How to Make Money With Instagram Affiliate Marketing

11 min read

There are a lot of ways to make money online, from selling handmade crafts to content creation. One growing trend that is widely used by content creators, as well as other online brands, is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is a marketing system in which companies pay a commission to independent creators (affiliates) for promoting their products.

Typically, affiliate marketing companies provide unique URLs, called affiliate links, to each individual affiliate. Affiliates then promote those products to their audiences using their affiliate link. Companies then pay those affiliates a fee based on the amount of clicks, views, sales, or subscriptions attained through their affiliate link.

There are many different affiliate programs. Amazon has its own affiliate program that allows qualified websites to earn money by linking to Amazon product pages. But other affiliate programs are tied to specific platforms.

One such program is Instagram affiliate marketing. This guide will walk you through how to do affiliate marketing on Instagram, and the best ways to make money.

What is Instagram Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is not a new concept. However, affiliate marketing on Instagram is fairly new. Instagram first announced its affiliate marketing program in June of 2021. As of early 2023, the program is still being tweaked as the social media platform figures out the best way to create a fair and rewarding program for all users and influencers. With that said, Instagram’s affiliate marketing program is fairly robust and offers plenty of earning opportunities.

With Instagram affiliate marketing, qualified Instagram users can choose products or companies to market to their followers. As with most affiliate marketing, Instagram affiliates receive a commission based on the level of engagement their affiliate links receive.

Affiliates can track their affiliate links to learn which products are of most interest to their followers. This, in turn, allows them to highlight those products or similar ones more heavily, thereby making more money. Instagram is still adding features to perfect their affiliate marketing program. But even in its current form, it offers many unique advantages that make it a convenient and accessible way to make money on Instagram.

Affiliate Marketing on Instagram for Beginners: Getting Started

Getting started as an Instagram affiliate is relatively straightforward as long as you have an eligible Instagram account. The baseline qualifications for participating in Instagram affiliate marketing are to set up the affiliate program on your account. Additionally, Instagram affiliates must follow Instagram’s community guidelines as well as its partner monetization guidelines and content monetization policies.

Once your account is eligible to become an Instagram affiliate, there are a few more steps to start making money.

Signing up

Signing up to become an Instagram affiliate is fairly straightforward. First, you will need to go through the eligibility procedures mentioned above. Once you are certain your account is eligible, signing up is easy. Simply go to Instagram’s professional dashboard and select “Set up affiliate”. From there, you will be walked through the process of becoming an affiliate. This process will also provide you with tutorials on how to promote items, and how and when to receive payments.

Finding products

As with many business decisions, the first step involves identifying your products or services. Instagram affiliates are not responsible for the production or order fulfillments of the products they promote. However, it is still crucial for affiliates to identify marketing opportunities that will appeal to their audience.

Affiliate marketers’ earnings are based on how much their followers interact with their affiliate links. Often, earnings are determined by sales or subscriptions earned through those links. The ideal situation for everyone involved is for affiliates to choose products for which they can generate a high volume of attention. This means products that are relevant to your niche or which might be useful to your followers.

Instagram streamlines this process by allowing affiliates to search their own on-site store for affiliate products. Users can save and tag products which they are interested in marketing on their profiles once they have signed up.

Affiliate marketing content

Once your account is set up as an affiliate and you have chosen your products, it’s time to create content. Amazon has its own content monetization policies which everyone should read before becoming an affiliate. In addition, the social media website also provides helpful guidelines to their affiliates to help their earnings.

Two of the most important guidelines Instagram offers are to be authentic and transparent. Transparency is actually built into Instagram’s affiliate marketing program. Any affiliate marketing content you post will be labeled as such. When affiliates post marketing content, the post is accompanied by a label which reads “Eligible for commission.” This is in line with Instagram’s monetization policies which require users to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or brand.

Authenticity is also critical for marketing content because it protects the trust of your followers. If you are in a position to make money as an affiliate, it is likely because your account has a following which has grown to trust and appreciate your content. A lack of authenticity can cause followers to lose interest or tune out your promotional content. Likewise, maintaining authenticity generates excitement, meaning more clicks for your affiliate links.

Affiliates can post affiliate content as often as they prefer to earn as much as they can. Posting too much can cause problems, as few Instagram users want to be sold to at all times. However, maintaining a consistent schedule for affiliate posts is best in order to keep audiences informed and engaged.

Benefits of Affiliate Marketing for Instagram Influencers

That is how Instagram affiliate marketing works. But is it worth it? If you are looking for ways to monetize your Instagram account, the answer is yes. Affiliate marketing on Instagram is a built-in program that allows influencers to earn more money on the platform. It is designed to be convenient and beneficial to Instagram users. Here are some of the biggest perks of affiliate marketing for Instagram influencers.

Earn income with minimal work

Researching products to sell requires a bit of time investment. After that, the only work required to make money with affiliate marketing is creating content. If you have chosen products or brands you believe in, this part should be easy. Simply explain to your followers why you believe in the product, and why you think they should check it out. Then you can sit back and wait for your commission to kick in.

Discover new opportunities

Having success as an affiliate marketer on Instagram can open new doors for you and your account. You might discover new brands that are of interest to you personally. You can also discover new product ideas, or grow larger partnerships out of your affiliate marketing opportunities. Instagram affiliate marketing is beneficial in its own right. But it can also be used as a stepping stone to larger business opportunities down the road.

Grow your following

As is often the case on social media, if you have success with affiliate marketing, you can grow your brand even further. Promoting products that are of interest to members of your community will attract more attention and increase engagement. This will be good for you and your page, and can help you gain more followers.

Benefits for affiliate marketing companies

Instagram affiliate marketing is not a one-way street. It also has tremendous benefits for the affiliate marketing companies whose products are advertised. Most notably, Instagram affiliate marketing offers tremendous return on investment for companies. Unlike other forms of marketing, the companies themselves do not need to create promotional content. While they may provide promotional content guidelines, the content creation is left to the affiliates.

With the right affiliates, Instagram affiliate marketing can also be the best way to reach wider audiences for some companies. Influencers with a large following and a relevant niche can generate hundreds or thousands of sales each month. As is the case for affiliates, this can also open the door for larger partnerships down the road.

Learn More About How to Earn Money Online

Affiliate marketing is one of many ways to make money on Instagram. Ecommerce entrepreneurs can earn money, both directly and indirectly, through most social media platforms. If you have an idea for an online business, getting started with Ecwid can help you turn that idea into a successful operation. You can get started with Ecwid for free today to learn more.

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Jan 10, 2023

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.