Creating a faceless Instagram account is one of the best ways to make money online. 

But here’s what SO many people get wrong…

They think that more followers means more money. 

So they pick a niche with plenty of people, create viral content, and even grow to thousands of followers. 

But when it comes time to monetize…

*crickets…

They can’t make a single penny from their account. 

That’s why, before you even pick a niche, it’s so important to make sure you can monetize it. 

Today, I’ve compiled the top 6 best faceless Instagram niches that are easy to make money from. 

These niches not only get a ton of views and followers, but they also have very high potential for brand partnerships, courses, and other monetization methods. 

The 6 Best Faceless Instagram Niches for Making Money

#1: Personal Finance and Investing

• Why it pays: affiliate commissions of $100 – $500+ per referral, very high brand deal rates per post
  
• Faceless execution: screen recordings, AI voiceover explainers, chart graphics, quote carousels

Personal finance is easily one of the highest-earning niches today, with lots of opportunities for affiliate partnerships and brand deals. 

With so many financial products on the market (like investment platforms, credit cards, insurance policies, savings apps, cryptocurrency exchanges, etc.), the competition between companies is intense. 

That’s why if they can sponsor an up-and-coming Instagram account with a loyal following, they will. While they’re at it, they might even pay you more not to advertise their competitors. 

But the real question is…how do you get into it? 

The secret is to choose a sub-niche in the finance world. Think “Investing for Beginners,” “Cryptocurrency News and Picks,” or even “Retirement Planning.” 

Once you have that niche, start sharing financial concepts in an easy and bingeable way, and you should get followers. 

You can use AI-generated graphs and charts, screen recordings, or stock footage to explain these without showing your face. 

#2: Online Business

• Why it pays: software affiliate programs, course sales, consulting upsells (audience is actively buying)
  
• Faceless execution: tool demo screen captures, AI-generated visuals, tutorial carousels

According to Business Insider, 35% of full-time workers are considering starting a side hustle. 

If you come in and show people how actually to start an online business in 2026, they’ll flock to you. 

There are a ton of tools you can build affiliate or brand partnerships with (such as website builders, marketing tools, editing software, etc.). 

You can also create and sell a course. Or, get into coaching, and charge people for group or 1-on-1 sessions with you. 

As for faceless content, you can showcase the tools you use by using screen recordings, use AI-generated visuals with voiceovers talking about the business, or use carousels to show in-depth tutorials. 

#3: Fitness and Health

• Why it pays: supplement affiliates, workout programs, coaching (proven affiliate ecosystem)
  
• Faceless execution: AI workout demos (or hands and equipment only), transformation graphics, nutrition tip carousels

Everyone knows fitness is huge on social media. 

You can hardly scroll around the explore page without seeing someone advertising some kind of supplement (these pay a LOT), or someone selling a coaching program. 

The real question is…how do you do it as a faceless influencer?

The good news is that AI tools have become so advanced that you can generate hyper-realistic videos showing your workouts. 

You can become a fitness influencer just by creating workouts and using AI avatars to demonstrate the movements.

From there, you can partner with fitness brands or develop a coaching program to monetize. 

#4: Mental Health and Self-Development

• Why it pays: wellness brand partnerships, e-books, community memberships, therapy app affiliates
  
• Faceless execution: quote cards, journaling prompt carousels, ambient video loops, anonymous advice boards

Mental health and self-development have become massive industries in the past couple of years. 

And scrolling through Instagram, you’ll find plenty of creators giving advice, tips, and stories for these (of course, with links to wellness products, e-books, membership programs, therapy apps, and other digital products…that’s how they make money.)

Now, you might think that showing your face is necessary for this niche because you need to be relatable. But that’s not true at all. 

Some of the most viral reels in these categories are simple clips with an inspirational text on top. Those go mega viral because they’re so easy for people to share. 

But don’t just do that. That helps with growth, but doesn’t usually lead to sales. 

Instead, also add carousels and AI-generated videos giving in-depth and actionable advice (because that’s what gets people to sign up for your programs). 

#5: Gadgets and Tech

• Why it pays: affiliate commissions, brand sponsorships, and high buyer intent (people are already looking to purchase, so conversion rates are strong and consistent)

• Faceless execution: hands-only product demos, unboxings, b-roll footage, and voiceover reviews.

Not all faceless niches are AI-generated. Showing your hands only is a nice way to build trust with your audience without ever showing your face in your reels. 

Just show your hands unboxing a product, trying it out, showcasing its features, B-roll, and add some voiceover (you can use AI for this). 

Plus, for a niche like gadgets and tech, people only care about the product (not what you look like). 

Tech is also a super high-paying niche. 

With new products, models, and gadgets coming out every single month, companies are always looking for influencers to review and recommend their products. 

People into tech are also very eager to buy new items. This makes it super easy to sell on Instagram. 

#6: Pet Content

• Why it pays: high engagement rates, passionate buyer audience, pet product affiliate programs, brand partnerships
  
• Faceless execution: pet-focused video (owner never on screen), product unboxings, care tip carousels

If you have pets, getting them on Instagram is a very fast and easy way to grow a faceless account (and eventually monetize). 

People LOVE seeing cute pets on the platform. And pet owners are some of the most passionate buying audiences on Instagram. 

That’s why if you can partner up with pet brands (through sponsorships, brand deals, or affiliate marketing), you can earn quite a lot of money. 

The crazy thing is…you don’t even need to have your own pets to create a pet account. 

With the power of AI, you can generate a hyper-realistic AI pet that almost no one will be able to tell isn’t real. 

The best part is…you don’t have to worry about training the pet, or trying to get them to do something for the camera. Just prompt your AI, and you can create viral, cute, funny, and interesting moments with your pet. 

How to Pick a Niche That Pays

There are plenty of other niches that pay faceless creators well. 

If you don’t fancy any of the six niches above, then ask these questions before choosing a niche.

Does the niche have buyers (not just viewers)? 

The reason why niches like online business or gadgets and tech are so easy to monetize is that they have flocks of people ready to buy. 

So before choosing a niche, take a look at what the buying scene is like. 

You’ll find that niches like memes, gaming, or fun informational content can be very difficult to monetize. People follow accounts like these because they’re entertaining; they don’t necessarily want to know more. 

That’s why if accounts in these niches suddenly start pushing a product, most people will ignore it, while others might unfollow because it’s not fun anymore. 

Niches like cooking are somewhere in the middle. Yes, people buy kitchen equipment, but most people buy one product and use it until it breaks. This is unlike tech, where everyone always wants the latest releases. 

Are there other creators making money in the niche?

A little competitor research goes a long way. 

Before deciding on a niche, check other creators in that niche and how they monetize their accounts. If you can’t find creators who monetize, you may want to reconsider the niche. 

Also, check how they’re making money. 

Are they doing sponsorships? Brand deals? Affiliate marketing? Or are they creating their own products, doing coaching, and selling courses? 

Because if you want a more “hands-off” business, then you may want to go for niches that have plenty of brand deal opportunities (rather than having to make your own product). 

Can you build trust without showing your face?

For niches like lifestyle or makeup, showing your face plays a huge part in building trust. 

But if you’re there to educate your audience, you can get away without a face. As long as you’re giving them valuable information, they won’t care that they don’t know what you look like. 

This isn’t necessary, but it helps to find other accounts in your preferred niche with little to no face. 

Study how these people go viral and build trust without showing their faces. Take notes because building trust is one of the biggest challenges of faceless Instagram accounts. 

How to Start a Faceless Instagram Account From Scratch

Picking a niche is step one of creating a faceless Instagram account. 

Once that’s done, here’s what you’ll want to do next: 

• Step 2: Set up a Professional Account – Choose a handle that clearly reflects your niche, create a clean and professional logo, and write a bio that explains who your content is for and what value you provide. Pin posts that introduce your account and showcase your best content.

• Step 3: Choose 2-3 Content Pillars – Content pillars are specific themes your posts revolve around, and they make it much easier to stay consistent without running out of ideas. Choose 2-3 core topics, which will not only simplify content creation but also make your account more recognizable and easier to follow.

• Step 4: Make Great Faceless Content – Without a face to rely on, your content needs to capture attention through visuals, pacing, and structure. Focus on strong visual hooks, fast cuts, and engaging text on screen to keep viewers watching. 

• Step 5: Use Keywords – Hashtags are dead. To get your content discovered nowadays, you need to use keywords that clearly tell Instagram what your posts are about. This helps the algorithm categorize your content and show it to the right audience. 

I go more in-depth into these steps (and more) in my full How to Create a Faceless Instagram Account, so go and check that out. 

The Fastest Way to Build a Faceless Instagram Account

Creating a successful faceless Instagram account takes lots of time and effort. 

But if you want to speed things up and get up and running as fast as possible, I have just the solution for you. 

We built an AI generator tool that not only helps you create realistic visuals for your content, but it can also help you with planning, finding content ideas, scripting, and even editing your reels (just add your video, and the AI will edit it for you). 

It also helps with niche research, finding competitors, and everything that you need to do to start and grow an account. 

If you want instant access, then check it out here. 

There’s an overwhelming amount of new AI tools today, all claiming they “revolutionize” content creation. 

But the reality is not all of these tools are useful for content creators, and only a handful of them are worth their hefty price tag. 

So let’s cut through the noise and show you the best AI tools for Instagram reels that you’ll actually use. 

And these will all be organized into categories like scripting, visuals, and editing, so you can see which part of your reel creation they help with the most. 

But first, a snapshot…

Tldr: My Favorite Tools for Instagram Reels

Don’t have all day? Here’s a quick rundown of my favorite tools!

• Claude AI (Scripting, captions, general planning)
• HeyGen (Realistic avatars)
• Kling (AI footage)
• Submagic (Editing)
• NotebookLM (Research, content ideas)

Now for the details (and how to use each AI tool)

The 10 Best AI Tools for Instagram Reels by Category

Best AI Tools for Instagram Scripts and Captions

Claude AI

• Price: Free, Pro ($20/mo)

Claude is my go-to for anything text-related. 

Their free model is already a strong copywriter, so you don’t even have to pay anything to start using it. 

Once you learn how to do proper prompts, Claude can give you awesome hook ideas, tight scripts, and captions that’ll get engagement. 

While the free version is already great, it does have usage limits. 

There’s no fixed usage limit (like 100 messages a day), and Claude doesn’t publish how it calculates your usage limit. But what we do know is that it depends on several factors like message length, file uploads, conversation length, model used, and even system demand (if many people are using the tool). 

Once you reach the limit, you won’t be able to use Claude until it resets every 5 hours. 

But for only $20/mo (and access to a bunch of other features), I highly recommend getting the Pro version if you use it a lot. 

ChatGPT 

• Price: Free, Plus ($20/mo)

ChatGPT is the most famous AI for text-related output. 

Everything Claude can do, ChatGPT can do too. 

That said, I slightly prefer Claude over ChatGPT. To me, Claude’s copywriting is a step above ChatGPT’s. 

I also feel that ChatGPT is now on the defensive, trying to keep up with other AI companies. It used to be the go-to AI tool for everyone, but with so many competitors coming out, its days could be numbered (don’t quote me on this! This is just how I feel). 

That said, it’s still a very good tool for getting your hooks, scripts, and captions. 

Best AI Tools for Instagram Visuals

HeyGen

• Pricing: Creator $29/mo

HeyGen is arguably the best tool for talking-head videos using an AI avatar. Perfect if you’re making a faceless content account. 

And no, by AI avatar, I don’t mean cartoonish. 

In fact, you can use HeyGen to generate an AI twin for YOU. You can generate super-realistic talking head videos of yourself with this tool. 

Just upload a photo or video of your real face, write out a script, and HeyGen will generate the rest. It can also clone your voice. 

Plus, the latest updates to HeyGen are scarily realistic. We’re getting to a point where you probably won’t be able to tell the difference between a real talking head video and an AI-generated one. 

At just $29/mo for unlimited videos, this is a tool I highly recommend for creators. 

Kling 

• Pricing: Standard ($6.99/mo), Pro ($25.99/mo)

If HeyGen is for avatars, Kling is for all other types of AI footage. 

You can generate videos from the viewer’s POV, or just any scene that you can think of. 

All you have to do is type the footage that you want into the AI, and Kling will create it for you. 

The more details you add in, the better the output will be, so get descriptive! Tell the AI the setting, what point-of-view to use, what style to use (realistic or cartoonish), and as many other details as you can add. 

Kling uses a credits system, so the higher pricing tiers allow you to generate more footage. 

VEO3

• Pricing: Google AI Plus ($7.99), Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo), Google AI Ultra ($249.99/mo)

VEO3 is built by Google, so you get so much more than just a video generator with these plans. 

You also get access to Nanobanana, which is one of the best AI still image generators. You can use it for your carousels, reel covers, or you can even generate an image, then use it as a visual style guide when you’re generating videos in VEO3. 

Then there’s Notebook LM, which is another AI tool I’m very fond of. I’ll talk about it more in a bit. 

Finally, getting one of Google’s AI plans also gives terabytes of storage in Google One. So if you’re already using things like Google Drive, Google Photos, or anything else Google, this is a great plus. 

For the video generation itself, VEO3 is great. However, you can only use the weaker “VEO3 Fast” with the AI Plus and AI Pro plans (you’ll need the $249.99/mo plan for the full VEO3). 

AI Plus only lets you generate 2 videos per day, while AI Pro gets you 3 videos a day. 

That’s why, if you just need a tool for video generation, I’d go for HeyGen or Kling instead. 

Best AI Tools for Editing Instagram Reels

Submagic

• Pricing: Starter ($19/mo), Pro ($39/mo)

Submagic is hands-down my favorite AI tool for editing. 

Just upload your videos, and Submagic will do all the editing for you. 

It’ll piece together your content, add editing effects like zooms and cuts, and auto caption your videos. 

The Pro Plan also includes a subscription to Storyblocks, one of the biggest stock footage libraries in the world. So it can add in related B-roll whenever it’s needed. 

Opus Clip

• Pricing: Starter ($15/mo), Pro ($29/mo)

Another one worth mentioning is Opus Clip. 

Opus Clip is a clipping tool. When you upload a long video, it’ll identify and clip out potentially viral moments for you to use.  

This makes it great if you make long-form videos or run a podcast and want to repurpose the content for social media. 

But even if you aren’t doing long-form video, Opus Clip can help remove dead space (silence) between your long videos, making it more optimized for reels. 

CapCut

• Pricing: Pro ($19.99/mo)

An honorable mention is CapCut. 

The free version of CapCut is one of the best simple editing tools for Instagram. But its Pro version actually has AI features that make editing even easier. 

It’s not a fully automated editor like Submagic, but it can identify and cut out dead space in your clips, add auto captions, and can also find stock footage to add to your video for you. 

