How to Make Money From Instagram: The Most Proven Strategies to Make Money from Instagram in 2024
Don’t just spend time on Instagram—turn it into a source of passive income. Whether you sell merchandise or become an influencer, there are many ways to make money on Instagram.
This guide will teach you how to make money on Instagram and significantly scale your presence as an online entrepreneur. To illustrate, we’ve chosen 5 profitable examples of brands making money on Instagram, showcasing the opportunities for selling and other business ideas on the platform.
01. Brand Collaboration or Sponsorship
Even if you only have 1,000 followers or less on your Instagram account, you can still collaborate with brands. To earn big money from Instagram, you need sponsorships, but many people do not know how to get sponsorships, how to connect with brands, or how to communicate with them. You must have seen many influencers who do promotions for games, websites, Telegram channels, and more. These companies pay a good amount.
There are many types of collaborations. If you are a beginner, you can start with barter collaborations. If you have 1k-10k followers, you will get barter collaborations. The brand sends you a product, and in return, you upload a reel story or a post, tagging and mentioning the brand. In barter collaborations, the brand sends you the product but doesn’t pay you money; however, you get the product for free. The second type is paid collaboration. Here, the brand not only gives you the product but also pays you according to the number of followers you have. The amount you should charge depends on your follower count, the brand’s wealth, and the condition of your account.
To find brands to collaborate with, consider joining various influencer marketplaces, tagging your favorite brands in your posts, or reaching out to them directly via email with an influencer media kit. A media kit is essentially a digital portfolio that highlights your work, audience demographics, follower count, engagement rates, and unique value proposition. You can create a media kit using a portfolio website template or by making a PDF, which you can design using platforms like Etsy.
02. Building a Theme Page
What is a Theme Page? A Theme Page is an Instagram account that posts content of the same niche. You can visit sites like ClickBank to find products your audience will like, promote these products, and earn a commission on your sales. Starting an Instagram account along with a YouTube channel in your niche will boost engagement on both platforms and help you make money.
03. Merchandise Design for Personal Brand
Design merch for your personal brand. If you have a substantial following or are fairly popular, you can design your own merchandise. For example, you can design things like t-shirts, bags, caps, watches, glasses, or even write and print books to sell under your brand. With a little research on merch design, you’ll understand that it’s becoming popular. Many YouTubers, content creators, and influencers who already have brands are designing their own products to make money through brand value.
04. Affiliate Marketing
Unlike becoming an influencer and getting paid per post, as an affiliate marketer, you earn money through commissions based on sales generated from your referrals. The average affiliate commission rate ranges from 5% to 30%. Your sales are typically tracked using a unique promo code or a UTM link. On Instagram, affiliate programs are often referred to as “Brand Ambassador” programs. You can either apply to become a brand ambassador through a company’s website or be directly approached by the brand.
The number of followers you have is not the primary factor for brands when selecting affiliates. Instead, they focus on finding individuals who resonate well with their target audience.
On Instagram, you can only add product links in your bio or in your Story if you have over 10,000 followers. Given these limitations, consider starting a blog using a blog creation platform and writing SEO-optimized posts about the products you are promoting, including trackable links. This is a popular and effective method in affiliate marketing.
05. Increase Traffic to Your Website
A recent survey revealed that 80% of respondents believe Instagram is instrumental in helping them discover and purchase new products or services. This highlights the significant potential Instagram holds for brand visibility and customer acquisition. The more people encounter your brand on Instagram, the higher the likelihood they will visit your website and make a purchase.
To capitalize on this, consider leveraging Instagram as an indirect tool to drive traffic to your website. By engaging with your Instagram audience effectively, you can increase sales, grow your email marketing list, and cultivate a dedicated community of customers.
Embracing multi-channel selling is crucial for modern businesses. While platforms like Instagram are powerful, it’s essential to maintain your own website or online store. This ensures you have a direct relationship with your customers, independent of third-party platforms whose popularity may wane or algorithms might change. Unlike social media platforms, email lists provide a permanent, reliable way to reach your audience. So, don’t delay—start integrating your Instagram efforts with a solid web presence today.
Tips for Succeeding on Instagram
Focus on a Specific Niche: Selecting a specific niche is crucial for establishing yourself as an expert and attracting a dedicated following. A broad category like food might seem appealing, but narrowing it down to a specific focus such as vegan or gluten-free cuisine can make a significant difference. This targeted approach helps differentiate you from the competition and makes you highly relevant to brands looking to connect with your specific audience.
Engage Actively with Your Community: Building a strong and interactive community is essential for success on Instagram. Merely posting beautiful pictures won’t suffice. Regularly liking, commenting, messaging, and sharing others’ content fosters a sense of community and shows that you’re genuinely interested in your followers’ content. Storytelling is key across all social media platforms, including Instagram. Enhancing your storytelling skills will help you secure more engagement and build deeper connections with your audience.
Utilize Tags Effectively: Leveraging hashtags, geotags, and tagging brands in your posts can significantly increase your visibility and attract new followers. This strategy not only helps you get discovered by potential followers but also increases the likelihood of securing new brand partnerships.
Adopt a Multi-Channel Strategy: Expanding your presence beyond Instagram is vital. Be active on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, start a blog, and maintain a newsletter to cross-promote your content. This multi-channel approach ensures that you reach relevant audiences from different platforms and keep them engaged with your content. Additionally, explore other revenue-generating platforms such as Patreon. For instance, as a musician, you can promote your music on Instagram and offer exclusive content or early access to new music on Patreon, thus expanding your monetization opportunities.
Stay Proactive and Resilient: Taking proactive steps is crucial for success. Reach out to brands for partnership deals, apply for ambassador programs, and frequently collaborate with others, even if it’s for free initially. Persistence is key in building your Instagram monetization efforts. As Robin Sharma said, “The only failure is not trying.” Embrace this mindset and continuously strive for new opportunities to grow and monetize your Instagram presence.
To make money on Instagram in 2024, focus on brand collaborations, building theme pages, designing and selling personal brand merchandise, engaging in affiliate marketing, and using Instagram’s shopping features. By leveraging these strategies and actively engaging with your audience, you can turn your Instagram presence into a lucrative source of income.