As per Influence.co map, influencers with 10k-25k followers easily make around $100-$250 per post. If you can garner more followers with your unique content and personal brand on Instagram, the earning potential only goes higher from this figure.
But here’s the thing: almost every content creator in this and other categories (or the ones you follow) applies multiple strategies to hit that figure. While you might think of sponsored posts as the main source, there are actually many other features on Instagram and methods to monetize content as a creator.
So, if you’re wondering how to make money on Instagram, this guide will walk you through 15 proven strategies to get started. Here’s what we have covered ahead:
- Can you make money on Instagram?
- How to Make Money on Instagram: 15 Proven Strategies
- Factors That Impact Your Earnings on Instagram
- Making money on Instagram vs. YouTube
So, without any further ado, let’s get into it!
Can You Make Money On Instagram?
Yes, you can definitely make money on Instagram in 2025 even if you are just getting started. With more than 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram has become a powerful platform for creators and brands to turn their passions into profit. Although it takes a significant effort, there are more opportunities than ever to invest time and creativity into growing an online presence.
Source - Statista
With the right approach, you can generate profits on this visually-driven platform even if you have a relatively small following in the beginning. If you’re not sure which niche to pick up, start experimenting to understand your interests and if it’s working for you.
Eventually, you will get a clear idea about the niche you want to target and build a presence in. From there on, you can use different methods discussed in this guide to generate revenue on Instagram.
How to Make Money on Instagram: 15 Proven Strategies
Depending on your goals, and preferences, there are several ways to make money on Instagram. Here are 15 proven strategies you can use to monetize your Instagram presence:
1. Sell Your Own Products and Services
If you have your own products or services to offer, you can leverage your Instagram followers to generate a new income stream by selling them through the platform. All you have to do is create content consistently (in the form of pictures, reels, stories, etc.) and build trust among your audience. Interested buyers can DM you to enquire further and buy from you.
For example, Alex Cattoni, a popular copywriter and content creator has built a strong presence online by sharing educational & engaging posts. She also promotes her courses, workshops & offline events on Instagram, which makes her an additional income.
2. Create an IG Store
If you're already running an online store, using Instagram to promote and sell your products can be a great move. You can also do the same as a creator for your brand by promoting physical goods or services with Instagram’s selling tools like shopping tags, and Instagram Shop, so users can easily explore your products. With shopping tags, you can tag your products in posts, which take the user to your website (if you have linked it) or your Instagram Shop.
However, you can only set these tags if you have a connected product catalog, which can be done through Facebook Commerce Manager. This can help you create a seamless shopping experience, especially if you have engaged audiences that can potentially support your brand.
For example, GIA AND THE BLOOMS is a popular Instagram account with over 12k followers that has an Instagram Shop featuring their products. A lot of their posts include tags that directly take a user to the shop, which then directs to the main website. You can use the same strategy to leverage your Instagram presence by creating an online store to sell your products and make money online.
3. Design Merchandise for Your Personal Brand
If you have a personal brand on Instagram, selling your personalized merchandise can be a great way to monetize your online presence. To start with, brainstorm designs that truly reflect your brand's voice. It can be a catchy phrase, unique graphics, or symbols that resonate with your community.
Once the design is done, you can use print-on-demand services to produce items, which removes the hassle of managing inventory. These platforms handle printing and shipping, so you only need to upload your images and choose the products. Mugs, t-shirts, stationery, etc are some common products creators use as merchandise for their brands.
Crainer, a Danish gaming YouTuber and content creator has a similar brand “Crainerstore” selling his official merchandise. The product line includes t-shirts, sweatshirts, headwear, school supplies, and small gift combos people can buy from the official website.
Everything from the color combination to the graphics reflects the true vibe of his online presence. This is a great example of how you too can sell personalized merchandise to make money on Instagram.
4. Collaborate with Brands for Sponsored Content
Working with brands for sponsored content is one of the most common ways to monetize your presence on Instagram. To attract brand collaborations, focus on building an authentic and engaged audience in a specific niche. That’s because brands typically look for creators with an influential identity and follower demographics that align with their target audience.
Generally, creators who have at least 1000 followers and a good engagement rate (around 1-3.5%) can easily start looking for partnerships. This can be done by pitching through email or a direct message highlighting what both parties will gain from the collaboration.