It has AI avatars and text-to-speech, but they’re not the greatest.

If you want the fastest editing experience, definitely go for Submagic instead. But if you’re already using CapCut, then why not grab Pro to speed up your process?

Best Other AI Tools for Instagram 

Notebook LM

• Pricing: Google AI Plus ($7.99), Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo), Google AI Ultra ($249.99/mo)

Notebook LM is a research assistant AI. It’s a powerful tool that can extract information from multiple sources (documents you upload, articles on the internet, YouTube videos, and more) and come up with great ideas for content. 

Claude and ChatGPT are great if you already know who your target audience is. 

But if you’re still trying to figure that out (what their pain points are, and what your messaging to them should be), NotebookLM can be a great tool. 

So, add any ideas you have, let the AI grab YouTube videos about your audience, or Reddit posts to learn what kind of language they use, and ask it to help you create strategy and content plans. 

Canva

• Pricing: Canva Pro ($15/mo)

You probably already know about Canva. 

But what you might not realize is that its paid version actually has an AI assistant that can help with visuals.

So if you don’t want to make your own carousels, just tell the Canva AI the idea, and it’ll do the rest. 

Or, if you want catchy covers for your reels, just tell it to Canva’s AI, and it’ll do that as well.

My 5-Step AI Workflow For Instagram Reels

Now that you know the tools, how do you actually use them together?

Here’s a quick 5-step AI workflow you can use to pump out those reels as fast as possible. 

Step #1: Research (Notebook LM, Claude)

Researching your niche and planning a bunch of content ahead is the right way to do content. You don’t want to be scrambling to create a post the day you need to post it. Planning ahead makes things easier for you, allows you to create better content, and gets you to 1k followers much faster. 

To do this, start a back-and-forth conversation with NotebookLM or Claude. 

Give it ALL the information you have about your target audience, such as their pain points, desired results, and all demographic and psychographic information you have. 

If you don’t yet have this information about your target audience, use NotebookLM to scrape Reddit, YouTube, and other sources to come up with an ideal customer profile. 

Then, give your AI information about yourself, such as why you chose this path, the challenges you’ve faced, your “hero story,” your goals, and also how you plan to monetize. 

Pro tip: I like to use the microphone option when doing this. It takes a while to write all this down, so talking to your AI can speed things up. 

Once you’re done giving your AI all the information, you can then ask it for ideas for content pillars, reels, carousels, or even a content calendar. 

Step #2: Script and Caption (Claude)

Once you have a bunch of ideas, it’s best to batch script them. 

Give Claude (or whatever AI you choose) your titles, and ask it for hooks, scripts, and payoffs. 

But don’t just take what it gives you. 

Treat it like an assistant and go back and forth with it. Tell it what you don’t like, what you want changed, or whenever it doesn’t sound like you anymore. 

This back and forth is the best way to get a polished script, ready for visuals. 

Once you have the full script, ask Claude to write a caption based on the script. 

Step #3: Generate Visuals (HeyGen + Kling)

If you’re making a faceless account, you don’t have to worry about ever turning your camera on. 

Just go to HeyGen, create an avatar, then paste your scripts and have the avatar go at it. 

For other footage, like cinematic scenes, b-roll, or landscapes without people, you can use Kling. Type in the scenes you want, and the AI will generate them for you. 

For prompting, try to add details when you’re describing what you want. Let the AI know: 

• Shot Angle – Do you want a POV reel? The view from a third-person? A wide-angle shot of scenery? Or close-ups of a specific thing? Tell this to the AI, so it’ll know exactly what to generate for you. 

• Mood / Lighting – Do you want bright, happy scenery? Or a dark, mysterious tone? Add this in your prompts so the feel of your clips matches your reel’s energy. 

• Movement – Movement is great for improving retention. Try telling your AI to slowly zoom in if you’re showing a clip for an extended period, or to pan the camera around a scene. 

Step #4: Edit (Submagic)

Once you have all the footage, drop it into Submagic and let the AI piece it together for you. 

The three main features of Submagic are its automatic dead space cutting, captions, and B-Roll importer. Here’s one way you can use these:

1. Once you upload a clip, all you have to do is click the “Remove Silence” button, and it’ll trim down your video to have no dead space anywhere. 

2. Click the auto captions button to generate super accurate captions. You can style these captions however you want, or choose from their template library. 

Head to the B-Roll section, and click on “Magic B-Roll.” The AI will analyze your script and suggest related B-Roll it pulls from Storyblocks, and you can choose to add that in or skip it. 

If you see anything you don’t like, you can go in there and make some manual tweaks. But most of the heavy lifting will be done for you by the AI. 

Step #5: Create a Cover Photo (Canva)

This step is optional, but a good cover photo should get a few more clicks on your reel (especially in the Explore page). 

So use your best image related to the reel, and add a catchy text to give more people more context (and get them to click). 

You can build your own cover in Canva, or just use its AI tool to generate one for you. 

You don’t have to overdo things, and you probably shouldn’t spend more than a couple of minutes on this. A lot of creators don’t even bother to add a cover photo at all. 

But cover photos can be helpful, especially if you’re doing a series. A uniform cover photo for a series can help a lot (since people might go to your profile to search for your previous episodes). 

Once you have that, you’re now ready to publish your reel. 

Don’t Want to Do All That? Use THIS All-In-One AI Tool Instead

These are the best AI tools for Instagram Reels, and they’re awesome at what they do. 

But the truth is…it can be a hassle to work with different tools (not to mention, their prices add up). 

If you’re looking for an all-in-one AI tool instead, that’ll help you with research, content ideas, scripting, generating visuals, editing visuals, and creating cover photos, then check out our AI Content Generator. 

If you want to grow an Instagram account as fast as possible, this tool will get you there.

So check it out here to get instant access! 

Proper prompting is the secret to success with AI. 

The problem is, it’s frustrating when you try templates and so-called “best prompts” that deliver dull, generic, and obviously AI-written text that’s almost unusable for Instagram. 

You might think that’s just the way AI is…that it’s impossible to get something unique from it.

But that’s not true at all. 

The problem isn’t the AI. And it isn’t even the prompt templates you’re using. It’s that you’re not using these prompts properly. 

Today, I’m not only going to give you the 14 best AI prompts for Instagram, but I’m also going to show you how to use, tweak, and edit them for the best (and fastest) results.  

This way, you’ll get clean, ready-to-use AI text for your hooks, captions, scripts, research, and even content planning! 

Do This FIRST! My Secret Tip for Making Prompting Work

The main reason prompts aren’t working for you is that you aren’t giving the AI enough information. 

Too many people tell you to just write a simple, 4-5 sentence “context dump,” to make the AI understand where you’re coming from. 

They might tell you to prompt something like, “I run an Instagram account in the [niche] space. My audience is [describe them]. My content pillars are [X, Y, Z]. My tone is [describe it]. I post [format].”

But that’s FAR too simplistic. To make prompts work, you need to give your AI a lot more information than just a context-dump template that you fill in (and I mean a LOT more information). 

Here’s how to do it the right way:

1. Open your favorite AI (like Claude or ChatGPT)
2. Click the voice microphone function (which allows you to dictate to the AI)
3. Start giving it ALL the details about your target audience and yourself
4. Once it takes all that in, it’ll put out much better content when you start using prompts! 

For your target audience, you’ll want to give your AI all the demographic and psychographic information. Talk about their pain points and their desired end results. Everything you know about your target audience, share that with your AI. 

For yourself, talk about how you got into this topic in the first place, your “hero story,” all the challenges that you’ve been through, why you’re making content now, what your goal is, what type of monetization you’re going for, etc.

The goal is to make your AI know as much about your audience and yourself as you do. 

That way, it’ll have all the context it needs to put out content that’s not only “good,” but also unique to you. 

This is SO important, because if people get the feeling that your content is all AI, studies show that they’re far less likely to trust and/or engage with you.  

Prompt Engineering Basics – 4 Things To Add

Once you’ve given your AI all the context, there are still 4 more things you need to do to make better prompts:

1. Who + What + Why – your AI should already have your target audience’s background. But you’ll still want to provide a bit more information about the specific hook, script, or caption that you’re going for. For the audience, add more context about how they feel. Are they frustrated about something? Looking for inspiration? Finally, add why they feel this way, so your script can be more specific (making it more hard-hitting and scroll-stopping). 

2. Format – tell the AI what format you’re going for, such as a “1-line hook,” “2-3 punchy lines,” or “a strong CTA at the end.”

3. Constraints – let the AI know what voice you want to go for (casual, slightly aggressive, format, etc), word count limits, style (emojis or no emojis), and even reading level (ex: 5th-grade reading level).

4. Variations – it’s usually best to ask for 2-3 different variations of the same thing. This way, you can pick and choose which one works best for you. 

With that in mind, don’t just say something like, “Write an Instagram caption about staying fit for women.”

Instead, make it complete like: 

“Write 3 Instagram caption variations for middle-aged women (ages 40–60) who are trying to get back into fitness after years of inconsistency. The goal is to motivate them without overwhelming them.

Use 1 relatable hook, 2–3 short, punchy lines, and 1 encouraging CTA at the end. 

Use a supportive, realistic, and slightly direct tone (not overly motivational or cheesy). 

Keep it under 100 words, with no emojis, and at a 6th-grade reading level.”

Or instead of just saying, “Give me a hook for a skincare video.”

Go into more details:

“Give me 5 short Instagram reel hook variations for middle-aged women who feel like their skincare routine has stopped working. 

The goal is to create curiosity and make them feel understood. 

Each hook must be 1 line and fewer than 12 words long. 

The tone should be slightly provocative, honest, and conversational.”

With the context that your AI already has, and more specific prompting, you’ll get much better results from your AI. 

The Best AI Prompts for Instagram by Use Case

With all that in mind, let’s go over some of the best prompts you can use (and how to actually use them). 

Hook Prompts (for Reels and Carousels)

For hooks, you’ll want to get several variations to start with. 

So use something like this prompt: 

“Give me 10 short Instagram reel hook variations for [specific type of person + situation they’re currently in].

The goal is to make them feel [emotion] and spark curiosity about [topic/result].

Each hook must be 1 line and fewer than [X] words long.

The tone should be [tone style: e.g., empathetic, slightly direct, conversational].”

Go over your options, then once you find something you like, use this next prompt: 

Rewrite this hook 5 ways: make one version a bold claim, one a question, one a counterintuitive statement, one a ‘this is for you if…’ opener, and one that calls out a specific frustration: [paste your draft hook].”

With just these two prompts, you should have a strong, unique, and scroll-stopping hook. 

Script Prompts

Once you’ve chosen a strong hook, it’s time to write the rest of the script. 

For scripts, you’ll want to add the hook you’re using, the format you want to use, the length of the reel, the main talking points you want to add, and the CTA at the end. 

Here are some templates you can use:

Storytelling Reels: 

“Write 3 Instagram Reel script variations using this hook: [insert hook].

The goal is to tell a relatable story that connects with [target audience].

Format:

• Hook
• Setup (context of the situation)
• Conflict or struggle
• Turning point
• Lesson or takeaway
• CTA

Keep it suitable for a [X-second] reel.

Include these story elements: [specific situation], [emotional struggle], [result or realization].

The tone should be [tone style].”

Listicle Reels: 

“Write 3 Instagram Reel script variations using this hook: [insert hook].

The goal is to deliver quick, valuable list-based content for [target audience].

Format:

• Hook
• List intro line
• 3-5 bullet-style points (short and punchy)
• CTA

Keep it suitable for a [X-second] reel.

Include these points: [point 1], [point 2], [point 3], [point 4].

The tone should be [tone style].”

Problem/Solution Reels: 

“Write 3 Instagram Reel script variations using this hook: [insert hook].

The goal is to help [target audience] solve [specific problem].

Format:

• Hook
• Problem breakdown
• Why it’s happening
• Simple solution steps
• CTA

Keep it around [X seconds].

Include these key points: [problem detail], [cause], [solution].

The tone should be [tone style].”

Myth-Busting Reels: 

“Write 3 Instagram Reel script variations using this hook: [insert hook].

The goal is to challenge a common belief about [topic] among [target audience].

Format:

• Hook
• Common belief
• Why it’s wrong or incomplete
• Correct perspective
• CTA

Keep it suitable for a [X-second] reel.

Include: [myth], [truth], [explanation angle].

The tone should be [tone style: bold, slightly provocative, confident].”

Educational Reels: 

“Write 3 Instagram Reel script variations using this hook: [insert hook].

The goal is to teach [target audience] something valuable about [topic].

Format:

• Hook
• Simple explanation
• 2-4 key insights or tips
• CTA

Keep it under [X seconds].

Include these key ideas: [idea 1], [idea 2], [idea 3].

The tone should be [tone style: clear, helpful, authoritative].”

Transformational Reels: 

“Write 3 Instagram Reel script variations using this hook: [insert hook].

The goal is to show a transformation story for [target audience].

Format:

• Hook
• Before situation
• What changed
• After result
• Lesson + CTA

Keep it around [X seconds].

Include: [before state], [trigger moment], [after state].

The tone should be [tone style].”

Caption Prompts

Captions serve different purposes, such as engagement, trust-building, selling, or storytelling.

It’s also important to use keywords in your captions. Remember, hashtags are no longer important on Instagram; keywords are the new way to get more views. 

So make sure to add the keywords you want in your prompts! (I talk more about how to prompt for keywords in the next section)

Engagement: 

“Write 3 Instagram caption variations for [target audience] around [topic].

The goal is to make them feel seen and prompt them to respond.

Use a hook and end with a direct question or prompt.

The tone should be [tone style].

Add the keywords [keyword], [keyword], and [keyword] naturally into the caption.”

Trust-Building: 

“Write 3 Instagram captions breaking down a simple concept about [topic] for [target audience].

The goal is to make it easy to understand and build credibility.

Use a hook, 2–3 short explanation lines, and a takeaway.

Keep it simple and concise.

Add the keywords [keyword], [keyword], and [keyword] naturally into the caption.”

Selling: 

“Write 3 Instagram caption variations for

aimed at [target audience].

The goal is to persuade them to take action without sounding pushy.

Use 1 strong hook, 2–3 persuasive lines, and a clear CTA at the end.

The tone should be [tone style].

Add the keywords [keyword], [keyword], and [keyword] naturally into the caption.”

Storytelling: 

Write 2 Instagram caption variations telling a short story about [specific experience or moment]. 

The goal is to build connection and relatability with [target audience].

Use a hook, a brief story (3–4 lines), and a simple takeaway at the end.

The tone should be [tone style].

Add the keywords [keyword], [keyword], and [keyword] naturally into the caption.”

Another thing you can do for caption prompts is to paste the script of the reel. That way, the AI can connect the caption to what’s said in the video. 

