Instagram has evolved from a simple photo-sharing app into one of the most powerful platforms for making passive online money. With the right strategy, you can turn your passion into money while building an audience that genuinely values your content. The truth is that Instagram offers multiple avenues to make money while creating content you love.

The Four Money-Making Methods on Instagram

1. Brand Partnerships

Brand partnerships are arrangements where companies pay you to promote their products or services on your Instagram account. brands identify accounts with engaged audiences and pay them to create promotional content. This method works exceptionally well for beauty, fashion, food, fitness, tech, and lifestyle niches. Its effectiveness comes from the trust you've built with your followers.

How much can you make from brand partnerships on Instagram?

Nano-influencers (1K - 10K followers): Earn $50-$300 (₦70,000-₦420,000) per post
Micro-influencers (10K-100K followers): Earn $300-$1,000+ (₦420,000-₦1,400,000+) per post
Macro-influencers (100K+): Command $1,000-$10,000+ (₦1,400,000-₦14,000,000+) per collaboration

One of the most effective Instagram marketing tips is to understand that the influencer vs nano influencer debate isn't about size alone—nano influencers, even though they have smaller reach and followers, can have higher engagement rates and more trusted recommendations.

To get brand partnerships, you need:

An engagement rate of 4-8%. You can calculate this as total engagement divided by followers.
A consistent posting schedule ( at least 3-5 posts weekly)
Professional-looking content that matches brand aesthetics.
A clear, authentic voice that resonates with your audience.

Building your initial follower base and engagement metrics can be challenging. Our Revive package helps meet these requirements by boosting your follower count to the nano-influencer threshold and increasing engagement rates that brands look for when selecting partners.

2. Selling Products/Services

With this method, you can use your Instagram presence to convert followers into paying customers. To sell your products or services is a direct monetization strategy that works well for handmade goods, digital products, coaching, consulting, and any visually appealing offerings. This method gives you complete control over pricing and offerings.

There are different types of offerings you can make online:

Physical products: Average profit margins of 40-60%, with successful Instagram shops where you can earn up to $1,000-$10,000+ monthly (₦1,400,000-₦14,000,000+) depending on what you are selling.
Digital products: (e-books, templates, presets) 70-90% profit margins, you can earn up to $500-$5,000 monthly (₦700,000-₦7,000,000).
Services: (coaching, consulting, creative work) $50-$300+ (₦70,000-₦420,000+) per hour depending on your expertise.

To start selling online, you need:

A business account with a completed profile.
Instagram Shop setup (this will require your business verification)
Consistent content showcasing your offerings
Strong call-to-actions in your posts and stories to convert followers to buyers.
Engagement that builds trust with potential customers.

Higher engagement signals to potential customers that your business is legitimate and popular. Our monthly likes and views Subscription helps build this credibility by increasing engagement rates on your product showcases by up to 30%, which directly impacts your conversion rates.

3. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves you recommending products naturally in your content and including special tracking links. When followers purchase the products through those links, you earn a percentage of the sale without handling inventory or customer service.

This method works best for review-focused niches like tech, beauty, fashion, home goods, and fitness.

There are different types of affiliate programs:

Standard affiliate programs where you can earn up to 5-20% commission
High-ticket affiliate programs offering expensive items, potentially earning 10-40% commission on sales
Subscription affiliate programs involving recurring commissions of 15-30% for subscriptions you sell, creating passive income streams.

Many creators wonder, "How exactly do you earn money from Instagram views?" With affiliate marketing, views translate to money when followers click your affiliate links and make purchases. Conversion typically ranges from 1-3% of your active viewers.

Requirements to earn money through Affiliate programs

Genuinely know the product, if possible, have experience using the product.
Adequately disclose your affiliate relationships (include hashtags like #ad, #affiliate in your captions)
Use strategic content placement (Stories with Link stickers convert best)
Have sufficient views and engagement to generate clicks.

People ask the question, "How many views do I need on my reels to get paid?" While there's no exact threshold, your content should typically reach 2,000+ views for your affiliate links to generate meaningful revenue. With our Monthly views subscription, we can help you increase visibility and trust signals to increase your chances of getting sales through your affiliate links.

4. Creator Tools & Features

Instagram offers several built-in ways for creators to earn directly from their audience without relying on external brands or products. These tools work best for creators who produce entertaining, educational, or inspiring content with highly engaged audiences.

