For many people, Instagram is just another social media platform that enables them to interact with friends and share pictures. However, a certain niche of people have discovered an innovative way of making thousands of dollars using this platform. This major discovery is known as “affiliate marketing”.

If you are an internet guru, you must have come across this lucrative business ideas as it’s among the most popular methods to earn money on the internet.

However, what most people do not know is that they can utilize this marketing strategy on Instagram.

So, how can you make money on Instagram through affiliate marketing?

The following brief article shall bring you up to speed with everything you need to know on how you can earn a living on Instagram through affiliate marketing.

But, let’s begin by understanding what affiliate marketing means.

Affiliate marketing – What is it?

This is a marketing strategy that entails signing up with a company or brand, and then promoting their products to your followers. The company then pays you for any product you sell or for each sign up made through the link you provide.Steps to earn cash on Instagram through affiliate marketing

Step 1. Choose the correct affiliate niche which suits you.

There are dozens of affiliate marketing programs available which you can sign up with. Therefore, you need to choose the correct niche for you. If you known to trend on Instagram because of fashion, then you should choose a fashion affiliate program. However, if your Instagram followers follow you because of fitness, then you should to go for the fitness affiliate program. In a nutshell, always choose a program which your audience will relate well with.

Step 2. Sign up to an affiliate marketplace

Using an affiliate marketplace is the fastest and easiest way for setting up and managing affiliate marketing. Some of picks you can sign up to include:

Amazon associates

ClickBank

MaxBounty

ShareASale

Well, those are just some of the marketplaces you can settle with. But the list doesn’t end here, you can carry a basic search on Google and sign up to a program that you like. Once, you’ve signed up with an appropriate affiliate program, it’s now time to begin promoting your goods on Instagram.

How to advertise Affiliate Products on Instagram

1. Using affiliate links

One of the huge obstacles you will face when promoting and advertising affiliate products on Instagram is missing of link opportunities. With Instagram, you are only allowed one organic link to your account, which is displayed through your Instagram Bio.Fortunately, there are several ways around this including:

*Coupons – There are some affiliate programs that offer you coupons instead of affiliate links. You can display these coupons as text overlays on your images.

*Text Overlay – You can copy the affiliate links on the images, telling your followers where they can purchase the products.

*Image descriptions – For every image you display, ensure that you make proper use of the image description. You can do this by adding your affiliate and call to action link.

As you clearly see, there are a lot of ways to circumnavigate this obstacle. Therefore, there is no reason for you not to utilize this golden opportunity to make extra bucks.

2. Using Instagram Shout-outs

Instagram shout-outs are paid promotions on popular Instagram influencers’ page. This can be a screenshot of one’s Instagram page, or a caption of his or her choice. As an affiliate marketer, you may create an image post and incorporate the product you are marketing with its affiliate
link added on the description.

You can then share this post on an influencer’s Instagram account, showcasing your affiliate link to more audience and potential customers.

Of course, there are also numerous marketplaces where you can arrange your shout-outs. They include:

*BuySellShoutouts

*PlugHype

*Shoutcart.

In addition, these marketplaces will cater for any niche and work with all budgets.

3. Using tags/hashtags

When posting photos of affiliate products, it is important
to make sure you use the relevant tags. With these tags, you are guaranteed more
engagement and likes. In addition, tagging helps you follow up on products to
find out how your audiences are responding to it.

Final Thoughts

As you have clearly seen, Instagram offers genuine
opportunities for making money online through affiliate marketing. Whatever method
you opt for, there are opportunities for everyone. Just don’t give up as the
financial rewards are worth it.