Content Planning Prompts

AI is also great for helping you plan content for an entire month (not just one post at a time). Planning ahead is one of the secrets to growing your account. 

To do this, you can use a prompt like this: 

Generate 20 Instagram content ideas for [target audience].

The goal is to create engaging content around [topic/niche].

Organize ideas into categories such as awareness, education, storytelling, and engagement.

Each idea should include a short hook idea and a brief description of the post.

The tone/theme should be aligned with [brand voice/style].

Then go over the ideas and pick and choose the strongest ones. 

If you already have content pillars, you can use a template like this for each one:

“Generate 10 Instagram Reel ideas based on this content pillar: [pillar name].

[Describe the pillar]

The audience is [target audience].

For each idea, include a hook idea and a content angle.

Make sure there’s variety (problem-based, tips, mistakes, myths, etc.).

The tone should be [tone style].”

Finally, there are keywords. 

Adding keywords to your captions will help Instagram identify your reel’s topic and share it with interested people. 

To get keywords, use a prompt like this: 

“Generate 15–25 Instagram SEO keywords and phrases for content aimed at [target audience] in the [niche/topic].

The goal is to help Instagram understand the content and push it to the right audience.

Include a mix of:

• Broad keywords (2–3 words)
• Long-tail keywords (4–8 words)
• Problem-based phrases (what they’re struggling with)
• Outcome-based phrases (what they want)

Make the keywords sound natural and human (not robotic or spammy), and relevant to how people actually search or describe this topic on Instagram.”

How to Polish AI Content Properly

There are two super common mistakes I see newer creators making. 

The first is just taking whatever the AI gives you. 

With proper prompting, your AI content should be decent. But don’t just blindly copy and paste what it gives! 

Instead, communicate with your AI. 

Find the parts that you don’t like too much, and tell your AI to tweak them. If you feel that the hook can be stronger, or the script can be tighter, tell that to your AI. 

Even if you feel that the voice doesn’t sound like you at all, you can tell the AI to go back to the context you gave it and to take more from what you said about yourself. 

Treat your AI as a thinking partner, not as a ghostwriter for you. 

The second is completely changing up what AI gives you. 

Look…if you’re going to spend hours tweaking your AI content, why don’t you just write everything from scratch? 

That might even save you some time. 

AI is meant to speed up your workflow. So generate that text, ask AI to tweak it to your liking, and make some small human edits for things only you know. 

A good rule of thumb is to have your stuff 90% AI-generated and 10% human made. 

That way, it’s fast, unique, and has content that only you know. 

Ready to Start Prompting?

Prompts aren’t magic. 

Yes, they make AI output so much better, and yes, they can drastically speed up your content creation. 

But without proper context, prompts, and editing, your hooks, reels, captions, and content plans will come out dry, generic, and AI-coded. 

So go ahead and give AI everything about your target audience and yourself. Then use the prompts here (or create your own) to get great content fast. 

Or…

You can also sign up for my AI content generator. 

We built our own AI designed specifically for creating content on Instagram. 

Not only is it trained for giving you reel ideas, hooks, scripts, captions, and content plans, but you can also set all your (and your audience’s) details. This way, the AI remembers the details every single time. 

It’s the fastest way to get an Instagram account up and running. 

So go check it out over here for instant access! 

What sets great faceless Instagram accounts apart from the hundreds of failed faceless accounts? 

It’s not luck… 

Nor is it the algorithm choosing some and banishing others… 

The best faceless Instagram accounts all have some unique value for their viewers and are extremely consistent with their quality. 

Study any of these successful accounts, and you’ll quickly notice patterns that you can use to build your own account as well. 

In this article, I’ll show you 7 of the best faceless Instagram influencers (from different niches), show you why they’re so successful, and give you takeaways so that you can improve your content ideas and get more views, likes, shares, and followers.  

My Top 7 Faceless Instagram Accounts in 2026 (And What You Can Learn From Them)

Note: These aren’t ranked in any particular order.

1. Her Journey Rising – Faceless Digital Marketing Coach

• Target Audience: People who want to start faceless accounts on Instagram
• Unique Angle: Someone who is already successful with faceless content, teaching others how to replicate her success
• Reel Format(s) Used: Simple Clip + Simple Text + Stock Footage + Long Caption
• Monetization Strategy: Coaching

Her Journey Rising is a faceless account that focuses on teaching people how to make their own faceless accounts. It’s run by a creator named “Caroline,” but other than her name, there’s very little info about her. 

Her content strategy mostly revolves around simple clip + simple text + long caption reels, which is one of the best formats for going viral on Instagram. 

She uses stock footage for her reels, but you’ll notice how they all have a consistent “mood.” Nothing about her feed feels random; they all look uniform. 

Her Journey Rising posts informative reels, listicles, and simple clips to inspire people to go after the life they dream of. 

Some of her most viral reels are her listicles about mindset shifts. She has several of these that break the 1 million view mark. 

They’re super effective because the text is long, which keeps people watching for longer. Plus, the reel itself is actually only a few seconds. So if someone reads everything on screen, they’ll have actually watched the reel 3-4x already (giving a good boost in watch time). 

Her listicles and inspirational clips are also very shareable, such as this one, which has almost 2k shares. 

Finally, she also uses long captions to keep people reading (and watching) longer, like with this reel. 

Her Journey Rising monetizes her faceless account by selling coaching courses. And the great thing about this is, she has very real proof that her methods work (just look at her account!). 

Takeaways: 

Her Journey Rising doesn’t show her face. But her consistent mood, informational content, and inspirational reels all make her content recognizable. 

So when working on your account, think of ways to do this yourself. 

Her Journey Rising is also a master of the short clip, short text format, something that you should definitely use in your own content as well. 

2. Gossipgoblin – Fantasy Stories

• Target Audience: People interested in fantasy worlds
• Unique Angle: Extremely unique stories and worlds built by human imagination + AI tools
• Reel Format(s) Used: AI-generated stories
• Monetization Strategy: Ad revenue from other platforms

Created by Zack London, Gossipgoblin is one of the most successful fantasy accounts on Instagram today with over one million followers. 

This account is one of the prime examples that fully AI-generated content on Instagram works when it’s well done. 

He primarily uses Midjourney, which a LOT of other creators use. But how does Gossipgoblin stand out from the rest? 

First, the stories told are genuinely interesting. They might use fully AI-generated visuals, but the stories they write are, according to them, 100% human written. 

That’s why when you watch their reels, such as their most popular reel, there’s a uniqueness to the story that AI just can’t replicate (yet). 

While the reels and stories in Gossipgoblin’s world aren’t directly connected (each story can stand alone), there are plenty of recurring characters that people get invested in (such as Fredvog the garden gnome). 

Now, while it isn’t clear if Gossipgoblin is making money from Instagram itself, Zack London also created a YouTube account, where he is earning an estimated $3k – $50k per month according to Social Blade. 

Takeaways: 

The main takeaway you can get from an account like Gossipgoblin is the importance of being unique. 

Yes, all his videos are 100% AI-generated, but the reason they stand out is not so much the visuals (anyone with an AI tool can recreate them), but the storytelling behind them. 

Remember, all the stories are 100% human written. You can rely on AI for the visuals, but the concepts have to come from you, because that’s how they can be unique. 

Zack’s account also gets tons of followers because people know what to expect. 

While the stories themselves are extremely varied, every single reel of his is just that…a story. 

So find a format that works for your account, and stick to it. When people know what to expect from you, they’re more likely to follow. 

However, this account can also serve as a warning about niches that are more difficult to monetize. 

Yes, Gossipgoblin is doing well because he gets millions of views, and also posts on YouTube, where he can collect ad revenue. 

But getting brand deals and sponsorships is much more difficult when you choose a niche like this, where there’s no hyper-specific target audience. 

3. Nutrizenage – Health and Wellness

• Target Audience: People interested in home remedies and nutrition
• Unique Angle: Fun, catchy reels about the nutrition facts of foods
• Reel Format(s) Used: AI-generated info reels
• Monetization Strategy: Supplements + eBook

Nutrizenage is another account that posts fully AI-generated content. 

But unlike Gossipgoblin, which is a super creative account, this account simply posts quick and highly informative health and wellness reels.

They are most known for their quick “If you have {condition}, eat more {fruit/vegetable}” reels, like this one. These work super well because a lot of people have these conditions, so calling it out in the first few seconds instantly hooks people in. 

The visuals they use are also scroll-stopping. 

They almost always start with an AI face either doing something (eating fruit) or having a condition (like pimples). Pair that with a simple voiceover that explains what exactly is going on, people will instantly know what the reel is about in less than 3 seconds. 

Now, you can criticize Nutrizenage for being overly general with their health advice, but the truth is, simplistic advice works on Instagram. 

Reels like this one get thousands upon thousands of shares because it’s very easy to consume. 

And the best part?

Now that people recognize Nutrizenage for their quick health advice, people who want to know more will go to them and check out their supplements or their ebook to learn more! 

Takeaways: 

Once again, we can see that just because Nutrizenage’s content is fully AI-generated doesn’t mean it’s random. 

They use a very consistent style and format, one that’s proven to work for them time and time again. 

Nutrizenage also chose a niche that’s easier to monetize. 

Millions of people want to “fix” their health conditions, but don’t want to go to a traditional doctor. That’s why alternatives like healthy diets and/or supplements are a very big industry today. 

4. Futurecanoe – Recipes

• Target Audience: People who want to see recipes tried by an average person (not a pro chef)
• Unique Angle: Deadpan humor
• Reel Format(s) Used: Hands-only recipes
• Monetization Strategy: Memberships, brand deals, merch, ad revenue from other platforms 

Futurecanoe is one of the best examples of showing personality without showing your face. 

He does hands-only recipes, where he recreates viral recipes and shows what actually happens when a “normal” person tries them. 

Even when his recipes fail, people still love them because the whole reel is super relatable. Haven’t we all tried to follow a recipe, only for the finished product to look nothing like the videos?

Aside from that, Futurecanoe also stands out because of his deadpan humor, like in this reel. 

Combine all these elements, and you have an account that gets millions of views per video without ever showing his face. 

Futurecanoe makes money from a bunch of different revenue streams. 

He gets ad revenue from his YouTube channel, gets brand sponsorships from time to time, has merch, and even has members-only content. 

Takeaways: 

You don’t need to show your face to let your personality shine. 

On the surface, it might seem crazy how someone was able to build a massive following just by copying recipes on the internet. 

But when you watch and listen to the commentary, you’ll realize how relatable Futurecanoe actually is, which is exactly why his account blew up. 

So don’t just post recipes for recipe’s sake. 

Find your unique angle, and use it to build your following. 

5. Art of Dating NYC – Dating Advice

• Target Audience: “Smart” women looking for the right fit partner 
• Unique Angle: Creator is a coach with a background in psychology 
• Reel Format(s) Used: Carousels
• Monetization Strategy: Coaching

Who says you need reels to grow on Instagram?

Art of Dating NYC is one of the odd accounts with over 100k followers that has never shown their face, and never posted a single reel (just carousels). 

While I don’t recommend this strategy, let’s take a closer look at how this account managed to grow with not one, but TWO handicaps (no face and no reels).

The main reason Art of Dating NYC has grown so much is because of the value of her posts. 

If you read through her posts and carousels, you’ll find that there’s legitimate advice on there that shallow accounts don’t have. She also pairs it with longer captions, going deeper into the explanation, and leaves people with actionable steps they can take right now. 

That’s why even though her initial reach might be lower than if she posted reels, lots of people stick around, read it in full, and share her posts. 

Also, notice how she puts the most jarring thoughts into the first slide, then explains in the next few slides. This is her “hook,” and it’s very effective at getting people to stop and read. 

Art of Dating NYC makes money through coaching, and no wonder! Her posts position her as an authority in the dating space, which is exactly what you need if you’re selling coaching. 

Takeaways: 

Some accounts grow by giving very quick tips (like Nutrizenage), while others grow because they provide deeper value to their viewers (like Art of Dating NYC). 

But despite the value provided, notice how Art of Dating still puts hooks in the front and makes her posts shareable. 

That’s because no matter how valuable your posts are, you still need to stop people in their scroll with a strong hook. 

So while she doesn’t use reels, she still uses the same principles to grow her account using only carousels. 

6. ZacdFilms – Interesting Facts/Stories

• Target Audience: People who like fun facts
• Unique Angle: Reels that are highly informative and entertaining
• Reel Format(s) Used: Animated info reels
• Monetization Strategy: Memberships, merch, ad revenue from other platforms

One of the gold-standard Instagram influencers who don’t show their face is Zacdfilms. 

You’ve probably seen a reel or two from him already, because with over 9 million followers on Instagram (and 25million on YouTube), Zac’s films are some of the most recognizable on the internet. 

But what sets him apart from all the other AI-generated content today? 

First, Zac’s topics are extremely curiosity-inducing. 

His topics, like “How an Ant Actually Stings You,” or “How Loud Earbuds Can Damage Your Ears,” or even “How Flies Eat Your Food,” all garnered over 180 MILLION views each on Instagram. 

His topics are always a little bit strange, weird, and at times, slightly disgusting. But that’s why they’re so curiosity-inducing. He never just chooses ordinary topics without a bit of a shock factor. 

Zac doesn’t just rely on his topics either. 

He also uses strong visuals, especially in his hooks. Take the How Ants Sting You reel, his first clip is of an animated ant actually biting on someone’s skin. Even without sound, that’s enough to get people to stop scrolling. 

Now, replicating Zac’s animation style might seem difficult. But the truth is, with AI, you can create visuals that are just as interesting. 

All you need to do is think of the interesting angle or shot, and AI can do the rest. 

Takeaways: 

If you want to get better at short-form content, Zacdfilms is one of the best accounts to study in depth. 

Aside from his topics, hooks, and visuals, one of the most impressive things about Zac’s content is how precise everything is. 

He says just enough to be informative and interesting, and nothing more. His content is short, but somehow always feels packed with so much information. 

So next time you’re making a reel, ask yourself:

“Is there any way I can say this shorter?” or, “Is there anything that I can remove from this script?” 

For help, you can always ask ChatGPT or whatever AI you use to tighten up your script and make it more precise, like Zac. 

7. Cryptonary – Crypto Research

• Target Audience: Crypto beginners and traders
• Unique Angle: News/insider info
• Reel Format(s) Used: News footage, carousels, infographics, etc.
• Monetization Strategy: Courses, Subscriptions

Lots of meme accounts get a ton of views and followers, but never make any money. 

But then there are accounts like Cryptonary, which not only grow huge because of their memes, but also make a lot of money from the platform. 

Crypto is a niche with extremely high earning potential. With so many people looking to get into crypto, there are countless opportunities for brand partnerships, affiliate marketing, or even selling your own info products. 

