the profit directly depends on the content. The only downside – there is not always room for creativity.

In this case, special attention should be paid to the text. To attract potential customers, create detailed descriptions of your product, and explain its advantages. Interesting facts and testimonials from others are good for sprucing up your content.

Using Instagram is a great way to promote your product without advertising costs.

Personal blogs on Instagram

Even if you aren’t a big fan of the platform, most likely, you follow at least one influencer. That’s not surprising – beautiful photos and videos of everyday life attract users, even if they are just selfies. That is why Instagram blogs are well profitable.

It all sounds easy and fun, but in reality, blogging also involves its challenges. To be competitive and consistently make money on Instagram, you need to build a strong connection with your followers and open up your life to them, and very few dare to do that. 

Promoting your personal brand is perfect for people who sell handmade goods or info products based on personal experiences. However, you need to keep a balance. Remember – it’s not good to publish sales posts too often, as an overabundance of them is annoying and provokes subscriber attrition.

In order not to burden your personal account with advertising, your personal and sales pages can be maintained in parallel, with a link to the second profile in your bio. 

If you approach this the right way, you may even get two Instagram profiles to profit from!

Brand ambassador

Simply put, an ambassador is a person who promotes a brand on a permanent basis. You can be an ambassador for one or multiple brands and even have a long-term contract that ensures your cooperation with a company for a certain period of time. 

When you become a brand ambassador, you receive their product or money. It all depends on the terms of the contract between the company and you. 

Content profiles

Another option to monetize your Instagram is to bring together audiences interested in a specific topic. The main difference between monetizing such an account is the need to have a clear content plan and to follow it carefully.

Luckily, thanks to modern functionality, it is possible to use third-party services and apps to pre-design posts and automatically publish them at scheduled times.

Content accounts publish information on one narrow topic, thus attracting many people. If a blog has a large and strong community of followers, you must generate content targeting your audience.

Typically, these accounts generate income from paid advertising on other profiles, donations from subscribers, and participation in joint programs with famous brands and companies. 

What to do before monetizing Instagram

Before you spend time and resources making money on Instagram, make sure your account is set up to monetize. First, double-check that you have followed the steps below.

Write an engaging bio

Instagram only gives you 150 characters for your brand bio, so it is important to consider every character. 

You should:

• Explain what your brand offers
• Demonstrate your brand values
• Highlight your new product or service
• Mention branded hashtags or campaign hashtags
• Celebrate partners, co-brands, or media resources
• Encourage action, such as clicks or sales

Publish consistently on Instagram

To monetize Instagram successfully, you need an audience. One of the easiest ways to attract followers is to be a consistent content creator.

Publish content at the right time

Should you publish Instagram posts several times a day or just a few times a month? Most brands create posts at least a couple of times a week so that subscribers have more opportunities to see their content.

Create quality content

While it is good to be consistent, remember that quality comes over quantity! Create a simple style guide that defines your brand’s aesthetic. Use it to create original photos and videos so that subscribers instantly identify with your brand. Publish different content – stories, videos, and IGTV.

Increase your reach with hashtags

You do not need millions of followers to make money on Instagram. But connecting with more people does not hurt, either. One of the easiest ways to improve your Instagram reach is to use hashtags. For maximum reach, include hashtags in the headline of the original post, not in the comments.

Regardless of your niche or the nature of your products and services, you can monetize Instagram. From selling products to creating sponsored posts and teasing paid content, this social media channel offers tons of opportunities to make money. All you have to do is make use of the opportunities provided by it!

Learn more content creation tips here.