Instagram is a powerful platform for building a following, engaging with your audience, and ultimately making money. But what if you’re just starting out, and only have 500 followers? Is it still possible to make money on Instagram? The answer is yes! While having a large following can certainly help, it’s not the only factor that determines whether or not you can make money on Instagram.
How To Make Money On Instagram
In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the best ways how to make money on Instagram by monetizing your content, even if you only have 500 followers. From sponsored posts to affiliate marketing, there are a variety of ways to turn your Instagram account into a profitable venture.
The first step to earning money on Instagram is to determine which type of earning method will be most suitable for your account. Depending on the number of followers you have and the topics that you post about, some methods may be better suited to you than others. Popular options include affiliate marketing, sponsorships, selling products or services, and creating content for other brands for a fee.
Establish Clear Goals and Communication
The first step to making money on Instagram is to set clear goals and communication. If you want to grow your business, be specific about what it is that you want to achieve. For example, if your goal is to increase revenue by 10% per month and increase brand awareness by 10%, then make sure that this information is communicated clearly in the beginning stages of building up a following on Instagram.
Once again: be realistic about how much time (and money) it will take for your account followership numbers (and sales) to grow exponentially over time – which means being open with yourself about where those numbers stand right now! The only way we can improve our chances of achieving these lofty goals is if we know where they are now – so keep track of them throughout each day/week/month until they start trending up towards more impressive numbers than ever before!
Introduce yourself to potential sponsors
When you join Instagram, the first thing that comes up is your bio. This is where you should introduce yourself and explain what you do in a way that’s friendly, professional, and engaging. For example,
- “I’m an entrepreneur who sells products on Amazon.”
- “I help people get healthy by sharing their favorite recipes with my followers.”
- “My company helps brands build their brand using social media platforms like Instagram.”
Avoid The “Follow And Unfollow” Tactic
If you’re new to Instagram, then this is a great way to figure out what works best for your brand and how exactly you should use the platform. However, if you are looking for long-term success (or even just some extra cash), then this tactic is not going to help either of those things.
The reason why I say this is because it can be very hard for people who follow others on Instagram without ever interacting with them in any way—and worse still: they don’t even know who these people are! It also makes it difficult for anyone else who wants their account followed by that same person because they won’t know why someone would want their account followed at all unless they were already following him/her beforehand.
Treat Your Instagram Account Like A Business
Treating your Instagram account like a business can be an effective way to generate income. Here are a few ways to do it:
- Define your niche: Identify your niche and the type of content that you want to create. This will help you to attract the right audience and create content that will be of value to them.
- Build a consistent brand: Create a consistent brand and aesthetic that is reflected in your profile, content, and captions. This will make your account more visually appealing and help you attract more followers.
- Create a consistent posting schedule: Post regularly and consistently to keep your followers engaged. This will also help to increase your visibility on the platform and attract new followers.
- Engage with your audience: Respond to comments and messages, and use Instagram Stories and Instagram Live to interact with your followers in real time. This will help build a community around your account and increase engagement.
- Use Instagram analytics: Use Instagram analytics to track your account’s growth, engagement, and performance. This will help you to understand your audience and make informed decisions about your content.
- Monetize your account: Look for monetization opportunities such as sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate marketing, and selling products.
- Be professional: Be professional in your interactions and collaborations with brands, be punctual, and deliver what you promised.
Be patient Nothing Worthwhile Comes Easy
Patience is a virtue. If you’re building an audience, it will take time. If you want your brand to grow, it will take time as well. And if you want to make money on Instagram, patience is even more important than all of those other things combined!
The best way for me to explain this is by using an analogy about my own journey—I’ve been working my ass off for years at this point because I love the process and enjoy sharing my results with other people who are interested in learning new skills or getting involved in similar projects themselves (which brings me back around to our original topic: being patient).
Find Out What Your Audience Wants
To find out what your audience wants, you can use a tool like Iconosquare. This will allow you to see their behavior on the platform and get an idea of their interests.
If this isn’t enough for you, there are other options as well: Pollfish is another great option that allows users to create polls on Instagram Stories (however, we’d recommend using Pollfish instead). You can also check out SurveyMonkey or Google Surveys if these don’t suit your needs. The last few options are more tailored toward paid surveys; however, they can often be worth checking out if you have trouble with the other tools above
Make Quality Content That Appeal To Your Engaged Audience
- Make sure your content is relevant to your audience.
- Make sure it’s high quality and engaging.
- Ensure that you are consistently creating great content for your followers to enjoy, meaning that if they see something new from you every day or two, they will feel like they know what to expect from their favorite Instagrammer each time they open up their app—which means more engagement!
- Be unique in the way that you share information with people who follow you; don’t just copy and paste other people’s ideas (even if they’re good ones). That’s not going to get anyone anywhere except maybe even fewer followers than before!
