Instagram has proved to be a powerful tool in all spheres of life. It is the fastest way of communication. It is great to build your brand presence, incredible to stay connected, and of course, a great platform to make money.
Instagram started with a photo-sharing app, and over the years, it has grown to become one of the top social media platforms to market your brand.
Instagram has arisen with lightning speed, proving that people are responsive to content driven by visual impact. With growing momentum, Instagram can be considered the best platform to market your brand and grow your business.
If you are looking to make it on Instagram, we recommend you to read this detailed article till the end. We will give you all that you need to know and almost every idea available to make money on Instagram. The starting point remains that if you are committed to providing the best to your audience, money is just a byproduct.
Before we get going, let us see why Instagram is a powerful tool for making money. Here are the big five reasons that make Instagram a great platform to grow your brand presence and get clients.
Reasons that make Instagram a Popular choice
For those of us who are still not sure about Instagram, here are the five significant facts you must know to believe in the power of social media.
- Instagram users have over 1 billion subscribers.
- On average, Instagram users spend 53 minutes daily on the Instagram platform.
- More than 70% of commerce in the United States use Instagram.
- 50% of Instagram users follow at least one business site.
- Instagram is influencing more than 80% of users to buy a product or a service.
How to Start with Instagram?
If you are a novice in the game, it is obvious to ask where to start? Getting an Instagram account is not a big deal. The problem lies in what to do and have consistency with your ideas. Here are five tips for building your Instagram presence.
Decide your niche carefully
You must know your weaknesses and strengths and accordingly decide upon your niche. The most popular niches on Instagram are fashion, travel, lifestyle, and food.
Content is the key
Make it amply clear that content is the most important thing. Your content must be relevant, original, and colorful. Content must justify your niche and give some value addition to the genre.
Be consistent
Post your content at regular intervals. Consistency also implies quality of content. If you don’t post your content or post it randomly, your followers will find an exit route.
Be interactive
Take care of all your posts, all your followers, and all your comments. Be sure to reply to all your audiences promptly and never let any comment unanswered. If there are negative comments, handle them with care, don’t lose your mind.
Use Hashtags
Hashtags are important to grow your content and access wider reach. Use the hashtags wisely, and don’t spam your content with too many hashtags. The optimal level of ten hashtags is good enough.
30 Ways to Make Money on Instagram
A Business Account is a Must
The first strategic step is to have a business account. Stats show that more than 90% have a business account to earn money. A Business account offers you features that are absent in a personal Instagram account. Some of these features are insights, ads, shopping, primary / secondary messages, and call to action buttons on your profile. Even if you have a personal account, you can convert it into a business account in a few easy steps.
Learn to Engage your Followers
Engagement is the starting point to all successful social media accounts. If you fail to engage your audience, forget about money, you won’t even have followers. Followers, likes, and comments are good to boost your ego, but they may not provide good dividends unless you know how to convert leads. However, by not getting enough followers, likes, and comments, you are doing something wrong.
Lesson number one; content matters, and so do the number of likes and followers. Get your basics right when you start, and slowly, the efforts will turn into dividends.
Get used to Lead Magnets
Lead Magnets are marketing terms for free giveaways. It could be a free trial of your services, a free e-book, a free subscription, or a free online lesson. Once you are sure of your lead magnet, try and promote it with pictures and videos. Share the highlights of your e-book, service, or any other prompting giveaways that will drive customers.
Post Sponsored Content
Once you have a considerable number of followers and creative content, you qualify to post sponsored content. Posting sponsored content is the easiest and quickest way to make money. The only problem is you have to establish your presence. In most cases, potential customers will reach out to you seeing your brand value, but often you will have to check out companies that are in sync with your content. You can send in your proposal and even give them free sponsored content as a test case.
When you decide on a sponsorship, choose a brand that will help you in the long run. If you sell pizza and you are sponsoring a shoe brand, it may not fit the bill. Be authentic and look at the larger picture.
Affiliate Marketing
With the increasing commercial sector on Instagram, affiliate marketing has tremendous scope. All you have to do is promote a product on your page. It will have a link that will help your followers to buy the product. For every purchase made, you get a commission.
You may have to do a little research to check a website or company that offers an affiliate marketing program. An excellent example of affiliate marketing is the Amazon Influencers Program.
