How do poets make money on Instagram?
Have you ever wondered how some of the most prominent poetry pages on Instagram make money?
Poets on Instagram make money through paid posts by brands, affiliate income, selling their own virtual or physical products like books or services such as copyrighting, mentoring, dropshipping and more. Instagram poets can also enjoy the benefit of additional higher-paying corporate and event appearances due to their online notoriety.
We will explore how Instapoets like @rupikaur, @poets, @atticusxo and @rmdrk have monetized their social media pages and towards the end of the article, we will discuss how you can adopt some of these strategies and make money too.
Table of Contents
Sponsored posts
Sponsored posts have become extremely popular these days. A few years ago, corporate brands figured out that people are more likely to buy their product if endorsed by a public figure they follow and love rather than a random advertisement on television or radio. For that reason, it is cheaper for advertisers to pay influencers to promote their products than the traditional TV route.
Furthermore, Influencers tend to be niche-specific like sports, beauty, travel or literature. Therefore, advertisers can expect a higher return on investment because they simply focus on the influencers that speak to their target demographic. Poetry falls under the Literature and lifestyle niche, so publishers, event companies, lifestyle and productivity brands turn to Instapoetry pages to promote their products and services.
According to Shopify, on average, influencers earn around $88 per post if they have less than 10 000 followers, $200 if they have between 10 000 and 100 000 followers and $670 if they have over 1000 000 followers. Of Course, these numbers depend on the industry, the exact number of followers, the followers’ location, and the Instagram account’s engagement.
Affiliate income
When a poetry page you follow endorses or promotes a product on their Instagram feed or story and informs you “swipe up to shop” or ‘link in bio’, we refer to this as Affiliate marketing in many cases. Affiliates earn a small commission on selling a product between 2.5 to 25% depending on the product.
For example, Amazon Affiliates can expect to earn 8% on book sales which are very popular amongst poets. However, Amazon is not the only affiliate program available. Awin, Rakuten Advertising and Clickbank all offer competitive deals for influencers to explore.
Companies such as Coursera, which provide online learning solutions, also look to Instagram influencers in the education and literature niche, particularly writers and poets, to promote their products. Once frowned upon, Affiliate links are now a respectable way to make a living, especially if the influencer exercises full disclosure. According to a McCarthy group study, 84% of millennials do not like advertising and prefer affiliate marketing, as the practice thrives on communication and trust.
Sell virtual products.
Some Instagram poets make a living by selling tickets to virtual shows using Eventtia, Hubb and InEvent. These online events include meet-and-greets, poetry readings, open mics or online slams. They tend to have a low ticket price like $1 or $5, but depending on the influencer’s following, some prominent artists can charge as high as $30 for these virtual meet-ups with high turn-outs.
Many instapoets publish their first chapbooks in e-book format to sell them on the Amazon Kindle Store. An E-book is the easiest route because it requires few resources to produce. Other virtual products include albums, artwork, coaching, tutorials, voice-overs, short films and documentaries.
Sell physical products
Many Instagram poets and writers prefer to start with the virtual products mentioned above because downloadable products are generally easier to produce and manage. However, the internet boom has made mass production and worldwide distribution of physical goods easier.
Books are the number one commodities preferred by poets. Twenty years ago, self-publishing was almost impossible. Now it’s as easy as searching for a reputable printing house in China, emailing your manuscript in pdf format. Upon entering your credit card details, your books will arrive at your doorstep in a matter of weeks!
Poet Rupi Kaur has over 4.1 Million followers on Instagram and is currently promoting her third collection of love poems- Home Body. The book is now selling on Amazon for $11 and is already a #1 New York Times best-selling list! According to an article by Forbes, Her 2014 book, “Milk and Honey,” has sold over 2.5 million copies in 25 languages!
In addition to books, poets can also make their merchandise available to their followers via their online stores. Branded t-shirts, mugs, caps, and hats are items that loyal fans are always dying to get their hands on and make for welcome gifts during various seasons.
Dropshipping products.
Some Artists do not produce the products that they sell. They simply attach their name to an existing product. They do not need to keep stock of the product, nor do they handle the shipping logistics. This practice is called Dropshipping.
The artist simply attaches its brand to the product and sells it on their social media, and the company above will do the rest. Dropshipping is a low-cost approach to monetising ones following as there are minimal setup costs involved.
Frequently asked questions about monetising on Instagram.
Is it too late to get started on Instagram?
If you are thinking about taking Instagram seriously as a business, it’s not too late to join the platform. Studies show that Instagram is still booming and it is quickly catching up to Facebook in terms of Active monthly users having surpassed 1billion monthly active users, according to Orbelo.
Some reluctant advertisers are beginning to notice the value Instagram can bring to their brand, and some prefer testing the waters with smaller brands, so now is a great time to put yourself out there.
How many Instagram followers do I need to start earning money?
You can start making money on your Instagram account right now even if you have 100 followers through selling your product, affiliate marketing and drop shipping. If you want to be an influencer, the first significant milestone you will need to crossover is 5000 followers.
Where can I find Instagram Influencer programs?
With 5000 followers you will be eligible to list your account on the grapevine marketplace. You can also sign up on platforms such as Fohr which helps influencers connect with advertisers.
If you have between 5000 and 10 000 followers, check out Grape Vine Village. Once you have crossed over the 10 000, you can look at other platforms like Upfluence and BuzzSumo.
Where can I find Instagram affiliate partners?
Coursera, Amazon Affiliate Program and Audible all offer competitive influencer programs that you can promote on your Instagram and other social media websites.
The key with Instagram is consistency. Remember to post engaging content as frequently as possible, engage with your followers, use the relevant hashtags, and you will start to see growth.
I wish you all the best with your social media aspirations.
If you enjoyed this article, you will love this article checkout The top 25 Instagram accounts here. Be sure to join our Facebook group, Youtube or Instagram for more engaging poetry conversation. Here’s a list of 56 poetry quotes to share on social media or if you need a jump start, I have also compiled 52 poetry prompts to get you writing again.
