How much money does an instagram influencer make

How to Make Money on Instagram in 2022 (14 Proven Strategies)

If working hard and making money is the American dream, not working hard and making money is the Instagram dream. But making serious income using social media requires some serious strategy. Whether you’re a creator or a business, you’ll find the most success in making money on Instagram if you do your research.

Keep reading to get inspired by thirteen examples from creators and brands, and find tips for making money on Instagram that apply to everyone.

Can you make money on Instagram?

How much money can you make on Instagram?

How to make money on Instagram as a business

How to make money on Instagram as a creator

Bonus: Learn how to sell more products on social media with our free Social Commerce 101 guide. Delight your customers and improve conversion rates.

Can you make money on Instagram?

Hell yeah. In fact, helping creators make a living on the platform is a top priority for Instagram, especially as competition heats up from TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.

“Our goal is to be the best platform for creators like you to make a living,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the company’s first-ever Creator Week in June 2021.

In 2021, Instagram was the second-most downloaded app in the world. It’s the 7th most-visited website globally, the 4th most-used social media platform, and has 1.22 billion users every month. All of which is to say: that’s a massive potential audience. With an enormous and diverse pool of people who could potentially be exposed to your content, there are plenty of opportunities to earn money.

Want more proof? Grab the popcorn and watch this video from Hootsuite Labs.

(If you’re looking for more Instagram stats—you know, to rattle off at parties and impress your friends—you can find 35 of them here).

How much money can you make on Instagram?

Numbers are tricky, because creators and brands are notoriously private about how much money they’re making. On top of that, calculating income from Instagram is complicated—if you sing a song on a Reel, the sound goes viral and you get a record deal from that internet fame, then tens of thousands of people buy tickets to your concert, does that count as making money on Instagram? What if you post food videos, then provide a link to your recipe blog, and host ads on your blog that make you money?

It sounds bizarre, but that’s the way most successful creators’ journeys go. How much money you can make on Instagram depends on your credentials, audience size, engagement, strategy, hustle, and a dash of dumb luck.

Here’s how much some creators and celebs have reportedly cashed in:

$901: The average amount of money an Instagram influencer with 1,000 to 10,000 followers can make per post, according to Business Insider

$100 to $1,500: How much a creator can be paid for a swipe-up advertisement on their Instagram stories according to Brian Hanly, CEO of Bullish Studio (a talent agency for influencers)

$983,100: The amount Kylie Jenner reportedly makes per ad or sponsored content post

$1,604,000: The amount Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly makes per post

In 2021, Hype Auditor surveyed almost 2 thousand influencers (most based in the U.S.) about how much money they make. Here’s what they found:

The average influencer makes $2,970 per month. “Average” numbers aren’t the best to go by, since there’s so much differentiation between the highs and lows—as is referenced in the next stat!
Micro-influencers (accounts with one thousand to ten thousand followers earn on average $1,420 per month, and mega-influencers (accounts with over one million followers) earn about $15,356 per month.

Source: Hypeauditor

Top 5 Instagram Earners in 2022

Obviously, celebrities have a leg up in notoriety, and when they sign up for Instagram they automatically get thousands of followers. Although that is not the same for all of us, it’s inspiring to see just how much someone can make through being an influencer on a social media platform. Here are the top 5 earners on Instagram today:

Cristiano Ronaldo – 475 million followers with an estimated average price per post of $1,604,000
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – 334 million followers with an estimated average price per post of $1,523,000
Ariana Grande – 328 million followers with an estimated average price per post of $1,510,000
Kylie Jenner – 365 million followers with an estimated average price per post of $1,494,000
Selena Gomez – 341 million followers with an estimated average price per post of $1,468,000

How to make money on Instagram as a business

Being present, active, and engaging on Instagram (and keeping up with trends) is one of the best ways to find business success on the platform in 2022. Here’s how to do it.

1. Promote special offers

The online audience is a sucker for a good deal (and Instagram users love to buy stuff: 44% of Instagrammers say they use the app to shop weekly).

