Everyone seems to know the terms like 'Influencer' 'Affiliates' 'Creator' that are connected to Instagram. They also know that some people earn Hundreds of Thousands of US$ or Lakhs of Indian ₹ from Instagram alone.
But very few people seem to know HOW TO DO THAT. Complete guidance about the entire process is nowhere available. Well, let me give you that exactly.
Basic Requirement
Let's guess you have your Instagram account, and your payment methods set. That's ground zero. Still, if you are not sure about setting the payment method, you should go to your PROFILE page, and at the Top Right Corner, you need to click those 3 dots. Then you will see the option to add your Payment Methods.
To be able to START earning any money, you will need 5000 Followers of your profile (for some cases earning may begin with even 2000 followers), and you should post 25 Sponsored Posts in a year. The number of followers is the main game-changing aspect for earning on Instagram. Just to make you interested, in India, after you achieve 5000-10,000 followers, for EACH post you can earn more than ₹6,000 upto ₹15,000. And having more than 50K followers will make you earn more than ₹35,000 upto ₹60,000 for EACH post.
Instagram has over 1 Billion (100 crores) users worldwide and 500 Million(50 crores) daily active users.The simple rule is, the more engagement in your posts daily, the more you earn. For that, you must post quality content Regularly.
Turn on the Monetization
Step 1: Access the Account settings then click on Creator and select In-streaming video ads.
Step 2: Click on Get started. Go through the terms and agreements and navigate to Allow monetization.
Step 3: Post videos and start making money.
There are some requirements to allow you to make money on Instagram through your videos that include:
Video needs to be a minimum one minute longer (ideally 2-4 minutes) to monetize.
Creating video content with static images, loop videos, polls, slideshows and text montages will be eligible for monetization.
Original content, i.e., no violation of intellectual property rights.
Advertise-free content and adherence to content monetization policies.
Your content may not qualify for monetization if it includes engagement baiting.
Ways for Monetization/ Earning
If you are a celebrity, or you have so great content that you have more than a million (10 Lakh) followers, then you can even earn $1000, or ₹70,000 for EACH post. But we know, that is not easy and possible to achieve quickly for everybody. Not to worry, you won't need to rush into that.
Here are the ways you can earn through Instagram, from an early stage, with some hard work. I will discuss each of these in detail.
Sponsored Contents & Brand Partnership
Once you achieve the 5000 followers target, you become a micro-influencer. However, you achieve the 'influencer' status. You have done that by regularly posting quality content (images and videos), that have gained your fans and followers. You have posted contents of your particular 'niche'. That niche might be Food, Fashion, Nature, Animals, anything.
You get the prize for that, from several Brands/ Companies, who sell products about your niche. They will contact you to go for a partnership, or maybe contractual payments for every post you promote their products.
Your existing follower count and engagement rate determine your earnings. Both the rules created by Instagram and new rules framed by ASCI mandate that you disclose paid partnerships.
The contractual deals for sponsored posts are generally fixed by the marketing agencies of those brands.
The micro to Mid-Level influencers generally earns around $300 or ₹22,000 for each post.
Some tips to get Instagram sponsors
Know your audience really well.
Contact the Brands yourself, that have the chances to become your sponsor.
Never Fake.Be authentic in your posts.
Be careful not to lose the trust of your existing audience in the process of making money from sponsored posts. It’s always a good idea to use an Instagram hashtag that tells people it’s a sponsored post (something simple like #sponsored or #ad.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing through Instagram is the strongest and easiest earning resource for beginners. The concept is almost similar to the brand sponsors, but here the process 'to get the access' is easier.
The brands offer affiliate 'links' (like simple URL, website link) to their products. You need to sign-up for their affiliate programs (available on their websites mostly) and share those links in your own Instagram posts. Using overlays, captions or stuff like those.
Commission Junction, ClickBank, RewardStyle, are some good affiliate marketing resources, that the beginner should try.
You share the link, your audience clink that link, go to the product's webpage, and buy the product. You directly receive 5% to 15% of the product price, as a commission. Simple, isn't it?
You can use specific affiliate marketing apps like ShareASale also.
Consultation / Teaching
Once you become a bit experienced as an influencer, with a big number of followers, other content creators, brands, small businesses, and individuals will come to you seeking advice on how to enhance their online presence. In other words, they will seek your expertise and experience. You will sell your consultation service to them.
Depending on experience, Instagram influencers charge anything between $50 to $100 (₹3500- ₹7000) Per Hour.
Product Selling & Review
If you have your product that you sell online using Amazon or Flipkart, Instagram gives you a similar, much more convenient selling store. And your products instantly reach out to thousands of your followers. Exclusively.
You will just need to open an Instagram for Business account, and you are ready to go!! You will be able to create separate catalogs for your products, and customers will make a direct purchase.
Live Badges
Creators that broadcast Instagram Live videos can earn from viewers in the form of 'heart' badges. When a user purchases a badge, a heart icon appears next to their name in the live chat. Each badge costs between $.99 and $4.99 (₹6 to ₹350).
Instagram is also rewarding creators for hitting specific Instagram Live milestones, including live streaks and teaming up with different accounts.
Licensed Photographs/ Videos
You can license your photographs and videos to select brands. If a brand wants to use your photograph or videos, they will pay you a fee to use them.
But the recent policy changes that Instagram has made it a bit complicated though.
IGTV Advertisement
IGTV is a strong way to connect with your audience. With IGTV ads, you can earn money for the content you produce. When you monetize content on Instagram, and you provide brands the option to promote themselves within the videos you post.
Your earning amount will be determined by the number of views your video creates, called Monetizable Plays. You’ll get 55% of the ad income generated for each view that will be paid monthly.