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How to Make Money on Instagram: Your Ultimate Guide to Monetisation

Posted on 26th Mar, 2025.

TL;DR (The Short Version)

Instagram is not only a place to share content with friends and family, but actually a place where you can make a living full-time.
You can monetise your account by working with brands, using affiliate marketing, or selling your own product.
Read on for more tips on becoming an influencer and making money on Instagram.

Instagram was once a fun photo-sharing app where you could keep up to date with your friend's latest vacations, hobbies, and comings and goings. However, it's slowly evolved to be a place where content creators produce content in niches from travel to fashion and beauty, many of whom even make their full-time income from Instagram.

If your goal is also to be a full-time creator bringing in an income from Instagram, you'll not only need to gain more followers, but also consider how to monetise your platform. There are a range of strategies from affiliate marketing to brand sponsorship. Let's get into it.

1. Become an Influencer

Before you start making money on Instagram, you have to become a content creator. It's best to start part-time alongside your 9-5 then build up to making a full-time income.

To become an influencer, you need to choose a niche that aligns with your interests and expertise, such as fashion, travel, fitness, beauty, or technology. Creating high-quality content is essential - your posts should be visually appealing and engaging.

Building your audience requires consistent engagement with followers, using relevant hashtags, and collaborating with others to expand your reach. Once you have a decent following (typically 1,000+ followers), you can start engaging with brands by reaching out to them directly or joining influencer marketing platforms.

Instagram paid engagement services, such as purchased likes, can give you a headstart, allowing you to boost visibility and game the algorithm.

2. Work With Brands

The main way influencers make money is by creating sponsored posts, promoting products, services, or experiences to promote a brand. Sometimes, brands might pay for trips, experiences, or send you products for you to review. While this isn't always paid, the product or experience they provide is free, or, as influencers call it, 'gifted'.

When working with brands, you should negotiate your rates effectively, as influencers can earn anywhere from £50 to thousands of pounds per post, depending on their audience size and engagement levels.

3. Use Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing allows you to earn a commission for every sale made through your unique referral link. For example, you might upload a travel post linking your followers to buy a particular suitcase, on which you earn a commission for every sale. To get started, join affiliate programmes such as Amazon Associates, ShareASale, or Awin. Choose products that align with your niche and audience interests to ensure successful promotions.

You can share affiliate links in your Instagram bio, stories (via swipe-up links for accounts with 10,000+ followers), or captions. Transparency is key, so always disclose your affiliations by using #ad or #affiliate to maintain credibility with your audience.

4. Sell Your Own Products or Services

Instagram is an excellent platform for selling both physical and digital products, as well as services. Whether you are a business owner, artist, coach, or consultant, you can leverage Instagram to reach potential customers. Setting up an Instagram Shop by converting your account to a business profile and integrating your online store is a great way to start.

You can then actively promote your products using posts, reels, and stories to attract customers. If you provide services such as coaching, consulting, or freelancing, use Instagram to showcase your expertise and secure clients, as well as getting user-generated content you can share. It's a great form of social proof!

5. Create and Sell Online Courses or eBooks

If your followers follow your content thanks to your knowledge and expertise in a certain field, you can monetise this knowledge by selling online courses and/or eBooks on your specialist subject.

Marketing your product effectively using posts, reels, and ads is essential for driving sales, while sharing testimonials and success stories from customers can boost your credibility.

6. Offer Subscription Based Content

If your Instagram content is super popular, you can charge users to extra content on other platforms such as Patreon. Provide premium content such as behind-the-scenes footage, tutorials, or exclusive Q&A sessions to add value for your subscribers. Engage with your subscribers regularly, too, to build a strong community and encourages long-term support.

7. Offer Social Media Management Services

When you post full-time on social media with plenty of engagement, others will consider you an expert in the area. Take advantage of this perceived expertise by offering social media management services! All you need to do to promote your services is continue to do what you do best - make high-quality content.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many followers do you need on Instagram to make money?

There's no strict follower requirement to start making money on Instagram. While some brands prefer influencers with at least 10,000 followers, many micro-influencers (1,000–10,000 followers) successfully earn through brand partnerships, affiliate marketing, and selling their own products or services.

Engagement rate and niche relevance often matter more than follower count when it comes to monetisation opportunities. You might have plenty of followers, but if your likes and views are poor, it could hurt your chances of bagging the brand deal of your dreams, which is why producing consistent high-quality content is a must.

Do Instagram users get paid?

While Instagram doesn't directly pay influencers the same way TikTok does, Instagram users can get paid in several ways, including sponsored content, affiliate marketing, selling products or services.

Monetising your Instagram profile, just like monetising other social media platforms, can not only provide you with a side hustle, but can actually become your full-time income. From working with brands to offering coaching, social media management, and your own products, there are plenty of ways to use your platform to your financial advantage.