10 Instagram Marketing Strategies To Make You 6 Figures

Want to learn how to make a living off of Instagram?

Then, you need to start posting with a strategy. You may be thinking:

“What are the best strategies to make 6 figures on Instagram?” and “What do you need to get started?”

The answer?

Everyone can make money on Instagram.

Whether you’re a teenager, a stay-home mom a professional photographer or a businessman. Instagram is one of the top most used social media platforms in the world. And with such a wide demographic and content being shared daily, the chances are you’ll find your target audience there too.

In this article, we’ll discuss 10 Instagram marketing strategies that you can implement immediately, so you can start making money on Instagram.

So what do you need to get started?

First, let’s make some calculations! To hit $100,000 in revenue a year, you’ll need to bank in approx. $8,333 a month. There are various ways you can achieve this income. But more on the exact strategies later (make sure you read until the end). The good news is that most people can start making $200 – $2000 within the first month, without a large following!

Before we jump into the Instagram marketing strategies, here are a few Instagram marketing tips you should consider:

1. Build a niche Instagram account
2. Grow your reach and influence
3. Post frequently and engage with your followers
4. Monitor your Instagram analytics
5. Have a sales strategy or a funnel

Now that you understand the basics of having an Instagram marketing strategy, let’s show you 10 ways that you can make money on Instagram.

10 Ways To Make Money on Instagram

Instagram Strategy #1: Selling Branded Merchandise

One of the most popular ways people make money on Instagram is by selling branded merchandise. To be able to use this strategy effectively, you should first create a recognizable brand. Start with a unique logo, colors and catchline.

Then, use a design & print service like Teespring.com to create your merchandise. Once you’ve grown your followers to approx. 10k, you can start having flash sales every month. You can make an announcement saying: “Hey guys, I’ve just printed 300 custom T-shirts. Grab one from the link in my bio before they run out.”

How much can you make?

Let’s say you sell 300 T-shits at $30 every month. That totals to $9,000 a month, or $108,000 a year. Not bad!

Instagram Strategy #2: Selling Shoutouts On Your Instagram Page

If you’re looking for the easiest strategy to make money on Instagram, this is it! You can start by growing a theme and use automation to broadcast your content to reach a broader audience. Want a tip? Posting more frequently will help you grow faster. Okay, so how do you get paid? Once you’ve hit at least 10k followers, most people will contact you in the DMs asking for a shoutout. You can negotiate the price with the buyers individually.

How much can you make?

The average price for a shoutout on Instagram is between $20 – $100 for accounts in the 10k – 20k followers range. While accounts with more than 100,000 followers charge $1,000 or more. Let’s say you sell 30 shoutouts at $100 every month. That totals to $3,000 a month, and $36,000 a year. It may not be much, but this strategy requires no skills!

Instagram Strategy #3: Buying and Reselling Instagram Accounts

Similarly to trading goods, or flipping houses you can flip Instagram accounts too. There are a lot of inactive Instagram accounts that you can buy at a low price and then re-sell them at a profit. The secret here is to buy niche accounts and bring them back to life by automating posts and growing their Instagram followers. Then, you can list the accounts for sale on any Instagram account marketplace.

How much money can you make?

It depends on the niche, the number of followers and the engagement rate of your account. For example, an Instagram dog page with 800k followers is currently listed for sale at $25,000. If you sell 6 accounts in a year at $25,000, you’ll make over $150,000.

Instagram Strategy #4: Selling Digital Products

Instagram is a great platform for selling digital products. Whether you’re a course creator, an e-book author or a photographer selling photography presets you can make money on Instagram. Shannon from @boutiquesocialdc  uses her Instagram page to promote her social media courses. A good strategy is to create a waitlist and start marketing your digital products even before they’re ready.

How much can you make?

Well, it obviously depends on what you are selling and your audience income level. If you sell a course you can charge anywhere between $10 to $500. Let’s say you sell a course for $75 and you enrol 100 people each month. This will amount to $7,500 a month or $90,000 a year.

The best thing about this strategy?

You don’t need a large number of followers. You just need 100 engaged followers to start selling courses.

