Social media influencers are becoming more and more popular each and every day. It can certainly be a lucrative career path but it’s not exactly a traditional one, and so it can be difficult to know where to start. Instagram is one of the world’s most popular social media channels, with over 1 billion active monthly users. That’s roughly 1/7 of the world’s population, so it’s no wonder that brands are keen to work with Instagram influencers to spread the word about their products and services. Let’s take a look at the different ways you can monetize your Instagram profile, from advertising products to selling branded items.

Creator Shops

If you’re selling products, Instagram creator shops are a new feature that can really boost your Insta-income. Traditionally, creators and business owners have had to direct their followers towards their products by sending them to their website via a classic “link in bio” CTA or using the “swipe up” feature on stories. Creator shops, however, allow users to make purchases without leaving the app. 

In order to qualify to use realtor shops, you need to have an eligible product, be located in a suitable market and own a website domain you can sell from. You also need to have a business or creator Instagram account. Then, you will be able to upload your product catalogue through either Facebook Business Manager or integrate with one of Instagram’s e-commerce partners, such as Shopify or BigCommerce. Easy peasy!

What’s great about creator shops is they allow you to use product tags in posts and stories. Your audience will then be able to go directly to your Instagram Shop and make purchases right away.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular (and effective) ways to monetize your Instagram. It works like this: a creator generates an affiliate link and when a user makes a purchase through that link, the creator receives a percentage of the sale. It works for brands because it’s a low-risk investment; they don’t need to pay out until after they have made a sale. 

Alternatively, a creator may offer their followers a discount code. When this is used at checkout, the creator then receives a commission. However, it’s usually larger creators who receive these custom codes. 

When you’re first getting started with affiliate marketing, it’s best to sign up to a third-party network where you’ll find links for a whole host of products. For a list of the best programs out there, check out this guide to the top networks for beginners.

Sponsored Posts 

A sponsored post is when a brand pays an influencer to post about a certain product or service. This is essentially an advertisement designed to increase brand awareness amongst the influencer’s audience. Sometimes influencers pitch to brands and sometimes the brands approach creators instead. You must always make it clear when a post is sponsored for the purpose of transparency. 

It’s really exciting landing your first sponsorship but do be picky about who you work with and make sure that you only partner with brands who reflect your values if you want to achieve long term success in this game.

For more on how to land a paid sponsorship, take a look at this in-depth guide.

Coming Soon: Affiliate Commerce Program 

For years, affiliate marketing has been one of the primary ways to monetize your Instagram but recently Instagam has introduced its very own affiliate commerce program. This allows you to tag products in their content and automatically informs your audience that their purchases will support you, so you don’t have to worry about manually including disclaimers.

The affiliate commerce program allows you to use analytics and insights to increase your chances of selling.

This program is still in the beta phase and so it isn’t yet widely available, but watch this space because newer creators will soon be able to take advantage of it! 

Coming Soon: IGTV Ads

IGTV is like Instagram’s answer to YouTube. Whilst Reels and stories are great for short-form content, IGTV is the home of long form video. Creators use it for podcasts, tutorials, Q+A sessions… pretty much anything you can think of! Instagram has started to trial IGTV monetization in the form of short ads, though currently this is only available to a selected group of creators.

So there we have it: how to monetize your Instagram. For more advice on making money from your online content, take a look at the following:

• 7 Tips for Success as a Content Creator
• How to Write a Killer Blog Post with Confidence
• The Best Tips for Content Creators to Take It to the Next Level
• How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform 
• How to Harness the Power of Pinterest