Instagram has grown into a platform that can now be used to make some extra money on the side or eventually earn an actual income. There are so many questions about this and how it all works though. How many followers do you really need to make money? How do you get brands to notice you once you have grown an audience? These things can be tricky but there are certainly ways to maximize your success at any point during the process. I’ll get into some of the frequently asked questions along with some personal advice to maintain your audience and keep their trust.
READ MORE: HOW THESE VANDWELLERS EARN MONEY ON THE ROAD
CAN I MAKE AN ACTUAL INCOME FROM INSTAGRAM
You can definitely earn a full- time through Instagram.. That being said, earning it SOLELY off the app takes a pretty long time, a high amount of followers, and serious engagement. My biggest advice is to use your Instagram to drive traffic to your actual business. For example, I use my account to bring traffic to this website! Others create products like shirts, books, etc. and share it with their audience who essentially is then their customer. You don’t want to rely entirely on Instagram to be making you money because you have no idea how long the app will exist, if your profile becomes deleted or corrupt for some reason, or anything else that could happen. You want to focus on creating some kind of business and then leveraging your profile to market to the audience.
HOW MANY FOLLOWERS DO I NEED
You can start making money almost immediately even if you only have friends and family as of now. Once you are selling something or have a website, your friends will most likely want to support you. As you grow your account, sales or income (however generated) will likely increase. There is no set number of followers that equates to exactly how much you’ll be making. It’s all about if your product or website caters to the people following you. If they need what you are doing, they will be interested and buy. If you are dead set on posting ads for brands and not having an actual business, you are looking at 20K followers before making any money off of products. For an actual income doing this, probably 100K followers or more.
WILL BRANDS REACH OUT TO ME OR DO I REACH OUT TO THEM
Brands in your niche will begin to find you as you grow. They are actively looking for people to market their products and they will inevitably come to you when they see that your following is their target audience as well. Another piece of advice here is to never sell yourself out because you got an offer. If you are living in a van and that’s what your entire account is geared towards.. Do not post an ad for Fit Tummy Tea. It’s just not going to work and your audience will know you are only doing it for the money. Accept free product that you align with and only accept money for posts if you are extremely proud to represent that brand. If you want to find brands to work with, you can definitely reach out to them as well. Apps like Grapevine and Brandsnob are designed to connect you with brands and make offers to one another for collaborations.
HOW MUCH DO I KNOW TO CHARGE FOR A POST
This is obviously geared more towards ads and sponsorships but I can’t emphasize enough about having an actual income generated outside of the Instagram. Everyone charges differently but it really is all about your followers and engagement. If you are satisfied with just getting free product for a post, then have at it. I, personally, don’t typically accept product if it has nothing to do with me. Random shirt companies have reached out and asked for a post in exchange for their shirt. I wasn’t going to buy the shirt to begin with so why would I just post in it simply because they’ve offered? But I know you want actual numbers so with 10,000 followers and decent engagement, you can get about $100 for a post.
ASK QUESTIONS
Ask questions before agreeing to anything. Make the brands understand that you know what you’re doing and are worth the money. Ask them if the post has to be permanent or if it can be deleted in a week. If you can have ongoing relationship with them. It is always best to stick to a couple brands and post for them frequently instead of bouncing around to tons of different companies. Do a quick Google search on any brand you are considering. You don’t want to represent a brand to later find out that they have a negative past. This can immediately be put onto you for supporting them.
HUSTLE AND BE SMART
Instagram is a marketing tool now and can definitely be used to make you money. But don’t limit yourself a couple ads a month in hopes that it will generate an entire income for you. You’ll be able to make substantially more money by growing your audience, creating an actual business that serves your followers, and then bringing them over to your business. Ads should be considered a little extra money on the side until you have a huge following and are getting paid a lot per post. Don’t sell out to any company simply because they’ve reached out. Don’t be afraid to politely decline. Your audience is everything when you want them to be customers. So do not take advantage of them and always keep their trust.
READ MORE: HOW THESE VANDWELLERS EARN MONEY ON THE ROAD
