How Much Does Instagram Pay for 1 Million Followers?

Instagram has 2.3 billion active users who sign into their accounts every month. Gender is split almost evenly, with 50.6% being male and 49.4% being female. Marketers and businesses understand the value of the platform.

If you have 1 million followers, there is so much potential for:

And for you, companies will be more than happy to pay for a sponsored post. You can also sidestep the third-party (businesses) and opt to generate income using other revenue streams.

We’re going to answer all of your questions about how much people get paid on Instagram and explore additional streams of income that you can create with 1 million followers – or less.

Does Instagram Pay You Directly – Like YouTube?

YouTube is known for helping creators make heaps of money, and it’s one of the world’s top platforms because creators have an incentive to make content. And while TikTik does offer monetization, Instagram is a bit different.

You do not get paid for followers on Instagram.

Instagram doesn’t pay you for:

But you can monetize through the platform’s subscription option. Creators can sign up to offer subscribers, and then you’ll create unique content for those subscribers.

Your content is what’s enticing people to pay for your exclusive content every month.

Influencers benefit from:

But you will want to use features specific for these subscribers, such as Subscriber:

Offering subscriptions is the only way for creators to make money from Instagram without using other income streams, but it’s not Instagram actually paying you – it’s your followers paying monthly.

If you’re over 18 and in one of the eligible countries, you can certainly apply for Instagram Subscriptions because you only need 10,000 followers.

And if you have just 1% of your followers paying $5 per month, that’s $50,000 in income from subscriptions. You can even make a ton of money with a much lower percentage of followers.

You can also get paid via Live badges.

It takes a lot of confidence to go on Live and begin talking to your audience directly. If you turn on badges and meet the requirements, you can earn:

Viewers can purchase multiple badges if they wish, and you’ll be paid for the purchase. It’s a great way for people to support you going Live, but you’ll want to be sure that you recognize these purchasers.

Give the people who purchase badges a shoutout and say “thank you” to them.

But how much can you expect to make? Let’s find out.

How Much Money Can You Make on Instagram With 1 Million Followers?

Mega influencers – like those with 1+ million followers – can generate some serious income on Instagram.  A survey from HypeAuditor found that mega influencers earned about $15,356 per month. 

Other sources say that mega influencers can charge $10K-$15K for a sponsored post.

If you take a look at influencer marketing hubs like Collabstr, you can also get an idea of how much influencers with 1 million followers make. For example:

When you have a following this large, you can also make money through other avenues, like Instagram Subscriptions, affiliate marketing and selling your own products.

Who Demands the Most Money on Instagram Per Post?

Some mega influencers are making insane amounts of money on Instagram. Who demands the most money?

Here’s a look at what celebs with 1+ million followers are getting paid:

These mega influencers can command these figures because they have such huge audiences and more importantly, they have the attention of their followers. When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shares a post about VOSS water, people listen – and they buy that product.

How Do You Get Paid on Instagram?

You know how to make money on Instagram, but you don’t want to rely on one source of income. What do you do? You have a lot of options to generate income on social media, and it’s crucial to understand a few things:

Some of your followers don’t want to subscribe to your Instagram for exclusive content. Honestly, they may not see the value in the subscription, but they will buy a digital product from you because they know exactly what to expect from their purchase.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliates are everywhere, and chances are, some of your favorite creators are affiliates, too. What is this concept of affiliate marketing? Well, think of it like this:

How do they do this? Often, you’ll sign up for an affiliate network, which may have hundreds or thousands of brands willing to pay you for selling products or even sign-ups for your newsletter.

You might be able to direct the person straight to the offer, or you can use your website as the main attraction. Essentially, you would do something like this:

For each purchase that’s made, you’ll make a certain commission. Amazon has an affiliate program that you can use – and anything the person buys – you make a commission. You might link to a camera and if the person buys cat food, you’ll still earn income.

You can search for affiliate networks on Google and find a bunch you can join.

Affiliate networks have their own requirements that you’ll need to meet, and you’ll need to provide a lot of personal information before being approved. And since they negotiate their own deals with advertisers, you may find one network has 20 companies you can promote, and another might not have any in your niche.

