Instagram and influencers go hand-in-hand.
The Meta-owned social-media platform has become a primary stage for influencers launching their careers. And they don't need millions of followers to earn money on Instagram.
One influencer made an average of $5,000 per month in 2020 through affiliate links alone.
As more brands turn to smaller creators like "nano" or "micro" influencers with under 100,000 followers, establishing a career as a creator is no longer a pipe dream.
But it's not so straightforward to start earning money on Instagram. Unlike YouTube, Instagram doesn't yet have a comparable payment system in place like YouTube's Partner Program. Typically, influencers rely on sponsored content to make a living. From posting a picture to the main feed with #ad to sharing swipe-up links in a series of Stories, sponsored content takes on many different shapes.
Rates for these types of brand deals also vary.
For instance, influencer Alexa Collins — who has over one million followers — charged upwards of $1,000 for a sponsored Story on Instagram when Insider spoke with her last year. Meanwhile, Tyler Chanel, a micro influencer, starts at $100 for an Instagram story and goes up from there, depending on the content and deliverables.
To land on these rates, some influencers rely on formulas like charging brands $100 for every 10,000 followers. But not everyone agrees on one formula.
Each deal has to also account for an influencer's following, engagement metrics, and niche, while also calculating added fees like exclusivity, usage rights, and timing.
But if influencers negotiate well, brand deals can lead to big paychecks. For instance, one influencer told Insider she had booked $700,000 in brand deals halfway into 2021.
Sponsored content, however, isn't the only income generator for these influencers — although it is generally the most lucrative.
Influencers also make money on Instagram through commissions on affiliate links, selling merchandise and DTC products, and monetization tools the platform is slowly rolling out.
One influencer made an average of $5,000 per month in 2020 through affiliate links alone.
Adding these links just got easier, too. In October, Instagram released the ability to add link stickers in Stories to all users — regardless of the follower count or verification status.
The platform also began testing native-to-Instagram affiliate marketing tools for influencers earlier this year. Instagram has slowly expanded the test to more creators and has added new features like affiliate shops.
