According to a survey published on Statista, Instagram influencers make up to $1,221 per post. That's undoubtedly a huge earning potential for any creator!
Yet despite these potential earnings, you might find yourself putting in countless hours and efforts into scripting, shooting, and editing reels with no financial return in the end. The key here is to monetize your content strategically so that your efforts actually make you money.
So, if you're already making Instagram reels but finding it hard to turn that engagement into revenue, you will find this guide quite helpful. Here’s what you will learn by the end of this blog.
- Can You Make Money From Instagram Reels
- Best Ways For Monetizing Your Instagram Reels
- How To Generate Instagram Reels Using invideo AI
Let’s dive in and explore how to monetize Instagram reels in 2024!
Can You Make Money From Instagram Reels?
Absolutely yes. You can make money from Instagram reels even if you’re just starting off in your content creation journey. However, Instagram doesn’t directly pay the creators anymore as it used to.
In March 2023, Instagram discontinued its bonus Reels Program for creators, which was an invite-only program to help them earn money with their reel content. But that doesn't mean you can't get started with Instagram monetization through reels. There are plenty of options available to make money from reels.
How to Monetize Your Instagram Reels
Gone are the days when getting sponsorships used to be the only method to monetize Instagram content. As the content creation space is evolving, there are many more options available for making money on Instagram. Let’s understand how to monetize Instagram reels for your account.
Promoting Physical Products
If you’re wondering how to get paid on Instagram, one of the most common ways is promoting physical products in your reels. This method is especially recommended if you own a business and sell physical products. Why? It allows you to showcase your products directly to a wider audience and highlight their features and benefits in a visually engaging way. This can help you:
- Build brand awareness
- Increase customer engagement
- Drive more sales
Here’s how Chante Fox, a blogger in the DIY space, has showcased all the essentials she has packed for her trip in a reel. It starts on a casual note as she shows the products one by one to walk the viewers through them. The caption contains a clear CTA (call-to-action) to her online store where anyone who wants to shop for these products can check out the stories and the store’s Instagram handle.
It's an effective way to engage with your audience while promoting your brand. Similarly, if you run a small business, promoting your products with reels can be a good way to drive sales while attracting potential customers to your brand.
Brand Partnerships
If you have a dedicated and engaged audience in your niche, you can make money on Instagram by promoting other businesses' products via brand partnerships. While there's no requirement to have a specific number of followers to qualify for brand partnerships, it's ideal to have at least 10,000 followers.
Start by finding relevant brands in your niche to see if you could help them promote their products on your account. However, make sure to keep it highly relevant to your audience, as they will be more likely to buy it only if it's relevant.
Mariam Orbeli, a beauty and fashion influencer showcased the latest hand wash and cream duo by Dr. Bio – a brand in the same space as her. The reel features her showing what the product looks like and how to apply it to draw the viewer's attention. Meanwhile, the caption includes the brand’s account handle, so just in case someone is interested, they can easily check out their page to know more about them.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is also a flexible way to diversify your income streams, especially if you partner with brands that align better with your niche and audience interest. Exploring various affiliate marketing programs can further expand your opportunities. When you provide genuine reviews and recommendations, you build trust among your followers.
As an affiliate, you can earn commissions by showcasing products in your reels and sharing their affiliate links in the description or through DMs, stories, and bio. This approach can help you monetize your content without the need to manage any inventory or handle shopping logistics.
Salina, a digital creator, promoted a travel charger in one of her reels showing how easily it removes the hassle of carrying multiple USBs for gadgets while traveling. Meanwhile, the caption redirects the viewers to her profile bio, where they can find the Amazon link to this product. This makes it easy for people to go directly to the website and order it if they are interested.
Products Tags
Product tags are shoppable links attached to reels that redirect people to your shop so that they can purchase products they want to buy. Instagram introduced this feature back in April 2022 and since then it has become a common way for brands to redirect potential customers to their websites. This makes the buyer’s journey more convenient and easier for you to showcase your products more interactively.
