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How to sell my instagram photos


How to Make Money on Instagram by Selling Photos (2023)

By Natalia Robert By Dora Jokkel

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These days, everyone is on Instagram. But did you know that you can make money on Instagram?

As a photographer, you’re already creating products that can be sold. Instagram is a perfect place to showcase your portfolio.

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Set Up Instagram Shopping to Make Money On Instagram and Sell Your Products in a Direct Way

The easiest way to make money on Instagram is by setting up an Instagram Shopping account. This way, you can integrate your product catalog into your Instagram account.

There will be a shop tab available under your profile intro. People can click on it and reach your online shop without leaving Instagram.

You can also tag products on your photos the same way as you tag your friends. When you do this, a small shopping bag icon is added to your photo.

When someone taps the image, they can see the products description and price. Users can also tap on the products label to go the product’s sales page.

You can tag up to five products per photo. You are also able to promote your products via Instagram stories.

Sounds amazing, right? So what do you need to do to set up Instagram Shopping? First, you have to make sure you are eligible for it.

You also have to switch to a Instagram Business account and connect it to a Facebook Page. Then, you have to connect your Instagram profile to a Facebook catalog.

Here you can read all the criteria and the step-by-step process to set up your Instagram shop.

Use Instagram to Sell and Promote Prints

The most direct and simple way to sell prints is to create an Instagram post that tells your audience about your offer. You can create a graphic with a free tool like Canva. If you want to sell a particular photo, you can also use that image to promote your work in the Story section.

Under your picture’s caption, let your followers know that you’re selling prints. Be sure to include sizes available and a price for each size.

To keep things simple, you can ask them to comment on the photo that they want. Or they can DM you with the size they want to buy. To invoice, you can use Paypal.

Prints can be offered at different sizes and price points.

Link Your Instagram Account to a Sales Website

If you’re ready to take it up a notch or if you want to make the print shop a bit more official, there a simple way to do so. First, you’ll need to set up a separate site to house your e-commerce.

You can use free sites such as Wix and WordPress, or you can invest in a paid site like Squarespace. Either way, you will have a place to direct people to for shopping.

Be sure to add the site’s link into your bio. Then create posts that tell people to go to the link in profile for your shop or website.

Buying products directly on social media is getting more and more common today. Instagram also has a shopping feature that allows you to tag products that are linked directly to your shop listing.

For best results, build up a following base for your Instagram account first. That way, you have an engaged audience when you start offering items for sale.

Offer Unique Instagram Photos as Stock Images

Besides selling prints, you can also offer digital photos for stock use. Loads of businesses need images for their marketing. They often seek out photos from big stock photography sites like Shutterstock.

So why not offer them another avenue for unique photography? You can sell photos individually or in themed bundles.

For individual photos, pick images that are bold and unique. For bundles, think of general themes that are popular and can serve different needs.

Like with prints, you can offer the photos from a post. Or you can set up an e-commerce site that people can be linked to for shopping.

Creating photo setups for stock photo sales can be easy to do at home.

Use Sponsored Posts and Affiliate Links to Boost Your Income

If you’ve gained a lot of Instagram followers, there can be opportunities for affiliate or sponsored posts! These are posts that you create in your voice to advertise a product or service.

When it’s an affiliate post, it leads viewers to an affiliate link. If they make a purchase, this will give you a percentage commission and you make money in a simple way. It’s easy and quick to set up affiliate accounts for most products found online.

Once you have a product or company in mind, Google their name and “affiliate”. You’ll be able to find information on what affiliate program they work with.

When a company pays you to create a post for their product, it’s called a sponsored post. Below you’ll see a sponsored post from Jenna Kutcher. She has a very large following and uses sponsored posts as a regular part of her monthly income.

Affiliate accounts can be created by anyone for free and are dependent on your driving sales and traffic. But a sponsored post relies on having a relationship with the sponsor company.

Once you have a large following, think of what brands or products you enjoy. Make sure they also fit in well with your brand.