But with high income potential comes high competition. 

Cryptonary managed to stand out by hyper-focusing on its niche. They post crypto/financial memes that go viral, fresh news that affects crypto traders, and helpful carousels for crypto newbies. 

There’s something for all levels of crypto traders in this account, which is why they’ve gained over 700k followers and counting. 

Cryptonary monetizes from their paid memberships, where they share their top crypto picks with their community. 

Takeaways: 

The main lesson you can learn from Cryptonary is hyper-focusing on one niche. 

You won’t find a single post from them that isn’t related to cryptocurrency. This creates trust, because people know what they’re getting if they follow. 

That’s why it’s so important to choose a niche before even starting out. 

That way, you can make all your content focus on it. And people will follow you not for your face or personality, but because they know you only post about things they are interested in. 

What All Successful Faceless Accounts Have in Common

After studying hundreds of faceless accounts – and building several – the patterns are clear. Every account on this list shares four things:

1. A specific niche.

Not ‘lifestyle’ or ‘motivation.’ Something narrow enough that followers know exactly what they are getting. Her Journey Rising: faceless digital marketing. Cryptonary: crypto only. Nutrizenage: quick nutrition facts. The specificity is the trust signal.

2. A repeatable format.

Futurecanoe always does hands-only recipes. ZacdFilms always does animated fact reels. Art of Dating NYC always posts carousels. When your format is predictable, your audience grows because people know what to expect and follow it.

3. A hook formula that runs on repeat.

Nutrizenage: ‘If you have [condition], eat more [food].’ ZacdFilms: weird science questions. Every successful account has a hook pattern they found, tested, and run consistently. Random hooks = random results.

4. A monetization path built into the niche.

The accounts making real money chose niches with built-in buyers: health supplements, crypto courses, and coaching. The accounts with millions of views but no revenue chose niches with nothing to sell. Pick your niche with the exit in mind.

Ready to Build Your Own Faceless Account? Start Here.

Studying successful accounts is step one. Here is the full path to building your own:

Step 1: Choose your niche

The right niche is specific, has a clear buyer, and is something you can post about consistently. See the full breakdown of the best faceless Instagram niches – including which ones monetize best and which ones to avoid.

Best Niches for a Faceless Instagram Account ->

Step 2: Set up your account the right way

Bio, profile picture, first 9 posts, content pillars – the setup decisions you make now determine how fast the algorithm shows your content to new people.

How to Create a Faceless Instagram Account ->

Step 3: Build your content library

You need reel ideas that work for your niche – formats that earn saves and shares, not just views. This guide breaks down the specific reel formats that drive growth for faceless accounts.

Faceless Instagram Reel Ideas by Niche -> 

Step 4: Grow your following

Posting alone does not build an audience. You need a growth strategy: the algorithm signals that actually matter in 2026, the posting frequency that works, and the content formats that earn new followers consistently.

Instagram Growth Strategies ->

Step 5: Make money from it

The accounts above prove you do not need a huge following to generate income. You need the right monetization strategy for your niche. Here is how to turn a faceless account into actual revenue.

How to Make Money on Instagram Without Showing Your Face ->

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you really grow on Instagram without showing your face?

Yes. Every account in this guide proves it – some with millions of followers. The common thread is not hiding a face, it is having a consistent niche, a repeatable format, and content that earns a share or a save. The face is irrelevant. The strategy is not.

What is the best niche for a faceless Instagram account?

The best niche is one with a clear buyer. Health and wellness, finance and crypto, digital marketing, and cooking all have audiences willing to pay for products, courses, or memberships. Avoid broad entertainment niches unless you plan to monetize through YouTube ad revenue. See the full niche breakdown ->

How long does it take to grow a faceless Instagram account?

The accounts in this guide took anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to hit 100k followers. Speed depends almost entirely on how quickly you find a format that earns shares. One viral reel can add 10,000 followers overnight. The goal is not to post more – it is to find the format that works, then be relentless with it.

Do I need AI tools to run a faceless account?

No. Futurecanoe and Art of Dating NYC do not use AI at all. But AI tools can dramatically speed up content creation once you know what you want to make – especially for visual-heavy formats like ZacdFilms. How to make faceless Instagram content with AI ->

What equipment do I need for a faceless Instagram account?

Just your phone. Every format in this guide – hands-only videos, carousels, AI-generated reels, animated content – can be produced on a smartphone with free or low-cost tools. The bottleneck is never the equipment. It is always the strategy.

Skip the Trial-and-Error Phase

Look…

Taking inspiration from successful accounts is great. 

But if you don’t turn that inspiration into action, then it’s all for nothing. 

So take a look at these accounts, study how they brand themselves, their hooks, how they get followers, and how they monetize. 

Take their ideas, but don’t fall into the trap of studying and studying without ever starting yourself. 

Don’t know where to start?

Check out my AI content generator. 

I designed this precisely for people who want to get an account up and running as fast as possible. 

With it, you can just pick your niche, and use the tools, templates, and ideas on there to start getting followers asap. 

I’ve had several students gain over 500k followers just by using this tool, so sign up here for instant access today!

You’ve posted consistently for months. Some videos hit 3,000 views. Some hit 300. You’re not sure why one works, and the other doesn’t, and every piece of advice you find online was written by someone with 2 million followers, explaining what works when you already have 2 million followers.

That’s not useful. So we built something different.

We studied 100 viral creators across 10 different niches to create what we’re calling the 2026 Smartphone Freedom Lifestyle Viral Creator Study. 

For each creator, we looked at their top-performing video, the exact hook they used, how they opened the first three seconds, what they said, what was on screen, and how their audience responded.

Then we split the findings by follower size. Because what works at 200K followers is not what works at 5 million, and most creator advice skips that part entirely.

We were really surprised by what we found…

The most common hook type isn’t the highest performing one. The niche with the most views is one of the least monetized. And some of the biggest viral videos in our dataset had nothing to do with the creator’s niche.

Dive into the study below to see our specific findings.

Contents

• Key Findings
• How We Collected the Data
• Read This Before You Copy What Big Creators Do
• Most Creators Only Think About Half Their Hook
• What the Data Shows
• Use Specific Numbers in Your Hooks
• Your Biggest Video Might Have Nothing to Do With Your Niche
• The Identity Flip: Set Up an Expectation, Then Prove It Wrong
• Niche Breakdown
• Pick a Goal Before You Pick a Video Length
• What Kind of Audience Are You Actually Building?
• High Views Don’t Equal High Revenue
• What to Do With All of This

Key Findings

Here are the top-line findings. Each one has a short takeaway, so you know what to do with it.

1. On-screen text appeared in 56% of all viral videos, more than any other hook delivery method.

→ If you’re not putting words on screen in the first three seconds, you’re losing viewers who scroll with sound off.

2. The most commonly used hook (visually stopping the scroll before any text is read) is not the highest-performing one. Hooks built around a specific number or a direct audience call-out outperform the Scroll Stopper on engagement.

→ If your hooks are purely visual, test adding a number or a direct call-out to your next video.

3. Videos using the creator’s own voice average 10.79% engagement. Trending audio videos average more views (45.5 million) but only 7.4% engagement.

→ If you want views, trending audio can get you there. If you want people who actually engage and buy, use your own voice.

4. Creators under 500K followers use “Number Drop” hooks in 43% of their top videos.

→ If you’re under 500K, Number Drop and Result Tease hooks are your highest-probability starting point.

5. Established creators (2M to 5M followers) lead with visual “Scroll Stopper” hooks in 43% of their top videos. Almost the exact inverse of smaller creators.

→ Scroll Stoppers work when your face already has authority. If you’re not there yet, a visual-only hook won’t carry the weight you think it will.

6. Entertainment and Cooking have the highest average views, yet both rely primarily on the Creator Fund (the platform’s built-in pay-per-view monetization). Fitness and Finance creators tend to earn more per viewer through courses and coaching.

→ Views don’t equal income. The niche you’re in shapes how you monetize, and most creators don’t realize this until years in.

We’ll go deeper on all of these below, including a full niche-by-niche breakdown, the hook framework that explains the data, and the structural patterns behind the biggest videos in our dataset.

How We Collected the Data

We analyzed 100 creators from 10 niches, looking at one top-performing video each.

For each video, we recorded the hook type, delivery format, visual format, audio strategy, on-screen text, view count, like count, comment count, engagement rate (likes + comments/views), and video length. We also tracked each creator’s typical hook style and compared it to their top video to spot where the mismatches happened.

Around 93% of the videos are from TikTok, so treat these findings as TikTok-first. @roseandben’s engagement rate (90.48%) was excluded as a statistical outlier. All findings are patterns observed in viral content, not statistically validated causal claims.

If you reference this study, please cite it as the 2026 Smartphone Freedom Lifestyle Viral Creator Study.

Read This Before You Copy What Big Creators Do

This is the finding that should change how you think about everything else here.

Most creator advice tells you what hooks to use. Almost none of it tells you that the answer depends entirely on how big your account already is. 

We split creators into four tiers by verified follower count and looked at which hook types appeared in their top videos. The pattern was almost a perfect inversion across tiers. Before you look at the data, here’s what those hook types mean:

• Scroll Stopper: The visual is so striking that the viewer stops scrolling before reading anything. No text needed. The food looks insane. The stunt is already happening. The transformation is midway through.
• Number Drop: A specific number, credential, or achievement stops the scroll. “$500k saved at 32.” “5 rules for 5 kids.” The number does the work.
• Result Tease: The viewer knows exactly what result they’re about to see or learn. “Instant face lift.” “Pull day based on science.” You know what you’re getting before you decide to watch.

Hook Type	Under 500K	500K to 2M	2M to 5M	5M+
Scroll Stopper	0%	21%	43%	39%
Number Drop	43%	37%	22%	17%
Result Tease	29%	21%	19%	11%

Look at that inversion.

The Scroll Stopper, the hook style most small creators copy from big accounts, appears in zero percent of small creators’ (under 500K) top videos. It shows up in 43% of established creators’ (2M to 5M) top videos.

The Number Drop and Result Tease run in the opposite direction; they’re strongest for small creators, weakest for large ones.

Why? 

Large creators can open on pure visual spectacle because their face already signals authority. The algorithm knows them. A real chunk of their audience sees their content regardless of how the video opens. 

Smaller creators haven’t built that yet, so they need to earn the watch through specific numbers, proof, and a clear promise of what’s coming.

If you have under 500K followers, the data says you should be leading with Number Drop and Result Tease hooks, not Scroll Stoppers. Most small creators do the opposite because they’re copying the wrong tier.

One cautionary note: @milansinghhh, for example, has 2.7 million followers and averages 6,254 views per video, the most extreme follower-to-views gap in our study. 

Large follower counts built without a genuine community don’t convert to reach. It’s a documented trap.

What this means for you: If you have under 500K followers, lead with Number Drop or Result Tease hooks. Not Scroll Stoppers. Test this on your next three videos before reverting to what you were doing.

Most Creators Only Think About Half Their Hook

Before we get into the numbers, here’s the framework that makes everything else in this study make sense.

Most creators treat their hook as one decision. It’s actually a two-part decision. And the combination of those two decisions determines both how widely your video travels and how deeply your audience engages, which are often in direct tension with each other.

Decision 1: Hook Type

The content premise. The strategic reason someone stops scrolling. Six types appeared across our 100 videos:

• The Scroll Stopper: Catches the eye with something unexpected or visually striking before the viewer reads anything. The food looks insane. The stunt is already happening. The transformation is midway through.
• The Number Drop: Uses a specific number, credential, or achievement to create immediate credibility. “$500k saved at 32.” “5 rules for 5 kids.” “My uncle bought me a $15k dog.”
• The Result Tease: Tells the viewer exactly what result they’re about to see or learn. “Instant face lift.” “How to cover a hole in the wall.” “Pull day based on science.”
• The Direct Call-Out: Names a specific person, group, or situation. “Every woman in the world right now.” “POV: you come out as straight to your liberal parents.” Someone in your audience feels personally seen.
• The Warning: Creates doubt, concern, or urgency that makes leaving feel risky. “There’s no way ear seeding actually works.” “If you’re struggling to figure out what to do with your life.”
• The Comment Flip: Opens with a viewer comment, screenshot, or DM as the premise, then responds to it on camera.

Decision 2: Delivery Format

How the hook reaches the viewer in the first three seconds. Four delivery formats appeared in our data:

• On-screen text: Words over the video within the first three seconds. Works whether or not the viewer has sound on, which matters more than most creators realize.
• Curiosity open: Leads with excitement, intrigue, or raw energy. No text needed because the visual or the vibe carries everything.
• Trending sound: Uses a viral audio clip to carry the emotional hook before anything else. The sound is doing the work.
• Urgency open: Creates a consequence or fear response that makes leaving feel like a mistake.

A Number Drop hook can be delivered through on-screen text or trending audio. A Scroll Stopper can run with original audio or music only. The combination determines both reach and engagement, and those two outcomes are often in direct tension.

What the Data Shows

Hook Types: The Most Common Hook Is Not the Best Performer

Hook Type	Videos	Avg Views	Avg Engagement
Scroll Stopper	33	32.8M	9.74%
Number Drop	30	18.5M	10.81%
Result Tease	16	18.5M	8.69%
Direct Call-Out	11	34.9M	11.42%
Warning	8	8.5M	10.35%

The Scroll Stopper is the most-used hook, appearing in 33 of the 100 top videos. But the Direct Call-Out averages the highest views (34.9M) and the highest engagement (11.42%) despite appearing in only 11 videos.

One caveat: the Direct Call-Out concentrates on Lifestyle and Entertainment, the two highest-reach niches in our study. 

So this isn’t clean proof that the hook itself drives higher views everywhere. What it tells us is that Direct Call-Outs appear in the contexts where the biggest videos happen. 

Scroll Stoppers are the safe, repeatable option. Direct Call-Outs have a higher ceiling.

For smaller creators specifically, the Number Drop has the highest engagement rate of the three most common hook types (10.81%) and is the dominant hook in small creator top videos. That combination matters.

What this means for you: Test a Number Drop hook in your next video. Not a vague claim, a specific number. Not “I’ve saved a lot” but “$500k at 32.” Then watch your engagement rate against your Scroll Stopper videos.

Delivery Formats: The Trending Audio Trade-Off

Here’s the choice you’re actually making when you pick a delivery format: more reach, or stronger engagement. They often pull in opposite directions.

Delivery Format	Videos	Avg Views	Avg Engagement
On-screen text	56	22.4M	10.6%
Curiosity open	27	19.3M	10.4%
Trending sound	10	45.5M	7.4%
Urgency open	7	25.9M	7.0%

From our study, trending audio produced the highest average views at 45.5 million, but the lowest engagement rate at 7.4%. 

