I typically am not always most upfront with what I do for a living. First reason is because there is a certain stigma with being a blogger that involves not being credible/legit/taken seriously until the person turns away and goes to check how many followers you have.

Second reason- if you are taken seriously, the first question you can always expect always revolves around how to make money on Instagram (or as a blogger in general)?!. I find this question weird, uncomfortable, & invasive. It’s not a question most people ask when someone tells them what they do for work. Yet it seems to be the norm for people to try and dig into my finances upon first introduction.

That being said, I get the curiosity. Blogging is new & people wanna know how it works. I respect that. I also get a lot of beginning bloggers inquiring how to start monetizing via social media. SO- when I look at it from that perspective, I feel like this post is needed to clear up how it’s done for the curious, & some tips on what to do for the budding blogger (along with how to determine your rates!)

How To Monetize Your Instagram Account

Everyone has a different approach to monetizing their Instagram accounts due to the fact it really does vary depending on your audience and your mission.

If you are promoting a service or launching a product, then the goal is to sell product to your audience. If you’re an influencer, I personally feel you really shouldn’t focus on making money off of your audience. At least in the beginning. If down the road you launch a product, that is one thing, but when you’re starting off- you need to produce high quality content & gain trust with your audience… versus just constantly trying to sell them something.

Which is why this conversation is important- if it’s not a direct sale, how do you make money on the gram? I am gonna start small w/ ways to make money when you don’t have a huge audience just yet & move on up to the big bucks.

1. Affiliate Links

Affiliate marketing is the first step when it comes to monetizing instagram accounts, blog posts, social media networks, etc. Pretty much anyone can get involved w/ affiliate marketing, regardless of how many Instagram followers you do or do not have & every.single.influencer is using affiliate marketing to monetize their content.

Affiliate marketing is simple- you sign up for an affiliate network that best fits your content & when you share something, you create a custom link that either tracks sales or clicks.

Different networks have different payout rates. Some give you money per click on the link. While others give you a commission on sales. The two big players in the blog world are RewardStyle & ShopStyle Collective. I typically recommend ShopStyle because RewardStyle does have an approval process. The main difference is ShopStyle pays per click while RewardStyle pays a commission on sales (I prefer ppc).

The only other affiliate network I am a part of is Amazon Associates. RewardStyle & ShopStyle are great if you are promoting a lot of fashion content, but Amazon Associates cover all the bases. If you are a food blogger, for example, you will have better luck finding products to share from Amazon versus ShopStyle. Also, PEOPLE LOVE SHOPPING ON AMAZON. If there is a product I want to share, I always check to see if Amazon has it, because the end goal is making shopping my content easy for the reader.

2. RewardStyle LikeToKnow.It

To get more specific on RewardStyle- they have a really great feature people LOVE called LikeToKnow.It. Basically, it let’s you shop an Instagram photo & it’s pretty cutting edge.

How it works: for the blogger, you set up your photos to be shoppable via the RewardStyle app on your phone. You upload an image, tag the items worn, & publish to Instagram using the generated hashtag/caption from the app. You would then encourage your readers to sign up for LikeToKnow.It so that when they screenshot your looks, all links will automatically get sent to their inbox.

It’s genius & has proven to be SUPER lucrative for influencers. I really think it depends on the audience, but since ShopStyle is my preferred affiliate network- I use this feature seldomly.

3. ShopStyle Looks & Collections

Just like you’re either a NIKE OR ADIDAS girl (Adidas for me), you’re kind of either a ShopStyle or RS girl. For me, ShopStyle Collective all the way.

I will say- there shoppable Instagram solution isn’t nearly as innovative as Like to Know It, but it works & I am not mad about it. All you do is log in to your ShopStyle account, create a collection (i.e. shop my Instagram), upload a “LOOK”, & it will create a shop you can embed into your site. You can see mine here.

To share on Instagram you can let the link to your Insta shop live in your bio & reference it for people to shop your looks. Easy peasy, get those clicks.

4. Influencer Apps/Networks

Alright, so next on the list is the big bad world of Influencer apps & networks for finding work. This is relatively new in the world of Instagram marketing & I think it’s a great place to start when looking for collabs.

How these apps or networks work is pretty straight forward: you connect your Instagram profile to the app or site, along with any other networks you want to get collaborations on (i.e. Facebook/Twitter). On the brand side of things- when they have a new product launch or collaboration idea- they post it on the app/website for you to apply. Some of them work where the brands can also reach out to you directly.

Currently I am only a part of one influencer network called Fohr Card, but I have been on the apps/various websites in the past & have made money from them. You do have to some weeding through because a lot of these apps are just offering trade. Also, if you’re just starting out trade deals are great. Just make sure with trade, the audiences align & work to get the company to regram you (you can even negotiate this!).