Instagram Strategy #5: Become an Influencer

Did you know that you can classify as an influencer even with a small following? Yes, all you need is 1000 followers. Most brands are willing to work with a small influencer because they have better engagement and a stronger relationship with their followers.

How making money as an Influencer works:

• You share a sponsored Instagram post (a photo, a video or a story) on your Instagram page
• In your post, you include a branded hashtag, tag or link to the brand account you’re promoting
• You get paid a fixed fee for your sponsored posts

How much can you earn as an influencer?

Sponsored influencer posts can range from $50 – $2000 for a single post. It depends on your niche, where your audience is located and the type of post.

Further Reading: How to Become an Instagram Influencer

Instagram Strategy #6: Be an Affiliate Marketer

Why does this work? Because you don’t have to get involved in developing a product, or worry about shipping and handling customer service. As an affiliate, you get paid a commission for marketing a product that is sold by other brands.

How affiliate marketing works:

• You can approach brands directly and ask for a deal or you can sign up on an affiliate marketplace like Amazon associates
• Brands will issue you a unique promo code that you will use when promoting their products
• Buyers use your code to get a discount on the merchant’s website
• You get paid a % of each sale made using your code

Wondering which affiliates to promote? According to HypeAuditor, these are the 7 most profitable niches to promote affiliates today:

• Skin Care
• Plus Size Clothing
• eSports
• Van Life
• Online Counseling and Therapy
• Biohacking
• Online Dating

Further reading: The Definitive Guide to Instagram Affiliate Marketing

Instagram Strategy #7: Start an Instagram Shop  

If you’re an entrepreneur, you can now start your e-commerce shop and sell your products directly on Instagram. Instagram has been rolling out new shopping features that allow you to run an online retail business directly on Instagram. All you have to do is create your Facebook Shop from your Facebook business page and start listing products. You can then create promotions using Instagram ads and market to a broader audience.

How much money can you make?

• It depends on your business model, goal and strategy.

Instagram Strategy #8: Become a Social Media Manager

If you aren’t interested in becoming an influencer or an entrepreneur, there are other ways to make money on the platform. One of the easiest ways to start a service business is to offer social media management services:

• Manage ads
• Scheduling content
• Develop an Instagram content strategy
• Build engagement

There are many startups and small businesses who don’t know how to use Instagram and would like to hire someone like you. Build your profile and start approaching small businesses to offer trial services for free or in exchange for a good testimonial. From there, you can start growing.

How much money can you make?

Depending on your package you can make approx. $1000/month for managing 1 account. So, you’ll typically need 10 accounts to hit $10k months.

Instagram Strategy #9: Become a Content Creator

 Know how to use graphic design software and have an eye for branding? You can become a content creator and get paid to create social content for other brands:

• Create social media graphics
• Film and edit videos
• Edit podcasts
• Write captions
• Ghostwriting

Start by creating a few Instagram accounts in different niches and post visually appealing content. You can use these accounts as a portfolio when you pitch your services to brands.

How much can you get paid?

Because “content” comes in various shapes and forms, it largely depends on what type of content you create. And, obviously, on your client’s budget.

Further reading: How to Create Content for Instagram: 10 Design Tools Social Media Marketers Should Use

Instagram Strategy #10: Offer Instagram Consulting Services

Are you an Instagram marketing expert? Then you can earn money by teaching other people how to create and manage their Instagram marketing strategy. Because not everyone wants to outsource their account to a virtual assistant. Some business owners want to learn the skills themselves. You can offer 1:1 consulting, monthly group programs or host virtual workshops together with other experts.

How much money can you make?

Think of how big of a problem you are solving. For someone to hire a social media manager they’ll likely need to spend $1000 a month, So, for a 1:1 Instagram consulting program you can charge around $500 – $2000.

Conclusion

With social media growing in popularity, there are plenty of strategies you can earn a living without being stuck in a 9-5. With over 1 billion daily Instagram users, the platform is clearly a place where brands, influencers and customers get together. And now you’ve learned 10 marketing strategies you can use to monetize your Instagram. From being an influencer to flipping accounts to offering Instagram consulting service.

Learn more Instagram strategies in this video:

Photo by Noémi Macavei-Katócz on Unsplash