Who hasn’t heard of this huge social media platform that has grown rapidly and gained more than one billion active users? It is a force to be reckoned with. It began as a photo-sharing app, but eventually, as the number of users increased, they started increasing their services, so you can now share videos, make reels, use various filters, and whatnot.
Many people have one question in mind: can they make money from it? If yes, then how can I earn money from Instagram? Although it may seem tough to you, once you start, you’ll enjoy doing it; all youd require is a lot of creativity.
Over the last few years, it has evolved as a powerful marketing platform tool that influencers and companies of all sizes use to connect with their target customers.
Can you really make money from Instagram?
Absolutely. As long as you have some beautiful and unique images to use, you can gain the attention of Instagram’s thousands of users.
To start, here are some ways to earn money on Instagram:
- Focus on sponsored posts for brands that want to connect with your audience, making you the best medium for doing that.
- Become an affiliate and earn income by selling products that belong to other brands.
- Offer to be a virtual assistant for a popular Instagram influencer. Many of them are seeking help to get things off their plates.
- Write captions for companies without internal content staff.
- Sell on Instagram. You can sell physical or digital products, or even a service.
- Sell your photography.
- The enthusiasts of this platform are constantly searching for new ways to earn money from Instagram.
What You Need to Make Money on Instagram
You need these three things to make money on Instagram: reach, influence, and engaged followers.
Reach and Influence
The only reason businesses pay money to Instagram users is for the exposure they get in return. For it to be worth their time, these brands are only interested in influencers with huge audiences. The larger the audience, the more money they can earn.
If you only have a few hundred Instagram followers to start with, then your potential audience is small. With such a small sample size, there aren’t many people who see your content, let alone increase sales of your or a brand’s products.
To get started and earn money, you definitely need at least a few thousand followers.
Engaged Followers
Sure, having more followers boosts your ego. It increases your chances of appearing in more Instagram feeds. However, a huge follower count doesn’t always mean high engagement, and shadowbanning on Instagram can leave you with little to no reach.
The problem is that if people are cold to your posts, they generally aren’t likely to buy anything you promote. If you rarely get people liking, sharing, and following you on Instagram, then it doesn’t matter how large your following is; your chances of making money are slim.
On the other hand, even if you only have 1,000 followers and they engage with your posts frequently, there is the opportunity to earn money. It shows that customers are interested in investing in you because of the profitable actions you can drive through your account.
How To Earn Money On Instagram In India
Become a Social Media Influencer
Becoming an influencer means having the power to influence your audience and change their opinions on trends and products because of the trust and status that you have built with your online presence on Instagram.
Once you have built trust, you can use your Instagram profile to promote a wide range of products from all types of brands. Brands prefer partnering with influencers to create sponsored posts because they help spread brand awareness about their products.
As an influencer, you need to create user-generated content and can also connect your other social media accounts to spread the word about the brands and products they like. To reach this level, you need to increase your Instagram followers, and you would have to think of posts that create strong engagement from your followers.
Promote affiliate offers
Affiliate marketing is similar to sponsored posts. The difference is that you only get paid if customers buy the product or service you are promoting, rather than getting paid for your post. Instead, you earn a commission when people purchase the product or service you’re promoting.
There are positives and negatives to both approaches, and your audience’s success will often depend on yours.
While sponsored posts deliver you a guaranteed income, you could earn even more by promoting the right affiliate offer.
Start an Instagram Shop
An Instagram shop allows you to integrate your online store with your Instagram profile. This is the only option you have to promote your products directly to Instagram followers through your Explore tab, the Shop tab, Stories, and posts on your profile.
There used to be a large amount of friction for e-commerce store owners wanting to sell via Instagram, but not anymore. Instagram Shopping completely reduces friction, allowing customers to easily check out products in the app and then head to your store at the click of a button.
Brand Partnership
Brand partnerships are one of the primary ways to earn money on Instagram. As the name suggests, in this method of earning, Instagram creators allow brands and businesses to increase their branded content and sales.
By collaborating with a particular brand, Instagram creators can earn money by publishing promotional posts or stories on their Instagram accounts and providing brand partners with permission to turn their content into advertisements.
As per Instagram’s guidelines, for a brand partnership, the creator must have a business or creator account, and the brand partner needs to have a business account; both have to follow Instagram’s community guidelines.
Sell Physical and Digital Products
You can also start your own online store and sell anything you like; this is one of the best ways to earn money. You could either sell your own products or create a store where you can market products from various brands. Over the past few years, Instagram has transformed into a strong sales generator for many e-commerce brands.
