Posted by If you weren’t already spending all your free time, and not so free time, on social media like me, you’ve definitely caved in and relied on it since the beginning of the pandemic. Lockdown has pushed people more toward the virtual world than the previous few years combined.
Because of social distancing norms, more and more companies had to shut down businesses and left people without jobs. This caused a notable rise in people looking to the virtual world for different ways to earn a livelihood.
While people already started to understand how to use Social Media platforms like to Instagram to convert their hobbies to earn a living, the pandemic really turned this into a necessity. More and more people capitalized on the lockdown and looked at it as an opportunity to do what they love and still sustain themselves.
Opening online businesses, entertainment, and creators are a few of the main options that people gravitated toward.
But why am I telling you all this? Because you can use the same methods to earn if you’re in the middle of a recession. Let’s look at these methods and learn from other Instagram users!
1. Partner with brands
As an influencer, one of the easiest ways to earn from Instagram is to partner with brands that require a marketing boost! Collaborations originally began with a barter trade where an influencer would market a brand or a brand’s product and in return get free products or services. As the influencer’s followers increased, they started monetizing this trade and thus created paid collaborations. This led a lot of users to follow in the same way and earn via Instagram marketing collaborations.
In my article, 6 easy ways to find Instagram Collaborations, I’ve listed a few ways that you can find collaborations.
These methods can be used by users and creators new to the Influencer scene as well. Check it out!
2. Affiliate
As a collaborator, you can also join an affiliate program that might be set up by the business you’re marketing for.
While the terms for these programs may differ based on the business, the basic concept is that you get a unique code to share with your audience. When customers use your code, they get a discount on their purchase and you earn a commission as well.
So this is like a 2 pronged income if you’re an influencer. You can do specific paid promotions for certain products for a brand and also share your affiliate code.
3. Sell
Whether you’re an influencer or not, if you have a business, the most obvious way to earn on Instagram is by listing your products or services on your Instagram page for people to purchase. If you have an Etsy shop or a Shopify account, you can use a tool like Crowdfire to showcase what you’re selling. Crowdfire fetches data from your shop and makes posts out of your listings that you can share to your Instagram account directly from the Crowdfire app.
You can also add a link to your website, if you have one, to your bio.
4. Instagram shop
When it comes to selling on Instagram, you can also make use of the Instagram shop. If you’re eligible, using Instagram shop is much quicker than having people DM you or redirecting them to your website. The criteria to be eligible, you need to:
– Be from a region that supports Instagram shop
– Have a business profile on Instagram that is connected to a Facebook Business Page.
– Have a physical product to sell like shoes, candles, etc, and not services like classes
– Comply with Instagrams merchant agreements and commerce policies
– Already have an e-commerce website.
The extent of using the shop depends on your region. Some regions only allow you to list items and when clicking it’ll redirect you to the website checkout page. If you’re in a region that allows full check-out, your users can check out directly from the Instagram shop. Make use of tools like this that are already available to help make it easier for your audience and customers to support and purchase from you.
5. Offers
Offers and discounts are a big help when you need to drive sales for your business. Posting regularly about various offers and discounts will help you direct more traffic to your page or website and increase your sales as well.
Seasonal or festive discounts get a high response from Instagram users!
6. Live badge
For Instagrammers that use the Live feature a lot, this is for you. There is something called a ‘Live Badge’ that you can add when you go Live on Instagram. This button allows your followers and viewers to support you by buying a badge. The badges are available for purchase in increments from $0.99 to $1.99 to $4.99. You can also set goals and check your progress on how much you’ve earned via the badges.
Be sure to give a shout-out and thank your supporters!
7. Advertising space
If you have an active website or a blog, you can sell some ad space. Use Instagram to link to these sites so that you can direct traffic to these pages and offer exposure to those interested in purchasing ad space on your website or blog.
8. Subscriptions
The most recent feature on Instagram just started in some select regions. This feature enables creators to earn from their followers for the content they publish.
All you need to do is go to settings, click on set up subscription, agree to the terms, select your subscription amount and click next. Voila! All you need to do now is create and publish content for your subscribers!
Now I know that it can be pretty easy for some of you to immediately start using one of these methods to earn via Instagram. But if you want to first optimize your Instagram, you need to keep a few things in mind.
9. Increase the value
Make sure you post content that has value to your users. If you have a clear plan in mind for what you want to post and what you’re sure you’re audience will respond to it, go ahead! If not, you can use surveys or polls on your stories to understand what your own audience will find valuable.
10. Invest in ads
Ads are super important to boost your posts and content to a wider audience. Simply posting on your feed may only reach your existing followers or at most, a post might show up on a new user’s Instagram Explore.
Ads push your content to users that might like or benefit from your content or business.
11. Budget
While ads are important, it’s imperative to also budget your expenses well. Spending all your money on ads will not leave you with enough for other expenses. List out and understand the different things you need to spend on like materials, labor, shipping, etc. This way you can allocate a good amount on ads and marketing without compromising on your product or service quality.
What other ways do you know that will help you earn money on Instagram? Let me know in the comments below!