With Instagram Shop, you can sell products directly to Instagram users even if they don’t follow you.
Are you one of those people who think that you need to be a celebrity or have over one million followers on Instagram photo sharing app to earn money from it?
Well, I’m here to tell you that’s not the case at all.
I’ve spent hours researching the best ways to make money on Instagram and found that there are many ways to do this, but some methods are just more effective than others.
So, to save you some time, here are the 14 absolute best ways to make some cash on Instagram even if you don’t have many followers.
Table Of Contents
- How to Make Money on Instagram
- 1. Affiliate Marketing
- 2. Sponsored Posts
- 3. Become a Brand Ambassador
- 4. Become an Art Model
- 5. Open an Instagram Shop
- 6. Dropshipping
- 7. Retail Arbitrage (Flip Items)
- 8. Print on Demand (POD)
- 9. Sell Your Merchandise
- 10. Use Instagram Ads
- 11. In-Stream Video Ads
- 12. Live Badges
- 13. Sell a Course
- 14. Drive Traffic to Your YouTube or Blog
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Ready To Start Making Money On Instagram?
How to Make Money on Instagram
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways to make money on Instagram.
Essentially, you promote another company’s products or services on your page, and if someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.
This is a great way to earn money if you have a large following, as you can potentially make a lot of sales.
Once you have your link, start promoting it on your Instagram page.
Here are a few tips to help you be a successful Instagram affiliate marketer:
Promote Relevant Products: Make sure to only promote products that are relevant to your page and your followers.- For example, if your Instagram account is all about beauty, don’t start promoting products from a home improvement store.
- Provide Value: In order for people to want to click on your affiliate link, you need to provide them with value.
- This can be in the form of informative posts, helpful product reviews, or valuable coupons and discounts.
- Choose Quality Products: It’s extremely important to only promote quality products from reputable companies.
- Your followers will appreciate it if you only recommend products that you actually use and love.
- Don’t just promote any product for the sake of making a commission, because trust me, this can work for a while but in the long run, your personal brand will lose its credibility and people will stop clicking on your links.
- Be Transparent: When promoting products as an affiliate, make sure to be transparent with your followers.
- Let them know that you are making money from the sales of the product, and make sure to disclose any sponsored content.
Promote Relevant Products: Make sure to only promote products that are relevant to your page and your followers.
- Include a Call-to-Action: Make sure to include a call-to-action in your Instagram posts, telling your followers what to do next.
- For example, you can say “click the link in the description for a 20% discount!”
- Don’t Overdo It: Make sure you’re still posting a variety of content, and that the links are just a small part of your overall strategy.
- Keep Track of Your Analytics: Make sure to keep track of your analytics so you can see what’s working and what’s not.
- This will help you adjust your strategy as needed and make the most out of your Instagram marketing efforts.
2. Sponsored Posts
Influencer marketing has become one of the most popular ways to make a living on social media platforms.
An Instagram influencer is someone with a large following who is considered an expert in their field and people trust and respect their opinions.
That’s why brand partnerships are willing to pay influencers to promote their products or services on their page, as they know that their followers will trust the recommendation and convert.
The amount you can charge for a sponsored post depends on your number of followers, where are your followers located, your engagement rate, and the type of product or service you’re promoting.
So if you have 30,000 real followers, you can make $300 per post picture.
To get started, connect to brands using one of the many influencer marketplaces, such as:
You can also reach directly out to companies that you think would be a good fit and offer to promote their products or services.
3. Become a Brand Ambassador
Another great way of making a living on Instagram is by becoming a brand ambassador.
The difference between this and sponsored posts is that you will usually be working with one company on an ongoing basis, rather than promoting different products from different companies.
As a brand ambassador, you will be responsible for promoting the company’s products or services on your page.
This can involve posting pictures or tutorials, running giveaways, etc.
You will usually be given a free product or service to use in your post pictures, and you will be paid either a commission on sales or a salary (usually both.)
To become a brand ambassador, look for opportunities on influencer marketplaces or reach out to companies that you love and offer to work with them.
They may start you off with a small campaign to see how you do, and then if they’re happy with your work, they’ll offer you a longer-term contract.
Just make sure that you’re only working with companies that you’re genuinely interested in, as this will make your job a lot easier and more enjoyable.
4. Become an Art Model
If you’re comfortable being photographed in the nude (or semi-nude,) then you can make very good money by becoming an art model.