Jon Sibal, a visual artist and content creator frequently collaborates with brands showcasing their products in his posts, which attracts a very niche but engaged audience. You can use a similar strategy to secure brand deals and then use branded content tools to tag the brand directly in the post. This is necessary to comply with disclosure requirements such as using #ad or #sponsored hashtags.
5. Earn Live Badges from Your Fans
Live badges are a way to earn money directly from your followers during Instagram live sessions. When you go live, users can purchase badges in $0.99, $1.99, and $2.99 increments that appear as hearts beside their usernames. This feature is available only to creators with a minimum follower count of 10,000.
Pro Tip: Try to structure your live sessions around topics that address specific pain points of your audience through Q&As or content previews. This will help you engage with different audience segments and understand them better to tailor your strategy accordingly.
Create Generative Videos in Minutes
Try invideo AI to create videos by providing a simple text prompt.
Try now6. Sell Generative Videos
Short videos have gained much more popularity than any other format on Instagram. This makes it a great platform for AI-generated videos. Anyone, from professional artists to budding creators, can leverage AI to generate stunning videos and monetize them on Instagram.
Skysparxx is one such example in this category that has garnered an impressive presence with over 300k followers on Instagram.
Additionally, they have leveraged this following to generate an income stream with their online store featuring several artworks. So, if you’re an artist, this can be the perfect inspiration for you.
How to Create Generative Videos Using invideo AI?
Creating generative videos for Instagram is easier with invideo AI. Its generative AI-based model lets you create explainer videos, animations, experimental movies, and more. Complete with an extensive media library of music, images, and videos, it offers a smart way to create realistic videos within minutes.
Let’s take a look at how this works:
1. Sign up to invideo AI using your email ID and set a password to create an account. If you’re an existing user, simply log in with your credentials.
2. You will now be able to access the dashboard. Navigate to the drop-down option for versions and make sure you have selected the invideo AI v3.0.
3. Now, enter your prompt and click on “Generate a video” to proceed.
4. Wait for a few seconds and let the request process.
5. Next, choose if you want to add stock media or generative media to your video. As we are going for generative media, we’ll go ahead with it. Once done, choose your preferred visual style, video duration, and platform. Click on 'Continue” to proceed.
6. Invideo AI will now process your video. Just wait for a few minutes for it to complete.
7. Once the video is processed, preview it to see if you want to make any changes to the frames, subtitles, or any other element. To make these changes, click on “Edit.”
8. To make the changes in media, you can replace it with your own videos or images, use stock footage, or add generative media.
Select your preferred option out of the three and click on “Save changes” to proceed.
9. You can also change the music track by using the stock music or even uploading your own music to the video. Once done, click on “Proceed.”
To make changes in the script, go to the “Script” option and choose the chapter to which you want to make changes. Once done, click on “Save changes” to proceed.
10. You can also use the “Magic Box” feature to directly enter the changes you want to make in the video. Type in what you want to change and click on “Generate.” This will directly apply the changes you want.
11. Once everything is done, you can save the video by clicking on “Download.”
12. To proceed, choose the type of watermark, branding, and resolution. And, click on “Continue”.
13. You can now preview and save the video on your device by clicking on “Download.”
7. Offer Exclusive Paid Subscriptions
Instagram allows you to share exclusive content with subscribers who pay a monthly fee for your paid subscription. To qualify for this feature, you need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Be at least 18 years or older.
- Have at least 10,000 followers
- Meet Instagram Partner Monetization Policies
- Agree to Instagram subscription terms of use
Once you meet these requirements, you can be eligible to offer paid subscriptions and give your subscribers access to perks like exclusive stories, posts, or live sessions.
For example, Jojo Sim, a famous internet personality offers exclusive content on his Instagram. Once subscribed, paid users can access perks like access to subscriber social channels, and exclusive content.
8. Leverage User-Generated Content
User-generated content is all about resharing posts images or videos users create featuring brands or their content. As a UGC creator, you can collaborate with brands by encouraging your followers to generate content and participate in giveaways or brand discounts. Brands then repost this UGC to their accounts, which can boost your visibility and potentially lead to more brand deals.
Linda is a famous UGC creator and educator on Instagram, known for her collaborative and educational content. She adopts a strategic approach to content creation, which makes the entire vibe around her content natural and easygoing. You can take inspiration from this example and adopt a similar strategy to collaborate with brands to monetize your Instagram account.
9. Explore Affiliate Marketing Opportunities
Affiliate marketing is a popular way to earn commissions by promoting a business's products or services with unique affiliate links. Unlike brand partnerships where your payment is based on creating content, affiliate earnings depend on the revenue generated by people who purchase through your links.
