Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. And in this case, yes, Instagram models do actually make money. How much they make is an entirely different conversation. Once models are able to get Instagram followers – especially ones that engage – it’s easier to partner with brands and businesses to do paid promotions.
What Types of Instagram Post Make Money?
Unless you’re a celebrity whose daily life is fodder for the public, you’re going to have to do a bit more than posting “ordinary” photos of yourself. But in terms of guaranteed money-making post, there isn’t a “one size fits all” type of post you can imitate and BOOM! instafamous. You have to work with your niche and audience.
But just because Instagram is a visual app doesn’t mean photos are the only way to generate revenue. Clever hashtags, captions and mini-videos are also brilliant ways to promote content. Note that you don’t have to wait for the brands to reach out to you, you can reach out to those you want to work with once you get Instagram followers of a certain caliber and number. Full disclosure, actually getting accepted by a brand you apply to is hard because the competition is very fierce. Your best bet is to boost your Instagram followers and hope the companies come to you.
Sometimes the best advertisement is free, so if your favorite brand doesn’t respond to your request for sponsorship, check if they have an unpaid ambassadorship, and apply for that. Competition’s still fierce for that, but your chances of getting accepted are much higher.
How Much do Instagram Models Make?
There’s honestly no fixed figure. Sponsorships are calculated using different rates, depending on how famous a person is and how engaged their followers are. Some brands pay $10 per 1000 followers, while others use a different matrix – calculating how many likes a typical post generates, and if viewers actually respond to prompts. After celebrities, influencers are the next best paid models, because their users engage with them.
Bottom line, if you want to earn big bucks on Instagram, you need to get Instagram followers that engage with your posts, meaning follower count would be meaningless if they’re not responding.
To calculate your user engagement, add the likes and comments on a specific number of posts, then divide that figure by the number of posts, divided by your total followers, them multiply that by 100. Say, all the likes and comments on your last 10 posts were 25000, and you have 2000 followers. Your engagement rate would be 15,000 divided by 10 = 1,500. 1,500 divided by 2,000 = 0.75 (multiply by 100 = 75%). There are tons of online tools to calculate user engagement in case this seems like too much arithmetic. And by the way, 2-3% engagement rate is considered average, while 4-6% is very high. Anything that surpasses 10% is viral.
With more and more people relying on social media reviews to buy products, it’s no wonder Instagram models make tons of money. So, find your niche – be as specific as you can, get Instagram followers who engage, and let the sponsorships come to you.