On-screen text and curiosity opens both average around 10.4 to 10.6% engagement with more consistent numbers.

Trending audio is a reach tool. It pushes your video to more feeds, but those people tend to engage less from our data. The main exception is for creators in the entertainment niche, which makes sense.

Your own voice builds community. It may get fewer views, but it’ll get viewers who respond, share, and come back. If you want new people to find you, trending audio can help. If you want your existing audience to trust you enough to buy something, your own voice is the better play.

What this means for you: Before you pick a sound for your next video, ask: What am I trying to accomplish right now? If it’s new reach, test trending audio. If it’s deeper engagement from your existing audience, use your own voice. Don’t use trending audio by default just because it’s there.

The Hook Combination That Shows Up Most: Face-to-Camera With Your Own Voice

When we mapped visual format against audio strategy across all 100 videos, one combination stood out. 

(Note: the definitions for these hook types are under the Most Creators Only Think About Half Their Hook section.)

Face-to-camera plus the creator’s own voice appears in 45 of 100 top videos, nearly half the dataset. It also produces 10.79% average engagement, the highest of any major combination.

Face-to-camera plus trending sound seems to produce more average views, but drops engagement by about 2 full percentage points. 

Visual chaos plus music only (4 videos) has the weakest engagement at 5.88%. Those videos get watched, but don’t generate responses.

The most underused combination: split-screen or collage format. Only 5 videos use it, but it averages 22.1M views and 11.54% engagement, above average on both metrics. It appears almost entirely in Fitness (reaction content, motivational collage) and Education (debate reactions). If you’re in either niche and haven’t tested this format, the numbers suggest you should.

What this means for you: If you’re in Fitness or Education, try the split-screen or reaction format. From our sample, it may be overperforming and underused in both niches. Find a controversial clip or take in your space, react to it on camera, and test it.

Use Specific Numbers in Your Hooks

Across Finance, Parenting, Fitness, Tech, and Entertainment, one pattern shows up in high-performing hooks with near-total consistency: a specific number beats a vague claim.

Here’s a list of examples from some of the videos we analyzed:

• “I’m 32 with almost $500k saved” → 25.4M views
• 5 Rules for our 5 kids” → 71.7M views
• “My uncle bought me a $15k dog” → 36.9M views
• 5 most painful alarm clocks in the world” → 12.8M views
• 5 generations in 1 video” → 30.6M views

The brain reads specificity as credibility. “I’ve saved a lot of money” is forgettable. “$500k at 32” stops the scroll.

What this means for you: Before you post your next video, look at your hook and ask: is there a specific number here that I’m leaving vague? If your hook says “a lot,” “many,” or “huge,” find the actual number and put it in.

Your Biggest Video Might Have Nothing to Do With Your Niche

This is the finding that surprised us most. When we compared each creator’s typical hook style to the hook in their actual top viral video, real mismatches kept showing up. And in almost every case, the mismatch is where the biggest numbers live. 

• @jackieaina (3.4M Beauty creator, typical style: Scroll Stopper product content) went viral with a 7-minute personal story about being celibate for a year. 6.3M views. 15.87% engagement, her highest in the dataset.
• @alexeubank2.0 (2.9M Fitness creator, typical style: Scroll Stopper workout content) went viral, showing a $15,000 dog his uncle gave him for Christmas. 36.9M views. Nothing to do with fitness.
• @jooshica (1.8M Beauty creator, typical style: Result Tease) went viral with a casual, unplanned video doing makeup on her little brother. Hook: “Why is he lowkey prettier than me?” 24.1M views.
• @wisdm (14M Lifestyle creator, typical style: aesthetic montage content) went viral responding to a commenter’s challenge to make an outfit for every year since the beginning of time. 91.2M views. 19.74% engagement.

Audiences follow the person, not the category. The algorithm rewards novelty even from established creators. Stepping outside your format into something personal, unexpected, or genuinely funny can produce your highest-reach video.

This doesn’t mean abandon your niche. It means don’t be so locked into your format that you filter out the spontaneous, human moments your audience would actually love.

The Trend Behind the Videos with the Highest Engagement

Three of the highest-engagement videos in our dataset have one thing in common across three completely different niches. Each sets up an assumption about who the creator is, then immediately proves it wrong.

• @ladyspinedoc (Education) opens with three words: “I’m not a feminist.” Then she performs complex spinal surgery. 20.8M views. 18.27% engagement.
• @captainkatemccue (Education) opens with “I’m a feminist, watch me cook.” Then she navigates a cruise ship she’s captaining. 14.3M views. 20.98% engagement.
• @kendahllandreth (Entertainment) sets up a birthday party scene with cake, balloons, and a family gathering. The text reads “POV: you come out as straight to your liberal parents.” 32.8M views. 13.11% engagement.

Creators from three different niches had the same structure…establish what the viewer expects, then immediately deliver the opposite.

It’s the most repeatable high-engagement creative format we found in the entire dataset. And it costs nothing to execute. No special equipment, no trending audio, no production budget. 

Just an interesting contrast between what you seem to be and what you actually are.

For smaller creators: this format works just as well at 10,000 followers as it does at 10 million. It doesn’t require an existing audience. It requires an interesting juxtaposition.

What this means for you: Think about the biggest assumption someone makes about you based on your niche. Then think about one true thing about you that directly contradicts it. That’s your Identity Flip hook. Write a script around that contrast and test it.

Niche Breakdown

The patterns above apply broadly. But each niche has its own rules. Here’s what the data shows for each one, including the format that’s overperforming, the one that’s underused, and what to do about it.

Beauty & Advocacy

Dominant hook: Number Drop | Length sweet spot: 11 to 32 seconds | Avg engagement: 9.77%

The most counterintuitive finding in Beauty: the highest-engagement videos are not about beauty. @jackieaina’s celibacy story (15.87%) and @skinbyrileyb’s wedding video (16.43%) both outperformed product content on engagement. The audience is there for the person. Product content monetizes that relationship. It rarely builds it.

The most minimal hook in the dataset lives here: @golloria’s 55.8M-view video uses two words on screen, “A blush.” The text was nearly invisible. The hook was entirely audio, with the creator repeating it while applying product to her face. The visual was doing maximum work before any text was read.

What this means for you: Post one personal or off-topic video this month, something that shows who you are outside the niche. Watch what happens to your engagement. Then use that audience warmth to return to product content.

Fitness & Wellness

Dominant hook: Result Tease | No strong length ceiling | Avg engagement: 9.46%

In Fitness, the creator’s physique is the hook before any text loads. This is the only niche where music-only, no-text content regularly reaches 20M+ views. The body does the work that text does everywhere else.

The most underused format: split-screen. @noeldeyzel_bodybuilder’s motivational collage of four viral clips hit 31.1M views and 16.08% engagement. @shivwilson’s gym conflict reaction video hit 26.3M and 14.45%. Both outperformed straightforward workout content.

What this means for you: Test the reaction format. Find a controversial gym clip or fitness take, react to it on camera, and use split-screen. This format is underused and overperforming in this niche.

Cooking & Culinary Arts

Dominant hook: Scroll Stopper (8 of 10 top videos, the most uniform niche in the study) | Avg engagement: 7.79% | Dominant monetization: Creator Fund (7 of 10)

Cooking is a sensory niche. The first frame has to make the viewer physically react, whether that’s salivating, feeling curious, or experiencing spectacle. Text-first hooks almost never appear in top Cooking videos because the food does a better job in the same frame.

@spizee.goat’s giant chocolate unboxing (no text, no voiceover) hit 81.6M views. The sound of @notorious_foodie unwrapping raw meat, no words, just the sound effect, hit 44.2M. Viewers don’t always want to make the food. They want to experience it.

One underserved lane: @cassyeungmoney went to 13.8M views talking about eating a late lunch and skipping dinner. Relatable eating behavior, no recipe, no spectacle. Lifestyle-adjacent food content is almost completely missing from the top of this niche.

What this means for you: Lead with the most visually extreme version of what you’re making. And seriously consider adding a product, course, or cookbook. You’re in one of the highest-reach niches in this study, and most creators here are leaving most of the money on the table.

Education & Edutainment

Dominant hook: Number Drop | Avg engagement: 14.92%, highest in the study | Avg views: 6.2M, lowest in the study

This is the most important niche finding in the entire study, and it’s easy to miss because the view counts look small.

Education has the lowest average views and the highest average engagement. By a lot. No other niche comes within three percentage points of its 14.92% average. The individual numbers tell the story:

• @selftaughtpm: 22.23%, highest engagement in the entire dataset
• @captainkatemccue: 20.98%
• @ladyspinedoc: 18.27%
• @mavereuer: 16.22%

Educational audiences don’t just watch. They respond, debate, share, and come back. That’s the audience most likely to buy a course, a book, or a coaching program.

What this means for you: You have the highest-converting audience in short-form video. Post short (under 20 seconds) to grow your reach, and longer (over 2 minutes) to deepen loyalty with your existing audience. Build an offer. A 14.92% average engagement audience is a buying audience. Treat it like one.

DIY & Home Renovation

Dominant hook: Scroll Stopper | Length sweet spot: 42 to 69 seconds | Music-only audio: more than any other niche

DIY is the only niche where music-only transformation videos are a proven standalone viral format. @steffydegreff’s bookshelf build (no text, music only) hit 13.3M views and 13.53% engagement. A bathroom renovation time-lapse with no words hit 17.5M.

The opening frame is everything here. The messier, more broken, or more unfinished the start, the stronger the scroll-stop. The chaos in the first frame is the hook. The transformation earns the watch time.

What this means for you: Open on the worst version of what you’re fixing. Don’t start with a clean shot of the finished result. The hole in the wall, the pile of raw materials, the demolished bathroom that’s your hook. Then let the transformation play out. Music carries it.

Tech & Productivity

Dominant hook: Number Drop | Length sweet spot: 35 to 48 seconds, the tightest range of any niche | Avg engagement: 9.53%

The most consistent virality driver in Tech is being first. @ijustine went to a physical Apple Store on iPhone 16 launch day and filmed herself holding the phone. No script. No special production. 79.8M views, the highest in the Tech category. Timing beat execution quality by a wide margin.

One format worth flagging: @katamogz’s MacBook Neo color reveal used an AI voiceover (the only AI voiceover in our entire dataset) and produced 22.22% engagement, the highest in the Tech niche.

What this means for you: Set alerts for product launches and feature announcements in your area. The fastest path to a breakout video is being the first person with clear, accessible coverage of something new. And keep videos between 35 and 48 seconds. Performance drops off outside that range in Tech more sharply than in any other niche.

Personal Finance

Dominant hook: Number Drop | Face-to-camera: 100% of the videos we studied in this category | Comments per like: 1.46, highest in the dataset

Finance is the most emotionally polarizing niche we studied. The top-performing videos fall into two categories: aspiration (someone achieving wealth) and outrage (irresponsible money behavior). Calm, instructional finance content doesn’t appear in this dataset’s top videos.

The comments-per-like ratio is worth sitting with. For every 100 likes a Finance video gets, it generates 1.46 comments. @nobudgetbabe’s “The easiest way to get rich, no gatekeeping” generated 39,200 comments on 842,400 likes, among the most debated videos we analyzed. That comment volume is an algorithm signal, and Finance creators generate it at a rate nearly five times higher than Fitness creators.

The length pattern is the most immediately useful finding for this niche: post under 13 seconds (pure stat with text over movement) or over 87 seconds (narrative or podcast-clip format). The 35 to 55 second range produced the most inconsistent results of any length bracket in any niche we studied.

What this means for you: Lead with a specific number in every hook. Not “I saved a lot” but “$500k at 32.” Not “this deal was huge” but “$100 million acquisition.” And choose a format: ultra-short stat content or longer narrative content. The middle is where Finance videos go to underperform.

Parenting & Family

Dominant hook: Number Drop | Length: under 13 seconds or over 87 seconds | Avg engagement: 7.82%

The highest-viewed Parenting video in our dataset is also its most polarizing: @ongsquad’s “5 Rules for our 5 kids,” which listed specific, debatable family rules about dating, clothing, social media, sleepovers, and church, hit 71.7M views. The video drew both strong agreement and strong pushback. Both drove the algorithm.

The bimodal length pattern is the clearest of any niche. Four videos under 15 seconds averaged 27.2M views. The single mid-length video (55 seconds, a straight tutorial format) is the lowest performer in the niche at 2.3M. Four videos over 61 seconds all hit 15.8M+. Parenting content is either a punchy moment or a full story.

What this means for you: Take a specific position. A clear, debatable parenting stance, even one some viewers push back on, drives more reach than universally agreeable advice. Specificity creates polarity. Polarity drives comments. Comments drive distribution.

Entertainment & Comedy

Dominant hook: Scroll Stopper | Length sweet spot: 8 to 37 seconds | Avg views: 43.3M, highest of any niche

In Entertainment, trending audio is often the creative premise, not just the delivery format. @calebrownn’s 153.4M-view video (the highest single video in our dataset) is built around a trending sound paired with split-screen clone-dancing. The creator’s job in this niche is finding the most interesting physical or comedic interpretation of what’s already moving culturally.

The subverted expectation structure appears across the highest-engagement Entertainment videos: the straight coming-out video (32.8M, 13.11%), the indie movie girl in the rain (58M, 15.86%), and the movie reenactment (39.4M, 15.74%). Set up what the viewer expects. Deliver the opposite.

What this means for you: Find the trending sound first, then build your concept around it. Figure out what most people do with that audio, then do something completely different. The gap between expectation and delivery is where the comments come from.

Lifestyle & Aesthetic

Dominant hook: Scroll Stopper | Best lengths: 6 to 8 seconds or 43 to 101 seconds | Avg views: ~28M

Lifestyle rewards cultural timing more than any other niche. @katiefeeney’s 224M-view video (the highest single video in our entire dataset) is not a technically superior video. It was taken at the Super Bowl near celebrities. Access and timing were the strategy.

The most instructive example: @madelineargy posted a 7-second video with no text and no clear message. The song playing over her face generated speculation in the comments about what she was going through emotionally. That speculation drove 113.2M views. Lifestyle is the only niche in our study where deliberate ambiguity is a proven hook.

What this means for you: Track cultural moments and put yourself near them when you can. Your content doesn’t have to be extraordinary. It has to be timely. Test the under-10-second format with trending audio. The highest-viewed Lifestyle content in our study is often its shortest.

Pick a Goal Before You Pick a Video Length

The videos in our study indicate that short videos tend to drive reach, while long videos drive loyalty. These are two separate strategies, and the data confirms it in niche after niche.