Some good ones that influencer’s like: Fohr Card, Upfluence, Revfluence, Famebit, Open Influence, HypeTap, TapInfluence

5. Sponsored Posts:

GOOD OLD #SPON. I feel like this stage can start happening around the 10k *authentic* follower mark. This was around the time I started to get a few reach outs, and when I began reaching out. Basically this is how a sponsored post works. A brand or a PR company will reach out to you directly regarding a collaboration. I would say, prepare for the answer to be gifting, but always KNOW YOUR WORTH.

If you have 10k highly engaged followers, you need to be getting paid. You may have to pass on some cool free stuff. But you determine your own value at the end of the day.

CAUSE TRADE DOESN’T PAY RENT.

Present the brand with a vision, pitch them, & negotiate a deal that benefits both sides! If you aren’t getting reach outs just yet- you can always work with direct messaging. Make yourself known. Say HI to brands you think are a good fit. Or even pitch ideas for photos/videos you’d like to create with their product. Make sure to move the conversation to email when the discussion continues. But DM is a great way to “meet” brands. Plus I can promise you- all brands have some sort of influencer marketing budget to work with.

There is some stigma attached with sponsored post, so be ready for that. Bloggers can’t blog without a paycheck & it’s just the name of the game. That being said- be smart about your sponsored content. The whole idea of being an influencer is gaining the trust of your readers & if you’re a fashion blogger posting about medical supplies, chances are I am not gonna trust much of what you say moving forward. At the end of the day, it’s gotta be a good fit regardless of the paycheck.

6. Brand Ambassador

brand ambassador is what I would think is the most beneficial form of influencer marketing because it is a lasting partnership. Example: Danielle Bernstein (aka WeWoreWhat) is a FIJI Water brand ambassador, & that is a STELLAR GIG.

Sadly- I don’t see a ton of brands doing this often, but I do think this is the most beneficial way for brands to work with bloggers. One sponsored post is good, but a continued to collaboration is what will really drive the point home & give you an ongoing paycheck. Personally, my dream collab would probably be a brand ambassador for La Croix (La Croix- if you’re reading this, hit me up… I’ve got ideas for days!).

7. Launching a Product

& the last on the list is LAUNCHING A PRODUCT! There are two things that have to happen before you launch a product as an influencer IMO. First, as I said before, you need to have gained trust with your audience. You can’t sell anything to your readers if they don’t trust you as an influencer & resource.

Secondly- it needs to make sense & be very clear to your audience why you’re doing what you’re doing. I will use myself as an example. I have been toying around with launching something of my own for a while now & had a ton of different ideas. At the end of the day, I realized my readers were super interested in how I edit photos… so, I launched the Fashionlush Presets. My audience trusts me in this department & photo editing is something I am super passionate/psycho about. Perfect fit… for now, I’ve got another fun concept brewing ;).

A few more examples of influencer product launches that make sense: Danielle Bernstein (again) launched an overall line as she is known for wearing overalls, Negin Mirsalehi launched Gisou hair products since she has the best hair ever, & then there is Shea Marie who launched a swimsuit line cause she literally lives in a bikini.

Whats Your Instagram Earning Potential?

The most loaded question in the world of blogging- WHAT CAN I CHARGE FOR AN INSTAGRAM POST? Well well well… let’s break it down.

First of all, it’s not about the number of followers you have AS MUCH anymore. Brands are really looking at that conversion from followers to engagement.

Blogger x could have millions of followers but only get 1% engagement, while blogger Y could have 50,000 followers & have a 6% engagement rate. This is what brands will be studying when choosing & booking influencers to collaborate with.

There used to be an equation for how much to charge- $100 per every 10000 followers, but with the rise of inflated accounts, that pricing structure is definitely outdated. You also have to consider the amount of work that goes into creating content as it is much more extensive than it use to be! Back in the day you’d snap a pic & post it with your a few thoughts. Now you need to pretty much create a Vogue worthy image.

I worked with a manager to set my rates based on the trends she has seen in the industry, but this article is BY FAR the most helpful one I have read in regards to putting a price on Instagram posts. It is accurate from what I know about the industry. As many other’s out there are pricing WAY too low (imo).

& THAT SUMS IT UP GUYS…. I THINK?? AM I MISSING ANYTHING. If you’re a blogger and you’re monetizing a fresh new way, LMK. I am always down for the latest & greatest.

WHAT I’M WEARING:

COWBOY BOOTS, BIKE SHORTS, & OVERSIZED HARLEY SHIRTS?! This is pretty much my 24 year old self daily uniform, coming back. Being that I am from Nashville, I am super stoked on the revival of the cowboy boot!!!

The Edit | Cowboy Boots

*ALL PHOTOS IN THIS POST WERE EDITED USING THE LUSH PRESET & THE QUICKIE PRESET*

SHOP THE FASHIONLUSH PRESETS

[ PHOTOS BY ARIELLE LEVY ]

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How To Monetize Instagram + Determine Your Insta-Worth