Make Big Bucks on IG: How To Monetize Your Instagram Content

When you’re on the outside looking in, the life of an influencer seems like it’s all fun and games. You wake up, take cute photos, edit funny videos, post them online, and then call it a day. However, few realize that being an influencer is a full-time job that allows people to make an income. 

Curious about how creators like you can rake in some dough and make big bucks? You’ve come to the right place! Today, we’re talking about how to monetize your Instagram.

How To Use Monetization Tools on Instagram: 5 Ways To Make Money on IG

Making money on Instagram for the work that you do as a digital creator is of the utmost importance. After all, influencers have got to eat, too! Plus, the money you earn from your content allows you to upskill and create even better content moving forward.

But how exactly does it work? What monetization options do creators have if they’ve built a steady online presence on Instagram? We’ve got you covered. Here’s how to use monetization tools on Instagram in five key ways.

1. Get Paid Directly by IG by Getting Into the Bonus Program

One of the most common monetization strategies on Instagram is to get into the platform’s in-house bonus program. In this invite-only program, Instagram picks and chooses influencers deemed to have relevant, engaging content that gains tons of views. From there, they estimate how many of your views are considered “bonus plays,” and you get paid based on that.

We’ll be honest. Instagram is kind of vague about what they consider a bonus view. All we know is that this includes views on video, static, and carousel content without counting replays.

If Instagram invites you to the program, you’ll see a notification about it in your professional dashboard. After you accept the invite, you should see which of your content is earning bonuses. Instagram will automatically choose up to 150 posts in your feed from which you can earn money.

The bonus program isn’t a forever thing. It runs throughout a set time period, specifically seasons. So, there’s a spring bonus, a summer bonus, and so on. After the season is over, you collect your winnings, and Instagram resets the program, inviting new creators again.

Through the program, the most hardworking and creative influencers and brands can earn up to a whopping $30,000 each month. But if you don’t set up a payout account, you can only earn up to $500 per page. These users can earn money for up to three pages only, giving you max earnings of just $1,500.

Currently, the bonus program is only available for creators in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. If it’s successful, we can expect it to be rolled out for influencers worldwide!

2. Monetize Instagram Posts Through Brand Sponsorships

Next, we’ve got brand-sponsored posts. These are those all-too-familiar posts wherein influencers promote a certain brand in their content. Most of the time, these creators are paid to talk about these products and paint them in a good light. This is called a “sponsored” post.

Brands scour the internet and look for influencers to become their ambassadors in influencer marketing campaigns. Clothing brands will hunt down fashion creators. Fitness brands will look for personal trainers, snack brands will target foodies, and so on. From there, they reach out to the influencers and offer to “sponsor” their posts for a fee. If an influencer accepts, their job is to create content featuring that brand, and they get paid for it.

Think of sponsored posts as paid ads, except made by influencers instead of businesses. In these posts, influencers can promote physical products like clothes and food or digital products like services and software. And instead of money going to the advertising platform, it’s the creator who gets compensated.

Brands love using influencer content to promote their projects because it’s more authentic than overly manicured commercials. Plus, influencers have a knack for glamorizing everyday products by showcasing how they use them in their daily lives. Think you’re great at creating lifestyle content and seamlessly inserting products into it? If so, sponsorships are the perfect way for you to monetize Instagram posts.

Instagram requires every sponsored post to add a paid partnership label for transparency. That way, consumers know to take branded content with a grain of salt since it’s paid content.

Every influencer makes a different amount of money per sponsored post. According to Shopify, the average influencer post costs about $1,300. Micro-influencers can get $100 to $500 per post, while mega-influencers can demand as much as $10,000. Wowza!

3. Work With Brands That Give You Affiliate Links

Confident in your sales talk skills? Consider enrolling in a brand’s affiliate program to make more money on Instagram.

Many brands (like Amazon) allow creators to sign on as affiliate partners for their business. They then give these creators their own unique affiliate links. These links lead to the brand’s ecommerce page. Any purchase made through that link gives the creator who owns it a commission from the sale.

Maximize your potential to earn from these affiliate URLs by posting the link in your bio. Then, talk about the brand’s products in your content while directing your followers to the link. Some brands give special discounts for buyers who use influencer links. So, use it to your advantage and lure your followers into buying the brand’s products at a good price.

4. Run an Instagram Subscription for Your Most Loyal Fans

After you’ve made it big, there are bound to be some fans who would kill for more of your content. With Instagram Subscriptions, you can charge these loyal fans extra to get exclusive content from you.

Anyone “subscribed” to your page gets access to additional content you create. This includes exclusive Reels, Stories, broadcast channels, and more. They pay a fee, and they get content for their eyes only!

This tool for monetization on IG requires you to actively charge your audience. You don’t want to let them down. So, make it worthwhile for them with relevant, impactful, high-quality content.

