How to get paid on instagram live
How to Make Money on Instagram in 2023 (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 chatbotAn 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: HeydayGet 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 businessesLike 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 Instagram 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)
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Go Live and Earn Extra Income With Instagram Badges
Badges may not be available in your region. Check back here for updates!
EARN WITH BADGES
When you go Live with badges, viewers can buy badges to support you and get extra recognition, while you earn money from content you’re already creating.
TURN ON BADGES
GET GOING
How to get started with badges
EARN LIKE A PRO
Everything to know about earning badges
When viewers purchase badges, you’ll see heart(s) next to their usernames. You can also see the total number of badges purchased and your total earnings along with progress on any goals you set. To see more in-depth earnings, tap “View” during your Live. To see your total badge count, head to “Badges” in your Professional Dashboard anytime after your Live has ended.
Viewers can purchase multiple badges during your Live in $0.99, $1.99 and $4.99 increments -- remember to recognize badge purchasers!
Find more ways to earn.
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CREATOR SPOTLIGHT
Fitness creator Charlee Atkins turned an outpouring of support on her Live videos into another way for her viewers to give back with badges.
BADGES TIPS
Sharpen your badges game
Badges follow the same rules as Live
If you’ve mastered making Live videos, you can master badges. If you’re going to turn badges on and need a refresher, visit the Live page.
Involve your supporters
Ask your supporters what they want to see in Stories before you go live. During your Live, you can see who's purchased a badge so you can engage with your supporters.
Let viewers know badges are enabled
Since viewers tune in at different times, remind them that badges are enabled at the beginning, middle and end of your Live video.
Thank your supporters
Remember to thank your supporters with shout outs during your Live, and afterwards, by using the Thank You sticker in Stories.
Share badges goals
Sharing a goal for your Live and pinning it as a comment can help viewers feel more involved in your work and encourage them to purchase badges.
Recognize supporters
Instagram will send you a reminder every time supporters buy badges or you hit a milestone -- consider giving your supporters an individual shout-out if they’ve bought one or more badges, or a collective shout out when you hit a milestone.
Questions?
How many badges can supporters purchase?
They can buy as many badges as they like, for up to USD $250 per live video.
LEARN MORE
When can I expect my first paycheck from badges in Live?
Once you’ve earned at least $100, you’ll get paid. Then depending on your bank, payments can take between 1-7 business days to arrive.
LEARN MORE
Is there a transaction fee when you buy a Badge?
Google and Apple deduct 30% of all in-app purchases in fees. Currently Instagram receives no portion of the fees.
LEARN MORE
WANT MORE?
More ways to earn on Instagram
BRANDED CONTENT
Earn with brand partnerships, while remaining authentic with viewers.
BONUSES
Earn money based on the plays of your reels.
SHOPPING
Selling has never been this easy or fun.
How do I start a fundraiser or donate live on Instagram?
Help Center
This feature is not available to everyone.
You can only start a fundraiser or make a live donation in the Instagram app.
You can start a fundraiser for a non-profit organization or make a donation to such an organization during an Instagram live stream.
How to start fundraising live?
Instagram app for Android and iPhone
Tap the icon in the top right corner of the feed.
Scroll to the Live TV option at the bottom of the screen.
Click on the left side of the screen.
Scroll down and select the organization you would like to donate to, or enter its name in the search bar at the top of the screen.
To start collecting donations live, click .
The non-profit organization you choose will receive 100% of the amount raised. Your viewers will see the "Donate" option at the bottom of the screen throughout the live stream. They will also see information about the organization you selected and the amount raised.
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How to manage a live broadcast to collect donations?
Instagram app for Android and iPhone
Click View in the lower right corner to see the amount raised and a list of viewers who donated.
Click Wave next to the donor's name to thank them.
You can invite a guest to your live broadcast, but they will not be able to select another non-profit organization.
