Thinking if it’s possible to make money for free on Instagram without a large following?
There has been an increase in the number of people who are making a living online through Instagram, leaving a multitude of people in the dark as to whether anyone can make money on Instagram without followers or not.
They wouldn’t be blamed for having the imagination that the key to making a living on Instagram is driving hundreds of thousands of followers, which seems incredibly impossible, especially for a new starter.
What if you’re told that there’s a specific way to make money on Instagram for free without growing hundreds of followers? It’s completely feasible to earn on Instagram with an entirely moderate following.
Due to a large number of influencers and celebrities expatiating unlimited #advertisements on the Instagram network, there has been an increase in micro-influencers earning from a small following.
Thus, if you’ve always wondered how you can make a living on Instagram without a large following, I’m here to let you know that a little endeavor could turn your profile into a multiple stream of income.
People leverage Instagram profiles to share their interests, hobbies, and lives with everyone. If you intend to share your photography, pets, fashion, food, makeup, friends, art, or work on social media, you could monetize the little following you have by following the steps below:
Whether you intend to earn on Instagram with 0, 500, 1000, or more followers, all you have to do is read this post down the page.
How Many Followers Should You Grow to Start Earning?
Even if you do not currently have a follower, you can get started with building a profitable profile, though most Instagram micro-influencers make money with virtually 3000 to 14000 followers.
The so-called micro-influencers have built their brands to the extent of being consulted for marketing campaign collaborations. With just a smaller following of 1000 or below, you can, of course, come up with a caliber of people who will listen to you or accept what you have to offer.
This guide will not only teach you how to earn from your Instagram followers, but also show you how you can start growing an ideal follower base.
The Efficacy of Maintaining a Micro-Influencer Status in 2021
In a society of social media influencers and prominence culture, you might want to believe that your comparatively small following might not have much importance on social networking sites, and in the online world.
However, this guide is meant to prove you wrong. Any small following is significant and can be monetized. And if you want to make the most of your social media presence, you don’t have to neglect this responsibility.
Of course, by the time you’ve come up with 10,000 followers, it’s going to materialize with much time and energy, believe this. It will turn out to a big fortune and a more convenient way to make money, as bigger brands are more interested in partnering with Instagram users with 10,000 followers and above.
A great way to build a network of 10,000 followers is being granted the Swipe Up feature, which comes with a 15-25 percent conversion rate for each store on Instagram.
Which Profile is Most Profitable?
Be it celebrity or micro-influencer accounts, every account that is generating revenue on Instagram has a number of things in common. There are three basic factors that will make an Instagram profile appealing to both the prospects and brands that intend to create strong bonds with micro-influencers.
To captivate a lot of followers, these three factors are so instrumental in determining the profiles that are most suitable for monetization. Here are the three things a profitable profile must have:
- Focus – You would notice that most influencers have their page limited to just a specific subject, be it recipes, business, fitness and health, vegan lifestyle, fashion, makeup, or any other profitable niches they are passionate about. It may sound incredibly boring or restricting to focus your overall page on a specific topic, but it’s fundamental to building a profitable platform. Brands cherish highly-focused profiles, as this symbolizes that they are connected to a big pool of their industry. Brands have their respective demographic that they intend to reach, and your own profile has the potential to pave the way for them.
- Style – This is another common aspect of Instagram you might have observed about profiles. These profiles have a specific style that is appealing, cohesive, and distinctive to their page. If you can set up a profile that follows a unique style in every post created, you’ll be seen more as a brand by the potential followers than as an individual. This never reduces the personality you’ve built for that page; it ensures you look a bit more professional to people, and more trustworthy to the prospects. Of course, you would not want to purchase anything on the web from a poor-quality site, would you? By adding identical tones and colors to your content, using a specific theme for all your captions, or just making a particular photo style, you’ll include more cohesiveness in your profile.
- Good-looking visuals – When it comes to photo sharing, Instagram is the king. So, if you are interested in making money on this platform, there’s no cause for you to share low-quality photos. If you believe you are competent at taking photographs, it’s a good start; otherwise, check how photographs are taken on other common Instagram pages in your niche. However, if you are trying to emulate other people’s pages in the way photographs are taken, make frantic effort to stand unique. Do not get carried away, but come up with something uncommon.
It’s also worth noting that mega profiles with thousands of followers still need to keep an appreciable balance between generated content and #ad posts. As you manage to earn from your Instagram profile, you can easily lose focus on your target audience in the course of paying attention to those sponsored posts.
