Many Instagramers monetize their account by publishing and sharing their photos daily. Did their example motivate you to do the same?
Just as bloggers, YouTubers, and anyone else who has built an audience by producing engaging content, the instagramers are doing well in terms of reach and influence ; two elements that many brands struggle to master.
Today, thanks to their reach and influence, Instagram creators have the opportunity to explore multiple sources of revenue; whether it’s creating an empire or simply earning an income supplement and free gifts.
How many followers should you have?
In short, it is not essential to have a large audience to start generating income on Instagram.
Here are some factors to consider, however:
- Your niche and the ease with which your content can be linked to other niches or categories of products (according to the most used hashtags, some of the most popular niches on Instagram are: fashion, food, beauty and fitness).
- The level of engagement of your followers (100,000 fake followers are not worth much).
- The income channels considered.
Naturally, the higher the engagement level of your audience, the more brands will be interested in your services.
While famous instoisseurs pocket thousands of dollars per publication, it is quite possible to make money with a very engaged audience with only 1,000 followers.
How to monetize your Instagram account
Depending on the type of content you create, your audience, and your level of involvement, you will be able to make money on Instagram in different ways:
- By posting sponsored posts for brands that want to reach your audience.
- By becoming an affiliate to earn commissions by selling products of other brands.
- Selling your own physical or digital product, or offering a paid service.
- By selling your photos.
It is important to note that all these revenue streams can be explored simultaneously, some not excluding the others.
Let’s start with the most common approach when it comes to monetizing your Instagram account: collaborating with brands as an influencer.
Collaboration with Brands in the Context of Sponsored Publications
The term “influencer” is used frequently today.
An influencer is essentially anyone who has been successful in developing online influence by sharing high value content. Influencers are viewed by audience members as trusted experts, trend creators and respected thought leaders in specific areas.
However, the reach and size of your Instagram account are not the only factors that interest brands; the trust your audience has in you is just as important.
As an influencer, it can be difficult to find a balance between integrity and profit. If the profit generated on Instagram is not your only source of revenue, you’ll be able to select which brands to collaborate with, just as brands carefully select the developers with whom to partner.
All kinds of brands today rely on influence marketing to promote their products.
- How to charge your services as an influencer
Typically, collaboration with an influencer involves creating content – an Instagram post or video – that can be reused by the brand on its site and other marketing channels.
Most of these benefits are negotiable and may involve the creation of one or more publications or even an entire campaign; and this, at a fixed rate or in exchange for a free product, an experience (free trip, etc.), a service, etc.
Keep in mind when negotiating that you are not only offering content; but also access to your audience, usage rights, and potentially large reach on one of the most popular social platforms.
In a survey of 5,000 influencers, about 42% of the surveyed individuals claimed to charge between € 200 and € 400 per publication; this range will give you an idea of the amounts the brands are willing to pay and allow you to better negotiate based on the benefits you offer.
- How to find brands to work with
If your influence is extensive enough, it is certain that brands will take the first step and contact you. You should, however, make the effort to look for brands that are relevant to style and values so as not to damage your reputation.
You can contact them directly to try to partner, or create profiles on influence marketing platforms to be more accessible:
- Ifluenz: This platform specializes in influence marketing on Instagram facilitates meetings between brands and influencers with an Instagram account with at least 5000 followers. The specified publishing rules allow sponsored posts to be subtly embedded in the content of the influencer.
- BandyouLike: This platform of the group Effinity facilitates the formation of collaborations between influencers and brands seeking to amplify their reach. You can create your account on the site and join more than 4000 influencers already registered.
- Natividi: Thanks to Natividi, you will be able to form quality partnerships with brands looking for long-term collaborations. There is no contract to sign and you work at your own pace. You will be able to register on the platform if your audience has a minimum of 500 followers.
- Reech: The platform has more than 9000 influencers in virtually every niche and on every social network. Once your influencer account is created, Reech team members will put you in touch with the brands that best suit your profile.