Q&A stickers can be added to live broadcasts, but viewers will not see questions. nine0003
After the end of the live broadcast, you will see the amount you managed to collect, as well as the number of donors. You can share the live stream on your profile, download it to your device, or delete it. Learn more about live broadcast management.
Note. You can also start collecting donations by adding the "Donate" sticker to your story.
How do I make a donation during a live stream on the Instagram app?
Instagram app for Android and iPhone
Click Donate in the lower left corner of the screen.
Enter the amount you would like to donate and click Next.
Choose a payment method or learn how to add a payment method to Instagram.
If you would like to receive your donation receipt to a different email address, click on the current email address and enter a new one.
Click Donate at the bottom of the screen and then Done.
During the live broadcast, you can make any number of donations. The minimum donation in the US is $5 and the maximum is $2,500. The maximum donation amount in the EU is 250 euros in 31 days. nine0003
Note. You can also donate to a non-profit organization by clicking the "Donate" sticker in the story.
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How do I tag products live on Instagram? nineYoutube. Vladimir Kolesov, September 9, 2021
1.
Selling ads You collect a certain amount of audience and start selling ads. You can advertise other bloggers, some projects, it can be commercial advertising. They pay money to talk about something or someone.
The main difficulty is to gather an audience. Secondly, it is very important here how loyal and active your audience is. If no one clicks on ads, on the recommendations that you give, then no one will buy ads. The cost of advertising is now quite low. Therefore, the method is already less promising in terms of earnings: advertising is getting cheaper, efficiency is falling, there are too many ads, and it’s hard to keep the attention of the audience.
But this does not negate the fact that there is still a huge amount of advertising being bought from bloggers, including bloggers with a small audience. It all depends on the quality of the audience - how expensive, valuable and how active it is. The better the performance, the more money you can earn. nine0003
2.
Brand Ambassador If in the first case it was about the constant placement of various advertisements, then the ambassador is a person who promotes the brand on an ongoing basis. You can be an ambassador for one or more brands.
It's great when a long-term contract is concluded with you. You become a brand ambassador and receive either goods or money.
3. Selling other people's goods
You can also sell something, open a store or offer something to your audience as a blogger. Efficiency depends on how well you know how to search for interesting products, how competently you know how to present the goods so that people really pay for it. nine0003
4. Selling your products
The fourth way is to sell products that you make yourself. This is beneficial, because most often hand-made goods are more expensive, they are less costly, and you earn more.
5. Sale of merch
Now it is very fashionable to create collections of T-shirts, sweatshirts, accessories, mugs, bags.
And this is done not only by celebrities, but also by designers, authors, just people who know how to do interesting things.
6. Dropshipping
Dropshipping - when we do not buy anything, but resell. There is an online store, a platform that sells many, many different products. A person clicks on your link, buys - you get a commission. You do not need to deal with shipping, logistics, or any other things that classic online stores do. Your task is only traffic.
7. Counseling
You can advise people on how to get a tax deduction or how to set up a service, etc. Here you are not selling some physical product, but selling your knowledge in the format of consultations. nine0003
8. Selling your product (course)
You can make your own product: record a video version or an audio version. It can be an audiobook or a regular book. You take your knowledge, make a product that suits many.
9. Selling a digital product
Courses are a set of knowledge and skills.
And digital products are, for example, an image you created, stock photos, templates, Lightroom presets. From photography, design, a finished logo to a finished website template and so on. nine0003
10. Selling services
Through Instagram* you can attract clients to your services. For example, in the format of monthly payments - monthly accounting services or SMM promotion.
11. Creation of a startup
You can create a startup. And use social media to promote it. Not everyone will succeed, but you can earn millions of dollars.
12. Earnings on the public
You can create a public and earn money by posting any information or advertising. The principle is the same. Create a thematic public, attract an audience there - and earn money either by posting content or by placing ads. nine0003
13. Affiliate programs
Affiliate programs are a separate way to make money in social networks. Affiliate programs are a bit like dropshipping, selling goods.
