Instagram Monetization Requirements: Are You Eligible?

Content creation isn’t just a fun way to get famous on the internet. It’s also a fantastic, ultra-lucrative career for those with a knack for making creative photos and videos. According to Vox, it’s possible even for micro-influencers to make up to $100,000 a year making content full-time. However, not everyone is cut out to monetize their social media content. 

Today, we’re running through the Instagram monetization requirements an influencer must meet to make money online.

What Are the Requirements for Instagram Monetization? A Rundown for Each Program

There are plenty of ways to make money on Instagram as an influencer. You can collaborate with big brands on campaigns and get big bucks from impactful, high-quality content promoting their products. Or, you can try your luck getting into Instagram’s own programs designed for monetization for creators.

Of course, you can’t just decide you want to make money online and expect everything to go smooth sailing. Most of Instagram’s monetization features have a strict list of requirements that determine whether you’re eligible to use them.

So, what are the requirements for Instagram monetization? Let’s go through each profit stream on the platform and the criteria creators must meet to reap its benefits.

1. Sponsored Post Requirements

Sponsored posts are one of the most popular ways to monetize your content on Instagram. Brands pay big money to have influential creators promote their products on social media. All a creator has to do is post an engaging piece of content showcasing the brand. Then, the client pays them monetary compensation or free products from the collection!

Instagram has no stringent requirements for creators who want to post sponsored posts for partner brands. However, brands typically look for certain parameters for the creators they reach out to for sponsored content. These might include a specific follower count or a high enough engagement rate.

Perhaps the biggest requirement Instagram imposes on influencers who create branded content is the use of the “paid partnership” label on the posts. This adds a label at the top of your sponsored post indicating that it is promotional paid content. It also includes the name of the brand sponsoring your post.

This is a must for all sponsored posts on the platform to maintain transparency for consumers on the platform. Just note that you need a professional account to use the paid partnership label on your content. So, technically, that’s yet another requirement of doing sponsored content as a creator.

2. Subscriptions Requirements

Setting up Instagram Subscriptions allows creators to offer exclusive content only to fans who pay a monthly subscription fee. Their followers who subscribe to this content see premium, never-before-seen posts from their favorite creators. It’s awesome not just for making extra cash but for building a stronger relationship with your top-tier fans, too.

Interested in creating an exclusive Subscription for your most dedicated followers? Here are the requirements to set one up:

• A professional account
• At least 10,000 followers
• Content that shouldn’t be focused on children
• You must be at least 18 years old
• A clean record on Instagram by being compliant with the platform’s community guidelines and monetization policies
• You must be located in a country where Subscriptions are available. This includes the US, UK, South Korea, Japan, most of Europe, and many more.

Not sure if you’re eligible for Instagram Subscriptions? Head to your Professional Dashboard in your settings to see if it comes up as a monetization option!

3. Instagram Bonus Program Eligibility

The Instagram Bonus Program allows creators to win “bonuses” based on how viral and engaging their content is. The program is simple. Instagram invites creators of their choosing to join the program for a limited time. If you accept the invite, the platform chooses up to 150 of your posts to qualify for bonuses. You then earn money based on how those posts perform!

Creators can earn bonuses from any type of post, from carousels to video content. The more views, impressions, clicks, and other engagement your content gets, the higher the bonuses you score. So, the key to earning money is to create high-quality content you know will gain traction among your target audience.

Here are the requirements to earn money from the Bonus Program:

• A professional account
• An official invite to the program (you’ll see whether you have an invitation to the program in your Professional Dashboard!)
• You must live in an area where Instagram is currently testing bonuses. As of writing, that includes only the US, Japan, and South Korea.

Instagram hasn’t been too explicit with its selection process for who gets invited to the program. But if we know anything, it’s that only creators with the most exciting content and tons of engagement get invited. So, churn out the best content you can to get a chance to earn money this way!