If you know a company that you would like to promote, you can reach out to them and ask if they have an affiliate program.

2. Sell Digital or Services or Physical Products

Affiliate marketing gives you a percentage of the sale price, but you can also sell your own products or services. You can also partner with others to sell products. Let’s use the fitness niche as an example again, you may opt to sell:

If you sell these digital plans, you’ll be able to sell directly to the follower and only pay a small transaction fee – which is normal.

Digital products are great because you make them once and can keep selling them time and time again. You can also sell physical products, which is almost like commission. If you see someone selling merchandise, chances are, they do not have a warehouse filled with items to sell.

Some might, but not everyone.

You can sign up for a platform to help with offering merch, such as:

What happens is that you receive the order, and these companies will fulfill it for you. If they demand a $20 fee, you can charge $35 and earn the difference.

Another popular digital product to sell is courses.

People love to improve themselves and work on themselves. You can offer a course on training, photography, knitting – whatever it is that you excel in. And if you put it on a platform that will host it, you’ll pay a fee, but they’ll handle:

You can sell courses or coaching on platforms like Teachable and UDEMY, or dozens of others. Education is one of the best products to sell because people are always interested in these types of products.

3. Partnerships

Brand partnerships can be very profitable for Instagram influencers, especially when the brand’s products align perfectly with your audience and niche.

For example, if you’re a beauty influencer, you might partner with a cosmetics brand and create multiple videos where you:

Because you have such a large and engaged audience, there’s a good chance that you’ll help the brand increase their sales and build awareness. 

Often, brand partnerships extend over a long period of time, ranging from 4-6 months to over a year.

If you’re considering partnerships, it’s crucial to make sure that you’re working with the right companies. Choose brands that will appeal to your audience. 

Make sure that you also:

Building up a track record of success will help you attract more brands and command higher pay because you can demonstrate that your content gets results.

4. Sponsored Posts

One of the top ways Instagrammers get paid is through sponsored posts. These are posts that brands pay influencers to create and publish. They typically include mentions of a product and brand. Essentially, it’s a form of an advertisement.

Sponsored posts can be really lucrative for Instagram influencers with 1 million followers because they have such a large audience. 

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to make money on Instagram with 1 million followers.

Your level of influence will obviously play a factor in how much you get paid with 1 million followers. But it’s not the only factor.

4 Factors That Will Impact Your Pay on Instagram

One Instagrammer with 1 million followers may earn more than another one with the same number of followers. Why? Because your follower count is just one piece of the earnings puzzle.

Here are some other factors that will affect your pay:

1. Engagement Rate

What’s one metric that will have a huge influence on how much you earn on Instagram? Your engagement rate.

Brands want to partner with influencers who really do influence their audiences and grab their attention. And they’re willing to pay more to partner with people who have higher engagement rates.

If your audience likes, comments and shares your content often, you likely have a higher engagement rate that can help you command more money in sponsorships and partnerships.

2. Niche and Audience

Engagement rate is one of the biggest influencing factors, but niche is almost as influential. Some niches just have a higher level of demand for influencer marketing, like fashion, fitness and beauty. 

Your audience will also be important. The demographics of your audience, their purchasing power and their interests will also influence how much you earn on Instagram. Brands will seek out influencers with audiences that align with their own. 

3. Location

Your geographical location will also influence your earnings as an Instagram influencer. If you’re in a region with a higher cost of living and a stronger economy, there’s a good chance that you’ll get paid more.

4. Content Quality and Consistency

Naturally, the quality of your content will influence how much you get paid, but brands are also concerned about consistency. They want to work with influencers who are serious about what they do and post consistently.

Professional-quality content will attract higher offers, so it’s worth investing in higher quality gear. 

Creating a schedule and posting regularly will also help ensure that you’re consistent and engaging with your audience regularly.

Conclusion

Instagrammers with 1 million followers can easily make $15K per month through sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, product sales and other income streams. To maximize your earnings at the mega-influencer level, you need to diversify your revenue streams and focus on creating quality content consistently. Being in the right niche with the right audience will also help you command more money as an influencer.