Use Instagram to showcase all the great things about your company—specifically, anytime you’re having a sale. Not only does posting your sale, promo code, or special offer on Instagram advertise a sale to your followers, but it also makes the information easily shareable.

This holiday sale post from clothing brand @smashtess has lots of comments that are just people tagging their friends. It’s an awesome way to promote the sale and also have the sale shared organically.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Smash + Tess (@smashtess)

2. Set up countdowns to new launches

You can use Instagram to give your followers a sneak peek of new releases, launches, or product lines—and using the “Countdown” or “Reminder” functions, you can provide potential customers with a simple way to flag when those new products will be available for sale. This creates some hype around your offer, and once the release happens, users get a notification reminding them to check out the goods (and, hopefully, check out the goods).

3. Set up an Instagram Shop

Instagram Shops are a direct method of making money off of the app. Users can buy products using the platform’s native e-commerce tools, and it’s easy to set up a shop.

Instagram shops are an impulse buyer’s best friend (or worst nightmare, depending on how you look at it). Your shoppable products or services will show up in your followers’ news feeds, along with regular posts.

Hosting an Instagram shop is also a great way to provide quick customer service to folks who use social media (basically everyone—75% of the global population over the age of 13). Customers can DM you or comment on posts to learn more about your brand. (Hint: if you’re feeling overwhelmed in your DMs, consider using a chatbot to support your customer service team.)

When you post something with a buyable item, the little shop icon will appear on the post, letting viewers know that it’s available for purchase.

Home goods store @the.modern.shop uses shoppable tags in many of their posts.

4. Schedule shoppable Instagram posts with Hootsuite

You can create and schedule or auto-publish shoppable Instagram photos, videos, and carousel posts alongside all your other social media content using Hootsuite.

To tag a product in an Instagram post in Hootsuite, follow these steps:

1. Open your Hootsuite dashboard and go to Composer.

2. Under Publish to, select an Instagram Business profile.

3. Upload your media (up to 10 images or videos) and type out your caption.

4. In the preview on the right, select Tag products. The tagging process is slightly different for videos and images:

Images: Select a spot in the image, and then search for and select an item in your product catalog. Repeat for up to 5 tags in the same image. Select Done when you’re finished tagging.
Videos: A catalog search appears right away. Search for and select all the products you want to tag in the video.

5. Select Post now or Schedule for later. If you decide to schedule your post, you will see suggestions for the best times to publish your content for maximum engagement.

And that’s it! Your shoppable post will show up in the Hootsuite Planner, alongside all of your other scheduled content.

You can also boost your existing shoppable posts directly from Hootsuite to help more people discover your products.

Note: You’ll need an Instagram Business account and an Instagram shop to take advantage of product tagging in Hootsuite.

Try Hootsuite free for 30 days

5.

Set up a chatbot

An easy way to provide excellent customer service and make sales through direct messages is to set up an Instagram chatbot. A chatbot is integrated directly into your Instagram account and website and can answer any frequently asked questions from your followers. If the question is too complicated for the conversational AI chatbot, then it will automatically pass the inquiry to a real live member of your team.

And how can a chatbot help you earn on Instagram? Simple!

An Instagram chatbot can recommend products in your shop, directly to your customers within the chat, leading to faster and more streamlined sales.

If a customer inquires about what color foundation you have in stock, the chatbot can serve up three different options that the user can quickly add to their cart without ever leaving the platform.

Source: Heyday

Get a free Heyday demo

6. Partner with creators

Influencer marketing allows you to share your company with the creator’s audience (and the creator also gets a spotlight for your audience—it’s a win-win).

When you’re researching folks to collaborate with, make sure you pay attention to their content and values: you want to pick someone who has goals that align with your own, so the partnership makes sense to customers and doesn’t seem like some oddball marketing scheme.

For example, it makes sense for a plant-based bakery to partner with a vegan influencer (more sense than Bill Nye partnering with Coca-Cola, that’s for sure).