Look for Sponsored
Sponsors are looking for influencers. They want people who have a large following, and you can make money from sponsors.
You can get paid to post about a product or service, or even promote a brand or product in general. For example, if you have 500 followers on Instagram, then one of the most popular ways for advertisers to advertise their products is through sponsored posts by social media influencers with large followers who will share them with their followers on Instagram. You could earn thousands of dollars every month just by sharing some products that an advertiser wants you to share!
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a method of earning money by promoting other people’s products on your social media accounts. You can use Instagram to promote affiliate products and make money while doing it!
Here’s how:
- Find an affiliate product that you think would be perfect for your audience, then go ahead and buy it through their website or app.
- Once you have purchased the item (and sent proof), share photos of it with your followers in order to get them excited about buying it too! Make sure not only does the photo look good but also that there is text underneath explaining what makes this item so great (i.e., “This shirt is amazing because…”).
Sell Physical or Digital Products
Selling products that are relevant to your audience is an easy way to make money on Instagram. It can be a physical product, like a t-shirt or mug, or it could be digital content such as an ebook or video course (see our guide on how to create these).
To sell high-quality products at a reasonable price, you’ll need to make sure they have good margins and return rates. You should also choose products that are in demand among the people who follow you—this will help ensure that people buy them after seeing them advertised in your feed!
Selling easily shipped items like books or shirts is one of the best ways for beginners because shipping costs aren’t too high and returns are almost unheard of in this niche market.
Promote affiliate products through your posts
You can promote affiliate products through your posts. This is a great way to earn money. You’ll be able to connect with people who are interested in the same things as you. You’ll be able to provide them with valuable information about the products that you use and love.
Another thing to keep in mind is that affiliate marketing works best when it’s relevant to your audience. If there’s something about an affiliate product or service that relates specifically to what they’re looking for, then this could help increase sales for both sides of both relationships—the company selling the item and their end consumers!
Affiliate programs are also very easy-to-use; all they require from users is an email address or Facebook account so they can send out offers directly via email or social media platforms like Instagram Direct Message (DM).
Make Friends With Other Like-Minded Influencers
The second way to make money on Instagram is by partnering with other businesses and influencers in your niche. You can find these people in a few ways:
- Go through the hashtags of your favorite brands, and look for similar accounts that have large followings.
- Search for influencers within your niche who have a similar audience size, follower growth rate, and engagement rate as you do (if an account has 10k followers with a 2% engagement rate, for example).
- Or simply search for accounts that are similar in content style or audience demographic.
Communicate With Brands On Instagram Directly
Communicating with brands on Instagram directly can be a great way to secure sponsored posts or affiliate partnerships for your Instagram page. Here are a few tips on how to do it:
- Look for brands that align with your niche and audience. Research their products, services, and target audience to ensure they would be a good fit for your page.
- Build a strong following: Having a strong following and engagement on your Instagram page can make you more attractive to brands.
- A media kit is a document that provides brands with information about your Instagram page, including your audience demographics, engagement rate, and past partnerships. It can help to have this information readily available when reaching out to brands.
- Once you have identified the brands you want to reach out to, direct message them on Instagram. Introduce yourself, explain how your page aligns with their brand, and provide them with your media kit.
- Be professional in your interactions with brands, and be prepared to negotiate terms and pricing for sponsored posts or affiliate partnerships.
- Follow up with the brands you reached out to, but don’t be pushy or aggressive. They may need time to consider your proposal.
- Keep records of your interactions with brands, including the date of contact, the brand’s response, and any agreements reached.
Use Instagram Stories To Build Rapport And Loyalty With Followers
Instagram Stories are a great way to communicate with your audience, build rapport and loyalty, and share behind-the-scenes content.
You can use Instagram stories too:
- Instagram Stories are a great way to share behind-the-scenes content and give your followers a glimpse into your life and personality. This can help to build a personal connection with your followers and increase engagement with your account.
- Use polls and questions to engage with your followers and find out more about their interests and preferences. This can help to increase engagement and build a sense of community around your account.
- Instagram Live is a great way to interact with your followers in real-time. Use it to answer questions, give tutorials, or host Q&A sessions.
- Share exclusive content on Instagram Stories that is only available to your followers. This can help build loyalty and make your followers feel special.
- Use Instagram Story highlights to save and organize your Stories, so your followers can view them after the 24-hour mark and get to know you better.
- Tell us about your daily routine or what goes on behind the scenes. It’s a great way to make your followers feel like they are part of your life.
- Share your struggles and learnings. It can be helpful for your followers, and it will make you more relatable and human.
Conclusion
In short, a successful Instagram strategy is all about creating and sharing content that resonates with your audience. If you’re looking to make money with Instagram, it doesn’t matter if you have 500 followers or 5 million – what matters is that you have a clear goal in mind (and can articulate it clearly) and then work hard to achieve it.