When it comes to sponsored content, the rules vary; however, it is best to always be cautious while respecting the trust of your audience; consider also adding a hashtag # sponsored to identify advertising publications. For more reassurance, about 69% of influencers polled in a study said that being transparent about their brand collaborations allowed them to recommend products to their audience without their reputation.
You can find examples of sponsored publications by looking for the hashtag # sponsored on Instagram, or by exploring the big accounts in the most popular niches (mentioned above).
Become an affiliate
Unlike an influencer whose sole purpose is to increase brand awareness, the affiliate is more involved in selling the promoted products in exchange for a commission.
The affiliate generally uses a traceable link or promotional code to track sales. Knowing that Instagram only allows the insertion of a single clickable link in the biography page, you will need to promote only one product at a time if you choose to use an affiliate link. Unlike clickable links, promotional codes can be incorporated into publications, making them a smarter choice as part of an Instagram affiliate strategy.
Note: Instagram now allows advertisers to insert clickable links into their ads. Your Instagram ads may also include a call to action such as Buy, Download, Learn More, and more.
Consider getting in touch with some of the many e-commerce sites offering affiliate programs that you could participate in; or sign up for the most popular affiliate platforms, such as:
- Clickbank: A membership platform open to the public, on which are listed hundreds of products offered in affiliation.
- RewardStyle: A sponsorship-based influencer network focused on fashion and lifestyle; the commission paid is 20%.
- Amazon Affiliate Program: A very popular e-commerce platform paying a commission of 10%.
- Affiliate marketing is more than just a numbers game; it’s an art. You can maximize your chances of success by establishing a thoughtful strategy and expanding your presence through a website and other marketing channels.
Tip: Affiliate links are often shortened through services like vu.fr or bit.ly; especially when they are inserted into the Instagram biography page.
Open your own online store
At this point, you might think that the only way to make money on Instagram is to collaborate with brands.
Think again; content creators and influencers are in a good position to create a profitable, audience-focused business by selling their own physical / digital products and services as extensions of their personal branding.
Today, influential creators are very naturally involved in entrepreneurship because of their ability to create value with ease through their content.
By selling your own products, you do not need to worry about incorporating messages from other brands into your publishing strategy. Better yet, you could create your own brand when offering your own products for sale.
Your fans will be able to show you their love and support by proudly buying your creations.
Here are some very common approaches:
- You could use a print-on-demand service to print and ship your own T-shirts, cushions, coffee mugs, posters, posters, and more.
- You could offer services (photography, consulting, etc.) and insert a link in your biography page to redirect interested people to a contact page or your professional website.
- You could sell digital products such as trainings, eBooks or design templates.
- You could use your Instagram account to start selling your own physical products, or even your own book.
- If you’re planning to sell multiple items on your own Shopify online store , you’ll be able to use apps like Four Sixty or Showcase to sell them directly from an Instagram feed to your website; thus making the process of ordering articles displayed on the images of your publications more fluid.
- Sell your photos online or printed on objects
Although it is possible to gain notoriety on other networks by sharing several types of content elements, Instagram is a platform mainly focused on sharing photos. Published photos can be considered digital goods that can be purchased under license, printed on products, and sold in a variety of ways.
If it is your passion for photography that originally motivated you to have a presence on Instagram, know that you can list your shots on comm marketplaces e 500px gold Twenty20 where brands and publishers will be able to obtain them by buying a specific license.
However, you could also “print” your photos on different types of products using some services like Printful and Teelaunch. Services like this will allow you to print your photos on posters, phone cases, cushions, and more. In addition, they also take care of order management and customer service, allowing you to focus completely on sales.
Consider the story of Daniel Arnold who, according to an interview with Forbes, managed to extricate himself from a very difficult financial situation by earning $ 15,000 in one day; selling his popular (but controversial) photos as printable patterns. If the request is present, you just have to take the initiative and offer your photographs for sale.
Monetize your presence on Instagram
What might at first start as a hobby – taking fun photos with your dog, sharing recipe photos, entertaining people – could very quickly turn into an interesting source of income supported by a committed audience on Instagram.
As an influential content creator, there is a world of possibilities for you to monetize your presence on Instagram and other social platforms; you only have to dare.