Then you’ll want to reach out to that company, create a genuine relationship, and pitch yourself for sponsorship. Having a large, engaged audience will be crucial to getting sponsored. But it also needs to be a good match between your brand and theirs!

There is nothing worse than someone sharing all different kinds of sponsored posts without any consistency. People will know when you share something only to make money, and you can lose followers in no time.

For example, as a photographer, you wouldn’t be doing sponsored ads for cleaning products. But you would do sponsored ads for photography-related products such as camera bags.

To maintain authenticity with your audience, be fully transparent about any sponsored ads. Include Instagram hashtags such as #ad or #sponsored.

Conclusion

Instagram is a fun and addictive social media platform. But you can also use Instagram as a marketing tool for extra money.

As a photographer, you are already creating visual content regularly. Why not use that content as another income stream?

Through prints, digital products, and partnerships, an Instagram account can open doors you never imagined.

Check out our post on how to sell photos on Etsy next!

You can boost your social media skills with our ebook – Social Media Strategies!

Canva

Easily create stunning visuals for Instagram and monetize your account with this powerful design tool.

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How to Sell Your Photos on Instagram & Make The Most Money

Do you know how much time goes into creating that perfect Instagram post?

A lot, that’s what.

The average influencer spends between 30 mins to 1.25 hours shooting, editing and captioning an Instagram post.

With all that effort, it’s a pity they almost instantly get buried under a tidal wave of oncoming traffic and thus, disappear from relevance.

But what if you could sell Instagram photos to make money off of them?

Well, you can!

And we’re talking major money – not just the cents you’ll get from selling stock photos.

We’ll cover:

  • Selling images online via eCommerce
  • Selling branded content opportunities
    Selling your images as tangible prints

We’ll show you how.

Sell Instagram photos online

Brands love authentic images, and yet find it difficult to come by them. This is an incredible opportunity for Instagrammers who have tons of great images and don’t know what to do with them. Fill a niche by providing authentic images available to brands and get paid for it!

There are two methods you could go by:

      1. Sell individual images
      2. Sell thematic image packages

Each has its merits, and they can be used either in tandem or individually. Individual images might be the kind that is distinctive, excellent, breathtaking, and very specific.

Thematic images might be more of a generically classifiable image, for example, nature, sky, workplace, flat lays, and more.

Love taking pictures of your food? How about selling your food pics.

How to make it happen?

      1. Create an account on Sellfy – it’s the most appropriate sales platform for digital goods and will make the process super easy
      2. Identify which images you think would be interesting for brands to purchase.
      3. Decide which images you can group together thematically, and which images you want to sell individually
      4. Upload the products to Sellfy and set your price
      5. Make sure to mention in the description the status of the images the brands are buying – ex. commercial use, editorial use, etc. Take a look at legal licensing terminology here.

Sell branded content opportunities

Say you’re great at creating flat lays.

You know who probably isn’t?

Brands.

Make it easy for brands to get their products placed in incredible images by offering up the opportunity proactively. Then, all it takes for the brand’s side is to accept the offer. By having a ready-made offer for brands, you make it super easy for the brands to say “yes”. You’re saving both time and effort, reduce the friction of negotiation, and therefore become much more likely to land corporate cooperation with them.

Take this scenario, for example:

You have a great flat lay planned, and you would be able to easily insert a branded item into it. Place that opportunity for sale online, and let brands know about it.

How to get brands to know about branded content opportunities?

Put together a sales sheet including some examples of your work, the opportunities that you have available (aka planned content for your channel), and then include pricing to it.

Note: This certainly falls under the “influencer marketing” category, and a prerequisite for this to work is to have a considerable social following. A good place to start would be if you have several thousand followers.

Letting brands know that you’re open to collaboration is also important, and can be signaled by entering your contact info in your bio like influencer Emily Beatrice Jackson has done.