However, only qualified public accounts are eligible to add product tags to their posts. To do this, you must have:
- Attained at least 13 years of age
- An eligible catalog in your commerce manager
- An active account over the last 30 days
- Less than 2 policy violations (if there are any)
- Permission from the brand to tag their products if you're working with them as a branded content partner
This reel by Nemah, a vegan skincare brand for expecting mothers, featured a moisturizer, showcasing its application. But if you notice carefully, you will see a small tag towards the bottom named “View shop.” This will direct them to the shop, where customers can browse through the collection and buy anything they are interested in.
So, if you’re wondering how to get monetized on Instagram, adding product tags to your reels can help. However, make sure to add multiple styles to your reels so that it is easier to hold your audience’s attention and increase the odds of them finding the right product for them.
Sell Digital Products
The beauty of content creation is that if you know how to market a product strategically, you can make money, whether promoting a physical or digital product. Digital products like ebooks, online courses, memberships, and other learning materials have seen immense growth in the past few years, and the demand is still high.
Simone Ferretti, a professional video creator, showed how to use Photoshop and Lightroom through his courses in one of his reels. The video walks through the course content and how it will benefit the learners. On the other hand, the caption informs the viewers about the ongoing discount to help them grab the deal at the best prices.
Similarly, if you are an expert in a specific niche and have developed digital products, reels can be a great way to promote them and make money out of them. However, do not forget to add a link to the product in your bio so that people can come and sign up there directly.
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If you already have a loyal following and you are wondering how to get paid from Instagram for that, IG subscription can be a viable option. It works by offering exclusive content to people who subscribe to your Instagram account and in return, you get a payout from Instagram.
Users who subscribe to your account are also highlighted in the comment section (a small purple crown shape) and stand out in your DMs, which gives them a special status as followers. However, you need to meet certain requirements to be eligible for this feature. For this, you need to:
- Comply with the partner monetization policies
- Meet Instagram community guidelines and content monetization policies
- Have at least 10,000 followers on your professional Instagram account
- Attain at least 18 years of age
- Agree to the terms of use
- Have content that does not specifically focus on children
Among many other creators, Maryna Aksenov, a professional piano artist with over 1.2 Million followers on Instagram, offers exclusive content to her subscribers. Apart from the subscriber badge and exclusive content, these users can chat with the creator if and when she starts a social channel with a small group of subscribers. They can also read and react to the messages that the creator will send only to the subscribers who have paid for the membership.
Sell Services
If you are into a service-based business and wondering how to make money off Instagram, promoting your services can be a good option. It can be a tutorial, client testimonial, before and after transformation, or quick tips related to your services.
For example, if you are a website developer, you could showcase a demo as a reel and mention in the caption that you are open to taking on clients. This way, people who like your work or randomly stumbled upon your reel might reach out to you for their projects.
Sean Donohueus, a parenting coach, promoted his consultation services in one of his reels, where he talked about how parents should talk to their kids with shy personalities. The caption mentioned his offerings, which include a consultation call to give the client the required tools and solutions. Overall, it's a great example of how you, too, can promote your services in a similar way to reach out to potential clients who might be looking for your services.
Virtual Gifts
If you have at least 500 followers on Instagram, virtual gifts are a feature you should not be missing out on. Gifts are virtual stickers that your followers can buy and send you during LIVE videos or in response to your posts/reels to show their appreciation and support.
So, how does Instagram pay you for these gifts? Users buy these gifts using “Stars”, and when they send you a gift, you will receive $0.01 for each star included in the gift. For example, if someone sends you a gift worth 100 stars, you would earn $1.00. However, you must earn a total of $25 from all Instagram monetization tools before you can get your money.
It appears as an icon above your profile picture in a reel with the text “Send gift” visible to everyone who watches your video.
Brynn Faceless Digital Marketing, a popular faceless Instagram account with over 10k followers, features multiple reels that show this option. This takes the user to a page as shown below where they can send their gift.
However, make sure you have set up a payout account to receive funds for Instagram gifts once you have achieved the minimum required amount. If someone buys you a gift and you have not been onboarded to the monetization tools, you can see who sent you the gift but won't be able to receive any earnings from it.
Donations
Another way to monetize Instagram is by accepting donations through Patreon. If you have developed a loyal audience in your niche who can support you, you can monetize your content by creating reels with exclusive content for this gated community.
