Photo: Color Joy Stock — **Photo:** Color Joy Stock

How do people actually make money on Instagram?

It’s a question you’ve probably asked yourself as you scroll through your feed. The bad news is that there is no one way, the good news is that there are so many options and you don’t have to be a model or celebrity to make it work. You may think that making money on Instagram is reserved for the rich and famous, the Kardashians of the world, or those fashion bloggers who get millions in commission each year, but there is space for you too!

I wanted to have a side hustle beyond real estate, I wanted to bring in extra income and feel more in control of my finances. I built a large Instagram following by that time teaching women about personal finance and real estate. People asked me all the time how I monetized my Instagram, so I launched a product to teach people just that.

There are many factors to consider when you want to make money via Instagram. However, there are a few things you can focus on to get yourself in the right place to start creating revenue from your account and allow your audience and engagement to grow. Here’s how I did it—and how you can too.

1. Remember, First Impressions Are Everything

You may think that your images and content are what get people’s attention (which has some truth to it), but the true first impression is your bio and profile picture. When you are putting your bio together, make it concise and have a clear call-to-action pointing to your website. When anyone visits your page it should be crystal clear who you are and what you do. Make sure your link goes directly to your sales page so it’s beyond easy for your audience to make the decision to buy what you offer. Additionally, after your bio description is squared away, make sure you have a professional photo or a high-quality logo as your profile picture.

2. Bring Value

Your content is everything! If you aren’t giving thought to what you post about or share on your stories, you aren’t doing your audience or yourself any favors. But what is valuable is content that not only provides information to your niche but also is entertaining, educational, or brand-oriented. Find what resonates with your audience and showcase your expertise in order to brand yourself as an expert. If you need help coming up with content, study the popular pages of your niche. Take note of what goes viral and upcoming trends and use it for inspiration, but make sure it’s true to you. The last thing you want is for your content to be a carbon copy of someone else’s.

3. Focus on Client Conversion

Your audience is just an audience at the end of the day. While the number of followers you have is important, your biggest priority should be turning your followers into paying clients or customers. But how? It’s about the choices you make when it comes to your content. This content should provide details of what you're selling, social proof, and testimonials in order to build trust with your audience. When your following sees real people having real results from something you offer, that creates trust. Your following needs to know the details of your product or service and you need the reviews to back up your claims. It’s all about credibility and trust when it comes to Instagram.

4. Be Careful When It Comes to Partnerships

Not all brand partnerships are a good fit. You may get caught up with the dollar signs, but a partnership that isn’t aligned with your brand can impact your reputation and can cause followers to lose trust in you. You can never make everyone happy, but if you do decide to take on brand partnerships, particularly paid ones #ad, make sure you carefully consider the pros and cons of that specific company and the timing.

Any person or company that tells you that you can pay your way to a lucrative Instagram presence is scamming you. I made $100k in 90 days on Instagram with only one product. That’s not typical, but it also wasn’t handed to me. I found a hole, I created a solution, and people came running. That’s what it takes to monetize your Instagram, instead of thinking of it as the answer to your problems consider it as a tool to let people know how capable you are and why they need your service or product.

I’m not special, I didn’t do anything miraculous. I just showed up and shared my story and my expertise and people started following along. If you are passionate about learning more about personal finance and taking control of your financial story, I’d love for you to follow along.

Ariel Adams.jpg — “While the number of followers you have is important, your biggest priority should be turning your followers into paying clients or customers.”

—Ariel Adams, Digital Selling Expert

About the Expert: Entrepreneur Ariel Adams is a dynamic 26-year-old social media expert and realtor who uses her online presence to encourage financial literacy. Known as “The Money Realtor,” this Virginia-based businesswoman launched several online courses and e-books that focus on helping budding entrepreneurs monetize their Instagram. It only took her 90 days to generate over $100,000 in sales through social media alone.