4. Gifts: Instagram Reels Monetization Requirements

Next up, we’ve got Instagram Gifts. This feature allows fans to send virtual gifts to their favorite influencers through Instagram Reels. Creators can then cash in those gifts into actual money.

When a creator enables Instagram Gifts, a “Send gift” button will appear at the top of their Reels. From there, fans can spend an in-app currency called Stars to buy and send that influencer a gift. For every Star an influencer earns from gifts, they can get $0.01. It’s an awesome way to monetize your Reels if you have a solid relationship with your fans!

Of course, there are also some strict Instagram Reels monetization requirements for receiving Gifts. Take a look at each one:

• You need a professional Instagram account.
• You need at least 500 followers.
• You must be 18 years old and above.
• You must comply with Instagram’s community guidelines and the Gifts Creators Terms.
• You should have an existing payout method on the app.
• Your content cannot be focused on children.
• You should be located in a country where Instagram Gifts is available, like the US and most of Europe.

As always, you can check your Professional Dashboard to see if you are eligible to receive Gifts on Instagram.

5. Affiliate Program Requirements

Instagram also allows creators to earn money by promoting certain products through the in-app affiliate program. All you have to do is create content showcasing products available in an Instagram Shop. Then, tag the said products in your post. Any sales that come in from your post will get you hefty commissions!

Right now, there aren’t stringent criteria for who can join the program. Since the affiliate marketing program is still new, Instagram is probably still working on the final requirements for eligibility. All Instagram asks is that creators comply with their monetization policies and community guidelines to be considered.

Of course, you can also be an affiliate marketer for brands outside of the Instagram program. For those partnerships, brands will typically give you an affiliate link to share with your fans. If anyone buys products from your link, you automatically get a commission.

For third-party affiliate programs, the requirements to join depend on the brand you’re working with. Some brands require their partners to have a certain follower count. Others might want their creators to have specific avenues to promote their links, like a personal blog. Every brand is different in their preferences!

How Many Followers Required for Instagram Monetization

Curious as to how many followers you need to monetize on the ‘gram? The truth is that there is no hard-and-fast rule for how big your fanbase should be to start making money. Sure, some monetization features—like Instagram Subscriptions and Gifts—require a specific follower count. But for other income opportunities, it may not matter, depending on the project.

For example, there is no minimum follower requirement for sponsored posts when working with brands. Some brands will look for mega-influencers with over 500,000 followers for their reach campaigns, sure. But sometimes, they’ll eye influencers with high engagement rates for conversion campaigns, too. In those cases, your audience size won’t matter as much as long as you have a significant following.

Affiliate marketing is the same. There’s typically no follower requirement to join these programs. However, some brands may look for a certain threshold if they want to prioritize reaching as many people as possible.

So, how many followers are required for Instagram monetization is really a case-to-case thing. Sometimes, you’ll need tens of thousands of followers to get into the monetization programs you want. Other times, you can land jobs that pay for engaging content, even with a small following. At the end of the day, that means there are opportunities to earn for influencers of any size.

Other Important Instagram Monetization Requirements and Rules

Instagram’s requirements for monetization aren’t limited to the creator’s profile and background. They also have plenty of detailed monetization rules and regulations related to the content you want to make money from. These rules are implemented to make Instagram a safe platform for everyone on it, from creators to fans. Here are some of those Instagram monetize requirements.

Don’t Use Prohibited Formats

Some creators will be surprised to know that certain formats are prohibited from being monetized. These include static videos, image polls, videos on loop, photo slideshows, and plain text montages, among others.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with content like this, they may appear more spammy than high-quality photos and videos. Instagram rewards creators who work hard on their content, not those who create low-effort posts just for the money.

Instead, stick to high-quality content like Instagram Reels or carousels that have a mix of video and photo content. Not only can this engage and pique people’s interest more, but it also gives you a chance to generate income!

Don’t Use Engagement Bait

Instagram also doesn’t monetize content that explicitly asks people to engage with the post. You can’t incentivize people who see your post to click on a link or leave a comment. Instagram prefers authentic engagement that isn’t contrived or forced.