Followers will dislike it the moment they find that everything about you is just making money and nothing else. Send a reminder constantly to your followers that the basic reason for following you is your relatable, amazing, and unique content, and they will likely stand the chance to reward you with their keen interest in the products you recommend or offer to them.
Step by Step Guide to Earning on Instagram
Here are the basic steps to generating revenue from Instagram:
1. Optimize Your Instagram Profile
Whether you are interested in making money or just seeking to boost your followers, one of the key steps to take is optimizing your Instagram profile. This will help make your Instagram profile look different from others and appealing to the target audience.
By keeping in mind the three fundamental factors we earlier discussed in this guide (focus, visuals, and styles), you’ll be able to get this done with ease. Search for a unique theme that best suits your genre, pay attention to it, and come up with captivating and intriguing content around that niche.
What should you be creating?
Taking into consideration that millions of posts are created on Instagram on an everyday basis, every post you create must be unique and centered on satisfying the target audience.
You want like-minded people, who share the same passion with you, to be attracted to your page? Find your interest, and make sure all of your contents key into it – with all of this, you can build your own brand.
How do you set up an ideal bio?
Essentially, your bio stands as the homepage of your Instagram profile, and a unique privilege to establish yourself as a unique brand. Introduce yourself properly to your prospective and returning followers, what you admire, making them understand precisely what they can gain from following your profile.
Select a captivating profile photo, while incorporating your personality and niche. You can as well maximize the link in your Instagram profile by directing followers to your personal store/website.
How many times per week should you be posting?
As far as social media algorithms are concerned, quality has preeminence over quantity. And when it comes to building a presence and earning, your focus should always be on creating quality content.
Dedicate much more time to producing high-quality content than coming up with quantity again and again. 4-5 well-compiled posts a week would be more productive than just pushing out tons of quantity without much value.
However, consistency is Key to success. Post intriguing and high-quality videos or pictures on a consistent basis, build interactions with prospective followers in the comments section, and include an appreciable caption.
Focus on creating a group of audiences interested in whatever you have to offer or say on your preferred topic, and hear them out when they advise or ask questions. This is simply what creating a profitable platform entails.
2. Build an Ideal Following
As we’ve earlier discussed in this post, making money with your Instagram profile isn’t all about how big or small your following is. It’s strictly all about gathering an ideal following that recognizes you as a trustworthy voice in their niche.
However, if you just want to gather a large following in a rush, you could possibly end up with thousands of bots – which will be totally valueless when it comes to monetizing. So, it’s all about taking your patience and pulling out high-quality content.
Following sheepishly the tips highlighted above on the aspect of staying consistent in creating content could lead you to growing ideal followers. If you want to learn how to be consistent, try following blog posts that teach how to schedule your content for specific days. With that, you can focus on creating where there’s a high level of engagement.
How do you increase your Instagram followers?
- Create Instagram contests (followers are required to share or tag others in order to enter)
- Create content consistently
- Search for hashtags with the highest conversion rate for your industry
- Initiate a conversation
- Sponsor user-generated posts (converting your audiences into business advocates)
- Showcase your profile on social media and other platforms
Step 3: Monetize Your Instagram Profile
Once you’ve gathered a considerably-sized following, all passionate about your genre and your brand, you stand a lovely chance to get products sold to them. The steps you take towards achieving this are all at your discretion.
Sending a pitch to a sponsor
If you believe finding a trustworthy brand to sponsor you is the right step to take next, then you need to implement strategies on how you want to target such a brand. Make some rigorous findings for specific brands that sell targeted products and your target audience would like. Also, consider such a brand that keeps track of the attention paid to micro-influencers.
If you are so fortunate, the hashtags you use might make brands find you easily. However, do not fold hands and watch brands find you on their own, but be strategic and make concerted effort to get in touch with brands that you believe will be a great fit.
When trying to reach a specific brand, you should send them a pitch on why your voice and reach will be worth their attention. Thus, if you are pitching on your own, and you aren’t reaching out via a middle man, then the most viable method may be to reach out privately.
Selling personal products
Besides sponsorships, you could promote your personal products to prospects in your specialty using Instagram. If your audience likes your content, why not leverage that by creating products around that niche?
If you have a page that focuses on inspiration quotes, then you could print them out using a wielding bag. Create your own digital books, organize webinars, or print your own T-shirts. There are lots of cost-effective products you can make and sell to your audience for a decent profit.
Conclusion
While Instagram is a photo sharing platform, it is a great place to make money with your profile and follower base. And the best ways to monetize your profile have been blended in this guide.
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