Here’s how DJ Flipout has added a link in their bio to redirect the users to their Patreon account where they can buy an exclusive membership. This gives them access to exclusive content including high-quality blends and remixes, Twitch stream replays, live streams, digital downloads, and other stuff.
Similarly, as you continue posting reels on your Instagram and grow a loyal audience, you can adopt this method for monetizing Instagram. This will help you develop a good relationship with your audience and monetize your content.
Tell Them About Your Other Social Media Channels
If you’re wondering how to make money off Instagram, use it to recommend your other channels where you can monetize your content. This is an interesting way to let the viewers know about your other social media accounts where they can access your content.
For example, if you already have a good viewership on YouTube and are eligible for the YouTube partner program, it can earn you ad revenue on your videos. That way, you can start gaining traction on Instagram while using the same content to recommend other platforms on which you create content. In fact, many creators have been using this method for a long time.
In one of his reels, David Achudume, a speaker and songwriter, talked about his new YouTube video as a part of an ongoing series “Ask DLA.” While this video stays on Instagram, the caption redirects the users to learn more about the discussion on his YouTube channel.
How to Generate Instagram Reels Using invideo AI
To make money with a reel, you’d need to ensure that it stands out among others. Instagram’s fast-scrolling feed demands reels that can stand the intense competition. The attention span is declining, which has made it hard for creators to come up with something out-of-the-box that can hook the viewers and stop their scrolls.
Invideo AI can ease this struggle by helping you create pro-level videos from text within minutes. Simply enter your video topic, set preferred settings like subtitles and voiceovers, and you’re good to go. Within a few steps, you will have your reel ready without any prior video-making experience. Here’s how to put this into action:
1. Sign in to your invideo AI account. If you’re a new user, create a new account with your Google or Apple ID.
2. Once logged in, you’ll be redirected to the dashboard where you can start creating your video.
3. Scroll towards the bottom and you will see a few options for workspace. Select “Instagram Reel” from the given options.
4. Now, you will see a few options to customize your prompt with the topic, background music, subtitles, voiceover, etc. Add your preferred settings and click on “Continue.”
5. Next, the dashboard will show your prompt based on the settings you chose in the previous step. Click on “Generate a video” to proceed.
6. Now, choose your audience, look and feel, and platform you're creating the video for. Once done, click on “Continue.”
7. Invideo AI will now start generating the video, and the entire process will be completed within a few minutes.
8. Once processed, you will be able to see your video as shown below. If you need to make any changes, you can use the “Magic Box” feature which lets you directly convey what needs to be changed. Simply type your request in the box and click on “Generate.”
9. You can also make these changes using the “Edit” option, which lets you modify the script, and add media and music to your video.
- Let’s assume you want to add your own images to the video. Select the “Upload media” option, choose the image file from your computer, and then replace the desired frame in your video. Once done, click on “Apply Changes” to save it. Here, the first frame will be replaced by the image uploaded.
- You can also modify the script with the text editor to polish your messaging. To do so, click on the “Edit script” option where you can make the edits, and change media or the narrator. Once you’re done, click on “Apply Changes” to save the progress.
- To change the background music, go to the “Edit music” section to explore the music library. Select the option that matches your video’s tone and click on “Replace” once finalized. Repeat this process for other frames if you want to make the changes there and once done, click on “Apply changes” to save the progress.
10. Once all the changes are done, it's time to download the video to your device. Click on “Download” to proceed.
11. Choose the type of watermark you prefer, branding, and download resolutions. Once done, click on “Continue” to proceed.
12. You will now be redirected to the download section with the final video, its title, description, and timestamps. To download the video, click on “Download” and you're all set!
Wrapping Up
If you’re new to content creation and wondering how to monetize Instagram reels, there are multiple options to get started with. If you’re good at product placement, try reaching out to businesses in your industry and explore collaboration opportunities with them. If you’re an experienced professional in a specific niche, you can easily get clients through Instagram reels by promoting your services. Just make sure to follow the Instagram monetization requirements, and gradually, you will start making money from your content.
Also, if you prefer learning via videos, you should check out our YouTube channel, where we share daily video creation tips and tricks, the latest video trends and ideas, and help you make more money as a video creator. That'll also help you make more money as an affiliate marketer.
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