How to make it happen:

      1. First, develop a social following (admittedly, this is easier said than done, and this has to be done over time, and continuously and systematically building a presence, making use of all of the good case practices of developing a social presence)
      2. Develop a proposal detailing the opportunities and costs for brands
      3. Identify which brands would be likely to be interested in reaching the same audience that follows you
      4. Send the proposal to the brands on your list, negotiate, and repeat.
      5. Make sure to put your contact info in your bio so that brands know how to get in touch if they’re interested.

Sell your images in physical format

When all else fails, how about selling your images as prints to your dedicated fans and followers?

All you need is excellent photographs (check), as well as a group of people who adore your style.

With both boxes ticked, you’re set to get selling Instagram photos in physical form.

There’s a variety of ways you can make this happen.

    • You can go through the effort of creating a store and selling online
    • You can put them up for sale on an existing market (learn about the pros and cons of this)
    • Totally freelance it

Take the case of photographer Daniel Arnold, who made $15,000 in one day selling his photos on Instagram.

He had $91 to his name on his 34th birthday, but thousands of images on Instagram. He decided to give selling his images a go. He posted this message to his Instagram followers:

“Hello, I just turned 34 this second. For one day only I am selling 4×6 prints of whatever you want from my Instagram archive for $150 each. I swear I will never sell anything this cheap again. If you’re interested, send a screenshot of the photo(s) of your choice to arnoldaniel@gmail. com (one d) and I will send a PayPal invoice, followed by a signed print. Easy peasy. Happy birthday. I love you”

By the next day, he had over $15,000 in orders. As a self-proclaimed business idiot, if he can do it, so can you.

Then there are individuals, such as photographer Bren Ruiz Rojas, who has a link in his bio that directs visitors to where they can purchase the images in physical form. The link can stay there indefinitely, thereby making it more likely to become a regular source of income.

How to make it happen:

      1. Decide which platform you will host your sales on. They can be either Sellfy, Etsy, Shopify, or any custom built website
      2. Choose how you will print the images – either a DIY approach and go to your local photo printer, or have that outsourced by print fulfillment services such as Printful
      3. Enter your sales URL in your Instagram bio to let visitors know where to find your photos
      4. When orders come in, make sure to promptly print and send them to your customers

Selling for the most money

As you can see, the more creative you get when thinking about how to sell pictures on Instagram, the more opportunities there are, and the higher the profit margins there may be.

Now if selling your Instagram photos turns out not to be your cup of tea, no worries. There are plenty of ways to use Instagram as a platform to make more sales. Take a look at our in-depth article on how to sell on Instagram.

How to make money on photos on Instagram?

Profit and profit are sometimes much closer than it seems. You may be surprised - but on Instagram you can even make money on a photo of a cat basking on the window or playing with a bow.

Interested? Let's understand in more detail.

How does it even work?

In fact, today the age of information technology erases the boundaries and distances between the employer and the performer of the work. We just register through our insta account on the page of the exchange site, mark which specific images we want to sell - and it's done, and the profit is in your pocket. nine0003

To do this, you need to take a number of simple steps:

  1. We are looking for a client through popular exchanges or on our own;
  2. We agree on a price;
  3. We make a beautiful high-quality photo that completely suits the client, and we give the work back;
  4. Profit - we get money.

In addition, you can use a number of services - this will be an easier way to make money on photos on Instagram. Let's take a closer look at a few sites. nine0003

Foap service

The developers boldly call themselves the "next wave of stock photos."

To get started, you need to register on the site, create a profile and fill out a portfolio with those photos that you would like to sell. One sold image gives you $5.

A big plus : you can sell the same photo as many times as you like, no one will require you to remove it after the first sale.

Free analysis of Instagram followers

By the way, try doing a free analysis of your Instagram followers through InstaHero. You will find out the quality of your account, how many bots and garbage you have, and you can also remove everything. Removing bots increases reach, engagement, and activity. Try for free.

