How to Make Money on Instagram in 2024 (8 Effective Ways)

But before you begin, there’s one important thing to focus on…

Build an Instagram Following

When it comes to making money with social media sites, the most important element is the number of followers/fans you have.

You can’t turn Instagram into a moneymaker if you don’t have a following – that’s pretty obvious.

So, the first thing you need to do is build up your follower count. It does take some time, but if you put in the effort, you will gain more followers.

Here are a few tips for increasing your followers on Instagram.

1. Follow and interact with other people

A lot of people post photos on their account and just sit back, waiting for followers to come to them.

But that’s the wrong approach.

You need to put yourself out there and follow other users. There are a few easy ways to do this.

One method involves simply searching Instagram for keywords related to your niche.

So, if your niche is fitness, for example, type in keywords like “push-ups” and you’ll be presented with plenty of photos from other users. Follow these like-minded users. Then, click on the “likes” button under a photo to see who has liked it.

Next, follow those people. If they’ve liked images from others in your niche, they’re likely to be interested in your photos too. This is a simple, but effective way to gain more followers.

Once you start following people, make sure to interact with them by liking and commenting on their images.

2. Keep your posts relevant

It’s important to stick with one niche on Instagram, whether that’s cooking, yoga, or beauty.

If you’re a skincare specialist, post images of skincare products.

If you’re a yoga enthusiast, post images of yoga poses.

If you love cooking, post photos of the meals you make.

Always post images that are relevant and interesting to your target audience.

This is beneficial for a few reasons:

1. Firstly, you’re more likely to retain followers if your content is relevant.
2. Secondly, it will be easier to sell items and represent brands if you stick to one niche.

3. Always use hashtags

To reach your target audience and get your posts discovered, you must use hashtags.

When you use hashtags, people searching for those keywords will discover your posts, bringing in plenty of potential followers.

Again, relevancy is key with Instagram. Keep your hashtags related to your niche. It’s a good idea to check out photos from other people in your niche and see what hashtags they’ve used.

4. Use high-quality pictures

To be successful on Instagram, your photos have to look good – after all, images are the sole focus of the platform.

That doesn’t mean you need to spend a ton of money on fancy camera equipment. Lighting is one of the most important factors in a good photograph, so try to take photos in natural light.

Also, make use of filters. They can really enhance images and make them look higher quality.

Making Money on Instagram

Now that you know how to increase your followers, it’s time to start making money from them. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to make money using Instagram.

Here are eight of the most effective methods.

1. Do Affiliate Marketing on Instagram

Affiliate marketing is still one of the best ways to earn money online. You don’t have to create a product – all you need to do is market someone else’s product, and you’ll get paid a percentage of each sale.

There are tons of affiliate programs out there, like Amazon Associates, CJ, ShareASale, and many more.

You don’t need a website to make affiliate sales anymore – you can do it using just your Instagram account.

All you need to do is choose products in your niche – for example, if that’s fitness, the product might be kettlebells; if it’s fashion, it could be shoes. Then, simply highlight and promote the product through the images you post on Instagram.

Add your affiliate links to the caption or your bio, and when someone makes a purchase through your affiliate URL, you’ll earn a commission!

For instance, if you’re in the beauty niche, post photos of makeup looks you create, and mention the products you’ve used.

2. Do Cost Per Action Affiliate Marketing

If selling products through affiliate links doesn’t sound like a good fit for you, try cost-per-action (CPA) affiliate marketing.

In regular affiliate marketing, you earn money each time you make a sale.

But, with cost-per-action affiliate marketing, you get paid whenever a user takes action, such as clicking on links or entering their email – meaning you don’t actually have to sell anything to make money.

The more actions users take, the more money you make.

One of the best cost-per-action affiliate marketing programs out there is MaxBounty. This affiliate network has been around since 1997, so it has plenty of experience. It brings together publishers, like you, and advertisers.