Try to collaborate with creators who would be likely to try and/or like your products, anyway—for example, dancer @maddieziegler has long had a partnership with activewear brand @fabletics. You can offer the creator money, goods, or an affiliate deal (more info on that in the “Join an affiliate program” section of this post, just above!) in exchange for posting about your company.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by maddie (@maddieziegler)

7.

Partner with other businesses

Like partnering with creators, partnerships with other businesses give folks on both sides of the deal an opportunity to interact with a wider consumer base. Try contacting other businesses like yours and hosting a contest or giveaway—it’s an excellent way to gain followers and tap into a new audience.

This giveaway from @chosenfoods and @barebonesbroth requires entrants to like and save the post, follow both companies, and tag a friend in the comments. Both brands are building their audience—followers just waiting to be converted into consumers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chosen Foods (@chosenfoods)

8. Straight-up advertise

Hey, the basics still work. Advertising on Instagram is one of the ways you can make money on the platform and actually track your progress. You can turn any post into an ad by boosting it, and your Instagram analytics will tell you how much of a difference the boost made.

How to make money on Instagram as a creator

Even if you don’t have a “business” in the conventional sense, there are lots of ways you can use Instagram to make money as an individual. With a solid following and clear niche, you have influence—and can be an influencer.

1. Partner with brands

Partnering with brands is likely the most well-known way that creators can make money on Instagram. Find a small or big brand that aligns with your values (that part is important—partnering with a brand that has nothing to do with your regular content, or even directly contradicts your regular content, will make you seem inauthentic).

Partnerships with brands can take many forms: you might be paid to make an Instagram post that features a specific product or be offered free products in exchange for content. To get started, try making a few posts that feature some of your favorite things—restaurants, skincare, whatever feels true to you—for free. You can then point to those posts as examples when you’re reaching out to brands.

Lots of makeup and beauty influencers participate in these kinds of brand deals. Here’s an example of a paid partnership post from creator @mexicanbutjapanese for Nordstrom.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mexicanbutjapanese (@mexicanbutjapanese)

Hint: when you’re participating in a paid partnership or sponsored post, be transparent. Use hashtags, mark the post as sponsored, and be clear about the partnership in your captions. Not following Instagram’s branded content guidelines can result in posts being removed—plus, it’s sketchy.

2. Join an affiliate program

This is related to brand partnerships, as joining an affiliate program still requires you to connect yourself to a business that sells specific products or experiences. Affiliate programs essentially pay you to market other people’s products (so again, you want to make sure that the products you’re highlighting align with your values). If your followers buy something from the brand through you—usually using a specific link or discount code—you get paid.

This nail artist is an affiliate marketer for a nail polish brand—when followers use her discount code to buy the nail polish, the creator makes money.

3. Enable Live Badges

For creators in the U.S., Instagram’s Live Badges is a method of making money directly through the app. During a live video, viewers can purchase the badges (which cost between $0.99 and $4.99) to show their support.

To turn on Live Badges, go to your Profile and tap Professional Dashboard. Then, enable monetization. Once you’ve been approved, you’ll see a button called Set Up Badges. Tap that, and you’re good to go!

Source: Instagram

If you’ve enabled Live Badges, make sure to mention it when you go live (remind your followers that if they’d like to show their support with money, it’s easy to do so!) and express gratitude when someone purchases a badge. Saying thank you goes a long way, and will likely encourage other people to pitch in.

Bonus: Learn how to sell more products on social media with our free Social Commerce 101 guide. Delight your customers and improve conversion rates.

Get the guide now!

4. Sell your merch

Using Instagram as a marketing tool for your other revenue streams is a great strategy for moneymaking. If you’ve curated your personal brand enough to have a certain look, logo, catchphrase, or anything else that’s recognizably you, consider selling merch that’s splashed with that extra sparkle (you’re brand). You can make money from sales—plus score some free advertising when your followers start walking around with your name on their sweatpants.

Drag queen extraordinaire Trixie Mattel sells branded merch and uses Instagram as a platform to advertise.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Trixie Mattel (@trixiemattel)

5. Link to your blog or vlog

Selling advertising space on your own website—or making money from Youtube—can be super lucrative, and you can use Instagram to direct your followers to that external site (hint: use a link tree to make the most of that link in your Instagram bio).

