It is a common fact that famous people make a lot of money via Instagram. We see influencers and celebrities doing paid promotions and collaborating with brands to market their products, ultimately earning a handsome amount of money. 

However, making money through Instagram is not related to just famous people. You, too, can earn a decent income as a beginner by using Instagram. Yes, you heard that right! Even small accounts with less than 50,000 or even less than 10,000 followers can monetize their channel.

In this blog post, you will learn the eight best ways to make money on Instagram for beginners. On top of that, we will also show you how much money you can make with your ideas and what other Instagrammers earn on average.

Let’s dive right in!

8 Best Ways To Make Money on Instagram

There are multiple ways of making money on Instagram. We have curated a list of the eight best ways to make money on Instagram to save you the hassle:

1. Affiliate Marketing

You don’t need hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram to make money with affiliate marketing. You are good to start as long as people watch your stories, reels, or posts.  

Your first step is to join an affiliate program. You could either check the websites of your favourite products and see if they have a button that says Affiliate Program, Partner Program, or anything similar. Alternatively, check out affiliate platforms like Clickbank or FlexOffers to find a product you like to promote. 

Once approved, you receive a link or discount code for beauty, fashion, food, or jewellery products. Now you paste the link into your Instagram profile and tell people in your stories to check it out. When someone clicks on it and buys the product, you receive a commission for your promotion. This commission is usually between 5% and 50% of the sales price.

What products would you like to promote on your Instagram account? Are fashion or food products your thing? Maybe travel-related products, decorations, fitness products, or products for your pets? Either way, this is the perfect way to make money on Instagram.

2. Sponsorships

Another popular way to make money on Instagram as a beginner is by getting sponsorships. Again, you don’t need to have a large number of followers. There are plenty of companies out there that are explicitly looking for so-called ‘micro-influencers’. These are small but active accounts with engaged followers. 

When you have a sponsorship, a company pays you a fixed price for presenting their product in your story, reel, or post. How much you can earn with this idea depends on a few factors, like how engaged your audience is or your views per post. 

To find companies to collaborate with, you can contact them directly or use platforms like Tinysponsor or Looking For Sponsor. 

Another idea is to register on Fiverr and sell your Instagram reach to potential sponsors. Many people are doing this already. For example, one girl on Fiverr with around 40,000 followers on Instagram offers a package of two Instagram stories plus one Instagram post for $400 on Fiverr. 

3. Become a Brand Ambassador 

Making money as a brand ambassador is similar to brand sponsorships. The difference is that the collaboration is long-term instead of one story, reel, or post. Here you receive compensation, usually in the form of money and free products, to promote the brand and its services or products. 

This could include several stories or posts per week or month. Some contracts also say that you need to use the company’s products exclusively, meaning that if you are a brand ambassador for a particular jewellery brand, you are not allowed to post videos wearing other brands’ jewellery during the promotion time. 

To become a brand ambassador, you must consistently post on your page. Develop a posting schedule that your audience is familiar with so that you can build a loyal following over time. A loyal following will increase your value as a brand ambassador, as you’ll promote the brand’s products to more people, giving it an overall benefit. 

4. Promote Your Own Products

This method is perfect for everyone who has a business outside of Instagram. These businesses could be anything, for example:

• Dropshipping store, 
• Etsy shop,
• Online courses, 
• Photoshop presets, 
• Print-on-demand products, or
• Freelance services.

The basic idea is to engage your followers by creating fun content that showcases your products, services, or skills. You need to grab your followers’ attention and redirect them to whatever business you have outside of Instagram. 

On top of that, you could also provide additional information. For instance, if you sell items on Etsy, you could show in your Instagram stories how you create them or the shipping process. If you work as a freelance content writer, you could give tips on improving your writing skills.

If you don’t have a business and want to earn money from this method, you can easily start any of the businesses listed above, like becoming a freelance writer or starting a drop shipping business.

5. Set up a Patreon Page

Patreon is a platform where people can subscribe to projects they enjoy and pay a small monthly membership fee. In return, they get access to special or exclusive content. For Instagram accounts, that could be, for instance: 

• Behind-the-scenes clips,
• Live chats,
• Personal information,
• Tips & tricks, or
• Discount codes.

This method is an easy way for beginners to make money on Instagram since you don’t need many followers to make an extra income.   

6. Instagram Shopping

This is another idea for those who sell physical products and have an online store. You have seen the posts before with a little white shopping bag in the top right corner.

This means that there are shoppable items linked to that post. 

For instance, if you post an image of a baby wearing the clothing that you sell, you can link that item to your store.

When people click on these items, they get automatically redirected to your shop to buy them. 

This method is a great way to increase your sales. 

7. Offer Instagram Freelancing Services

Another way to make money with Instagram is by working as a freelancer. You don’t need a degree or years of experience; you only need to know how to use the platform.

The easiest way to freelance for beginners is to create a free profile on freelance platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. You can find countless clients looking for someone to help them with their Instagram accounts. Check out these ways to find clients online and become a freelancer.

Your tasks could include the following: 

• Editing photos, 
• Writing captions,
• Creating infographics,
• Creating Instagram stories,
• Engaging with followers,
• Answering messages or comments, or 
• Come up with new content ideas.

The great thing about working as a freelancer is: You decide when you work and how much you work. You also set your own rates per project, which means it is entirely up to you how much you earn. 

Furthermore, when creating stories, editing photos, or creating infographics, you have many free sites that make the job easier. One such site is Canva, a popular design platform that allows you to create fun, vibrant, and all other sorts of social media posts. 

8. Monetize Your Instagram Knowledge

This income idea is perfect for everyone passionate about Instagram because you can use your expertise to make money online. 

For instance, you could create an online course where you teach others how to grow on Instagram. Alternatively, you could share your knowledge on YouTube. Once you have enough subscribers, you can get paid by YouTube for placing ads before, during, or after your videos. You could also use affiliate marketing or brand sponsorships on your YouTube channel. 

As an Instagram expert, you have several options to monetize your knowledge.  

How Much Money Can You Earn on Instagram?

Now let’s talk about numbers: As said in the beginning, you can make an excellent part-time or even full-time income even with a small Instagram account. It all depends on your niche, how active you are, the number of followers, and how engaged your followers are. 

• According to Business Insider, active accounts with as little as 1,000 to 10,000 followers earn up to $901 per sponsored post. 
• If you make a story about a product and link to the brand’s website in this story, you can expect to earn between $100 and $1,500
• If you post an affiliate link to, for instance, a beauty brand that gives you a $25 commission for everyone who uses the link, you only need 40 people to buy from that beauty brand to earn $1000 per month. 

The possibilities are endless, as celebrities prove: Kylie Jenner, for example, makes around $980,000 per sponsored post. And Cristiano Ronaldo has successfully charged $1,604,000 for a post on his Instagram account.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, there are plenty of ways to make money on Instagram as a beginner, like affiliate marketing, sponsorships, or a Patreon page. Your income opportunities are endless. Even with a relatively small but engaged account, a couple of hundred dollars per post are realistic. 

All you need is dedication and commitment to your goal; in no time, you can start earning a good amount. So, what are you waiting for? Create an account on Instagram and get started making money!