Having an Instagram account is fun but it's definitely more fun when you can earn some money out of it. Whether you have 1k followers or 100k, you can still earn cash dollars. There are people who think that once you have a huge following the brands come and throw their money at you. That might be true for a few lucky ones but for the rest of us mere mortals, we actually have to put ourselves out there and find money-making opportunities ourselves.
The lovely Internet is full of tips and tricks and to be honest with you it becomes pretty overwhelming. Do not worry, you are not alone with this. One thing for sure, be ready to invest some of your time and energy. Which is the best way to earn money? I will leave that to you to decide. From affiliate marketing to sponsored posts - the Influencer world is your oyster.
However, you have to promise me one thing. Choose one way of promoting for a month and stick to it. You will need time and determination to succeed. So switching between methods will simply not work. Also, if it doesn't work from the very first try, it will work from the second one. Just don't give up and keep going.
Okay. enough of that. Let's dig into the ways to make money on our favorite platform Instagram!
Earn Money through Affiliate Marketing
Honestly, this type of earnings is a lot nicer and here is why:
You don't need to talk to the brand about the way you are going to market their product. The only thing they will care about is the result (unless you will go all crazy but we both know that you won't. Or will you?).
You can choose the brands that you personally want to work with. It's always nicer to work with a brand that you like. I probably do not need to explain any further than that.
You decide when you work and how much effort you want to put into it. Maybe you just want to post their link in your Bio. Maybe you prefer to post your affiliate link in the stories. Maybe you love making videos and want to mention them there. Maybe... There are so many different opportunities from DM's to actual sponsored posts.
How to Make Affiliate Marketing Work on Instagram?
The truth is that if you want to earn a decent amount of money, you will need to put in the work. Your followers will not go running to buy products that they don't see the need for. So you will most probably have to mention the product multiple times and show actual results to gain traction. That's why advertising products that you personally don't use will not work. People are smart and they can definitely tell when you are being genuine.
On Instagram, you can place the affiliate link in your Bio. This way the people will be able to access the product with one simple click. You can also mention it in your stories via swipe up. The truth is that if you do not have 10k followers, you will not be able to do a swipe up. However, do not get discouraged by it. There are other ways to get around. E.g.
- Send direct messages
- Collect an email list
- Start a Youtube channel (this will also greatly increase your following with genuine subscribers)
- Mention the affiliate link in Facebook groups
- Use other channels e.g. Reddit, Quora, Twitter, Twitch
- Start a blog
How to Join an Affiliate Program?
There are quite a few affiliate programs you can choose from. You simply need to google them out. However, 123Presets also has an affiliate program. We offer one of the highest percent (30%) on affiliate purchases in the Presets world through our program. You can quickly register here. Honestly, it's super easy to join, all you need is a PayPal account.
How to Make Money on Instagram through Sponsored Posts?
Let's say Nike or Gucci isn't knocking on your door to get advertised. What could you do? If you have 10k followers or more, you need to find businesses in your area and start knocking on their door. Send them DM's with proposals. Be very clear on what they could receive, how many views and comments your posts have. Now, in case you are a smaller influencer, and even if you have a pretty big following, you will most probably want to appear more serious than you actually are. Check out the big influencer accounts and kind of imitate them. Leave your email in the Bio for business proposals. Start advertising products without getting paid. Tag brands in your posts. In other words, do something good for the brands that you like and give them shoutouts for free.
How to Get Brands to Work with You on Instagram?
Once you show the brands the actual stats that you can reach with your advertisements, they will be more than happy to work with you. Marketing professionals love data. You show them numbers, you win their hearts immediately. You show them a shy post that "maybe I would like to advertise for you" and they ignore your DM. Also, the more specific you get, the smoother everything will go. How many stories will you post? How many posts will you add and mention them? What time will you choose to post those posts? Everything matters and the more detailed your message is, the more professional you will look.
How to Write a Message to a Brand?
- Message them first and introduce yourself
- Compliment them and tell them what you love about their brand
- Who is your audience and why would they be interested in their product?
- Average stats that they could expect from your post, story, link in a Bio or shoutout (this is also the reason why you should try doing that for another brand first)
- Personalize. When you say a compliment to a brand be specific about it. Don't just say: I love your brand!!! Make sure that you tell them something really specific so that they know that you actually love their product.
- Tell them your reach (ideally, you would show the results from the ad you already did for a different brand as mentioned above, but you can also just tell them the number of followers and comments on your posts. You can also include other platforms where you could advertise them and the number of followers there. E.g. Twitter, Linkedin, Youtube).
- Ask for a discount code and explain that you need it for the best results
- TEST. Send different messages to different brands. Do not change them completely but make some shorter, some longer. Play with the copy.
Also, if you do decide to go the route of sponsored posts, please know that brands will probably have pretty specific requirements. You will also be held responsible for the results. One more tip I would like to add is that you need to target smaller brands. Check their Instagram pages, see if they already have affiliates or not yet. Big brands will most probably have their influencers. However, there are a lot of brands that will be more than happy to work with you if you send them a well-thought proposal.