Here are some quick examples:

Foodies who post pictures of food they’ve made and also have a blog where they post full recipes
YouTubers who post highlights of their vlog on Reels, then provide a link to their Youtube channel for the full video
Fashion influencers who post their outfits on Instagram and link to their website, where they share where the clothes came from
Outdoor adventurers who post gorgeous landscapes and link to their blog where they detail the best road trip routes

Food blogger @tiffy. cooks posts videos of her making food on her blog, and links to in-depth recipes in her bio. The recipes live on her blog, which also hosts posts that contain affiliate links.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tiffy Cooks 🥟 Easy Recipes (@tiffy.cooks)

6. Offer paid tutorials or masterclasses

This is similar to linking to a blog or vlog, but instead of making income indirectly (through businesses advertising on your page or Youtube ads), your followers are directly paying you for a service you’re providing.

If you have a particular area of expertise, you could offer an online masterclass that requires a paid ticket. This method of moneymaking is common for fitness influencers, who may post short workouts for free and then link to a full training routine that you need to pay to access.

Film colorist @theqazman offers quick tips on Instagram, but also hosts ticketed masterclasses. This way, his content still appeals to a wide (non-paying) audience, but folks who are serious about learning the ropes will pay him for a full lesson.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Qazi (@theqazman)

You can also offer tutorials or masterclasses for free and simply ask followers to tip you if they have the means—that’s the method athlete @iamlshauntay uses. Her link in bio directs followers to ways they can pay her for her work if they’re able to. This is a good technique to use if you’re looking for maximum accessibility: there’s no financial barrier to your content, but there’s still a clear way for your audience to pay you if they want to.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Latoya Shauntay Snell (@iamlshauntay)

Save time managing your Instagram presence using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can integrate your social networks with your Shopify store, add products to any social media post, respond to comments with product suggestions. Try it free today.

Try Hootsuite for free

Do it better with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media toolkit. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.

Free 30-Day Trial (risk-free!)

How Much Money Does an Instagram Influencer Make?

The Card

Apply Now

The AppThe Company

Apply Now

Blog home

How Much Money Does an Instagram Influencer Make?

The Petal Team

Protein powder.

‍

A vitamin-subscription box.

‍

The newest restaurant you must try.

‍

If you’re on Instagram, odds are you’ve seen at least one of these things. Endorsed by someone you follow. In the past month.

‍

It’s easy to poke fun at your latest acquaintance that’s taken up this endeavour, but that doesn’t stop the tiny voice in your head asking, “Are they getting paid for this?” quickly followed by, “I can hold a bottle of self-tanner and smile too – can I get paid as well?”

‍

These influencers – as society has labeled them – have created a digital empire by snapping a few semi-filtered shots with one hand, while promoting the latest trend with the other. Their credibility comes through an influx of social engagement, which occurs while building an influence that is rewarded with products, money, and sometimes even fame.

‍

We’re putting the numbers to the test to see how financially independent one can really be from a couple thousand likes. And just how realistic that task is to conquer.

‍

It Pays to be Popular 💁

‍

While climbing the influencer ladder, it’s common to get paid more per post if you have a higher follower count. This logic stems from the idea that the more eyes that see the content, the more brands are willing to pay.

‍

But what determines that ✨magic ✨number one must hit before these posts actually become profitable?

‍

< 10,000 Followers

‍

“Micro” influencers have anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 followers. Unlike your popular friend that has acquired this many followers by posting cool stuff, the people behind these handles are vying to grow their page around a specific niche.

‍

According to a recent survey, these accounts can make up to, on average, $88.00 per post. However, most micro-influencers hold off on charging upfront so they can first garner a larger, long-term presence.

‍

Understood as a dedicated hobby, this follower level can get your Instagram handle in the door for future collaborations or sponsored posts, filled with some free perks along the way.

