How To Make Money on Instagram in 2024

Discover how to tap into your Instagram account's potential with these tips for making money on the platform—featuring motivating examples from successful creators.

You probably notice your favorite Instagram personalities frequently showcasing products—whether they're their own or from other brands. Have you ever thought about jumping in on the action? While top celebrities can command seven-figure sums for a single sponsored post, you don’t need millions of followers to profit on Instagram.

In reality, Instagram users with as few as 1,000 followers have various ways to monetize their accounts. Whether your goal is to build a social media empire or simply earn some extra income, making money on Instagram is more achievable than you might think.

This guide will walk you through how to monetize your Instagram, offering seven practical strategies from affiliate marketing to selling merchandise. Plus, you'll find inspiration from real creators who are excelling in this space.

Monetizing on Instagram isn't solely about your follower count. The best methods for you will depend on your unique Instagram content, audience, and level of dedication. Combining several strategies can maximize your earning potential—diversifying your income streams is a smart approach as you explore monetization opportunities on Instagram.

💡Tip: Ensure your Instagram account is active before diving into these ideas. Some strategies might also require an Instagram Business Account.

1. Partner with Brands for Sponsored Content
Instagram influencers are creators or celebrities who have a significant impact on their followers. They are seen as trendsetters and trusted experts by their audiences.

Brands often seek to leverage this authentic influence by collaborating with verified creators who have audiences that align with their target market. In such partnerships, influencers promote products through Instagram Stories, posts, and Reels, with compensation for their efforts. For example, creator Dapper on the Daily collaborates with Disney, catering to her audience of mothers.

Brands are eager to connect with engaged followers of trusted influencers. However, as an Instagram creator, it's crucial to evaluate each collaboration opportunity to ensure it aligns with your personal brand.

Be selective about the brands you endorse to avoid alienating your audience. Similarly, brands will choose creators who match their values and target market.

For instance, The Dogist promotes The Farmer’s Dog, a fitting product for its dog-loving followers.

Understanding Your Worth as an Instagram Influencer
Influencer contracts typically involve creating content like posts or Stories for brands, and may include rights for the brand to use this content elsewhere.

In return, influencers receive payment, free products, exposure, or a combination of these. Here are some tips for pricing and contract negotiations:

1. Set your boundaries. Avoid contracts that promise only exposure or undervalue your contributions.

2.Know your worth. Remember, you're providing access to your audience and usage rights, not just content.

3. Research standard rates. Influencers with over 100,000 followers typically earn up to $500 per post.

4. Understand your audience. Knowing your engagement rate helps during negotiations.

5. Consult a lawyer. Many influencer contract terms are negotiable, and a lawyer can help you secure better deals.

6. Finding the Right Brands to Collaborate With

If you have significant influence on Instagram, brands may reach out to you with sponsorship offers. However, you can also proactively approach brands you're interested in.

To maintain transparency with your audience, consider using the #sponsored hashtag for sponsored content. You can view examples of how other creators incorporate brands by searching this hashtag on Instagram.

For example, food influencers @WpgEats collaborated with Travel Manitoba, and vegan chef Timothy Pakron partnered with Bellagio Las Vegas, using Instagram’s “Paid Partnership with” tag.

2. Launch Your Own E-commerce Store
Many creators are well-positioned to sell their own products in addition to promoting other brands’ goods. Physical items, services, or digital products can enhance a creator’s brand, offering value to their audience and allowing fans to purchase something from their favorite personalities.

The line between creator and entrepreneur is increasingly blurred, with more individuals seeking to monetize their crafts. Pet influencer Loki the Wolfdog has turned Instagram success into his own brand, Loki Naturals.

Here are some ways to sell products and services online:

- Offer services like photography or consulting by directing Instagram users to your professional site.
- Sell digital products such as courses, soundtracks, eBooks, or design presets.
- Market your original products and handle shipping yourself or through a fulfillment center.
- Utilize dropshipping to sell items without managing inventory or shipping.

💡Tip: Developing custom products from scratch can be time-consuming. Consider simpler methods to start selling products to your fans.

3. Create Merch for Your Brand
Selling merchandise is a natural extension for content creators since their regular content often includes opportunities to promote their products. You don’t need to create a new brand from scratch—just design relevant items and use a printing partner to produce them.

Influencer Color Me Courtney, for example, sells branded merchandise through Fanjoy.

Ways to create and sell your own merch include:

- Using a print-on-demand service to produce and ship products directly to fans.
- White labeling existing items with your branding, such as branded fitness bands for fitness influencers.
- Handcrafting merchandise, like screen-printing t-shirts with your own designs.