Take Education, for example. Two 16-second videos in that category hit above 14 million views, the highest in the niche. A 167-second video hit only 1.1 million views but produced 22.23% engagement, the highest of any video in the entire study. These are just individual videos, but it’s indicative of a bigger trend.

Finance, for example, shows the same split from a different angle. Videos under 13 seconds work as pure stat drops, text over a walking shot, or a number that stops the scroll. Videos over 87 seconds work as narrative or podcast-clip content. The 35 to 55 second middle range is where Finance videos start to underperform.

Parenting confirms it again. Videos under 15 seconds averaged 27.2 million views, and a 55-second video was the niche’s lowest performer (in our sample) at 2.3 million.

What this means for you: Before you decide how long your next video should be, decide what it’s for. If you want new people to find you, post short. If you want your existing audience to trust you enough to buy something, post long. Trying to do both in the same video is usually why mid-length videos underperform across most niches.

What Kind of Audience Are You Actually Building? (Most Creators Never Ask This)

Here’s a question most creators never ask before picking a niche: what type of audience response does this space produce?

We tracked comments per 100 likes across all 100 videos. This shows whether an audience responds actively or watches passively.

Niche	Comments per 100 Likes
Personal Finance	1.46
Education	0.91
Entertainment	0.67
Tech	0.65
Cooking	0.59
DIY	0.54
Parenting	0.54
Beauty	0.36
Lifestyle	0.35
Fitness	0.31

Here are the trends we noticed:

• Finance builds debaters. 
• Fitness builds admirers. 
• Lifestyle builds passive appreciators. 

None of those is wrong, but they monetize differently.

Debate drives comment sections and algorithm signals. Admiration drives product purchases and brand deals. Passive appreciation drives brand deal volume at scale.

What this means for you: When you pick a niche, you’re also picking the type of audience you’ll spend years building. Pick the response type that matches what you’re trying to sell, then choose the niche that produces it.

High Views Don’t Equal High Revenue

The two highest-average-view niches in our study, Entertainment (43.3M avg) and Cooking (24.5M avg), rely primarily on the Creator Fund from what we can tell. 

Two of the best-monetized niches, Fitness and Finance, have lower average views and tend to earn more per viewer through courses, coaching, and direct product sales.

A Cooking creator with 50M views on a video earns Creator Fund rates, fractions of a cent per view. A Fitness coach with 5M views may be selling a $500 coaching program to a portion of those viewers who convert.

To put this into perspective, @katiefeeney’s top video in our dataset (the 224 million view Super Bowl celebrity video) was 2,476 times her average view count. One video, the right moment, an extraordinary number. That’s not a content strategy. That’s lightning. The creators who build sustainable businesses in our dataset aren’t the ones chasing a single breakout moment. They’re the ones with something to sell when the views come in.

The Education niche captures this tension most clearly. It has the highest engagement of any niche (14.92%), the lowest average views (6.2M), and creators mostly rely on the Creator Fund for monetization. Education creators have the most responsive, most purchase-ready audiences in short-form video, and most are earning next to nothing on those audiences.

What this means for you: Views measure reach. Revenue requires something to sell. If you’re in Education, Finance, or Fitness and you don’t have an offer yet, that’s the gap to close, not your view count.

What to Do With All of This

The data in this study point to a few things that most creators overlook.

1. The hook types that work for big accounts don’t work the same way for smaller ones.
2. Trending audio tends to reach more people but builds less loyalty
3. The niche with the most views isn’t the one that makes the most money
4. Some of the biggest videos in our dataset had nothing to do with the creator’s actual niche.

None of it is complicated. But reading about it and actually applying it to your content every week are two different things.

That’s where most creators get stuck. Not because they don’t understand the strategy, but because there’s a gap between knowing it and doing it consistently.

The good news is that AI can fill in a lot of that gap. It can help you generate hook ideas, build out content around your niche, and stay consistent without burning out.

That’s why we built our AI Content Creator. It’s complete with tools, templates, and done-for-you ideas that take everything in this study and make it actionable for your account. And if you want more hands-on support, our 1-on-1 coaching is built around the same system.

So if you want instant access, sign up here today! 

If you’re looking for an editing tool for your reels, two of the best options you have are CapCut and Edits by Instagram. 

Both are extremely popular and are great for beginners who just want to create simple reels. 

But the real question is…

Which one is better? 

Let’s take a deep-dive look at the features of both of these tools, so you can decide for yourself which one to get! 

TLDR – CapCut vs Instagram Edits Comparison Chart

In a nutshell…

If you prefer editing on a desktop, choose CapCut. Some people struggle to edit on their phones, and I get it. Working on a small screen with big thumbs can be challenging (even for me!). 

If you prefer editing on a phone, then Edits is the way to go. It’s designed specifically for creating short-form content on the phone and sharing it directly to Instagram. 

But with that said, let’s dive into the details!

	CapCut	Edits
Best For	Advanced creators and desktop editors	Phone-first creators who want fast, simple editing
Desktop App	Yes (Windows and Mac)	No
Mobile App	Yes (iOS and Android)	Yes (iOS and Android)
Pricing	Free (watermark)Pro ($9.99/month)	Free (no watermark)
Platform Integration	TikTok-native	Instagram/Reels-native
Templates	Yes	Select countries/regions only
Auto Captions	Yes	Yes
Analytics	No	Yes
Unique Advantage	Full desktop editing experience  Templates Advanced AI tools	Fastest path from phone to published Reel Advanced analytics for Instagram

What Are CapCut and Instagram Edits?

Before we dive deeper into the comparison, let’s take a quick look at what exactly these apps are:

CapCut is a free video editing app made by ByteDance (the same company behind TikTok). It’s available on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac, and it has over a billion downloads globally. It started as a TikTok-adjacent editing tool and has grown into a full-featured video editor that a huge chunk of the online creator world uses. 

Edits (also known as “Instagram Edits”) is a standalone app that Instagram launched in early 2025. It’s completely separate from Instagram’s basic built-in editor and is designed specifically for Reels-style content. It’s phone-only, it’s free, and it was clearly built to compete with CapCut directly.

Both are great for editing short-form content, which is the most effective format today. 

The question is…which one should you use?

The Main Difference Between CapCut and Edits

While both of these apps share a LOT of features, there are some differences that make them stand out. 

For one, CapCut has a desktop editor. So if you’re someone who prefers a bigger screen for editing and using a mouse for precise cuts, CapCut is the better choice. You can also easily transfer your edits from your desktop to your phone using CapCut’s cloud storage (available for Pro only). 

CapCut also has templates you can grab. So if you’re someone who loves those well-edited viral reels, but don’t have the time to actually design one yourself, you can just grab a template and insert your clips instead.

Meanwhile, Edits allows you to publish directly to Instagram. This app is basically Instagram’s built-in editor on steroids with more font options, more adjustments, and it even allows you to publish at ultra-high (4k) quality. 

Edits also has advanced analytics (more advanced than Instagram’s native analytics), where you can see better engagement stats like your like rate, share, comment, and save rates (all of which are super important to get more views). 

CapCut – What It Does Best

Here’s a full breakdown of what makes Capcut great:

• Desktop App – CapCut is in a league of its own among free editing options. You get a multi-track timeline, precision cutting controls, keyframe animation, background removal, and a library of transitions and effects (both for free and Pro users). 

• Mobile Features – CapCut is still one of the strongest editing apps available. The template library is enormous (1,000+), the AI features work great on mobile, and the workflow is smooth. If you enjoy spending time designing unique reels, then CapCut definitely beats Edits. 

• Pricing – CapCut has a free tier that already does a lot, but it adds a quick watermark at the end of your exports (just a quick 2-second logo). You’ll need to pay for the Pro plan to have that removed. 

Overall, if you like digging in and editing reels well, then CapCut will be great. Especially if you don’t mind that quick watermark at the end. But if you just want to make simple edits by putting video clips together (and maybe adding auto captions), Edits might be the better choice for you. 

Instagram Edits – What It Does Best

Now let’s take a look at Edits by Instagram: 

• Easiest Editor – Edits was designed to be the easiest editor for putting clips together and sharing them on Instagram. The interface is super simple, just import your clips, trim them, arrange them, add music, add text, and you’re done. You won’t get overwhelmed by features with Edits because it’s SO simple.

• Linked to Instagram – Because Meta built it, the Instagram and Reels integration with Edits is seamless. It even allows you to publish higher-quality videos than if you use Instagram’s native editor! That’s why if your main purpose is posting on Instagram, Edits gives you the most native experience possible.

• Free – Edits is also completely free. Unlike CapCut’s free tier, Edits doesn’t add a watermark to your exports. 

The downside of Edits is that its template library is limited, and is only available in select countries (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland). That said, Edits plans to release templates to more regions in the future. Also, it can be more difficult to create fancier edits on Edits (like overlaying videos with each other). If you like getting creative, you might like CapCut’s features more. 

But again, if all you want is to trim clips together, add some text and audio, then publish on Instagram? It’s hard to beat Edits. 

Feature Comparison: Where Each Tool Wins

Desktop editing: CapCut wins by default. Edits doesn’t have a desktop app. 

Ease of use: Edits wins for beginners. Its stripped-down interface means fewer decisions and faster results for simple edits. CapCut is also accessible but has more to navigate.

Templates: CapCut wins. Templates are relatively new to Edits, and are only available in some countries, but CapCut has a massive library of 1,000+ templates to choose from. 

AI features: CapCut wins. Background removal, AI text-to-video, and AI-enhanced effects are all available in CapCut. Edits has auto captions, but is more basic overall. 

Pricing: Edits wins because it has no watermark. For people who just want simple edits and don’t like watermarks, the $9.99/mo price tag of CapCut can be a big turn-off. 

Platform integration: Depends on where you’re posting. CapCut allows you to post directly to TikTok (without having to save your video to your phone), while Edits lets you post directly to Instagram and Facebook. 

Speed to publish: Edits wins for phone-first creators with fewer steps, simpler workflow, direct Instagram connection. If your goal is to shoot-edit-post in under 20 minutes from your phone, Edits is the faster path.

Which One Should You Use?

Choose CapCut if:

• You want to edit on a desktop or laptop (use the CapCut desktop app, it’s free to download)
• You’re creating faceless content where editing quality matters
• You want advanced AI features like background removal or AI video generation
• You’re posting primarily to TikTok or a mix of platforms
• You’re willing to pay $9.99/month to remove the watermark and access pro features
• You want a tool that can grow with you as your content gets more sophisticated

Choose Instagram Edits if:

• You prefer editing on your phone and want a simple, fast workflow
• You’re posting primarily to Instagram Reels and want native platform integration
• You’re newer to video editing and want a low-friction experience with almost no learning curve
• You want a completely free tool with no watermark on your exports
• You want to shoot and publish quickly without spending a lot of time in an editing app

The answer really is that simple. Pick based on where you edit, not based on which app has more features.

Which Video Editor is Better?

The honest answer is that neither of these tools is objectively “better.” They’re built for different people doing different things. 

CapCut is the right choice for creators who want to edit on a desktop, need advanced AI features, or are creating content that requires more sophisticated editing. 

Instagram Edits is the right choice for creators who prefer editing on their phone, want the simplest possible workflow, and are posting primarily to Instagram. 

But the truth is, no matter which tool you choose, it won’t mean much if you don’t build a strong system for your content. 

Growing on Instagram isn’t about using the best tools; it’s about choosing the right niche, finding the right content ideas, and pumping them out quickly to grow your account as fast as possible. 

That’s why I created the AI content generator. 

With it, you get viral reel ideas, it writes scripts for you, and it can even edit videos for you! 

So if you’re looking for the fastest way to get your Instagram account up and running, check it out here. 

There’s nothing worse than staring at a blank screen, trying to decide what content you’ll post on Instagram next. 

And the pressure is on. 

Keeping up engagement means being consistent with your posting schedule…and it’s been days since your last post. 

Then you see other creators in your niche seem to crank out content with ease. 

How do they do it?

Are they more creative than you? Do they have some secret? 

We hear you and want to reassure you…

You don’t have a creativity problem. You have a system problem.  

So…in a sense, the biggest Instagram accounts do have a secret…a secret formula. That formula is a system that produces content ideas constantly. 

Once master this system, ideas will flow naturally without having to rack your brain to find out what to post next. 

And in 2026, that system matters more than ever. Instagram’s grid went fully vertical. The platform is now being used as a search engine by millions of people every day. And the algorithm weighs DM shares and saves far more than likes. If your content strategy is still built around chasing hearts, you’re already leaving reach on the table.

TL;DR: 17 Instagram Content Ideas That Never Get Old

1. Explained for Dummies — Simplify complex topics

2. Top Listicles — Top 3, Top 5, Top 10 rankings

3. This vs That — Product/method comparisons

4-8. Simple Clip + Text — Funny, relatable, inspirational, informative, or cool

9. Step-by-Step Guides — Actionable tutorials

10. Storytime — Personal stories with lessons

11. Product Reviews — Unbiased takes build trust

12. Niche News — Report + give your expert take

13. Authority Hacks — What famous people in your niche do

14. Quick Hacks — Fast tips that save time/money

15. Unpopular Opinion — Stand out with bold takes

16. Q&A Style — Answer follower questions

17. Rule Breaker — Post something just for fun

Which Instagram Content Format to Use (Based on Your Goal)

Not all content for Instagram is created equal. Different formats serve different purposes. Before you decide what to post, decide what you want it to do.

Reels are still the #1 way to reach people who don’t follow you yet. On average, Reels drive 55% of views from non-followers. If your goal is to grow your audience, Reels are your primary tool. The single biggest lever is your hook in the first 3 seconds. Check out our guide on how to go viral on Instagram for the hook formulas that actually work.

Use Carousels for Engagement

Carousels are the highest-engagement format on Instagram right now, averaging a 0.55% engagement rate compared to 0.50% for Reels. They get more saves and shares, especially when they teach something. Educational carousels in particular perform well because people save them to come back to later. If your goal is to deepen your relationship with existing followers, carousels are your best bet.

Use Stories for Trust

Stories are where your community lives. Polls, Q&A stickers, and behind-the-scenes clips in Stories help your existing audience feel like insiders. They’re not great for reach, but they’re excellent for building the kind of trust that turns casual followers into loyal fans and paying customers.

Use DMs and Product Tags for Conversions

The 2026 algorithm update put DM shares at the top of the ranking signals. When someone shares your post via DM, Instagram treats that as a strong signal of quality. Create content that makes people think, “I need to send this to someone.” Combine that with product tags on your posts if you’re selling, and you’ve got a content machine that actually converts.

What Should I Post on Instagram?

What you post on Instagram should be based on your “content pillars” — 3-5 core topics that overlap your expertise, your audience’s pain points, and your business goals. From these pillars, you can create dozens of Instagram content ideas using proven formats like listicles, tutorials, comparisons, personal stories, and simple clip + text reels. The key is having a system rather than relying on random inspiration.