Merchandise Conundrums Will Generate Buy Temptations
Create visuals that make your audience feel your product. Let your audience grasp it and taste it. All you have to do is choose the correct image and words to label your product. Please don’t force your products; too much pushing will make the public revolt; you have to generate the proper intrigue for their interest. Teasers create inquisitiveness! Even if most visitors don’t purchase your product, at least they will appreciate your post.
Giving Shoutouts
Added way to great marketing is by selling shoutouts. There is an entire market where you can sell shoutouts. A shoutout is when someone mentions your brand or your post or startup and asks followers to check the product or page. It is done by posting a picture of a profile and adding a link.
You have to post a picture and a small write-up and earn money. Isn’t that great? Many influencers make good money by shoutout technique. You can use platforms like ShoutCart, Shoutify, and InfluencerCart.
Sell with an Online Store
Those in the fashion industry or beauty products can make good money by selling online. Even celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian have online stores to sell their beauty products. Trends show that most celebrities opt for an online beauty or fashion store once they become popular.
If you are in the same industry or even with other products, you can have an online store, promote it on Instagram and make money. All you need is a good knowledge of your field of influence and excellent marketing skills.
Online Resource Creation
If you don’t deal in physical products, you can sell your talent. If you are an author or an educationist, you can sell your e-books or offer online classes. Even musicians and artists can create an online resource and sell it to make money. All you need is a good level of expertise in your field and a way to create an impact on Instagram.
Many people are looking to upskill their knowledge and are ready to learn from knowledgeable people. It would be great to start some advertisements on Instagram, and gradually when people start discovering, you will be able to establish yourself and make good money.
Make Video Testimonials
A video testimonial is a short video for a client or a customer. It is a way to tell others how your product or service has been helpful for you. You can contact various startups or brands and make a video testimonial for their products to make money.
If you have a brand, you can do a similar thing for your brand by requesting your clients to make a testimonial video. When making a video, don’t make long videos. Keep it short; a 15 seconds video is optimal. Be to the point and highlight the most impactful and helpful point.
Pre-launch Events are Impactful
You would have seen various pre-launch events of products, book releases, and even online stores. It is a great way to let people know about your brand and startups. Promoting a pre-launch event on Instagram is a great way to earn money. Look for startups that are launching their events. Contact them and promote their pre-launch event on your Instagram page to get paid.
If you are starting with your brand, you can also make some online buzz on Instagram. A small video, teaser, or photo can intrigue people about the product. You can also increase the range and hype by adding a relevant hashtag.
Post as Happy Customers
Selling products is all about correct marketing skills. Many brands and startups are looking to promote their product to convince people about their quality. If you are satisfied with the quality of the product, you can post a video or a photo as a happy and satisfied customer to promote the product. Many people earn good money that way.
Just be sure to verify the quality and services. Promoting a lousy product may put a question mark on your credibility. If you have a brand, show potential customers how happy others are with your product and services.
Create a New Instagram Filter
Instagram is a photo-driven app. There is a great use of filters to enhance the quality of images. I’m sure you must have used a filter sometime and have you wondered how it works. If you have that artistic and technical mind, you can create a new filter and sell it to make money.
There are not enough people who can make filters, so you can make a lot of money if you can build one. Spark Ak Studio is one such way where you can make your customized filter. So, check it out and see if it works out well to make money.
Write for Other Instagram Accounts
If you are creative and can put ideas into new words in a compact and impactful way, you can be in high demand. You can write smart captions for other startups and earn money. Create a good Instagram profile and announce you can write good captions. Display a few for people to judge your creativity.
Keep posting your content regularly to have consistency and increase followers. This way, you will have a lead for people to contact you. If you have a site, put a link in your bio for people to get in touch with you.
Represent a Brand
If you have a significant number of followers, you can become a Brand Ambassador and promote other brands to earn good money. You would have noticed big brands hiring celebrities to promote their brand.
If you have an Instagram account that brands know can deliver potential customers or know you have a good followers list, brands and startups will pay you good money to promote their brand. Use hashtags and send a proposal to small startups and brands. This way, you can reach out and represent brands to make money.
Experiment with Online Consultation
If you are good at giving advice, try earning out of it. All you need is credible knowledge about your niche and some level of experience to make people believe in you. Experienced people in finance, IT, and marketing are earning a good amount by giving online consultations. Make an Instagram profile and outreach people for consultation.
Try Drop Shipping
Drop Shipping is similar to an online store, but you don’t bother about the shipping part. Here you act as a middleman. You take orders from people on Instagram and contact a wholesale dealer. You place the order on the wholesaler, and he will ship the consignment to the customers.