4. Engage in Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves sharing unique links to brands and products, earning a commission for sales generated through those links. Unlike influencers who often get a flat fee, affiliates make money only when their links lead to purchases.

Use a mix of links in your Instagram bio, Stories, and link-in-bio pages to promote various brands. Promo codes in captions can also help drive sales.

Fitness influencer Caullen Hudson, for example, promotes brands like MVMT through his link-in-bio page.

Affiliate programs manage the details of these relationships. You can approach brands directly or explore popular affiliate marketplaces like:

- Rakuten Advertising, which offers vetted advertisers and weekly payments.
- LTK, an exclusive fashion and lifestyle influencer network with access to over 5,000 brands.
- Amazon Associates, providing a 10% commission on qualifying sales.

💡Tip: Use tools like Linkpop to track and share affiliate links, especially in your Instagram bio.

5. Utilize Instagram Shopping Features
With social media users increasingly shopping through their favorite platforms, Instagram Shopping provides native features to facilitate social selling.

Instagram Shopping tags are highly effective, allowing users to quickly transition from inspiration to purchase. You’ll need an Instagram shop—a prominent feature on your profile—for users to browse and buy your products.

For example, Miracle Eye uses an Instagram shop alongside its standalone website to offer easy access to its collections.

Customize your shop with collections or themes and enable features like:

- Shoppable posts and Stories with product tags.
- Ads with Shopping tags for wider reach.
- Live shopping, where viewers can purchase tagged products during your broadcast.

💡Tip: Integrate your account with Shopify to manage products and orders seamlessly.

6. Sell Your Photos or Art Online
Instagram’s core function as a photo-sharing platform makes it ideal for photographers and artists to monetize their work by selling prints or originals.

Options include:

- Using photo marketplaces like 500px and linking to them from your Instagram bio.
- Selling art directly through your online store and linking to it from Instagram.
- Utilizing Instagram Shopping features to sell art directly.
- Licensing your work on stock image sites and promoting it through Instagram.
- Using print-on-demand services to sell art on items like totes and mugs.

For example, artist Adam Spychala directs followers to his online store for prints of his artwork.

7. Earn Live Badges from Fans
Instagram Live badges function like tips, where viewers can support you financially during live broadcasts. Fans can buy badges in various increments ($0.99, $1.99, and $4.99) to show their appreciation and unlock special features.

8. Offer Paid Subscriptions
Once your followers are engaged, offer exclusive content through paid subscriptions. Instagram’s subscription program is available to US creators over 18 with more than 10,000 followers.

You can also use third-party platforms like Patreon or Substack to monetize your Instagram with subscriptions. These options help you build your email list and offer unique content outside the platform.

Creator Aliza Kelly promotes her Substack subscription and The Constellation Club community on her Instagram page.

9. Sell Used Items
If you’re not an influencer but want to make money on Instagram, consider selling used items. Whether it’s refurbished furniture, gently used clothing, or vintage finds, Instagram can be a great platform for this.

Small resellers often use Instagram like a local market, inviting followers to DM for purchases and arranging local delivery.

Instagram Influencers: Tiers, Rates, and Top Earners
Instagram influencer earnings vary widely. Smaller influencers focusing on profitable niches can earn well, while celebrities may make millions per post.

Influencers are often categorized into five tiers based on follower count, with earnings generally corresponding to these levels:

- Nano-influencer: 1,000–10,000 followers ($10–$100 per post)
- Micro-influencer: 10,000–50,000 followers ($100–$500 per post)
- Mid-tier influencer: 50,000–500,000 followers ($500–$5,000 per post)
- Macro-influencer: 500,000–1 million followers ($5,000–$10,000 per post)
- Mega-influencer: 1 million+ followers ($10,000–$1 million+ per post)

Even with fewer followers, you can earn money on Instagram by focusing on engagement, niche markets, and multiple income streams.

Top Instagram Earners:
- Cristiano Ronaldo: ~$3.2M per post
- Leo Messi: ~$2.6M per post
- Selena Gomez: ~$2.6M per post
- Kylie Jenner: ~$2.4M per post
- Dwayne Johnson: ~$2.3M per post
- Ariana Grande: ~$2.3M per post
- Kim Kardashian: ~$2.2M per post
- Beyonce Knowles: ~$1.9M per post
- Khloe Kardashian : ~$1.9M per post

Making money on Instagram is not only achievable but can also be quite lucrative if you leverage the platform’s diverse monetization opportunities and stay true to your brand.