What’s awesome about Subscriptions is that you dictate the monthly fee you charge each fan. So, the sky’s the limit with this monetization strategy. Note, however, that Google and Apple take a cut of 30% from the monthly fee you set. That’s because it’s considered an in-app purchase on Instagram.

5. Monetize Instagram Reels as a Paid UGC Creator

Our last tip for how to get your Instagram account monetized is by moonlighting as a UGC creator. Many brands would pay big bucks for people to create user-generated content about their products. Since you’re already good at churning out top-quality content, why not try it out to make some extra cash?

This is a terrific monetization option for smaller creators who don’t have a big enough presence to land brand partnerships. Instead of creating sponsored ads, you can get brands to pay you to make UGC. Think of it as a freelance content creation gig.

The idea here is to create posts (typically Reels) showcasing brands as if you spontaneously wanted to talk about them. These brands can then use your UGC however they want, from using it as an ad to reposting it. It’s an awesome way to monetize Instagram Reels you create surrounding specific brands.

What’s great is that since these posts aren’t technically sponsored, they don’t need the label “paid partnership.” They’ll look and feel more genuine, making them more engaging and interesting to others.

When Can You Monetize Instagram Content Through Paid Partnerships?

There’s no hard-and-fast rule about when influencers can start taking on paid partnerships offered by brands. It really all depends on whether you attract these brands with your current presence, engagement rate, and content quality.

You might be wondering, when can you monetize Instagram content in terms of your fanbase size? Well, there’s no rule for that, either. Mega-influencers have the same opportunities as micro-influencers to land sponsorships. Regardless of how many followers you have, you can always accept offers from brands you’d love to work with.

That said, what brands really look out for when considering influencers for their campaigns is one of two things. Some brands running brand awareness campaigns might look for influencers with tons of followers. Others might be more interested in engagement rates to see which creators can sway their audience the most. So, if you want to land a brand deal ASAP, work on those two metrics.

Instagram Monetization Requirements: Can You Make the Cut?

Not every creator deserves to get monetized on social media, and Instagram recognizes that. That’s why they have a pretty comprehensive Partner Monetization Policy listing down requirements for who can earn money on IG. It discusses everything from where you live to what kind of public figure you are. Here are just some of the Instagram monetization requirements listed in the policy:

• You must live in a country where your monetization method of choice is available. For example, only creators in the U.S., South Korea, and Japan are eligible to earn Instagram bonuses.
• You must have a good track record as a guideline-abiding Instagram user. If your posts have previously been reported for hate speech, harassment, nudity and other prohibitions, you might not get monetized. 
• Everything you post has to be true and accurate. Spreading misinformation might disqualify you from earning money from your content, no matter how good it is.
• The engagement on your content must be authentic. You won’t be monetized if Instagram catches you generating inauthentic activity, like buying likes and followers. Plus, you could face even bigger, scarier consequences for manufacturing fake online activity, like getting shadowbanned.
• You can’t be a political or government-focused entity. That means currently elected officials, political candidates, government agency accounts, and more can’t monetize their content.

Does Instagram Monetize Smaller Creators?

While Instagram has many requirements for creators, it rewards them with bonuses, and a specific follower count isn’t one of them. They care more about how engaging your content is and how many views you drive. Remember, you get paid for bonus views, not how many followers you’ve amassed.

You can have one thousand or one million followers—it doesn’t matter. As long as people love and engage with your content, you stand a chance at getting bonuses from Instagram. Even if you’re a new creator shooting videos on phones and tripods instead of expensive equipment, you could get monetized. Your fanbase and status aren’t everything.

But what about big creators with not-so-stellar content? Does Instagram monetize those because they will likely get high views thanks to their huge following? Not necessarily. Instagram chooses high-performing content to give bonuses to. So, uninteresting content that doesn’t drive great traction likely won’t get monetized, even if it’s posted by a celebrity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn How To Monetize Your Instagram Account and Enlist Path Social’s Help

After building an awesome online presence and consistently making relevant content, you earn the right to make money from Instagram. There are many ways to go about it, from getting invited to the Instagram bonus program to landing paid partnerships.

Keep your eyes on the prize. Before you know it, these monetization methods won’t just catapult you to fame. It will have you rolling in dollar bills, too!

Now that you know how to monetize your Instagram, it’s time to ensure you have fans to support your content. After all, it’s influencers with an active, engaged community that monetizes their content successfully. So, work with Path Social to gain more followers.

At Path Social, we use top-notch promotional strategies to ensure your target audience sees your content. More people discover your brand, which boosts your follower count and engagement rates. We’ve helped influencers like Terrell Conyers gain thousands of followers, and we’ll do it for you, too! Put your trust in Path Social and grow your Instagram community today.