This is going to be a multi-part blog series to help you make money on Instagram, so be sure to sign up for the newsletter to ensure you are the first to know when the next part is live!
It does not matter who you are, money is exciting. Making money doing what you are already doing is even more exciting. You already spend hours on end scrolling mindlessly on Instagram and probably spend even more time creating content to post.
Before I jump into how you can make money, first you have to make yourself presentable.
Think of your Instagram as a business card
You may not have viewed your Instagram this way, but that is exactly what your profile is. It is essentially a portfolio of your photography.
Have a clear and concise bio. Think of this as “The Who and The What’ part of a business card, also feel free to throw in a slogan, but it needs to describe what your account is all about. Be careful to not clutter your bio with tons of shop codes and emojis, this can make it hard to read. Save shop codes for your highlights.
Next is your Instagram feed. This is the part of the business card that makes you memorable. Some businesses choose to get the upgraded thickness, a matte finish, or some unique shape.
Think of your photography and editing style as what makes you memorable. You have to determine what you are going to do in your feed to make businesses or company representatives remember you later when an opportunity arises. Sometimes this is as easy as taking photos in the same location. If you are struggling with your portraits, check out How to Immediately Improve Your Photography.
No matter what you decide to do with your photos one thing is key, consistency. You have to be consistent in some capacity. I know- you’re probably heavy sighing and thinking that you know this is a staple for Instagram success. But do you understand how it can make you money? A consistent feed allows potential collaborators to see your work and know what to expect if they were to work with you.
Convert your Instagram account to a business account
You may have already converted your Instagram from a personal account to a business account. This is a great step, not only does it provide you a lot of information regarding your audience, overall engagement health of your account, and additional analytics but some marketing companies and businesses require to see your numbers before working with you. You will have to create a Facebook business page for your Instagram in order to convert to a business account. Don’t worry, when you make the transition Instagram will help you make that account if you don’t have one already.
Create your ‘resume’
If your Instagram profile is your business card, then the media kit is your resume. Your media kit is a document where you pretty much list all of your statistics and accomplishments.
- What your media kit should list at a minimum:
- A brief intro
- Your follower count
- Impressions & reach with screenshots as some companies ask for proof
- Engagement rate (this can be found at socialblade.com)
- A couple of photos with at least one photo of yourself included
- Who your audience? if you’re on the dog side of Instagram this is usually, young adult women located in North America who love dogs.
A media kit will let potential collaborators get a general idea of your audience reach.
Please be mindful when you are creating your media kit to include all of your social media accounts; YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok if you have them.
To create my media kit I used an app called, Canva. This is a free app that does have some premium features but you will be able to make a media kit for free with no problems.
That’s it for now! The next money and Instagram blog will go over where to go if you want to make money.
If you use my tips or find this helpful please spread the word on Pinterest and Instagram! Pin it or share in your stories, @jaxandthepack on Instagram.