‍

< 100,000 Followers

‍

At this stage in the game, brands are sending out direct messages to accounts with this amount of followers like clockwork, asking for product endorsement in exchange for freebies: Think designer-labeled clothing, monthly packages catered to health and wellness, or a free meal from the restaurant that wants exposure.

‍

Some occasional money may come in, but most influencers are hesitant to start charging at this stage since it may delegitmize their growing success.

‍

For example, one self-proclaimed "foodstagrammer" currently holds 72,000 followers. While hundreds of likes swarm in for each post, the account is waiting to monetize their work until at least hitting the 100,000 mark – which is the “socially acceptable” marker.

‍

It’s somewhat of an unspoken rule that influencers can expect to be paid $10.00 for every 1,000 followers they have, once they hit the 100,000 threshold. Charging for posts before hitting this may result in getting paid less, or settling before the account has fully bloomed.

‍

Influencers with 50,000 to 80,000 followers get around $200.00 per post, but the price point changes based on the advertiser. Some accounts make deals with brands to post promotional codes on their feed, and everytime a new person uses their code, they make a percentage of the sale. Other accounts opt into giveaway deals that purely boost their follower count.

‍

Whether these middle-tier accounts are maintaining their presence on the side working vigorously to turn their accounts into a full-time career, their followings are impressive.

‍

< 1,000,000 Followers

‍

The leap from 100,000 followers to one MILLION followers is quite an undertaking to say the least, coming with no standard manual or rules to follow on what to post and how much to charge.

‍

Accounts of this nature (think 250,000 to 500,000 followers) have hit the jackpot of Instagram influencing, with possible earnings averaging at $670. 00 per post.

‍

But it doesn’t even need to be a picture on their feed that brings in the cash.

‍

Accounts this large have various features that lower-tier handles can’t access yet, such as a verified account (blue check mark) and the Instagram story “swipe up” capability, brands and companies can leverage these features for more effective influencer ad campaigns.

‍

Once an account reaches more than one million followers, the sky’s the limit on what they charge.

Time is Money ⏰💰

‍

But it’s more than just taking aesthetically-pleasing photos and tagging brands. Not only do Instagram influencers need a committed following, they also need these followers to engage with their content.

‍

Many middle-tier influencers are lumped into direct-message groups called pods, filled with 15 other accounts also trying to make it big.

‍

According to the influencer community, people in these groups are sharing their new posts all of the time, with the expectation that everyone else needs to engage with those accounts. Comments should be at least five words and include emojis, because that will help increase engagement.

‍

Participating (or choosing not to participate) in groups like these can have an impact on how much one can make from their account.

‍

Curious if your account has what it takes to start? Check for yourself here.

‍

TL;DR

‍

1) Quitting your day job to live off of an Instagram-influencer salary is easier said than done, since accounts need to garner thousands of followers before they can even start to see a monetary profit.

‍

2) Instagram influencers with under 10,000 followers can make, on average, $88.00 per post. Those with under 100,000 followers average $200.00 per post, but these numbers often vary account to account. Most accounts in this level are instead, gifted with free products or discounts for posting.

‍

3) Accounts ranging from 250,000 to 500,000 followers can make a pretty penny posting on their accounts for brands, whether that be in a static picture, GIF-like video or an Instagram story. Once an influencer has reached one million followers, it’s safe to assume they are making quite a decent amount of money, and working very hard to maintain it.

"It’s somewhat of an unspoken rule that influencers can expect to be paid $10.00 for every 1,000 followers they have, once they hit the 100,000 threshold."

Blog home

How Much Money Does an Instagram Influencer Make?

The Petal Team

Protein powder.

‍

A vitamin-subscription box.

‍

The newest restaurant you must try.

‍

If you’re on Instagram, odds are you’ve seen at least one of these things. Endorsed by someone you follow. In the past month.

‍

We’re putting the numbers to the test to see how financially independent one can really be from a couple thousand likes. And just how realistic that task is to conquer.

‍

It Pays to be Popular 💁

‍

But what determines that ✨magic ✨number one must hit before these posts actually become profitable?

‍