Artists of all mediums need models to work from, and there is a growing demand for Instagram models as more and more artists are using the platform for inspiration.
In addition to artists, you can also work with brands and photographers who are looking for models for their products or campaigns.
You can also list your own photos on marketplaces like 500px or Fine Art America.
To get started, look for opportunities on modeling websites or reach out to artists and photographers that you admire and offer to model for them.
You can also join an agency, which will make it easier to find work but will take a percentage of your earnings.
Make sure you’re comfortable with the terms before you agree to anything, and always ask for a contract so you know exactly what you’re agreeing to.
5. Open an Instagram Shop
Instagram recently introduced Instagram shop, which allows businesses to sell products directly on their Instagram page.
It’s just like any other eCommerce store, except that it’s integrated into Instagram so people can shop without ever leaving the app.
Here are some of the benefits of opening a shop on Instagram:
- Product Detail Pages (PDP): You can make product detail pages, where you can include photos, videos, descriptions, and prices of the product.
- Product Tags: Your products will show up as regular posts on your follower’s feeds, but they will have a product tag that they can click on to learn more about the product or make a purchase.
- This works really well with ads, as customers now can go from seeing an ad to learning all about the product without leaving the app.
- Instagram Checkout: With Instagram checkout, users can make purchases using their credit or debit card, so you don’t even need to have a separate online store.
- Shop Section: Instagram now has a shop section where people can discover new brands and products, which is great for exposure and allows you to reach new customers without them having to follow you first.
- Instagram Live Shopping: With Instagram live shopping, you can sell products directly to your customers through Instagram Live.
- This can be done by going live and tagging products in your catalog.
- Once tagged, the product will appear on the screen with the price and a link to purchase, which is a great way to connect with your Instagram audience and make sales in real time.
Ok, so here comes the real question:
How to make money with the shop if you don’t have any physical products to sell?
Well, there are a few ways to do that. And we will cover them in the next 4 sections.
6. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a business model in which you sell products that you don’t own.
Here is how dropshipping works:
- You find trendy products that you think your target audience will love.
- You list the product on your shop with your own price.
- When somebody buys the product from your shop, you order it from the supplier and have it shipped directly to your customer’s doorsteps.
- You make a profit from the difference between your selling price and the supplier’s price.
7. Retail Arbitrage (Flip Items)
Retail arbitrage is the process of buying products from one retailer and selling them at a higher price to another retailer.
For example, you could buy a product from Aliexpress for $20 and sell it on Instagram for $40.
It’s all about leveraging the price difference between two retailers to make a profit.
And the best part about retail arbitrage is that anyone can do it!
All you need is to spend enough time in the market to have an idea of what sells and the prices of different products.
It can be really hard to monitor and sell products from a wide range of niches.
That’s why I recommend you focus on one specific niche that you’re passionate about.
For example, you could focus on selling sneakers and spend all your time hunting for deals on marketplaces like Flight Club and StockX.
This way, you’ll be able to quickly build up a strong knowledge base of the products in your niche, and you’ll be able to spot opportunities more easily.
8. Print on Demand (POD)
Print on demand is a business model in which you sell custom-printed products, such as t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases but you don’t need to carry any inventory.
All you need is to create the design, list it on POD marketplaces like Etsy, and promote it.
When somebody buys an item, the POD marketplace will print it and ship it directly to the customer.
You make a profit from the difference between your selling price and the cost of production.
This business model is perfect for Instagram because it allows you to sell a wide range of products without having to worry about inventory or fulfillment.
9. Sell Your Merchandise
If you have a large following on Instagram, you can use that to your advantage and make some extra money by selling merchandise.
This could be anything from t-shirts to mugs to phone cases, and you can either design the products yourself or have someone else do it for you.
To sell your merchandise and start earning a living on Instagram, you can use a service like Teespring or Merch by Amazon.
You can also link to your merchandise in your Instagram bio, and post photos of it on your page with a link to where people can buy it.
10. Use Instagram Ads
Sometimes the best way to make money is to spend money.
And that’s the case with Instagram ads.
While you can make some money by organically growing your Instagram business account and posting good content, you’ll make a lot more if you’re willing to invest in ads.
Instagram ads work like any other social media platform in ads, where you pay to have your ad seen by people who are most likely to be interested in it.