You are just taking orders on Instagram or even other social media platforms. You further place the order to the firm and take your commission. It is a good way to earn money and doesn’t involve quality control, packaging, and shipping.
Explore Freelancing Opportunities
If you are a freelancer, you can explore a whole lot of opportunities on Instagram. In this case, your profile serves as your portfolio, and you don’t need a website to showcase your portfolio. You can use relevant hashtags to find potential customers. Initially, you may have to find suitable clients, but you can make a lot of money once you are established.
Auction Your Photos
For creative photographers and travel bloggers, it is a great opportunity to sell your photos. You can create an online gallery on Instagram and auction your photos. Many professional and amateur photographers put their photos online for sale and earn good money. If you know how to use a camera, you have a great opportunity.
Sell Castoffs
Even if you don’t have a startup or a brand to promote, you can still sell off your old clothes, books, and other accessories on Instagram. A good pool of buyers on Instagram can boost your profile and get you money for old castoffs.
Upload a good quality picture of your castoff products, put a price tag, and insert a good caption to pull people for the merchandise. #shopmycloset is a widely used tag by Instagram sellers to sell their wares.
Optimal Use of Hashtags
Hashtags are designed for you to connect with potential clients and reach out to your audiences. They work extremely well, and you can use 30 hashtags at a time. However, we recommend not to spam your posts with hashtags. Ten are good enough. Use relevant hashtags related to your post and niche. Hashtags can get potential customers to your page, which can convert into paying clients.
Get in touch with Influencers
Good content will build your presence, and influencers will take you far ahead. Influencers will give you the required push to reach out to customers outside the arena of your influence.
Once you have a good following, you can also start earning as an influencer. Take one step at a time, establish yourself, and aim to become an influencer as your presence grows.
Become an Instagram Marketing Consultant
Instagram is a great platform to grow your brand. The problem is most businesses on Instagram do not have a strategy in place. All struggling businesses offer you a tremendous opportunity to earn money by helping them grow. Instagram consultants are charging up to 75 USD per hour. If you have a way out for struggling brands, Instagram marketing consultancy is an excellent choice.
Sell Digital Products
Webinars, e-books, and online courses are hot picks to earn money. When you learn to package your skill into a course for others, people regard you as an expert. Keep sharing your knowledge and even start with free courses and you will be able to build a good audience. These audiences will have a great potential to become paying clients.
Beef up your YouTube Audience with Instagram
YouTube has proved itself as a great platform for video content. It also has a great potential to monetize your content. So, where does Instagram come into play? It will promote your YouTube content and get more potential followers and viewers. Moreover, Instagram and YouTube complement each other well. YouTube is great for long videos, and Instagram is just apt for shorter videos.
Use Instagram to Promote your Airbnb
Explore every possible idea that helps you earn. Even If you have no idea, get a spare room done up and put it on rent. Living in a tourist location is even good. Airbnb has more than 100 million users and has a huge potential. Use Instagram to give people a virtual tour of the space you are renting; you can also choose special occasions to discount. Posting reviews also helps people to decide to book their space.
Promote your Travel Blogs
If you love traveling and blogging, use Instagram to promote your tours and blogs. Upload good images and small captions to intrigue people about your blog. It is possible with technology to travel and make money from your visits. Use Instagram for travel consulting, travel tips, and safety measures to get travelers on your page.
Be a Foodie
Food joints are in to give you a free meal and pay you to promote their products. Become a foodie and review various food joints. You can use your Instagram handle to post images and videos of delicious food. Exploring bars and nightclubs are also a great way to explore opportunities for making money.
Review and Earn
Reviews have a special value with digital marketing and business strategy. Statistics show that more than 80% of customers buy products based on reviews. Reviews are important if you own a brand, and if you are looking to earn money, promote other brands in need. You can also review books of new authors and promote them to make money.
Make Instagram your Portfolio
Instagram offers a wide spectrum to grow your business and earn money. Whatever your niche, maybe it can give you ample opportunities. Turn your Insta account as your portfolio of all the work and products that you have made. A few insights into your clients and reviews will also go a long way. It can be web designing, content writing, photography, travel, and many more. Instagram is here to stay and grow, and so are you.
Conclusion
Instagram has a great potential to earn money; virtually, the sky’s the limit. We recommend you to be creative and play smart Insta games. Combine your interest and skills to generate income. These 30 ways have covered every idea to generate money from Instagram. If you have more ideas, please share them with us.