Simply browse through the site’s offers and choose a product you’d like to promote. When choosing a product, make sure to select social traffic offers, as you’ll be using Instagram, a social networking site, for promotion.

Then, post the URL of the product in your bio section or the caption of your posts. When other users interact with the link, you can earn a commission.

Cost-per-action affiliate marketing is much easier than traditional affiliate marketing, as you don’t have to sell anything to make a profit.

3. Become a Brand Ambassador or Influencer

One of the most profitable methods of making money on Instagram is to become a brand ambassador – or, as the industry calls them, Instagram “influencers.”

As a brand ambassador, you team up with companies to promote their brands and products through your Instagram posts, hashtags, and captions. You can reach out to brands you like and want to work with directly.

But an easier option is to apply to networks that bring influencers and brands together.

Fortunately, there are plenty of them, including:

• Roster’s Ambassador Marketplace
• BeAmbassador

In order to become a brand ambassador, you need to have a big following that companies want to leverage.

For example, if you want to join SocialGlory, you must have at least 5,000 followers.

And to join InstaBrand, you must have at least 10,000 followers and over 1,000 likes per post.

The amount brands are willing to pay varies. Some will pay you a flat fee per post, some will pay you for likes, and others will send you free products to promote. It’s estimated that brands spend more than $1 billion dollars on sponsoring content on Instagram.

Becoming a brand influencer can be tough – you typically need at least 5,000 to 10,000 followers, and your posts must receive, on average, around 1,000 likes.

4. Get Paid for Instagram Photos

If you love photography, you can make money by selling your photos on Instagram.

You can sell your photos to photography agencies, magazines, or individuals.

All you need to do is post a selection of high-quality photos and use your account as your photography portfolio. You can either state in your bio that your Instagram photos are for sale or put a price on each individual photo in the caption.

Just make sure to watermark all of your photos. A watermark is a transparent image or text that you place on the photo to make it more difficult to copy. Essentially, it prevents people from stealing your images.

It’s also worth checking out websites like Foap and MobilePrints. These websites allow you to sell your Instagram photos.

5. Market Your Own Business

Are you a blogger, a freelance makeup artist, or a personal trainer?

If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, you could use Instagram as a promotional tool.

For example, if you run a fitness blog, post a photo from your blog and include a link to the blog post in the caption. This will drive traffic to your website and help increase your visibility.

Similarly, if you’re a freelance makeup artist, post photos of the makeup looks you create and include your contact details.

Essentially, your Instagram followers are potential customers. So, if you market your brand effectively, you can earn money from your followers.

6. Contact Brands Directly

While you can join networks like BrandSnob to earn money for creating sponsored content, the competition is tough, and you might not always get to work with the brands you really want to collaborate with.

A good alternative is to contact the brands directly.

Make sure that your posts align with the brand’s niche.

For example, if your posts are music-related, only contact music-related companies.

You can reach out to the brand via email or send them a direct message on Instagram. Let them know that you have a following that could help promote their brand and offer to create sponsored content for them.

Some brands might say no, but others might say yes, so there’s no harm in trying.

If they do say yes, you could earn some cash just for posting sponsored content.

7. Check out Popular Pays

Did you know that you can get paid simply for posting content on Instagram?

A website called Popular Pays connects brands with Instagrammers, or “creators,” as the site calls them.

Essentially, Popular Pays will pay you or send you free products in exchange for promoting a brand’s products or services. The amount you earn varies depending on factors such as how many followers you have.

8. Sell Your Account

If you’ve built up a large following on Instagram, consider selling your account.

Whether you’re no longer interested in the platform, don’t have the time to manage your account, or want to switch to a new niche, selling your account can be a viable option.

Many brands and individuals are actively looking to buy accounts with large followings.

You can sell your account on websites like Fame Swap and Viral Accounts.

The Bottom Line

As long as you have a decent-sized following and know how to get your content in front of the right audience, you can make a pretty decent amount of money from Instagram.

So, give one of these methods a try!

As long as you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you’re sure to make money on Instagram (or any other social media platform).