Monetizing Instagram

At least once a week, I get asked how I actually make money through Instagram. Early on in my content journey, I knew I wanted to make this a full time gig. In order to do so, I have had to figure out ways to actually derive income from my posts. It’s been a weird journey and I have since learned a lot about my personal value as both a creator and a marketer.

Now I must warn you this is advice is target to those who are already running engaged social media pages. This means at least a thousand or so followers that have relatively high engagement rates. If thats you and you’re interested in making money here, just keep reading!

How I Started Getting Paid

I actually got my first paid gig through a connection I made on a Facebook group! It was for small business owners and at the time, I had just received my business license. Truly my biggest tip for getting paid is NETWORKING and getting to meet fellow creators in whatever niche you are in. By having those conversations and asserting your value, you’ll start to really get that coin.

How I Now get Paid

Influencer Websites

My biggest secret for paid sponsorships? Joining collaboration websites! I’m a part of #paid, obvious.ly, aspire IQ and many more! The aforementioned sites have provided me the most luck so far and I’m starting to make a decent amount of money from each collaboration! While you can’t necessarily negotiate on some of these platforms, it’s a great way to get a set amount of money for your content!

Affiliate Links

This is one of my most asked questions! How do affiliate links actually work?? I personally use RewardStyle and whenever I am online shopping, I make sure to find the item on said website and save it to my shopping folder. This allows me to then link up the product and receive commission when people shop the item I shared. I use this mainly for Instagram where I link up my daily outfits, but these links also work well for my fashion blog posts and tiktoks.

Cold Emailing

Image from a shoe brand deal

My third key to success is just through cold emailing! I use a lot of Amazon related hashtags and have had several positive experiences with Amazon sellers over the last several months. While some have been on a gifted basis, I have also received a lot of paid promotions. I always make sure to ask if there is room in the budget for a paid sponsorship and go from there. I prefer negotiations anyhow because I usually get paid more that way!

How to Charge for Content

Now for the hardest part, how much to actually charge for your content! I started off incredibly low when I was in college. I had no idea how much to charge and what to actually value my work at. Over the last year, I have steadily increased my rates and usually take on a few projects a month. This has allowed for fairly steady financial growth in 2021 and I am well on my way to making my target for the year! Honestly charging comes with self confidence and knowing how much to value yourself for your audience, content and final product!

Go get Paid!

If you would like further assistance with monetizing your social media, please do not hesitate to reach out. I am still offering my social media consultations which are an hour of deep diving into your content and strategizing how to actually grow your account and make money from it. I love watching fellow creators succeed and I know you will too!

Until next time,

Lauren

How to Actually Get Paid on Instagram