How to Make Money from Instagram in India? (2024)

Instagram has nearly 180 million users in India, and the number has grown at a steady rate in India. So naturally, many users are increasingly looking at new ways to make money from Instagram in India.

In July 2020, Instagram rolled out Reels in India after TikTok was banned in the country. Reels is now available in 50+ countries, and the platform also started placing full-screen advertisem*nts in Reels which can run up to 30 seconds.

With nearly 70-80% of all the data in the country being video, India is a data-first market. Instagram is betting on IGTV and Reels to compete with YouTube and other platforms. With YouTube launching the $100 million Shorts fund, Instagram is certainly feeling the heat.

Facebook and Instagram are planning to pay $1 billion in creator incentives. The payments will go through 2022 as the company seeks to “reward creators” for creating content on its platforms. Facebook is desperately trying to lure creators from other platforms like TikTok.

The Black Gaming Creator Program that the platform launched last year is also expected to pay a total of $10 million over the next two years as a way to lure gamers over from Twitch.

As a creator, if you have managed to grow your reach and influence on the platform, it’s about time you started monetizing your presence. Before we deep dive into how you can make money from Instagram in India, let’s address the elephant in the room.

How much can you make from Instagram?

If you have established yourself as a creator on Instagram, then there are various ways in which you can monetize your presence.

Instagram allows you to earn money with the help of IGTV Ads, Branded Content, Badges, Shopping, and Affiliate Marketing. But creators can also earn from sponsored content, fan membership, licensing the content they produce, and also by becoming a consultant.

It is difficult to determine the exact revenue that a creator makes. Still, the figures below indicate how much money some of the most popular Instagrammers make for each sponsored post.

Most micro-influencers who have 5-10k followers make an average of ₹6,531 per post. Creators with 50,000 to 80,000 followers usually charge around ₹14,843 per post and as you move higher up the ladder creators with 250,000 to 500,000 followers charge around ₹49,725 per post.

But it is important to note that the figures change based on your content’s niche, location, and nature. Also, creators earn from various sources, including ads, partnerships, fan membership; hence it is difficult to estimate the exact revenue that a creator earns.

9 Ways to Make Money from Instagram in India

1. Brand Partnerships

As a content creator, you can partner with brands to promote their products and services. Instagram has placed some restrictions on sponsored content that you will have to follow. Creators are not allowed to promote products like drugs and weapons.

The average revenue you earn from sponsored content is usually determined based on your existing follower count and engagement rate. Both the rules created by Instagram and new rules framed by ASCI mandate that you disclose paid partnerships. To understand what qualifies as sponsored or paid partnership, we recommend that you read the full list of scenarios listed by Instagram.

2. Promote Affiliate Links

Affiliate marketing allows you to earn a commission for promoting other companies’ products and services. As a content creator, you can partner with brands or affiliate marketing networks like Commission Junction to promote various products and services relevant to your audience.

You can promote affiliate links via your bio, captions, videos, and posts to your audience. Content creators can expect to earn 5-15% commission on every sale. If you are confused about which affiliate marketing programs in India will suit your channel, we have developed a comprehensive list that you can check out by visiting the link above.

Suppose you are new to affiliate marketing and are looking to learn more we also have a beginner’s guide to affiliate marketing which will be beneficial for you. Most content creators would agree that affiliate marketing is among their strongest channels to make money from Instagram in India.

3. Sponsored Content

Brands usually collaborate with Instagrammers to promote their products and services; unlike brand partnerships, such deals are more transactional in nature. As a content creator, you will be expected to promote a post or video to create awareness for the brand that you are partnering with.

Unlike brand partnerships, such deals are usually managed by marketing agencies that work with the brands. The average revenue per post again, as mentioned earlier, is determined by the number of followers and engagement rate.

4. Shopping

If you have a product that you want to sell on Instagram, the platform allows you to set up a store. This requires you to create an Instagram for business account and create a product catalog. Once you have set up your product catalog, you can promote it by making all your content shoppable. You can tag products on Instagram products on the Instagram surface. You can also organize products in different collections.

Instagram also provides rich insights on your store’s performance. Instagram Shopping is only available for managed clients in India currently. You can also promote your store with Instagram ads in case you have your own website. Shopping will continue to grow as one of the best channels to make money from Instagram in India.

5. Fan Membership & Exclusive Content

Patreon is a membership platform that allows artists and creators to earn a monthly income by providing rewards or perks to their subscribers. The easiest way to promote the Patreon link is by placing it in your Instagram bio. Additionally, the Patreon link can be also be placed in your posts and stories published on the platform.

Another effective way to promote your Patreon account is to conduct a giveaway contest. When setting rules for the contest, you can specify that the follower has to opt for the Patreon membership to be eligible for the contest.

The Patreon account can be utilized to publish long-form videos, including tutorials, step-by-step guides, and behind-the-scenes content from your channel.

6. License photographs and videos

As a content creator, you can license your photographs and videos to select brands. If a brand chooses to use your photograph or videos, they are obligated to pay you a fee to use them.

But this is clearly a very complicated domain, and the recent policy changes that Instagram has made only complicate it further. The platform’s terms clearly state that they have a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use user’s content. This means Instagram has all the rights from the original content owner – aside from it being not an exclusive license.

If you register your content under creative commons, this allows people to use your work with attribution. Under creative commons, you have different types of licenses which determine how the image can be used.

7. Consulting

As an influencer, you can share your knowledge and expertise with other content creators to help them build their audience. Brands, small businesses, and individuals looking to optimize their online presence on Instagram are always looking for Instagram Consultants.

As an Instagram Consultant, you can charge $15-$50 per hour; more experienced Instagram Consultants usually charge between $50 and $100 per hour. As the platform grows in size, there will be an increasing need for consultants as most creators are clueless about how to make money from Instagram in India.

8. IGTV Ads

IGTV has become a powerful way to connect with your audience. With IGTV ads, creators you can earn money for the content you produce. When you monetize content on Instagram, you provide brands the option to promote themselves within the videos you post.

How much you earn will be determined by the number of views your video produces, called Monetizable Plays.

You’ll get 55 percent of the ad income generated for each view that will be paid monthly. Once advertising is enabled, new monetization metrics may be found in Insights.

9. Badges

With badges in Live, your community can support you as you earn money from the content you’ve previously created. Badges are subject to the same regulations as Live.

When supporters purchase badges, you’ll notice a heart(s) next to their usernames. Additionally, you may view the total number of badges purchased and your revenue. To view your revenue in greater detail, hit “View” during your Live video. Alternatively, you may view your total badge count by visiting “Badges Settings” at any time after the event has concluded.

Fanscanpurchase multiple badges in amounts of $0.99, $1.99, and $4.99 during your Live video.

Final Thoughts

As a content creator on Instagram, you must comply with the platform content monetization policies to be eligible for monetization. If you are unaware of the rules, please take your time reading and understanding them well. Ultimately as an Instagrammer, how you can earn is purely dependent on how well you can engage your audience. The above list of services will serve as a starting point for you to make money from Instagram in India.