You can use photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, Instagram stories, and more to get your message across and make some serious buck on Instagram.
Here are a few tips to make the most out of your Instagram ads:
- Create Accurate Customer Persona: The first step is to create a customer persona, which is a fictional character that represents your ideal customer.
- This will help you determine how to approach your target market and what kind of content to create.
- For example, if you are selling acne products, your customer persona might be a teenage girl who is struggling with her skin and feels self-conscious about it.
- Research Your Competitors: Once you know who your target market is, you need to research your competitors and see what they’re doing right and wrong.
- This will help you create a better ad campaign that stands out from the rest.
- Use Relevant Keywords and Hashtags: When creating your ad, be sure to use relevant keywords and hashtags so that your ad can be easily found by people who are searching for it.
- For example, if you’re selling a new type of fitness equipment, you’ll want to use hashtags like #fitness #gym #workout in your ad.
- Use Eye-Catching Images: The images you use in your ad should be eye-catching and relevant to the product you’re selling.
- People are visual creatures, and if your ad stands out, you’re more likely to get their attention.
- Include a Call to Action: Always include a call to action in your ad so that people know what you want them to do.
- This might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how effective a simple call to action can be.
11. In-Stream Video Ads
In-stream video ads are a new way for creators to start earning on Instagram, and they’re perfect for those who have a large following.
In-stream video ads are short, skippable ads that appear before, in the middle of, or after your videos, and they can be up to 15 seconds long.
In terms of payment, Instagram promises 55% of the ad revenue to the creator.
So if an advertiser paid $100 for in-stream ads, you would make $55.
Not too bad, right?
To be eligible for in-stream video ads, your account must meet the following criteria:
- Your videos must be at least 60 seconds long.
- Your videos must be original with no copyright or trademark infringement
- Your videos must be in English, German, Spanish, or French
- You must follow the Content Monetisation Policies and Advertiser Content Guidelines
If you meet all of the above criteria, you can turn on the in-stream video ads for your videos by going to Account Settings -> Creator -> In-Stream Video Ads ->Tab Get Started and agree to the Terms and Conditions ->Toggle Allow Monetization -> Click Continue
12. Live Badges
If you love going live on Instagram, then you’ll be happy to know that you can make money from your live videos with Live Badges.
Live badges are a new way for creators to make money on Instagram, and they’re perfect for those who have a large following and produce high-quality, entertaining live videos.
You can think of live badges as “virtual tips” that your viewers can give you during your live stream.
Live badges are available in 3 packs:
- One heart: $0.99
- Two hearts: $1.99
- Three hearts: $4.99
One heart: $0.99When someone buys a badge for your live video, you’ll get a notification, and heart symbols will appear next to their username in the comments.
13. Sell a Course
If you are an expert on a particular topic or have valuable knowledge to share, you can make money by selling a course on Instagram.
There are many ways to promote your course on Instagram, but the most effective way is to create a landing page and then promote it with an ad.
14. Drive Traffic to Your YouTube or Blog
If you have a large following on Instagram, you can use it to drive traffic to your other platforms where you can further monetize your content.
This way, you can monetize the SAME TRAFFIC you’re getting from Instagram 2 times. One via Instagram ads and the other via Youtube ads.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How Many Instagram Followers Do You Need to Make Money?
You can make money on Instagram with as little as 1,000 followers.
The key is to have engaged followers that are interested in what you’re promoting.
How Much Do Instagram Influencers Make?
Instagram influencers make anywhere from $50 to $1,000,000 per Instagram post.
It all depends on your niche, your engagement rate, and how many followers you have.
Do You Get Paid for Views on Instagram?
If you enabled Instagram in-stream ads, you will get paid based on the number of views your video receives.
Do Instagram Reels Make Money?
You can make money from Instagram Reels.
The amount you earn will depend on the performance of your Reel and the number of views it receives.
How Do People Make Money on Instagram Without Followers?
The best way to make money on Instagram without followers is to leverage Shop.
With Instagram Shop, you can sell products directly to Instagram users even if they don’t follow you.
Ready To Start Making Money On Instagram?
There you have it! These are 14 ways you can make money on Instagram.
If you’re serious about making money on Instagram, I recommend you start with affiliate marketing.
It’s not only very easy to get started with, but it’s also extremely scalable and you can earn passive income while you sleep.
You can also check our guide on making money online for additional ideas.