To get started, choose an affiliate program that sits right with your audience’s interest and once you get the deal, you can add these links in captions stories or your Instagram bio. Content creator Chantel often collaborates with brands to promote their products in her posts, which garners significant attention from users as it is highly targeted and relevant to them.
Pro Tip: Consider using the Instagram stories “Swipe-up” feature (available only to accounts with over 10,000 followers) to make your affiliate links more accessible to followers.
Create AI Images from Text
Convert your text into beautiful AI-generated images in no time.
Try it now10. Sell Generative Images
Generative AI has made it easier for creators to create highly realistic images that can easily captivate an audience. With this, many creators have started monetizing their Instagram presence by selling images generated by AI.
AI art shop is one such Instagram account where users can buy paintings generated by AI in formats like high-definition digital and canvas print. Their bio contains a link to the website, making it easy for the user to browse through the collection. Similarly, you can link your online store or simply use Instagram to promote and sell AI images via engaging content.
Let’s now look at how you can create such images.
How to Create Generative Images with invideo AI?
1. Sign up on invideo AI with your credentials.
2. Go to the dashboard and navigate to the bottom-left side. Click on the “Plugins” option to proceed.
3. Now, click on the “Text to image” feature to open the image generator.
4. Now, choose your desired aspect ratio from the drop-down option (as shown below) and interview the prompt in the space provided right above it. Try to be as specific and detailed as possible to ensure the output matches your vision.
5. Let it process your request.
6. Once your image is ready, click on the “Download” option to save it on your device.
11. Sell Digital Products
According to a recent report by MasterCard, the volume of digital product transactions has gone up by almost 70% in the last 2 years. That's a huge jump and Instagram has been one of the platforms that creators have been using to promote and sell their digital products like ebooks, guides, or templates. The reason is that these products offer a low-cost and scalable way to learn.
You can promote your products through posts and story highlights to attract more followers and convert them into paid customers. This can be especially beneficial if you hold expertise in a certain category like Ginny, an Instagram coach, offering paid PDFs and guides on marketing. She has also added a link to her website in the bio, redirecting the users directly to the website where they can buy the products they want.
12. Join Instagram’s Creator Marketplace
Instagram’s Creator Marketplace is an official platform by Instagram that connects influencers and brands looking for collaborations. Once you are listed here, brands can directly reach out to you for sponsored content or campaigns. You can also use it for content review and approval to maintain consistency with brand guidelines.
To be eligible for this, you need to fulfill certain criteria:
- Must be at least 18 years or older.
- Comply with the Community Guidelines and Content Monetization Policies
- Follow the Branded Content Policies and Partner Monetization Policies
- Be in the listed countries where the creator marketplace is officially available.
Important: As per a recent update, businesses that are a part of the creator marketplace will be able to access it through Meta Business Suite. That is because 'Instagram for Business' website will no longer be available after December 2024.
13. Start Dropshipping Products
Dropshipping is a way to promote and sell products as a middleman without holding inventory. You source items from suppliers who handle storage and shipping to your customers. Using Instagram as a platform, you can showcase products and reach a large audience to generate an alternate revenue stream.
Once you have set up your profile, you can find suppliers through platforms like Shopify that offer D2C (direct-to-customer) shipping. You can partner with them to provide these services to your followers.
Notebook Therapy is a popular example with over 1 million followers. It has been active for a long time and has established a strong presence in the niche. It has everything that a successful dropshipping page on Instagram should have – high-quality content, an optimized bio, a direct link to the website, and active engagement with the followers. You can take inspiration from this and many other examples if dropshipping sounds like a suitable option to go with.
14. Drive Traffic to Your Website Effectively
If you have your own website, Instagram is a powerful tool for directing your followers to it and boosting your traffic. By including a link to your website in your bio or in your stories, you can guide your users to explore your products or services directly on your website. Similarly, you can use Instagram stories with clickable links to provide an ongoing way to drive traffic and, hence, more potential customers for your website.
@shinewithnatasha is a popular Instagram account with over 48,000 followers. It is run by Natasha, a video marketing coach, creator, podcast host, and speaker. In the bio, she has added a link to her video confidence club website, which works as a CTA for users to sign up for her email series. This is a great strategy to direct your Instagram followers to your main website, attracting more visitors to the site.