Here are a few ways you can earn money with this method:

Badges during Lives: during your Instagram live, your viewers can purchase badges (₦1,400-₦7,000) during your broadcasts. As an active creator, you can earn between $50-$300 (₦70,000-₦420,000) per session.
Subscriptions: Followers pay $0.99-$9.99 monthly (₦1,400-₦14,000) for exclusive content if you are a creator with about 20K followers, you can make as much as $500-$2,000 monthly (₦700,000-₦2,800,000)
Reel Play Bonuses: Instagram occasionally offers bonuses for popular Reels, ranging from $100-$10,000 (₦140,000-₦14,000,000) based on performance
Ad Revenue Sharing: You can get a portion of advertising revenue from ads played in your content feed.

What you need:

At least 10 K+ followers (for most features).
A consistent weekly posting schedule
Compliance with Instagram's monetization policies
High engagement rates above the platform’s average
Authentic content that keeps viewers watching

Our monthly likes and views subscription service helps maintain these critical engagement metrics by ensuring your content receives immediate engagement signals that Instagram's algorithm rewards with greater reach. This increased visibility helps you maintain the necessary view counts to qualify for and maximize revenue from these creator tools.

You do not have to wait for months to start making money on Instagram...

You can speed up your journey and start making money now. However, there are some essential requirements:

At least 5,000 followers - This is the minimum threshold most brands look for when considering partnerships.
A consistent engagement rate of 2-5% - More important than follower count is how your audience interacts with your content through likes, comments, saves, and shares.
Regular posting schedule - Algorithms favor accounts that post 3-5 times weekly.
Defined niche and aesthetic - Brands want to collaborate with creators who have a clear identity.

If your account isn't meeting these criteria yet, MediaBare's Revive Package can help start your growth journey with targeted audience building and engagement strategies specifically designed for monetization.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need to be an influencer to make money on Instagram?

No, you don't need traditional "influencer" status. Many successful monetization strategies, like affiliate marketing, selling digital products, or offering services, require a smaller but highly engaged audience. Focus on building authority in your niche rather than chasing follower counts. Quality engagement often outperforms quantity when it comes to conversion rates.

2. How much does Instagram pay for 1000 followers?

Instagram doesn't directly pay creators based on follower count. Your earnings depend on your monetization methods, niche, engagement quality, and business approach. Micro-influencers (5K-30K followers) typically earn $100-$500 per sponsored post, while those with 50K+ followers can command $500-$2,000+. The key is building an engaged audience that trusts your recommendations.

3. How do I grow my Instagram page?

Growing your Instagram requires consistent efforts: read our article on how to maintain a consistent strategy on your Instagram. Focus on creating valuable content, utilizing all platform features (Reels, Stories, Lives), engaging with similar accounts, and optimizing your posting times. MediaBare has helped thousands of creators achieve significant growth through our comprehensive social media growth services. Our monthly subscription package provides ongoing optimization tools, engagement boosting, and audience targeting to maintain consistent growth even through algorithm changes.

4. How do I get 1000 followers on Instagram?

Getting your first 1000 followers requires focused effort: create 15-20 high-quality posts before promotion, identify and use 20-30 niche-specific hashtags, engage daily with similar accounts, post consistently (3-5 times weekly), and utilize Instagram Stories and Reels for maximum visibility. Many creators struggle with this initial growth phase, which is why MediaBare's Revive Package was specifically designed to help accounts break through this barrier with targeted growth strategies and engagement optimization.

5. How many followers do I need to get paid on Instagram?

While 5,000 followers is generally considered the minimum threshold for monetization opportunities, engagement rate matters more than raw numbers. A highly engaged audience of 3,000 followers can generate more income than a disengaged audience of 10,000. Use your Instagram insights tool to help identify your most valuable audience segments and optimize content for these followers, so you can create higher conversion rates for monetization efforts regardless of your current follower count.

Conclusion

Turning Instagram into a money-making platform requires strategic investment in the right metrics. While organic growth is possible, our social media growth services can help you reach monetization thresholds in days instead of months.

Ready to start earning? Check out our Instagram growth services to fast-track your journey from just being a content creator to a profitable influencer.

Back

How People Actually Make Money on Instagram in 2025