How to Create a Content Pillar System for Endless Instagram Ideas

Here’s the thing about staring at that blank screen trying to come up with ideas…

The daily stress of this comes from a lack of strategy. You’re essentially playing content roulette every single solitary day, hoping you hit a brilliant idea. 

The system successful creators come up with is building core “content pillars” that give you a framework to work within. 

Content pillars are core topics or themes that you promise to deliver to your audience. 

The topics that make up your content pillars aren’t random…they are based on three critical elements: 

1. Your expertise (what you actually know and your unique insight on it)
2. Your audience pain points (what keeps them up at night)
3. And your business goals (what you want to gain from posting)

For example, if you’re a financial advisor, your content pillars might be:

• Debt payoff strategies
• Investing for beginners
• Market news explained 

Here’s how you find your own content pillars for your niche, step-by-step… 

Step 1: List 10 topics you could talk about for hours without notes.

Step 2: Survey your audience, mine their comments on other creators in your niche. What questions do they ask repeatedly?

Step 3: Identify which topics directly support your business goals

Step 4: Find the overlap. What topics hit all three of these steps?

Step 5: Narrow it down to your strongest 3-5 pillars. 

Once you have these pillars, expanding will be easy. 

You can come up with dozens of different reel and carousel ideas for a never-ending supply of things to post for your followers. 

Let’s take that financial advisor example…

Pillar: Investing for Beginners 

This isn’t one post idea. It’s a content platform. You might post a lineup like this if your were a financial advisor: 

Reel: “3 Investing Apps I Actually Use (And Why)”

Carousel: “Step-by-Step: How to Open Your First Roth IRA”

Story: Q&A sticker asking “What’s your biggest investing fear?”

Static Post: Infographic showing the power of compound interest

Video: “Reacting to the Worst Investing Advice I Heard This Week”

Tutorial: “How to Read a Stock Chart in 60 Seconds”

Personal Story: “The $10,000 Investing Mistake That Changed Everything”

And if you need some help coming up with different angles for your content pillars. We have you covered there, too…

17 Content Ideas You Can Steal For Instagram

#1: Explained for Dummies

No matter what your niche is, there are always beginners who are curious about how to even get started. 

That’s where you can come in with your expertise and simplify complex topics or ideas so that everyone can understand. 

This is especially great if your niche is more complex, such as our friend, Mr. Financial Advisor Example. But you can still find ideas within this pillar for all niches. 

Best format: Reels or carousels. Works great as a carousel for saves.

Examples:

• 401(k) Explained for Dummies
• Everything You Didn’t Know About Visa Extensions Explained 
• Keto Diet Explained (If You’re Just Getting Started) 

#2: Top (Insert Number Here) Listicles

Top 3, Top 5, Top 10…

Listicles are still arguably one of the most popular formats on the internet, and for good reason! 

They are simple to consume, the structure gets people engaged, and they always want to see what number 1 is.

The best part? 

Top listicles work in pretty much every single niche, from travel to music to video game development. 

Best format: Carousels. Listicles are the #1 carousel format for engagement and saves.

Examples

• Top 3 Banks with High Interest Rates (Number 1 Will Surprise You)
• Top 5 Reefs in the Caribbean you MUST Visit
• Top 10 Must-Have Tools for Homecooks

#3: This Vs. That

This format works extremely well because…who doesn’t love a comparison?

It helps you make decisions, highlight the difference between similar items, encourages commenters to chip in with their experiences, and is also highly shareable content. 

You can use this to compare two competing products, or you can use this as a way to show why one product or method is obviously better than the other. 

Best format: Carousels or Reels. These drive the most comments and DM shares of any Instagram content idea.

Examples (Fitness Homecook)

• Credit Card A vs Credit Card B
• Hiking in Summer vs Winter
• Air Frying vs Regular Frying

Simple Clip, Simple Text (SCST)

“Simple Clip, Simple Text” is the most viral format on Instagram today. 

Choose a simple, short clip from your camera roll, add some text, and you’re done! 

This format is not only super easy to use, but it also has extremely high potential to go viral. 

It’s short, so it can rack up tons of views, it’s easy to consume (which leads to more likes), and if you do it right, you can also get tons of shares on these. 

But what combination of clips and text can you use? 

Here are some examples: 

#4: SCST — Funny/Entertaining

Content that’s guaranteed to make your target audience chuckle when they see it. 

Best format: Short Reels (under 15 seconds). Keep it punchy. Funny content gets the most DM shares, which is now a top algorithm signal in 2026.

Text Examples 

• When your friend says, “I’ll start investing when I have money.”
• Ordering food abroad like: “I’ll have…” points at menu nervously
• When you cook at home to save, but end up spending more on groceries

#5: SCST — Relatable

Sharing experiences that your followers have experienced themselves. This can easily be shared because the audience has gone through them personally. 

Best format: Short Reels. Relatable content is the most shared type of content for Instagram. These rack up DM shares fast.

Text Examples 

• When you realize your dog has better health insurance than you.
• That moment when your flight gets delayed… again 
• When you’re following a recipe, but they don’t add measurements

#6: SCST — Inspirational

Done right, short inspirational reels can get a ton of saves. People will want to come back to it when they are struggling and need a bit of encouragement. 

Best format: Reels or static posts. Inspirational content is one of the top save drivers. Saves signal quality to the algorithm.

Text Examples 

• Wealth is built in decades, not days
• Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer
• Your future self will thank you for today’s prep

#7: SCST — Informative

Short reels can be informative too! Use the text to hook people in and show what they can learn. Then use your caption to get into the details. 

If people spend time reading the caption, this will also boost your watch time, which helps spread your reel to others. 

Best format: Reels with detailed captions. The caption is where you can also work in keywords for Instagram SEO (more on that below).

Text Examples 

• This is the easiest money rule you’ll ever follow
• How I got a FREE hotel in the Bahamas
• How I lost 20lbs in just 2 months

#8: SCST — Cool 

Depending on your niche, there might be tons of cool things that you can share. Whether that’s skills or amazing places, the possibilities are endless. 

Best format: Reels for maximum reach. “Cool factor” content gets shared to Stories by followers, multiplying your reach organically.

Text Examples 

• What $100 can do in 30 years
• I didn’t know places like this existed in South Carolina
• Can you cook healthy food that isn’t boring?

#9: Step-by-Step Guides

Reels showing exactly how to do something can lead to a lot of saves. And if you really help people, they’ll leave lots of thankful comments as well. 

The trick to making how-to guides more consumable is by turning them into a step-by-step guide. 

Make each step actionable, so people can use them as soon as possible. 

Best format: Carousels. Step-by-step content has the highest save rate of any Instagram content idea. Saves are a top 2026 algorithm signal.

Examples: 

• A Step-by-Step Guide to Saving Your First $10k
• How to Snag Flight Deals: A Step-by-Step Guide
• How to Make Burgers Healthy — a 4-Step Guide

#10: Storytime

Telling personal stories is one of the best formats for being unique from everyone else, since your stories are, well, your own. 

However, stories can be a little more involved, and you need to make sure people stay engaged. 

How do you do it right?

In a nutshell, you’ll always want to connect what happened to you to something that people can take out of it — whether it be a lesson, some entertainment, or something relatable. 

Once you get the hang of good storytelling, stories can be a great way to build a strong community on Instagram. It also gives you an endless supply of content since every day is a new story.

Best format: Reels. Personal storytelling drives watch time, which is the #1 ranking factor for Reels in 2026. Nail the hook in the first 3 seconds.

Examples: 

• How I Paid Off My $31,000 Student Debt
• I Got Scammed in Costa Rica
• Cooking for Guests For the First Time

#11: Product Reviews

Product reviews are another super tricky format, because if people pick up any hint of bias in your review, they’re not going to trust you. 

There is plenty of money to be made with this format, which brings tons of sleazy salespeople and sponsored creators to make product reviews, which is why people are more defensive whenever they encounter product reviews. 

But if you pull off a completely unbiased review, your credibility will shoot through the roof, and people will flock to you for your unbiased takes. 

These work best if you have already built trust with your audience. 

Best format: Reels. Authentic product reviews get DM shares when followers want to pass the recommendation to friends. DM shares are a top 2026 signal.

Examples: 

• eToro Review: Reliable or a Scam? 
• Is Staying at the Burj Al Arab Worth It?
• Gimmicky Kitchen Gadget Reviews: Apple Slicers

#12: Niche News

Reporting the news is another way to get an endless stream of content. 

To get this right, you need to be on top of things. You need to be one of the first to release a reel about the news before it goes stale. 

Don’t just report news either; you’ll also want to give your personal takes or share some of your expertise on the subject matter. 

Best format: Reels for speed and reach. In 2026, Instagram is increasingly used as a search engine, and fresh news content gets found through keyword searches. Include the topic as a keyword in your caption.

Examples: 

• Experts Say Financial Literacy is Declining
• Tourists in Japan are Facing Backlash
• New Study Shows Eating Almonds Daily Prolongs Health Span

#13: Authority Hacks

Authority hacks are when you take a popular figure in your niche and reveal what that person does daily or how they achieved something. (Something your audience also wants to achieve.) 

If you’re still unknown in your niche, you can hack the credibility of these authority figures in your niche. 

Best format: Reels. Authority hack content gets shared because it feels like inside information. Pair it with a strong hook, and you have a share magnet.

Examples: 

• Why Warren Buffett Eats McDonald’s Every Day
• How Lexie Alford Became the Youngest Person to Visit All Countries in the World
• How Nikocado Avocado Lost 250lbs in Secret

#14: Quick Hacks

The difference between a quick hack and a step-by-step guide is that quick hacks are just that… quick. 

Ideally, these hacks should take only a few seconds to explain, and people should leave feeling like they learned a neat trick they can use. 

Best format: Short Reels. Quick hacks under 15 seconds perform extremely well for reach. They also get high save rates when the tip is genuinely useful.

Examples: 

• This Quick Hack Saved Me $200/Month
• Quick Hack: Book Flights on Tuesdays
• Why Freezing Smoothie Packs is My #1 hack

#15: Unpopular Opinion

Unpopular opinions are a great way to stand out from the crowd and show your authentic self. They also build a strong community with people who share their opinion.  

Be careful with this format, though, since saying something that’s too unpopular might get you in trouble. 

Instead, you’ll want to go for opinions that are shared with your core audience — but shunned by “outsiders.”

Best format: Reels. Unpopular opinions are comment bait. Comments boost your ranking. Just keep it spicy enough to spark debate but on the right side of controversial.

Examples: 

• Unpopular Opinion: Having a Perfect Credit Score is Overrated
• Why Visiting the Middle East is NOT Dangerous
• Unpopular Opinion: Eating Pizza* is GOOD For Weight Loss

#16: Q&A Style

If you already have a few followers and are regularly getting comments on your posts, take note of some of the most frequently asked questions. 

Then, create reels addressing these questions. 

The funny thing about this format is that once you post one reel answering a question, you’re bound to get more questions on that reel — so it’s a format that easily multiplies. 

Best format: Reels or carousels. Q&A content works especially well with Instagram Stories (use the Questions sticker) to source real follower questions first. That drives Stories engagement before you post the full answer as a Reel.

Examples: 

• A Viewer Asked: “Am I Too Late to Start Saving?”
• How Do We Get Money to Travel?
• Are Juices Overrated for Weight Loss?

#17: The Rule Breaker

Last but not least: once in a while, post something that breaks all the rules! 

Don’t think too hard about hooks, your format, or your call to action — just post something that you want to. 

Will it go viral?

Probably not. 

But will you have fun? 

Absolutely! 

(And hey…you never know when you’ll stumble upon a new format!)

Instagram SEO: How to Get Your Content for Instagram Found in Search

Instagram isn’t just a social feed anymore. In 2026, it’s a search engine. Millions of people type keywords directly into Instagram Search every day looking for content, accounts, and advice. If your content isn’t optimized for that, you’re invisible to an entire channel of discovery.

Here’s how to fix that:

1. Use keywords in your captions

Include your main keyword naturally in the first line of your caption. If your post is about investing tips for beginners, say that in the caption. Instagram’s search algorithm reads captions to understand what your content is about and who to show it to. Bonus: Google also indexes Instagram content, so a keyword-rich caption can show up in Google results too.

2. Fill out your alt text

When you upload a post, Instagram lets you add alt text under “Advanced Settings.” Most creators skip this entirely. Don’t. Write a one-sentence description of the image or video using your target keyword. Instagram’s own AI now generates alt text automatically, but writing your own is more accurate and more search-friendly.

3. Optimize your bio for keywords

Your bio is searchable. If you’re a fitness coach, your bio should say “fitness coach”, not just your name or a generic tagline. Think about what your ideal follower would type into Instagram Search to find someone like you, and make sure that phrase is in your bio.

4. Use 3-5 targeted hashtags, not 30 generic ones

The hashtag strategy has shifted. In 2026, fewer, more targeted hashtags outperform spray-and-pray. Three to five hashtags that are specific to your niche work better than thirty generic ones. But your biggest discoverability lever is now keywords in captions, not hashtags.

5. Add keywords to your on-screen text in Reels

Instagram reads the text overlaid in your Reels, not just the caption. If your Reel is about “5 investing tips for beginners,” make sure those words appear on screen somewhere in the video. This double-signals to the algorithm what the content is about.

How to Find More Content Ideas

Aside from these, there are hundreds of different content ideas you can pick up by simply using Instagram. 

Here’s a structured way you can find them:

• Dedicate 1 hour to finding these ideas at least 2x a week
• Open Instagram, and just scroll through your explore tab
• Write down any interesting ideas you find — both from your niche (and from other niches that you think you can repurpose for yours)

Combine this with some of the 17 content ideas we’ve listed above, and you should have a big, long list of ideas. 

Next, you’ll want to trim it down. Find ways to:

• Make the content as short as possible
• Make the hook more catchy
• Make people want to like/comment/save/share your reel more
• Make the whole thing easier to consume

Once you do this, you should have a long, LONG list of ideas that are ready to shoot and post at any moment! 

Never Run Out of Content Ideas Again

Identifying your content pillars, choosing from our list of 17, and jotting down any ideas you find while scrolling on Instagram is a surefire way to never run out of content. 

In fact, you might have too many content ideas, so you’ll have to sift through them and only choose the best ones. 

But hey… that’s a good problem to have. 

However, keep in mind that while having a ton of content ideas is great for Instagram, you’ll need to implement a few more strategies to make things click and to make your account grow. 

Want to learn how?

Read our guide on how to reach 1k followers here! 

Frequently Asked Questions: Instagram Content Ideas

What should I post on Instagram to grow?

