How to Make Money on Instagram: The Complete Guide

As the fourth largest social media platform with over 2 billion users, learning how to make money on Instagram could mark the actual turning point you’ve been waiting for.

Like many others, it could become the beginning of your journey into a brand new business just as it could potentially give you the leap to start adding real value to others and finally, fulfilling purpose.

But, making money on Instagram is never a walk in the park. Outside the need for a decent number of followers, unreliable algorithm and location based restrictions, it demands a lot of work and realistic strategy.

Yet, a number of people are making it regardless. And as someone that once started a business off the social media, I’ll be sharing with you some of the practical strategies you can use to make money on Instagram, regardless of your location, in the following paragraphs…

Affiliate Marketing

There are many ways to make money on Instagram but as a beginner or a user outside Europe and America, one of the easiest ways to get started is using Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate Marketing provides you the opportunity to promote products or services from companies or businesses relevant to users in your niche.

When users buy the product through your affiliate link or code, you get paid a certain fee as your commission.

The good thing about using Affiliate Marketing to earn from Instagram is that it has low entry requirements. Meaning that you can get started while building up your follower base.

Also, as an affiliate marketer, you don’t have to go through the stress and hassle of having to create, package or ship the products yourself. That work will be done by the product owners.

Your whole job is to promote the product and get the sales coming in. Makes it far easier for you.

Sponsored Post

Sponsored posting provides an opportunity for brands to create and share content on your handle.

It is another great opportunity to make money on Instagram, regardless of your location. And even with a fewer number of followers.

With a sponsored post, you get to create and post a one time content on your platform, on behalf of another brand.

The good thing about sponsored posting is like you don’t necessarily have to keep a long term relationship with the client.

You can make it a one time offer where you get paid on a per content basis. And you don’t have to create a repeat posting unless you want to.

Also, it gives you leverage to either create the content yourself or allow the client to create it while you post it on your handle.

Influencer Marketing

Over the years, influencer marketing has turned out to be the icing on the cake for Instagram users.

Not only is it a very well known visibility strategy for brands, it has become one of the most popular ways to make money on Instagram.

Used by both celebrities and non celebrities alike, influencer marketing has provided an opportunity for people of all kinds to make a living off social media.

As a social Media user aspiring to make money online, influencer marketing gives you the option to monetize your social media platforms using different strategies.

For example, as an influencer, you can partner with brands to promote their products or services.

From skin care to beauty products, clothes and electronics, there’s a wide array of product options to choose from.

As an influencer with a decent number of followers, usually, brands can meet you directly to partner with you in promoting their products but you can also contact the brands directly.

Influencer marketing gives you the option to choose brands to work with, how long you want to work with them and the payment options that work for you.

Sell Own Products

Selling your own products or services is another interesting way to make money on Instagram that’s being explored by a lot of users.

Many people who started off on the social media platforms without any plans to sell or create products have ended up selling their own products after building a decent audience.

One of the ways to get started with this is to build an audience first. After creating your audience and building a decent connection with them, it gets easier to create a product based on the needs of these audience and sell it to them.

The good thing about this strategy is that since you already have a decent rapport with your audience, it’s easier to gain their trust and patronage.

Also, you can decide how or where you’ll sell your own products thus being totally in charge of your own payment options and channels.

Outside that, you can also open and or connect your e-commerce store to your Instagram account thus introducing your audience to your offline business.

In any case, outside the product creation, shipment and logistics, this can always be a win win option for both you and your followers.

Offer Your own Services

Over the years, social media platforms like Instagram have become a part and parcel of our lives.

Owing to its growth and popularity, a large number of businesses have started off the social media handles of their founders.

If you have a special skill, you can start offering your services on the platform and get paid for it.

Even if you don’t have any specific skills, you can start learning one, grow through it and start making money off the skills.

I have seen quite a number of service based businesses that started off this way. On partiycular during our formation stages, this is how we started.

Be it graphics design, web design or mobile application development, one of the best ways to make money on Instagram is to offer these services and get paid for it.

Sell ebooks & Digital Products

As a professional with a specialized skill, the social media offers you a ready made audience to not only share your skills but turn them into electronic books and valuable digital products that people can learn from.

To make money on Instagram with this strategy, you have to start with promoting and positioning yourself not just as someone with these skills but someone that’s worth listening to.

This means you must start with building thought leadership, sharing your own stories, the results you’ve achieved and the possibilities that it can be applicable to others.

Over time as you continue to build and grow your audience, you can start writing and publishing books and then selling those books to your audience within and outside the social media.

One outstanding thing about this strategy is that you can start right from the scratch, even with a few followers and then build your way to the top.

Another interesting thing is that it allows you to partner with other established thought leaders in the niche in such a way that their influence can easily run off on your brand.

Done well, this strategy provides a very good option to build a long term income and eventually a business off the social media.

Offer Trainings & Consulting

Again, as someone with a specialized skill, you can make money on Instagram by offering some specialized training or consulting services for businesses and individuals.

There are a number of top in demand skills like web design, digital marketing, content writing, advertising etc.

If you’re well knowledgeable in any of these areas, you can offer it as a boutique service either on a freelance level or put up a training if you’re well rooted in the skill.

Good thing is, even when you’re not really versatile in any of the top in demand skills, you can learn any of them and get over to your social media to offer it as a service when you’ve gained a better knowledge and experience in the field.

I’ve known quite a number of people who used this specific strategy to get started.

Final Words

Instagram provides a great opportunity for people to reach out and connect with family and friends but beyond that it also provides a platform for users to earn online.

As someone aspiring to make money on Instagram, using the strategies you just learned today can get you to realistically achieve your goals, irrespective of your location.

What’s more? Beyond achieving your temporal goal of making money online, you can also get to add real value to other people while fulfilling your life’s purpose in the long run.

But one thing you must keep in mind is that you’ll have to put in the work, create content, build the audience and promote your brand before thinking about monetization.

And of course if you’re finding it hard to get started on your own, signing up to our social media training program can make a great starting point for you.

And the best part? We’ll not only get you started, we’ll show you the way and walk with you all the way. Sign up here.

So, it’s your turn now! What are your biggest challenges when it comes to monetizing your social media? Drop your comments below.