*This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the full disclosure here

Did you know that you can make money on Instagram?

Instagram is one of the best social media platforms to make money with no investment. And you can do this with or without owning a blog or a website.

A lot of people are under the impression that, in order to make money on Instagram, you will need a product to sell or have your own website. To prove this is not true, I had the opportunity to interview Instagram Expert, Alex Tooby.

Alex created and grew her Instagram account to over 10,000 followers in 3 months (currently close to 400k followers). She has been featured on well-known media platforms like Cosmopolitan Magazine, Time and MTV, and today she shares how you can be successful with Instagram. Alex made over $250,000 with Instagram last year and is here to share her tried and tested strategies, so you can build a profitable business with Instagram.

First, let us cover a few basics.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please read full disclosure here.

 

How do you make money on Instagram?

Once you start your Instagram account and are building followers, the biggest factor to help with monetization is getting more engagement on Instagram.

This question gets asked most often – How many followers do you need to make money on Instagram?

While there is no magic number to this, what really matters is how active your followers are. This is what plays a big role in making money from Instagram.

Stellar photos are vital to grab your followers attention. This shouldn’t be a problem as most smartphones come with high-quality camera settings – not to mention the availability of photo editing apps and online software.

 

Here are the 4 best ways to make money on Instagram:

1. Affiliate Marketer – This where you sell someone else’s product for a commission. Say you are following a vegan diet and used this vegan recipe book that you found very helpful. Do an online Google search and see if that company has an affiliate program (most of them usually do).

Once you join their affiliate program, you will be given a special unique link. When you share this link on social media, you earn a commission if you followers buy it. There’s no need to worry about shipping or handling – all you need to do is promote the product (in this case – the Vegan ebook) on your Instagram account!

 

2. Instagram Influencer – This is otherwise called sponsored posts. So say you have a growing following and either you contact a brand or the brand contacts you for a sponsored post. You will then write about the brand’s product as an Instagram post and get paid by the brand.

This is why it is very important to have a niche account. So don’t just share anything or everything on Instagram. Focus on one particular topic. Say, vegan recipes, keto diet, weight loss for women, essential oils, yoga or lifestyle topics like talking about the place you live – you see where I am going?

This is very helpful because you will have a higher follower engagement. If you stick to a niche particular niche, say, essential oils – then essential oil brands will reach out to you for a sponsored post. They know that even if you have just 5,000 followers, brands are well aware that these are followers that are only interested in essential oils – because that is all you are promoting.

 

3. Sell your own products – Similar to affiliate marketing, you can post your products and make money from your Instagram followers. The only difference is you are selling your own products, and so using your own links and the earnings are 100% yours to keep.

 

4. Start a blog – Making money from a blog has its own advantages. With a blog, you can lead your Instagram followers to read a blog post increasing your chances of monetization.

 

Having said all of this, if you have already been using Instagram and haven’t had much success with it, there could be a few reasons why.

First, it’s not just about posting pictures and fingers crossed your followers grow.

You will need to optimize your Instagram profile using searchable keywords, promote popular and relevant hashtags to your niche, post regularly and network with others in your niche. With Instagram stories becoming hugely popular, you can use this feature to boost follower engagement.

Now, this can be overwhelming at first, but there is someone who knows it all and is here to help.

Alex Tooby has created this online training, where she shares all her success tips and the secret method to converting Instagram users into paying customers in just one week

Join the Waitlist to learn her secret method

Instagram Ivy League

Now on to my interview with Alex, let’s read what she had to say.

 

1. Hi Alex, what is the Instagram Ivy League?

The Instagram Ivy League is an A-Z resource for any entrepreneur or business owner looking to leverage the platform to build an audience, expand their reach and increase sales. It consists of 10 different modules and over 60 step by step tutorials that teach you exactly how to use the platform as a true marketing tool.

The ideal outcome is that students will not only feel extremely comfortable with the platform but are confident in their strategy and are seeing consistent ROI on their time invested in the app.

2. Is this course suitable for beginners who want to make money on Instagram?

Yes absolutely!
 
While we tackle some advanced strategies and topics the tutorials are all filmed “over my shoulder” so you can easily follow along, step by step.
 
Additionally, I’ve included a variety of digital workbooks, guides and even a support group to help mitigate any questions or stumbling blocks a beginner may encounter.
 

3. Will you learn how to make money even if you don’t have your own product to sell?

Yes! In Module 8 we go over monetization options.
 
I teach you a variety of ways to start making money right away (some have zero upfront investment!) including the exact method I implemented when I first started with Instagram.
 

4. Does it teach you how to sell affiliate products and do sponsored posts?

Yes, this is part of the monetization module.
 
If you don’t have your own product or service to sell, you are in an amazing position to promote other people’s products that have already been created and validated!
 
This allows you to curate a specific list of offerings that you know your audience will love and gives you the ability to make money without having to invest any upfront.
 
Sponsored posts are also discussed from both the perspective of the influencer and the business owner. Finding the right companies or influencers to work with can be hard so I teach what to look out for, how to negotiate the right deal, and of course, how to keep advertisers and influencers coming back for more!
 
 

5. Can bloggers gain web traffic from this course?

Absolutely!
 
This is one of the main lessons I teach throughout the course.
 
While growing an engaged and targeted following is important, what’s even more important is getting those users over to your website to consume your other content, be exposed to your ads, affiliate links or products and services.
 
By moving our audience from social to our websites we’re able to show off our expertise, demonstrate our authority and significantly increase the likelihood of converting someone from a follower to a customer.