So, make your content naturally engaging instead of asking your audience straight up to like or comment on it. Instead of saying, “Leave a comment!” try asking a thought-provoking question or a hot take in your caption. This is much more likely to drive engagement—plus, you can earn money from your post!

Share Only Accurate Information

If your content is flagged as spreading misinformation, you could lose your chance of monetizing it. Instagram enlists the help of a third-party fact checker to look through monetized content. If the information in your post is proven to be false, you might not earn money from it. This rule is especially important for posts with medical information.

Don’t Repost Unoriginal Content

Instagram always has and always will prioritize original work. So, creators can only earn money from the content they produce themselves. If you simply repost someone else’s content—even from another platform—you won’t be able to monetize it.

Of course, this doesn’t include content that you’ve edited and enhanced to make your own. If you stitch someone’s video with your own or do a reaction video to existing content, it should be fine. But if you pass any content off as yours, it’s considered plagiarism and won’t be eligible for monetization.

No Content Related to Instagram’s Restricted Categories

Instagram has quite a long list of restricted categories and sensitive topics that creators can’t make money off of. These include much-debated social issues that might polarize users, such as content regarding politics, race, sexual orientation, and more.

You also can’t monetize content centered on tragedy and injury. That means posts focused on death, physical harm, illness, abuse, property damage, and the like cannot be monetized.

Understandably, content depicting crimes is also not eligible for monetization. That means content that openly shows things like substance abuse, human trafficking, trespassing, fraud, corruption, and hacking can’t generate revenue.

Another restricted category on Instagram is sexually explicit content. Anything with nudity, sex toys, suggestive dances, and even revealing clothing can’t be monetized.

No Vulgar Language and Graphic Images

Content that contains profane language will also not be monetized. This includes posts with curse words, slurs, innuendos, and even crude gestures. Instagram wants to foster only positive language on the platform, so it won’t reward profanity.

Posts with graphic, explicit, gory visuals also won’t be monetized. That includes wounds, bodily fluids, decay, body modification, infestation, and more. It doesn’t matter if the graphics are fictional or AI-generated. If it can make someone’s stomach churn, you won’t be able to monetize it.

Posts With Inauthentic Engagement Can’t Be Monetized

Instagram has always been a strong proponent of authentic engagement. They always warn users against buying likes or fake followers as it hinders positive, genuine interactions on the platform. So, it should come as no surprise that they don’t allow the monetization of content with inauthentic engagement.

If your account is caught buying fake engagement online for a post, that piece of content won’t be monetized. It’s much better to drive engagement organically, as this can actually increase your post’s chances to get monetized.

Politicians and Government Bodies Can’t Monetize Posts

Instagram doesn’t allow government officials, political candidates, political parties, and government agencies to monetize their content.

This is because these bodies exist for public service, not to earn money off of social media. If politicians were to earn money from their Instagram posts, then it would be for personal gain. That’s a huge disservice to the people they’re serving.

Unlock More Earning Opportunities by Growing Your Instagram Fanbase!

Sure, meeting the strict monetization requirements Instagram sets in place is important. But it’s only the first step to success as a full-time creator. Sustainable revenue from creating content hinges on something else—an engaged audience. Without loyal followers who show appreciation for your content, you won’t be able to earn income from any monetization program.

Want to get more of these followers? Work with Path Social! We use advanced algorithms to make sure your content reaches your target audience, boosting your discoverability on the platform. The more people see your content, the more followers you get, allowing you to build a community of engaged fans!

Our tried-and-tested strategies have helped over 30,000 brands grow. Sergio of Pushing the Project, for example, gained 17,000 new followers and a 216% increase in engagement with our help. Put your trust in us, and we’ll give you the same results.

Even if you do meet all the Instagram monetization requirements, it’s not a guarantee that you’ll earn money right away. What you really need is a large fanbase that can catapult you to fame and influence, making monetization way easier. So, get more followers with Path Social today!

Frequently Asked Questions