Instagram used to be a photo sharing app but today it has evolved into something greater – a powerful platform for earning money and growing one’s business. The difference this transformation has made is that it has paved the way for content creators to come forward and show their skills to the world. Whether it is channeling their inner comedian, skit artist, tarot reader, musician, dancer or educator, Instagram has set the stage for all talented people to perform and monetize their content. After the Pandemic, Instagram came around as a platform helping brands to reach their customers through creators’ pages.
The result? Well, ever since this partnership has never looked back and continued to grow, making Instagram both an entertaining platform and a business powerhouse. So the question is – how do Instagram creators earn money? There are multiple ways for people to earn money on Insta, without having millions of followers. Most people think that you can earn money only on YouTube, but that’s not true. If you understand the algorithm game and inculcate your creativity, then you can make thousands on Instagram.
What is Instagram Monetization?
Just like YouTube, creators can get paid for the content they create and share on Instagram. It is a myth that people can only earn from YouTube and not from Instagram. The reels, posts and videos that you watch on Instagram are all a money well for creators. By turning their creativity and influence into content, influencers and creators reach out to a massive audience. Through this community interaction, they earn their rewards. Thus, with Instagram monetization you can earn money by doing something you love.
You can even take the spotlight and get discovered by brands, build a loyal community and earn their love to reach new heights. Not just creators, but influencers and small entrepreneurs too can monetize their content. As we said, Instagram is a much bigger platform. Who knows your art, business or content may end up giving you more than just money – maybe a movie contract or a Cannes debut? There are so many examples of this like Prajakta Kohli, Nancy Tyagi, Ankush Bahuguna, Dhana and many more.
Ways to earn money on Instagram as Creators
1. Brand Sponsorships and Paid Partnerships
Working with brands is a common way to earn revenue on Instagram and in all honesty, the most significant way to make profits. Many brands get in touch with creators who make content similar to their niche such as skincare, makeup, tech, fashion, etc. These brands pay creators to feature their product in reels, posts, stories or videos and create a hype around them.
Basically, brands leverage creators’ Instagram presence to grow their audience and promote their products. The creator, in turn gets to reap the benefits of their content and earn big commissions. Creators can discover brands on Insta’s creator marketplace and create content together. When both collaborate, the reel or posts get labeled under a ‘paid partnership’. This way, it is a win win situation for both, the creator earning millions and the brand improving their product visibility.
2. Exclusive Content Via Subscription
It is true that your followers can be your gateway to success. But with Insta’s latest feature, you can earn extra money for creating content exclusively for them. An Instagram subscription is a feature where your followers pay a monthly fee to get access to your content, hidden from the rest of the world. This is a feature tailor made for only loyal and committed users, who love your craft, understand your content and value it. As a creator, you set the price that you want your subscribers to pay.
People who approve of that price will get access to your content and also get a subscriber badge which is purple in colour. Anytime you post exclusive content, this purple ring around their name will help them stand out. You can give them bonus content for their love for you, like special stories, reels, live, etc. You can even add offers for your subscribers like giving them discounts or a free month of subscription to have them hooked up.
3. Instagram Gift and Badges
Your fans’ love doesn’t end at one thing, there are multiple ways for your audience to show appreciation for your content. Your followers can send you gifts on your reels or live sessions which can be turned into real money. You can go to your professional dashboard and activate this gift feature.
Your audience can purchase Stars or virtual gifts and send them to you as a token of love for you and your content. The followers can send you a gift by tapping on the gift icon and when you send them a heart, they will know you’ve recognised the gift. You can see the total gifts received and get an approximate amount of the monthly earnings you made.
4. Instagram Bonuses
Who doesn’t like a good bonus after putting in all the hard work? Instagram is a good boss and appreciates your efforts. Based on your performance on reels, photos, carousels and single image posts, Insta rewards you with bonuses. Well, this is an invite only option, so if you get an invite from Insta, you can receive your bonus.
This feature is currently in testing and that’s why it has two invitation only seasonal bonuses – one for reels and one for posts. If you are the lucky one, you will receive your invitation on the professional dashboard.
5. Affiliate Marketing
Apart from the Instagram monetization tools, creators can earn from other online activities such as affiliate marketing. Well, just like brands pay you for sponsoring their products on your page, you can directly promote their products by joining an affiliate program.
As an affiliate, you post the link of products on your stories, reels, posts or in comments and encourage your audience to purchase products using your link. When your followers purchase products through your link, you earn a commission on each sale, which ranges from 5 to 40% depending on the niche and brands.
6. Instagram Shop/Online Store
Are you a small business owner struggling to make sales on your own? Then why not use the Instagram Shop to promote products directly to a mass audience? Just create a business account on Insta and upload a detailed product catalogue including description and price tags.
Instagram will allow you to include a ‘shop now’ option but for that you need to enable the shopping feature on your profile. Once you enable that, you can easily start tagging products or make posts showcasing your products. You can also include a CTA in comments by asking followers to DM you for the product link.
How to Monetize Your Instagram Account?
- You should first switch to a creator or business account to monetize your content by making changes from the professional dashboard.
- Adhere to the Instagram Partner Monetization Policies.
- Check eligibility for subscription and badges, which require 10k followers and being 18 or older.
- Adhere to community guidelines and create content that does not promote violence, harm, political affiliation, domestic violence, etc.
Conclusion
Well, guess now you have cracked the code on how Instagram offers multiple monetization tools to help creators reap rewards for creating content and keeping the app active. Just like YouTube has specific criteria to fulfill, Instagram also has its guidelines.
But since Instagram has currently transformed into a complete business platform, the opportunity to make money has also increased, especially for creators. What used to be an app for sharing one’s personal life moments has now become a strong monetization platform.