It is not essential to sell only physical goods; instead, you can also sell photo filters, posters, photos, animations, videos, or other virtual products. You can put a unique caption on every post and refer the reader to the link in your bio.
Nowadays, a large amount of people are using Instagram to buy products; due to this positive response, Instagram has launched a variety of business account features such as the shop button, in-app checkout, shoppable stickers, and product tags so that shopping becomes simple and quick.
Sponsored Content
Sponsored content on Instagram is similar to branded content features. In this type of content, the creator uploads and provides information about the product and tags the brand to make it sponsored content.
Essentially, sponsored content is advertising and promotional content that allows creators and Instagram users with business accounts to generate money on Instagram by creating their preferred content.
Depending on the number of followers and social media presence, creators get paid by brands because they help marketers and brands effectively reach their target audience.
If you have a huge Instagram following and a niche audience on Instagram, you can select brands for sponsored content.
Fan Membership and Exclusive Content
The “Subscription-only” feature on Instagram is another excellent source of income that allows creators to earn a monthly income.
Creators can publish exclusive content that only their fan membership subscribers have access to. Instagram charges monthly subscription fees from fans for the stories and access to live content from their favourite creators, so they enjoy an extra dose of entertainment and information that others might miss.
For content creators, the Instagram Fan Membership is a fantastic choice that pays them for their extra effort. From travel bloggers to fitness influencers, creators can now engage with their real fans and help increase user activity on the platform.
Licence photographs and videos
Licencing your photographs and videos on Instagram is another way of earning that most creators are unaware of. If you enjoy taking photos and making videos that can be sold on the marketplace, such as on 500px or Twenty20, you can make a substantial amount of income.
You can sell or licence your photographs and videos of a variety of genres, including food, travel, nature, etc., that other companies or pages would like to utilise for different purposes.
For videography and photography lovers, licencing their content on Instagram not only generates wide recognition but also income that encourages them to create even more masterpieces.
Start A Paid Newsletter
If you like writing and are good at acquiring information and writing crisp, valuable content, then you can think about starting your own newsletter. You can start with a free newsletter at first, and as you get an audience for it, you can start releasing paid newsletters once a month. Substack and Revue are the most popular newsletter platforms on the Internet.
Consulting
As an influencer, you can share your knowledge and expertise with other content creators to assist them in increasing their audience. Brands, small businesses, and individuals looking to boost their online presence on Instagram are constantly looking for Instagram consultants.
As an Instagram consultant, you can charge $15–50 per hour; more proficient Instagram consultants usually charge between $50 and $100 per hour. As the platform increases in size, the need for consultants will increase, as most creators are unaware of how to earn money from Instagram in India.
IGTV Ads
You can now earn money on Instagram, similar to YouTube Ads, by monetizing your IGTV videos.Now, creators are eligible to receive a 55% share of all ads on IGTV. Instagram will play specific ads before or in between your IGTV content, from which you can earn sizable passive income.
To monetize your IGTV for ad revenue, your account must be at least 90 days old and abide by all Instagram community guidelines and policies for hate-free content, discrimination-free content, etc.
IGTV Ads For vloggers and other creators of long-form content, IGTV ads are a fantastic opportunity to boost their online income and produce more high-quality content.
Find Freelance Clients
Instagram is not just about posting photos of your dog. Since we’ve reached 1 million active Instagram users, it has become a fantastic platform for networking, particularly for those working in the creative fields. Nowadays, more and more professionals are using this platform as an online portfolio.
No matter what you do for a living, whether you work as a ghostwriter, filmmaker, or public speaker, you can utilise Instagram to find clients.
Conclusion
Instagram has long been one of the most popular social media platforms, and it keeps launching new and interesting features. In other words, it’s well worth investing your time to explore how to earn money on Instagram.
If you can build an audience and establish trust, there are many ways to earn money on Instagram. With so many potential business opportunities, anyone can learn how to monetize their Instagram account.
FAQ
How much can Instagram influencers earn?
On average, an influencer can earn a monthly income of US$2,970 (roughly Rs. 2.44 lakhs). However, there are substantial differences in income among accounts, particularly depending on the number of followers.
How Many Followers Do You Need to Make Money on Instagram?
You can simply start with 1,000 followers to earn money on Instagram. You can earn money using brand collaborations, affiliate marketing, etc.
How Do Instagram Reels Make Money?
Instagram pays out play bonuses as per the views you get on your reels. Professional creators with a business or creator account can make money on reels that have at least 1,000 views within a month.
Does Instagram pay for views?
Yes, a creator gets paid based on the number of plays or views on Instagram for reels and IGTV videos.
