How to Make Money with Instagram

Nick Everything Else 2 Comments

The rise of social media platform Instagram has been nothing short of phenomenal.

From humble origins as a photo-sharing app, in just eight years Instagram has grown to 800 million active monthly users, dwarfing both Twitter and Pinterest. Only YouTube and Facebook (which owns Instagram) have more users world-wide.

The rise of Instagram has created various money-making opportunities for those willing to put a little time and effort into building a presence there. I’ll discuss these in a moment, but let’s start with the basics.

Instagram 101

For those readers (possibly of more mature years) who aren’t familiar with Instagram, it’s basically a way of sharing photos and videos with friends and “followers”.

It has similarities with Facebook, but with a much stronger visual bias. Every post on Instagram is based around an image. You can add a caption if you want and hashtags so people searching for such images can find them.

Assuming you make your Instagram profile public, anyone can see it and (if they wish) follow you on the platform. It is also possible to comment on any post and reply to people commenting on yours.

Instagram can of course simply be used to promote your business. But you can also make money by accepting sponsored posts and other forms of advertising from companies keen to associate themselves with your “brand” and get their message across to your followers.

Instagram can also provide a showcase for people who can take good photos. Many businesses now use Instagram to source images for their campaigns.

Getting Started

If you don’t have an account already, it’s quick and easy to create one via the Instagram website or using the smartphone app.

Assuming you want to make money from Instagram, your key aim should be to raise your profile and build your follower count as quickly as possible. The first step in that process is choosing a niche.

Don’t try to be all things to all people. Pick a niche you find interesting, which also has good potential for attracting advertisers down the line. Fashion, food and drink, jewellery, pets, makeup, transport, travel, sport, family, hobbies and activities are just a few possibilities to set you thinking.

Once you’ve chosen your niche, write an eye-catching description for your profile, so people will want to follow you. Your profile must look organized and professional, but also interesting and fun. Add a link to your blog or Facebook page if you have one, and a profile picture. Aim to post around a dozen photos/videos as quickly as possible, so your profile doesn’t look empty.

Building Your Follower Count

This should be your first priority before you attempt to monetize your Instagram account. A few tips are listed below:

• Use hashtags in every post so that people searching for such images will be able to find them.
• Use a mixture of popular hashtags such as #makeuptips and more specialized ones such as #pinkobsessed, which attract less competition.
• Search for other Instagrammers using the same hashtags as you, “like” some of their posts, and sign up to follow them. A proportion will check out your profile and follow you back. This can be a quick and easy way to build your follower count.
• Comment on other people’s images and reply to any comments people make on yours. This will help raise your profile on Instagram and show potential sponsors that you have engaged, interested followers.
• To generate more interaction, include a call to action in your captions. For example, your caption to a photo of a cappuccino coffee could conclude with the question, “What’s your favourite coffee drink?”

Making Money From Instagram

One of the best ways to make money is through sponsored posts. This is where a company pays you to publish a post that helps promote their brand. They may provide the image themselves or ask you to.

Clearly you can’t expect to be offered sponsored posts with only a handful of followers, but you don’t need vast numbers either. As a rough rule of thumb, once you have 1000 Instagram followers, especially if they are regularly engaging with you, companies may be interested in buying sponsored posts from you.

One popular platform for monetizing your Instagram account with sponsored posts is Indahash. They will accept people with as few as 700 followers, so can be a good choice when starting out.

Once you have 5000 followers you can apply to be listed on Grapevine. This is a marketplace for content creators (also referred to as “influencers”) to earn potentially large sums working with household brands on campaigns.

As well as sponsored posts, you can make money through affiliate marketing. This involves encouraging people to click through to a merchant’s website and getting commission on any purchases they make there. Awin is one popular affiliate marketing platform.

You can also sell your Instagram photos, either directly or using online services such as Instaprints and Twenty20.

More Tips

• The biggest group of Instagram users is females in their late teens and twenties. If that describes you, your chances of making money this way are enhanced. But even if it doesn’t, there is bound to be a niche you could enter and make your own.
• Always post the best quality photos you can. Use Instagram’s filters and other photo-editing tools to make your pictures as eye-catching and original as possible.
• For bigger profits from sponsored posts, offer companies a package including posts on other social media such as Facebook and Twitter too. This should generate bigger fees than Instagram alone.
• Likewise, use your other social media to encourage followers to visit your Instagram page as well. Cross-promote regularly between all your social media and your blog if you have one. (NOTE: Instagram combines really well with blogging, so it’s well worth starting one if you hope to make money this way).
• In the last couple of years Instagram has introduced “Insta Stories”. These are posts and videos that only stay up for 24 hours. Stories are hugely popular, and can be a great way of building your Instagram audience. Note, though, that you need to have at least 10,000 followers to use links in Instagram Stories.
• Join Facebook groups such as Influencer Opportunities, where requests for sponsored posts on Instagram and other platforms are regularly posted.
• Follow also relevant Twitter hashtags, including #prrequest, #Instagram, #influencers and #bloggerswanted.
• Check out this huge article from Neil Patel covering every aspect of making money from Instagram, with lots of tips and examples.

Instagram is a great platform for anyone with even modest photographic skills to share images of things they love and get paid for it. So why are you waiting? Open an Instagram account today and get snapping!