Free Follower Analysis

500px

Digital community of photographers from all over the world, over 80 million images. A great platform to showcase and license your photos. nine0003

To better sell on this site, try:

  1. Use at least four keywords for each image. In one of the previous articles, we just considered how to do hashtags on Instagram;
  2. Look for unusual themes for photos, be original;
  3. Upload unique photos to the service that have not been published anywhere before.

Snapwire

The photo selling service offers an interesting rating system: the more often you upload high-quality and unique images to the site, the more points the system gives you. The amount of earnings in the sale depends on the number of points. nine0003

From time to time look at the section of the photos you just purchased on the site - in this way you can understand the trends and offer something that meets the demand.

And a couple more tips…

How to make money on Instagram posting photos? Take vivid, natural photos - many global brands are hunting for such shots. In addition, you should not use a square format, it is better to take a portrait 4:5. It is more convenient to upload large photos from a PC, you can read how to do it here. nine0003

It is rather difficult to give some kind of earnings guidance in this area - it all depends on luck, the chosen service and the quality of the content. The average cost of one photo is about 5-10 dollars. Try it, and everything will definitely work out!

6 ways to make money on Instagram posting photos

Contents:

  • 1
  • 2 Ways to get paid for Instagram photos
    • 2.1 Photos Sale
    • 2.2 Content of content for other people
    • 2.3 Sale of services
  • 3 Alternative ways to make money on Instagrams
    • 3.1 Advertising
      • 9001 our readers

    Who knew that the people we laughed at in 2008 would be in such high demand today? Everyone remembers this boom, when half of the creative graduates rushed to enter the photographers and video editors. Do you remember how they laughed and said: “Well, where will you work? Filming weddings? Today, the picture has changed dramatically, specialists in this area have many opportunities to earn money via the Internet. Instagram has become one of the tools that opened the curtain on the world of photography. Let's talk about how to make money on Instagram by posting photos. nine0003

    Is it possible to make money on Instagram posting photos?

    There are many ways to make money in social networks: from completing penny tasks to entire online stores that operate exclusively on communication services. Such sites come in different directions: on VKontakte, for example, this is text, and on Instagram - photos and videos. Therefore, the question "How to make money on Instagram in the photo?" quite logical. The answer will please you: of course you can. And in what ways to do this, let's talk further. nine0003

    Ways to get paid for photos on Instagram

    Running Instagram itself consists of uploading photos. But what are the specific ways? First of all, we will consider direct ways to earn money, and then indirect ones.

    Photos for sale

    The most obvious. You can make an entire portfolio by posting your own work. Place a watermark, name a price, and build your promotion to attract customers. Moreover, you must be aware of the latest news and be zealous about your work. Otherwise, the story will repeat itself with artists who simply steal other people's work and earn on them. nine0003

    Creating content for other people

    Instagram has a very high demand for quality images. Therefore, people who make cool content will not sell. Provided that they are promoted or collaborate with someone.

    Sale of services

    Photo shoots are now also in vogue. People want to put good pictures on the Internet. There are also retrogrades that collect real paper photo albums, in which you can’t invest anything.

    Alternative ways to make money on Instagram for photographers

    It cannot be that the income consists only in the ways already listed. Cunning and enterprise: these traits are common to all nations. And in terms of making money on Insta, people were able to find other ways.

    Advertising

    Collaboration with brands can provide you with a decent income. If you have a large and active audience, then advertising posts will sell like hot cakes. In general, good pictures are the key to success in a social network.

    Partner programs

    This is perhaps the most universal way to generate income. Good content will draw attention to the words that you have placed under it. And there may be an affiliate link, by clicking on which users will bring you some money.

    Sales of training courses

    Education courses are doing very well on Instagram. The typical Instagram user isn't just a TP who exclusively photographs food. One of the trends is self-education and obtaining skills for additional or even other basic income. Photography courses are a great option in this regard. nine0003

    How to make money on Instagram posting photos? This is a fairly general question, because all the activity on this site is precisely this.

    Learn more