Since Instagram’s launch in 2010 the social media platform has taken the world by storm. Today, over 1 billion people use Instagram every month and many people are profiting from the large number of people that engage with the platform every day.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering whether you too can get paid on Instagram. You definitely can, and I’m here to show you how to make money on Instagram within the next 60 days…
Can You Make Money Off Instagram?
Absolutely! I firmly believe that anyone can make money on Instagram. I myself have done it for almost 3 years now and have helped many others do the exact same thing over the past 6 months. But how exactly can you make that happen as well? Let me break it down for you:
- Pick a profitable niche
- Grow your account organically
- Promote various products/services/promotions to your audience
This all sounds a lot easier than it is, but don’t worry, I’ve got your back. I’ve written detailed guides on the most profitable Instagram niches and how you can grow your Instagram organically which you should check out after this article!
Does Instagram Pay You For Followers?
Instagram does not pay you for followers, likes, views, comments, or anything like that. Instead, you need to monetize your account by selling products or services to either your followers or other Instagram accounts.
How Many Followers Do You Need To Get Paid?
Something important to note is that you do NOT need 1000s or 10s of thousands of followers to start making money off Instagram. Even with just a couple 100 followers you can start making your first $50, $100, or even $500/month if you put in the work. Don’t get me wrong: It’s a lot easier with a lot of followers, but that is definitely not a requirement.
How To Make Money On Instagram
I’ve tried almost all of the popular strategies for making money on Instagram myself, so I feel like I can give you some good insight into the pros and cons of each option. Let’s dive into them right now.
1. Sell Instagram Shoutouts
One of the easiest ways to get paid on Instagram is by selling shoutouts to Instagram influencers, pages, or businesses. They will pay you to feature a post of their choosing in your feed or your story in which you will promote either their account or their website.
Pros:
- If you have a following in a popular niche, you will get shoutout requests frequently without doing any work.
- It will take you 5-10 minutes to complete their request (including the time it takes to chat with them).
Cons:
- Doing too many shoutouts will start to annoy your audience. Keep that in mind and don’t overdo it.
- Your earning potential with shoutouts is limited. I personally do shoutouts from time to time to supplement my income, but it is never my main focus.
Things to keep in mind:
- Make sure you always get paid via PayPal in advance.
- Take screenshots of the chat and the finished shoutout to keep in case they try to get their money back. Having proof that you delivered the service will help you keep your money.
- If a shoutout request seems sketchy or you feel like your audience won’t like it, then don’t do it and move on.
2. Affiliate Marketing on Instagram
Affiliate marketing is my favorite way to monetize an Instagram account. If you don’t have your own product or service to sell, you can choose to do Instagram affiliate marketing and sell someone else’s product/service instead. For every sale you generate via your affiliate link you will receive a commission from the seller. Check out my article on affiliate marketing for more details on how it works.
Pros:
- You only need to drive traffic. All the logistics of the website, sales process, and delivery of the product/service is handled by the seller. For that reason, there is a lot less hassle involved.
- If you build an email list through your Instagram traffic you can sell affiliate products over and over again to your list and turn it into a sustainable business.
- If you promote high-quality products, your followers will actually be glad that you promoted the product and it will increase your trust with them.
Cons:
- You don’t keep all the revenue from the sale, which means your missing out on some of the money your follower spent. On the other hand, you have a lot less work, so you need to balance that out and see if you’re ready to sacrifice some profit for peace of mind. I personally definitely am.
Things to keep in mind:
- When doing affiliate marketing on Instagram you need to make sure that you only promote high-quality products/services that your audience actually needs. Doing so will make sure that they have good will towards you.
- Since you’re selling someone else’s product you don’t collect the customer’s email during the checkout process. However, building an email list is very important if you want to turn your Instagram following into a sustainable business. Having a list will allow you to promote different products to your audience via email over and over again so you should consider building an email list through Instagram.
3. Selling Your Own Product/Service
If you already have a business, an infoproduct, or a skill that you want to offer to others then this is definitely the way to go. But even if you don’t have anything of your own to sell right now, you will develop valuable skills on your journey such as Instagram growth strategies and others which you can use down the line.
Pros:
- This is the most profitable way to make money on Instagram. You get to keep all the revenue and on top of that you build an email list of customers while you’re making money.
- You can build a lasting business and brand around your products and services. After a while your reputation will attract people to become your buyers.
Cons:
- You are responsible for building out your own sales funnel and converting the traffic into customers. You will need to optimize your sales page & make sure your customers are happy & receive customer support if needed.
Things to keep in mind:
- You will need to build a series of upsells & downsells in your funnel to go with your original offer. This will allow you to maximize your profits. Read our guide on sales funnels to learn more about how to do that.
How To Drive Traffic & Sales On Instagram
Once you decided what you are going to sell, you need to start driving traffic to your lead magnet or the sales page. Let’s go over the best ways to do that.
1. Promoting Through Instagram Stories
Stories are becoming more and more popular every day and you need to use that to your advantage. With stories, we have to differentiate between accounts that have 10.000+ followers and those who have less. The reason being that you can only add swipe up links to your stories once you have over 10.000 followers.
Over 10.000 followers: If you have the swipe up feature you can use that to send people directly to websites and landing pages where you can sell a product/service or collect their email.
Under 10.000 followers: If you have less than 10.000 followers you will need to rely on closing potential customers through your Direct Messages. When viewing your stories your followers can respond to your story and start a conversation. Use that to your advantage.
For tips on how you can get to 10.000 Instagram followers quickly, check out our article on organic Instagram growth.
Regardless of your follower count, you need to build a relationship with your audience. In other words, you need to create a brand that people remember! Here are the most important things to remember when building a brand on Instagram so that you can make money on Instagram:
- Provide your followers with a ton of value. You need to give your followers something that is valuable in order for them to trust you and potentially spend money on something you’re recommending to them.
- If you feel comfortable doing so, you should share some of your personal life with your followers. Giving them an insight into what you do on a day-to-day basis in your stories will help them trust you on a deeper level. Doing Q&As or going live are great ways to do just that.
- You need to be consistent. Upload stories every day and make sure that your content is in front of your audience as often as possible.
2. Driving Traffic Through Your Link In Bio
Whenever someone comes to your profile they will see your name first, your bio second, and your URL third. So you already have a certain amount of people that will click through to your website just by having a link in your bio.
However, you can increase that number drastically by telling people to check out the link in your bio in your post captions from time to time. When uploading a new post, a large portion of your followers who see it will read the caption. Use that to your advantage and entice people to check out your website or the offer you have in your bio.
3. Promoting Through Instagram Direct Messages
Direct messages are one of the most important tools at your disposal on Instagram. Your goal should be to get as many potential customers into your Direct Messages as possible. Once you start talking with someone who is potentially interested in what you have to offer, you are already very close to making a sale!
The goal here is to not come across too salesy inside your DMs. Instead, have a conversation with your prospects and slowly ease into closing them on what you have to offer.
You can make people message you by asking them to message you via your stories or by doing so in your captions. Something you can also do is take the initiative and message some people who engage with your content regularly and start the conversation that way.
How Do You Get Paid On Instagram?
PayPal is the accepted payment method for most transactions on Instagram. However, you should also accept Credit and Debit cards if you decide to sell a product or service through your website just in case someone prefers to avoid PayPal. Stripe is an excellent choice if you want to accept card payments.
Hopefully, this guide gave you some insight into how to make money on Instagram. If you put your mind to earning money on Instagram I am sure that you can earn a substantial amount within just 60 days. Feel free to take a look at our other Instagram related posts for more knowledge on how to make money on Instagram in 2020.
