You cannot scroll through your Instagram feed without seeing creators promoting products. These creators may do their own promotions and those from other brands. Ever wonder if you could also monetize your social media account? 

Yes, you do not have to be a top-performing celebrity to fetch efficient income from promoted posts. Moreover, you do not even have to get millions of followers to earn money on Instagram. 

You may find several Instragam creators with as few as 1,000 followers monetizing their posts in no time. For this, you must learn how to make money on Instagram if you want to build a social media empire or earn extra cash through a side hustle. 

This guide will teach you how to monetize Instagram with several effective strategies for your personal brand. 

How to Get Paid on Instagram as a Business?

Making money on Instagram is not solely about how many followers you have. The methods will depend on your unique content, your target audience, and your level of commitment. Now, let us learn some of the relevant strategies that will help you know how to monetize Instagram. 

1. Partner with a Brand for Sponsored Posts

You can become an influencer, micro-influencer, or nano-influencer, which is one of the most promising ways to make money on Instagram. You will be compensated with gifts or money if you become any of these types of influencers. 

This compensation is provided in return for the development of exciting content related to the business or the brand. These could be any sponsored posts or shoutouts where you discuss any brand or product in a positive manner on your Instagram profile through a post or a story. You can also use reels to add links to your own services or website or to advertise paid content.

2. Get Paid as a Creator by Instagram

If you are interested in learning how to earn money on Instagram, the very first thing you need to do is sign up as a business on the said social media platform. This assists in building trust and a good rapport with the followers, and they will stick to your account to get the content they need, hence increasing your earning potential.

Live Badges on Instagram help fans support their favorite creators, who, in return, feel encouraged to keep producing content. Live Badges are similar to online gratuities that people can provide during the livestream event. They could be purchased on some themes for between $0.99 and $4.99.

To add this feature to your account:

• Go to your Profile.
• Click “Professional Dashboard.”
• Tap on “Grow Your Business.”
• Select “Badges.”

Once you go live, click on the “badges” icon on the left side of your screen to turn them on and start earning from fans.

3. Open a Shop on Instagram

An Instagram shop is like a business of an online shop without the internet because it is done through an application. The process is simple enough, as the shop’s slogan ‘post, tag, sell’ reveals. 

Subsequently, you can open a shop and post pictures of items, short descriptions, and prices. This allows other users to find your items and shop without having to go to another app.

The five steps to create a shop on Instagram include: 

1. Convert your Instagram account into a business account
2. Connect your Facebook Page
3. Upload a product catalog
4. Complete account review
5. Turn on Shopping

4. Become an Affiliate Marketer. 

It is possible to become an affiliate to make money on Instagram and find out how it can be done. Affiliation would enable you to monetize a website by making money based on the commission. While influencers negotiate a pay-per-post, affiliates’ income relies on the number of sales made through the referrals. The average commission rate that is offered to affiliate marketers stands between 5% and 30%.

Your sales will be properly monitored using a special code or link in your promo code or UTM link. Affiliate programs can be mistaken for “Brand Ambassador” on Instagram. 

You can go online and apply for an affiliate position in a company or may be contacted directly by the brands in question. Brands are more interested in your ability to connect with their audience than your follower count. Your sales will be tracked with a unique promo code or UTM link. Affiliate programs often go by the name "Brand Ambassador" on Instagram. 

You can apply to become an affiliate on a company's website or be approached by the respective brand. Brands are more interested in your ability to connect with their audience than your follower count.

5. Drive Traffic to Your Website

Instagram can help people discover and buy new products or services. The more people see your brand on Instagram, the better the chance they will buy from your official website. Use Instagram to drive traffic to your website, boost sales, grow your email marketing list, and expand your loyal customer community. 

Engaging content and consistent posting enhance your brand's visibility and credibility. Utilize Instagram Stories and shopping features to create direct pathways to your product pages, increasing the likelihood of conversions. Besides, you can create a one-page website and add an email-integrated form. With this form, you can collect lead information and convert potential leads into customers through comprehensive email campaigns. 

6. Provide Instagram Marketing Services

If you are skilled in caption writing, content creation, or Instagram marketing, consider taking on Instagram freelancing gigs. You can profit by consulting other companies on improving their Instagram marketing techniques, charging service fees between $20 and $50 per hour. You might even earn around $100 for writing captions.

Promote your services in your Instagram bio and on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. Consider adding online scheduling to your website so people can book your services directly.

7. Sell Illustrations, Photos, or Digital Files

Instagram is all about visuals. If you are a designer, photographer, or creative professional, you can sell your photos to other businesses, particularly in industries like travel. You can also sell your own content, such as illustrations and prints. If you have a photography website or online portfolio, use Instagram as a "storefront window" for your work, attracting more clients.