15. Provide Instagram Marketing Services
Creators who excel at social media marketing can monetize their knowledge and expertise by offering Instagram marketing services on the platform itself. This has become a common practice across niches as many creators have leveraged their expertise to offer services like account audits, content strategy scheduling, and performance analysis to their clients.
As a part of this strategy, you can create packages for different types of services or even offer bundled options for your ongoing clients. Virtual assistant coach Natasha is one of the best examples in this category who has leveraged her expertise in virtual assistance and social media to help her clients grow on Instagram.
Factors That Impact Your Earnings on Instagram
When it comes to how much you can earn from Instagram, a lot of factors can decide your earnings. Here are a few that can significantly influence your earning potential:
Niche
Your niche determines both your audience and engagement rates – two critical factors brands usually consider when choosing influencers to work with. The more in demand and engaging your niche is, the higher your potential to get brand partnerships, affiliate marketing deals, and sponsorships will be.
Certain categories, like fashion, beauty, and fitness, attract large audiences and higher engagement, which appeals to brands with bigger marketing budgets. However, specialized niches, like sustainable living or niche art forms, may have smaller but highly engaged audiences. This appeals to brands that focus mostly on authenticity and community impact over numbers. So
Number of Followers
The bigger your follower count, the larger your reach will be, making brands more willing to pay you for collaborations. This is because having a good following increases your visibility, which makes you stand out as an influential figure brands can partner with to get their product in front of more people.
If your followers are truly interested and engaged, you can still attract brands even with fewer followers. In fact, micro-influencers stand out to brands because they have a closer and trusted connection with their audience despite having a smaller following.
Number of Income Streams
If you depend on just one source – let's say, brand sponsorships – you are limited to how many deals you can secure. But when you add another income stream like affiliate marketing selling products or offering exclusive paid content, you can also make much more money.
This approach ensures a steady flow of income while reaching different parts of your audience. It's also critical from the user’s perspective because some followers may prefer subscribing to your exclusive content while others may just want to buy products through your affiliate links. So, when you diversify, you can continue earning even if one source slows down or doesn't work well.
Engagement Rate
Your engagement rate, or how much your followers interact with your content is an important metric that brands pay attention to. When it's high, it means your followers are genuinely interested in what you post as they are liking, commenting, and sharing your content rather than just scrolling past.
This shows brands that your content is highly influential and people are genuinely interested in it which can be more valuable than a large but passive audience. Influencers with smaller but highly engaged communities (micro-influencers) often attract brands because they have built that trust with their followers.
So, when your engagement rate is high, you can easily boost your earning potential by showing brands that your followers are likely to act on your recommendations.
Commission Rates
Commission rates influence how much you can earn from affiliate links or sales you generate for brands. When you promote a product and use an affiliate link or discount code, brands pay a certain percentage of each sale that comes from your recommendation. This means the better you are at driving sales, the more you can earn from commissions.
Higher commission rates are especially beneficial for influencers in specific niches, like beauty or technology where followers are more likely to purchase brands based on recommendations. So, if you are charging right, your posts can become a good income source, especially if your followers trust your advice and frequently purchase through your links.
Making Money on Instagram vs. YouTube
While Instagram and YouTube are both excellent platforms for creating and monetizing content, there are several differences to note.
YouTube mainly monetizes with its Partner Program, which lets creators earn from ads shown on their videos. Premium memberships and features like Super Chat, Super Thanks, and Super Stickers are other options.
On Instagram, direct monetization options are limited and most revenue comes from brand partnerships, sponsored posts, and affiliate marketing. Creators can use features like Shop, Badges, and create reels, and posts to promote sponsored products.
So, while YouTube monetization depends on ad-supported content, Instagram focuses more on visually engaging content that can engage audiences and attract brand sponsorships.
Generate Videos for Instagram
Provide a prompt, and invideo AI will create an Instagram video that’s ready to post.
Start NowConclusion
Instagram is a social media platform that offers numerous opportunities for creators to turn their passion into profit. Once you create an engaged community of audience, you can use strategies like affiliate marketing, and brand partnerships to generate a sustainable income stream. The key is to understand your audience, stay consistent with your content, and experiment with different methods to see what works out best for you! You can also use tools like invideo AI to streamline your content creation process and unlock your full potential.
If you’re looking to learn more about video content creation, you must check out our YouTube channel as we post new videos every week to help you stay ahead in the game!
Also, here are a few additional resources to help you out with your journey:
