How To Make Money As An Instagram Influencer

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How much money Instagram influencers make

Updated

2021-11-08T18:59:43Z

An influencer stands in front of balloons celebrating 275,000 Instagram followers. — Influencer JaLisa Vaughn-Jefferson has more than 275,000 followers today and makes most of her income from brand deals.

Influencers on Instagram earn money in a multitude of ways.
From sponsored content to getting tips on IG Live, creators balance several streams of income.
We spoke with more than a dozen creators who shared how much money they earn.
See more stories on Insider's business page.

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.

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.

Insider has spoken with more than a dozen Instagram influencers about how much money they charge brands for sponsored content and how else they make a living using the app.

Here's a comprehensive breakdown of Insider's Instagram money log series:

How much money Instagram influencers make from brand deals

Working with brands on sponsored content is how many influencers earn an income on Instagram.

But how much money do influencers actually charge for these deals?

18 Instagram influencers told us how much they made from sponsored content. Here's a full breakdown of our coverage:

"Macro" and "Mega" influencers

Alexa Collins, a lifestyle influencer with 1.2 million followers
JaLisa Vaughn-Jefferson, a lifestyle influencer with 275,000 followers
Katy Bellotte, a lifestyle influencer with 176,000 followers
Macy Mariano, a travel and fashion influencer with 102,000 followers
Jade Darmawangsa, a YouTube creator (382,000 subscribers) with 52,000 Instagram followers
Symphony Clarke, a TikTok creator (200,000 followers) with 26,000 Instagram followers

Micro influencers

Jehava Brown, a travel and lifestyle influencer with 70,000 followers
Nick Cutsumpas, a plant influencer with 63,700 followers
Ashley Jones, a fashion and lifestyle influencer with 45,000 followers
Emma Cortes, a lifestyle influencer and podcast host with 38,000 followers
Britney Turner, a lifestyle influencer with 27,000 followers
Caitlin Patton, a lifestyle influencer with 22,000 followers
Gigi Kovach, a part-time lifestyle blogger and mom of two with 13,500 followers
Tyler Chanel, a sustainability influencer with 12,000 followers

Nano influencers

Khadijah Lacey-Taylor, a fashion and lifestyle influencer with 9,800 followers
Laur DeMartino, a nano influencer and full-time college student with 5,200 Instagram followers
Jen Lauren, a part-time lifestyle influencer with 2,900 followers
Amber Broder, a part-time skincare influencer and full-time college student with 2,300 followers

How Instagram influencers earn money beyond brand deals

From earning a small commission through affiliate links to getting tipped by followers on an Instagram Live, there's a menu of supplementary sources of income for creators on Instagram.

How much money do influencers make by promoting links or selling their own products?

Affiliate marketing

Influencers use platforms like LiketoKnow.it and ShopStyle to generate affiliate links, or discount codes provided by brands, to earn a percentage of sales.

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.

Read more:

Vi Lai, a skincare influencer, uses Instagram and TikTok to make thousands of dollars per month using affiliate marketing
Leaked commission rates for 32 brands in Instagram's affiliate test reveal how much they're paying influencers
Instagram influencers reveal what the platform's exclusive affiliate marketing beta test is like — and how much they're earning

Getting paid by Instagram

Instagram has announced several monetization features for creators — including its own affiliate-marketing tools. The platform's suite of money-making tools includes ad-revenue shares for ads played on IGTV (which recently rebranded to "Instagram Video") and an incentive program called "Bonuses" that pays creators for using features like Live or Reels.

Facebook, now called Meta, announced in July that it would invest over $1 billion through 2022 into rewarding its creators.

Creators can also make money on Instagram through "Badges" (a tipping feature) and selling their own merchandise or products in-app.

Read more:

Influencers reveal the different 'bonus' payments Instagram is offering, with some stretching up to $35,000
Instagram is building a suite of money-making tools for creators. Here are 9 features it's testing or has begun to roll out.
Ronne Brown, an entrepreneur and content creator with over 200,000 followers, earns money through Instagram Badges

Selling direct-to-consumer products and merch

Influencers can sell their own products and merchandise directly through Instagram's shopping features, or leverage their audience to promote their own brands and DTC products.

Some influencers, like Huda Kattan, go on to found brands that are worth millions — or even billions — of dollars.

Read more:

A micro influencer self-published a book and used Instagram to drive sales
An Instagram star who has sold $35 million of her own products explains how she built her fashion line and turned followers into customers
The most valuable brands started by influencers, including some worth over $1 billion