8. Offer Exclusive Content to Your Audience

Humans have a strong desire to keep learning, which is why several online course platforms like Coursera, Masterclass, and others have gained a large customer base. Besides, if you use Instagram and while scrolling through the reels, you might have come across one reel that says - “if you want to learn how to become independent, come join my masterclass”, or something similar. Well, who’s stopping you from creating and selling content? 

If you have mastered something and have tips or techniques that you can share with the audience that could actually improve their lives, then you can plan to create an online course. Instagram is an excellent outlet to market it. You can earn money with each course registration.

An average individual course can be around $100 based on your offerings. Longer, more intense courses may cost thousands of dollars. Besides online courses, you can also earn through simple eBooks, whitepapers, templates, or downloadable guides.

9. Dropship Products

Inventory is an important factor that often presents logistical and financial hurdles when starting a business. However, with the dropshipping business model, you can run your store without holding any inventory. By starting a dropshipping business, you can choose from millions of supplier products. 

The most common products include books, mugs, t-shirts, and pillows. You don't have to deal with the hassle of fulfillment and shipping, allowing you to set your own pricing to maximize profits. Once you are ready to promote your dropshipping business, create a dedicated Instagram page to showcase your products. Later, you can further advertise your site and increase sales.

10. Create an Instagram Feature Account

Social media may also be used to promote products and services by introducing people to new brands they may have never come across. The more often consumers come across the brand on Instagram, the higher the likelihood of consumers purchasing something from the brand’s official website. Instagram can be utilized to make more people visit your site, buy your products, join your newsletter, and become your regular clientele.

Relevant content and post frequency give your brand more exposure, and it becomes credible. Take advantage of Instagram Stories and shopping features to establish a direct link to your product pages, hence enhancing the odds of buying.

Creating a Biolink on Instagram

Instagram is an influential platform that requires you to create captivating content that keeps users engaged. Amidst all this, people often tend to ignore one important aspect: the bio link. 

Neo is a business email platform that integrates the one-page website feature with a business email to enhance the online brand presence of several organizations. Here's how the platform can transform your bio link game:

• Unified Digital Experience: Neo is an all-inclusive digital platform which is superior to other platforms in several ways with more enhanced functionalities. Some of the trends are integrated email products which the visitors can interact with, try for themselves, and even conduct their communication using one link.
• Effortless Design: The bio link page already comes with pre-selected themes, which helps users save time that would otherwise be spent designing the page to suit the brand.
• Established Professionalism: Not every person or brand owner comes ready with a domain, but Neo knows this and is ready to address it. Therefore, one can include their Bio link page in the domain connected with Neo email without additional costs or settings.
• Engage Across Platforms: Starting with the integration ability called Effortless, Instagram allows its followers to go from one platform to another seamlessly X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, or Facebook increasing your exposure to the outside world across the social media platforms.

Wrapping up,

Content is consumed rapidly on Instagram, which is one of the most popular social media platforms in current times. Therefore, you must take this opportunity to monetize your posts or stories through various means, ensuring that your content is captivating and comprehensive enough. However, there are other things to learn about making money on Instagram, which we have already discussed in this guide.

Moreover, you can seek Neo’s help to make your Instagram experience excellent and unforgettable. All you need to do is choose a plan from Neo, register your custom domain, and create your business email address and inbox. Login to your account and access Site Editor. With an intuitive website builder, you can easily create, customize, and deploy your one-page website or bio link. Neo and its advanced features can make every click count by enabling you to build a strong online presence. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I get paid as an Instagram user?

Yes, you can make money on Instagram as one of its users. This social media platform is one of the top places where influencers and creators can monetize their content. It also enables you to attract more followers through various means. Instagram further helps creators monetize their influence on the platform.

2. How many followers do I need to make money on Instagram?

A nano-influencer with 1,000–10,000 followers makes around $10–$100 per post. Micro-influencers with 10,000–50,000 followers earn $100–$500 per post. Mid-tier influencers with 50,000–500,000 followers earn $500–$5,000 per post. Lastly, macro-influencers with 500,000–1 million followers earn around $5,000–$10,000 per post.

3. How much does Instagram pay to a user with 1000 followers?

Instagram users with around 1,000 followers can make about $10 per post. Their earnings can go up to $1,420 per month. Moreover, you can still make money on Instagram by working with brands even if you don't have a large number of followers.

4. How many views do I need on Instagram to get paid?

Payout on Instagram usually happens on reels. For this, you must get at least 1,000 views over 30 days. It is attainable and worth your time. However, the payment is currently US-based and invite-only. Instagram has stated that they plan to expand the program globally soon.

5. Does Instagram pay users for likes?

Instagram offers various features, such as Shopping and ads, to help users monetize their presence. However, the popular social media platform does not pay users directly for regular usage or engagement.