How To Make Money On Instagram: Best & Foolproof Ways

Instagram is among the largest and most popular social media platforms globally, making it an excellent avenue for promoting any personal brand or product you may have.

How Can You Start Earning Money on Instagram as a Creator?

Most small business owners will now have an Instagram shop alongside their mail-order business or physical location, utilizing free or paid Instagram marketing to enhance their sales.

But how can you make money on Instagram while keeping expenses low? And is this practice entirely legal? Let’s explore.

How To Make Money On Instagram

Although Instagram isn’t a subscription-based platform like Twitch or OnlyFans, it doesn’t mean you can’t earn money from it.

Instagram’s popularity makes it an ideal platform for selling physical products and digital services, providing both micro-influencers and large corporations a means to earn money with minimal investment.

Here are some key factors that will affect your ability to earn money on this platform.

1. You need a substantial follower count

The specific number of Instagram followers required to begin earning money on the platform will vary based on your business model.

Nonetheless, the general agreement is that you need at least several thousand to achieve any level of success.

That being said, you will gain more followers as your business grows, and it is not unrealistic to expect to reach a million followers or even more if you successfully implement a marketing strategy.

2. You need a thoroughly researched business plan

While having many engaged followers is a crucial step in turning Instagram into a source of income, it is far from the only action you will need to take.

The next item on your list should be to create a stable and realistic business plan. There are numerous ways to earn money on Instagram, but you should choose one or two.

For instance, although a major Instagram influencer with ten million followers can earn significant income through affiliate marketing, this approach may not be profitable for smaller social media accounts.

Similarly, if you are considering starting a dropshipping business model, you will need to take into account your location, transportation costs, and the tax implications of operating your own online store.

The same applies to other models, such as utilizing Instagram to raise awareness among your target audience and enhance the sales of your physical store.

3. You need to have realistic expectations

While establishing a successful business account is relatively simple and demands less financial investment than opening a chain of physical stores, you should not view it as a “get rich overnight” scheme.

Realistically, it will take between 6 months to a year for your business account to become profitable, assuming you have a skilled social media manager overseeing it.

In fact, many potentially successful Instagram businesses fail because their owners lack patience. Starting a business, even one based on a social media marketing strategy, takes time.

Instagram Business Account Models

Having outlined the key requirements for establishing a successful business account on this social media platform, let’s now explore the most popular business models available on the platform.

Becoming an Instagram Influencer

When people consider making money on Instagram, the first thing that comes to mind is Instagram influencers.

These individuals typically have thousands, if not millions, of followers and earn money through a practice known as influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing involves monetizing your Instagram page through an affiliate program, where a brand seeking to reach your followers pays you a specific amount for each sponsored post.

The amount of money you earn will depend on the number of followers you have. Additionally, the more popular your Instagram account becomes, the more offers you will receive to promote affiliate links, making it essential to prioritize growing your follower count.

Starting an eCommerce Store

Creating your own eCommerce store doesn’t require as extensive an Instagram audience as joining affiliate networks does (although having at least several thousand followers is still advisable), and it provides you with greater control over your income.

On the downside, you will need a pre-established product or service to sell, along with some experience in using relevant hashtags to promote them.

Finally, as you will be promoting your own product, it is essential to know how to create engaging posts.

Marketing a Personal Brand

Finally, this last method of making money on Instagram combines elements of the previous two. Instead of using your Instagram account as a shop, you will sell your product on other social media platforms or even through an online store like Amazon, using Instagram to promote your store.

The Instagram bio serves as an excellent opportunity to include a link to your online store, making it significantly easier for your followers to locate it.

Additionally, you can utilize the sponsored post option that the platform provides, investing in marketing to enhance your visibility to your target audience.

Finally, if your product or service allows for it, you can create promo codes and organize giveaways on Instagram, including a clickable link to your website where winners can use your code to receive a discount.

How Many Followers Do You Need to Start Making Money on Instagram?

Various studies indicate the minimum number of Instagram followers needed to build a successful career as an influencer, primarily due to the emergence of micro-influencers in recent years.

That said, most sources agree that you need approximately 100,000 followers before the income from sponsored posts becomes adequate for a comfortable living, with each Instagram post generating several hundred USD in revenue.

Conversely, establishing a store can be achieved with fewer followers, particularly if you have alternative methods for reaching customers that do not rely on your Instagram shop.

5 Tips and Tricks for Making Money on Instagram

1. Purchase followers or an account with a substantial following

Although the most financially responsible method to grow your Instagram business is by creating engaging posts and leveraging the account’s organic growth, there are additional strategies to consider.

One option is to create sponsored posts by paying Instagram to promote a specific post that will attract people to follow your account. This choice can be costly and is therefore not recommended for beginners.

Alternatively, you can utilize third-party websites that provide free or paid followers, allowing you to invest a significantly smaller amount of money to build a large following for your store.

Although this carries the risk of having your account banned, such occurrences are extremely rare and are likely to yield significantly more profit than the amount you invested in the long run.

The third and final option is to purchase an Instagram account that already has a substantial following and then customize it for your business.

Although it may be the safest option—since Instagram has no real means to flag your newly purchased profile for suspicious activity—you might find that you have fewer followers than anticipated as people leave your account after the content changes. However, this loss is typically negligible.

2. Keep Your Account Active

Regardless of the business model you choose, one of the most crucial secrets of Instagram marketing is to keep your account as active as possible.

If you intend to become an influencer, share entertaining and trendy photos, along with Instagram stories. Utilize relevant hashtags and provide insights into your daily life for your followers.

Furthermore, if you are part of an affiliate program for a specific brand, refrain from mentioning other brands in the same industry, even on different social media platforms.

Conversely, when launching an Instagram shop, it is essential to have numerous clickable links, regular promotions, and giveaways to draw in potential customers.

Finally, when your business grows sufficiently, you can hire Instagram influencers directly.

3. Utilize all available marketing channels

While Instagram Shop allows you to reach a large audience quickly and easily, it is most effective when used as part of a broader marketing strategy.

You can link your Instagram account to other social media platforms, such as TikTok, Facebook, and OnlyFans, or include your personal website link in your bio.

The other websites you use will depend on your business model, but each additional platform you incorporate will enhance both your reach and your sales and advertising revenue, as most Instagram users are also active on these other platforms.

4. Monitor trends in Instagram marketing

Similar to other social media platforms, Instagram is influenced by trends that temporarily boost the popularity of specific types of content.

By monitoring these trends, you can enhance the appeal of your Instagram account to users, resulting in more sponsored posts or an increased number of sales.

You can accomplish this either manually by reviewing the competition or by using third-party software that monitors the most popular Instagram posts and the hashtags they include.

5. Post Only High-Quality Content

While maintaining an active account is important, it won’t benefit you if the content you post is not of high quality.

In simple terms, if you want to gain popularity on Instagram, whether for yourself or your business, you must keep your audience engaged.

This means that your posts must be relevant to the topic of the Instagram account, unique enough to stand out from the rest, and, most importantly, not copied or cross-posted from another influencer or store.

Conclusion

Instagram is currently one of the most popular platforms for making money online, offering a variety of options for each user.

That being said, building a successful Instagram business requires time and effort, along with an initial financial investment.

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