Scrolling through your Instagram feed can leave you wondering how influencers make so much money through social media activities. Stacks of dollar bills, jewelry, cars, private planes, and exotic vacations. It’s all on display.
How do they pull it off? Can you start making money with Instagram too? Sure, you can. All you need is the right monetization strategy for your account. This post unpacks five proven methods to set up multiple income streams on Instagram.
#1 Use Ads to Monetize Your Videos
While posting images won’t earn you ad revenue, like YouTube, Instagram allows you to monetize videos you create on the platform. Visit your account settings and enable the option for monetizing your videos with in-stream ads.
Ad revenue varies depending on your following and status on the platform. You can expect to earn between $0.20 and $2 per click when someone taps the ad in your videos. The average cost-per-click is $1.28 for American IG users.
Instagram pays you 55% of all revenue generated through ads on your videos and pays you at the end of each month. There are a few caveats for qualifying videos. Your posts must be at least two minutes in length, with the optimal run time being between two to four minutes per video.
#2 Find a Brand Sponsor
Sponsored content is the biggest money-maker on Instagram. Sponsored posts involve you promoting a company’s products for them. For example, “Liquid IV” is big into supporting and investing in influencers. If you’re interested in sports, you could promote Liquid IV to your followers. You’ll receive a sponsorship deal from the company paying you according to your reach and influence on the platform.
The sponsors will reach out to you if you have a big enough following. If you’re a smaller account, you can reach out to companies and brands with a press kit of your account, its engagement, and a proposal for promoting their products.
The sponsor requires you to mention their products in your posts. They’ll likely give you a short script to read to motivate your Instagram followers to buy the product. It’s important to be authentic when promoting the products. Only sell what you believe in our use yourself.
Your followers will see straight through any inauthentic attempts to push products to make a quick buck. If your following detects your being fake, it will cost your followers, engagement, and influence in your niche.
Instagram requires you to be transparent about the sponsored content in your videos. Promoting unauthorized content or products on the platform will get your account banned or suspended. Disclose your sponsored content by visiting your account settings and tagging your business partner.
You can have several sponsors and rotate them throughout your videos and image posts. Don’t overdo it with the sponsored posts. You’ll irritate your followers and make them think you’re just in it for the money, costing you engagement, followers, and reputation.
#3 Promote Your Company or Brand with a Business Account
Businesses, brands, and freelancers can use a business account to improve their monetization strategy on Instagram. Link your online store or website in your profile using the ‘Link in Bio” feature. If the Instagram Shopping feature is approved on your account, you can promote your products directly using tags.
Encourage your viewers to buy your products. Use a CTA asking your followers to buy your products and pose with them in a post. They can mention you and use a hashtag, driving engagement and boosting the chances of their video or image post being seen, attracting new followers to your account.
#4 Earn badges through Live videos
Use the Instagram “Live” feature and let your audience buy ‘Badges” to show their support of your work. It’s similar to the “Super Thanks” feature on YouTube. Your followers buy badges at three price points, $0.99, $1.99, or $4.99.
Ask your viewers to support you in your live stream by buying a badge. You can use this strategy in live Q&A sessions, AMAs, and general streams. If a follower buys a badge, it appears next to their profile name to show you they support your work.
#5 Sell Products and Merch
Selling products or merch on Instagram is a great way to make money. Join an affiliate program and start marketing the products strategically in your posts. If you have a decent following, your fans will buy merch from you to show support.
Set up an account with a Print-On-Demand company and use them to fulfill your orders. You don’t have to worry about warehousing and fulfillment; the POD or affiliate partner takes care of the logistics and takes a commission for the work.
How Much Money Can I Make On Instagram?
While advertising in videos earns you plenty of cash on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, it’s not as profitable as using the sponsored posts strategy.
Creating a product review is where big money is at on IG. Top-level influencers with more than a million followers can charge anything from $25,000 to $35,000 per post or review, depending on their follower engagement. Smaller influencers can earn between $200 and $700 per sponsored post. Brands with more Instagram likes and TikTok views, for example, may be able to charge more for a post.
It will take some time to hit the million-follower mark, but you’ll get there with the right posting and engagement strategy. Even if you never reach the million mark, you can earn a decent income with a smaller account.
Focusing on growing your following is the wrong approach to earning more on the platform. Sure, it’s important, but engagement is what sends your monetization strategy to the moon. The more you interact with your followers, the more money you earn from ads and sponsors. Engagement is what drives ad clicks and conversion with your sponsor’s products.
In Closing – Making Money with Instagram
Making money with Instagram is easier than you think. Thousands of people create multiple income streams through the platform. Nothing is stopping you from doing the same. Follow the strategies in this post, and you’ll be cashing checks in no time.