To grow on Instagram, post content based on your content pillars — 3-5 core topics that combine your expertise, audience pain points, and business goals. Use proven formats like listicles (Top 3, Top 5), Simple Clip + Text reels, step-by-step tutorials, comparison posts, and personal stories. The most viral format currently is “Simple Clip, Simple Text” — short clips with relatable, funny, or informative text overlay.

How do I come up with Instagram content ideas?

Build a content pillar system: (1) List 10 topics you could talk about for hours, (2) Identify what questions your audience asks repeatedly, (3) Find which topics support your business goals, (4) Narrow to 3-5 pillars where all three overlap. From each pillar, create dozens of posts using different formats — reels, carousels, tutorials, stories. Dedicate 1 hour twice a week to scrolling Instagram’s Explore tab for additional inspiration.

What is the most viral content format on Instagram?

“Simple Clip, Simple Text” (SCST) is currently the most viral format on Instagram. Choose a short clip from your camera roll, add text overlay that’s funny, relatable, inspirational, informative, or cool, and you’re done. This format is easy to create, short enough to rack up views, easy to consume (leading to more likes), and highly shareable. Top listicles (Top 3, Top 5, Top 10) are also consistently high-performing.

What are content pillars for Instagram?

Content pillars are 3-5 core topics or themes that you consistently post about on Instagram. They’re based on the overlap of your expertise (what you know), your audience’s pain points (what keeps them up at night), and your business goals (what you want to achieve). For example, a financial advisor’s pillars might be: debt payoff strategies, investing for beginners, and market news explained. Each pillar becomes a “content platform” that generates dozens of post ideas.

How often should I post on Instagram?

For fastest growth, post every day (7 days per week). Daily posting increases your reach and helps you learn what content resonates much faster. If daily isn’t sustainable, aim for at least 5 posts per week. Consistency matters more than perfection — having a content pillar system and a bank of ideas ensures you never miss posting days because you “don’t know what to post.”

What type of Instagram content gets the most engagement?

Content that gets the most engagement on Instagram includes: relatable Simple Clip + Text reels (high shares), comparison posts like “This vs That” (drives comments), Q&A content (encourages questions), unpopular opinions (sparks debate), and step-by-step tutorials (high saves). The key is creating content that makes people want to react — either by sharing with friends, saving for later, or commenting with their own experiences.

What makes faceless reels go viral? 

There are thousands of faceless Instagram accounts today. 

But only some accounts blow up and gain millions of views and followers… 

While others struggle to even get 200 views, and die out before they ever take off. 

What separates the successful from the failures? 

Is it luck? 

The algorithm?

Or something else completely?

Well…if you take a closer look, you’ll find that there are some clear differences between the accounts that do well, and the ones that don’t. 

In this article, I’ll go over these differences and show you the 5 steps you need to take to make great faceless content and give yourself the best chance of going viral, building a loyal following, and eventually monetizing your account. 

How to Make Great Faceless Reels With AI in 5 Steps

Step #1: Pick a Good Faceless Niche

Not all niches work for faceless content. 

Find a niche where: 

• AI visuals work well
• Personality isn’t required
• Helps one specific group of people
• Has a format you can repeat over and over again

First, you’ll want to pick something that works great with AI visuals. 

This rules out other faceless niches like recipes, DIY crafts, or tutorials where you have to demonstrate the real thing. 

Meanwhile, niches where you give advice but don’t necessarily have to show it are great for AI-generated content, such as dating advice, nutrition facts, or finance tips. 

AI visuals also work great for storytelling and fun facts niches, where the visuals help with storytelling. As long as you don’t have to show the real thing, it can work with AI. 

Examples: 

• Dating advice
• Quick nutrition facts
• Finance basics
• Future predictions
• Ancient civilizations
• Alternate history 

Next, you’ll also want a niche that works without personality. 

This rules out lifestyle niches, since those are largely personality dependent. 

Instead, pick niches that rely more on storytelling, information, visuals, and concepts. These niches work regardless of who’s telling the story, whether it’s your voice or narrated by AI. 

Some niche ideas that don’t rely on personality include: 

• Historical storytelling
• Business lessons from famous entrepreneurs
• Philosophy and wisdom quotes
• Science facts explained visually
• Productivity tips and frameworks

Now, if you want to monetize eventually, you’ll also want to pick a niche that helps one specific group of people solve one specific problem. 

Storytelling and curiosity niches are great, but they can sometimes be more challenging to monetize. 

If your ultimate goal is to make money without showing your face, stick to niches that help a specific group of people solve a very clear pain point. 

Here are some examples (notice how it’s very easy to pivot into selling ebooks and courses, or get into coaching, for these niches): 

• Focus and concentration tips
• Relationship psychology
• Beginner investing
• Social skills improvement
• Freelancing tips

Finally, you’ll want to pick a niche with a format you can repeat over and over again. 

Which brings us to the next step…

Step #2: Choose a Format You Can Repeat

Great faceless AI accounts all have formats that they repeat over and over again. 

This is important because you need a way to be recognizable. And since people can’t recognize you by your face, make them recognize your format instead. 

For example, one of my students’ formats (@letscreate_ai) was to transform celebrities into babies and make them sing songs. 

And that’s earned him over 20k followers. Not because his personality shines, but because people follow because they want to see more celebrities as babies singing songs. 

With that in mind, start brainstorming content templates. 

Instead of thinking of a single reel idea, think of a template that you can create hundreds of variations of. 

If you’re doing dating advice, you can use a template where you put a one-liner on screen, while you explain deeper in the caption. 

If you’re doing nutrition facts, you can use a format like “If you want {effect}, then eat {food}.” For example, “If you want clear skin, eat berries.” 

Whatever your niche is, think in terms of templates instead of single reel ideas. 

As a rule of thumb, pick 3-5 templates to start with. 

You’ll refine your strategy as your account grows. But for starters, it’s a good idea to have 3-5 templates to start experimenting with. 

Here are some ideas…

Motivational / Self-Improvement Accounts:

• Lessons From Famous People
• If You’re Struggling With _____, Do ____
• XX Rules For ____
• Imagine if You Started Today
• Daily Mindset Reminders

Facts & Educational Accounts:

• Things You Didn’t Know About
• ____ Explained in 30 Seconds
• Most People Don’t Know This
• Myth vs Reality
• If This Happened

Luxury & Lifestyle Accounts:

• Inside a Billionaire Lifestyle
• Dream Mansions Around the World
• If Money Was Not a Problem
• $10M vs $100M Lifestyle
• Day in the Life of a Billionaire

History / Alternate History Accounts:

• What if History Changed
• Life in [year]
• If Ancient Civilizations Had Modern Technology
• History in 60 Seconds
• Lost Civilizations Explained

Storytelling Accounts:

• True Story or AI?
• 1-Minute Horror Stories
• POV Stories
• AI Rewrites Classic Stories
• What Happens Next? Series

Once you have that, move on to the next step…

Step #3: Build a List of Content Ideas

Every successful faceless Instagram account I know has tons of content ideas stored up. 

I’ve never seen someone with a big account scrambling to find an idea to post. They list everything long before, so there’s always something ready to go. 

So…how do you build out a list for yourself?

First, start filling out your templates. 

Take the 3-5 templates that you picked out in the previous step, and start writing down the actual reel titles you’re going for. 

Instead of just “Unsolved Historical Mysteries,” start listing out the actual mysteries you’re going to talk about. 

You can ask AI for help finding more ideas for you. But you’ll also want to wrack your brain a bit, so that you can come up with some original ideas. 

But don’t stop there…

Steal some popular ideas on Instagram as well. 

To do this, go to Instagram search, type in a keyword related to your niche, and take a look at the top-performing reels. 

You can take these ideas and make your own version, or use them for inspiration. 

Don’t be afraid to copy ideas either. On Instagram, every viral reel has hundreds of copies that also go viral. So when you find an idea, jot it down and make your own version. 

Finally, spy on competitors. 

Look for other accounts in your niche, and check what templates they’re using.

Find the topics that are doing well for them, and consider doing those topics yourself. 

Always remember, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel on Instagram. Find things that are already working, and add your own unique spin to them. 

That’s one of the best ways to grow quickly. 

Step #4: Batch Create Content

After all that planning and finding ideas, it’s FINALLY time to create content! 

When creating AI content, there are generally 5 things you need to think about: 

• Scripting
• Visuals
• Narration/voiceover
• Editing
• Your system

Start with scripting. 

For AI content to stand out, your scripts have to be unique. Anyone can recreate the visuals, but the script is what can stand out. 

Good scripts immediately catch people’s attention with a strong hook, keep people glued to the reel, and leave them with an emotional payoff. 

When writing your hook (the first 3 seconds of your reel), put the strongest point that you have right at the start. 

Some strong hook ideas you can go for include: 

• Curiosity hooks – hooks that make viewers feel like they’re missing something if they scroll (ex: “Nobody talks about this, but ____,” “Wait until you see what happens next,” “Top xx strangest discoveries in ____.” 

• You’ve been doing this wrong hook – hooks that call out a common mistake. (Ex: “You’ve been brushing your teeth wrong your whole life,” “90% of people get this wrong,” “Most people misunderstand THIS about ___.” 

• Imagine if hook – invites viewers into a unique scenario. (Ex: “Imagine living in this house,” “You have 24 hours left to live, which of these do you eat?” “Imagine if the Roman Empire never collapsed.” 

• Listicles hooks – listicles are one of the strongest formats for reels, so immediately showing your reel is a list hooks people in. (Ex: “Top 3 financial mistakes beginners make,” “3 facts about the brain you didn’t know about,” “5 habits that destroy productivity.” 

Before vs after hook – tells people that transformation is coming. (Ex: “Here’s what happens after 30 days of discipline,” “What happens when you cut carbs for 30 days,” “Your lungs before and after quitting smoking.” 

Spend a little extra time making your hook as strong and snappy as possible. Then go on to write the rest of your script. 

Once you have your script, I recommend running it through AI like ChatGPT to help tighten it. Ask ChatGPT to remove any unnecessary details, shorten your sentences, and make it snappy and ready for reels. 

Cutting all the unnecessary bits improves your retention and makes people less likely to scroll away in the middle of the reel. 

Finally, end with an emotional payoff. 

Always think about how your viewers will feel after watching your reel, because that’s what makes them like, comment, and share your reel. It’s what makes them follow you. 

Be intentional about how you want people to feel. Whether that’s happy for watching a feel-good reel, intrigued by the information you shared, inspired by your story, or motivated to start today with your tips; always end with a strong emotional payoff. 

Once you have the script, it’s time to generate visuals. 

Some popular AI tools for generating videos include Google’s VEO3, OpenAI’s Sora, MidJourney, or any AI video creator of your choice. 

Start with a storyboard. 

Storyboards are a simple, visual plan for your video. You don’t need fancy tools to create one, you can just use a table with your script on one side, and your visual idea on the other. Like this example: 

Script	Visual
These 3 money mistakes keep beginners broke	Person looking stressed while checking a nearly empty bank account on their phone
The first mistake? Spending before saving.	Person buying lots of shopping bags or clicking “Buy Now” online
If you only save what’s left over… there’s usually nothing left	Bank balance dropping quickly on a phone screen…

…and so on.

Generating visuals takes time. So having a storyboard and knowing what to create ahead of time can save you a lot of time and redos. 

Next, plan your visuals out for variety. 

One of the biggest problems with AI reels is that their visuals can feel repetitive. 

So before you start generating, take another look at the visuals side of your storyboard. 

Are there too many similar shots next to each other? Mix it up to keep things engaging. 

Use a mix of aerial shots, close-ups, wide cinematic shots, POV shots, and slow-motion moments.

Finally, when it’s time to prompt, try to be as specific as possible. 

For beginners, try to include these 5 things in your prompts:

• Subject / Action – exactly what’s happening (Ex: Man putting coins into a piggy bank)
• Camera Angle – what camera angle you want the visual from (Ex: over the shoulder shot)
• Environment / Setting – where is this happening? (Ex: in his bedroom)
• Lighting – what’s the feel of the place? (Ex: Nighttime, with the lamp turned on)
• Style – the visual style you want (e.g., cartoon style)

Prompting like this also helps keep your style consistent throughout your reel. 

Then, there’s the narration or voiceover part of the script. 

If you’re just using text-on-screen for your reels, then you can skip this. But if you’re adding voice, you can either use your own voice or get an AI voiceover. 

Using your own voice is great. It’s unique, and you can show personality through the narration. 

But if you’re not confident in your own voice, or you just want to make reels faster, AI voiceovers are perfectly fine. You can use tools like ElevenLabs, Murf.ai, or LOVO to generate realistic voices for your reels. 

Then, there’s the editing. 

If you’re a beginner and just want a simple program to combine audio and visuals, then go for something like CapCut. 

If you want a more professional program with more features, Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro are some of the top editing programs. 

Finally, throw everything together and create a system. 

As much as possible, try to batch-create content instead of creating content one-by-one. 

Write a bunch of scripts at one time. Generate all the visuals you need. Record, or generate, your voiceovers. Then, finally, edit and schedule everything on Instagram.

This makes your workflow faster and lighter too, since you don’t have to “reset” every time you’re finished making one reel. 

Step #5: Test and Analyze Your Content

Don’t expect your account to blow up instantly. 

Just create your account and start posting the content you’ve prepared without stressing too much about how it’s doing yet. 

But every few weeks, take time to go over everything you’ve posted, and take notes on which reels did well, and which ones didn’t. 

Double down on the things that work, and start cutting away ideas that don’t work, and you’ll get to 1k followers in no time. 

For more precise improvements, you can also start studying your analytics. 

Under your reel, click on “view insights.” 

Then take a look at your metrics like: 

• View Rate Past First 3 Seconds – this shows you whether your hook is strong or not. Aim for over 60%, because that signals your hook is very strong. But 50% – 60% is okay. Below 50% means you need to work on finding better hooks. 

• Average Watch Time – watch time is one of the most important metrics in Instagram’s algorithm, so check this metric to see if people are watching your reel until the end. If you have a 30-second reel, aim for a 10-15 second average watch time. If your reel is 60 seconds, go for 15-25 seconds. 

• Retention Graph – this graph shows you when people scrolled away from your video. Ideally, you want a smooth retention graph (like the one below). If you notice a steep drop at any point, that shows a weak spot in your reel when people leave. 

• Engagement Rate – there’s no official “engagement rate” stat, but you can eyeball how many likes, saves, and shares your reel gets compared to how many views it has. If you have high views but low engagement, this signals that you may want to improve the payoff of your reels. 

Check the analytics of the reels that are doing well, but also the ones that aren’t. It’s one of the best ways to find out what’s working and what isn’t. 

Ready to Start Making Great Faceless Instagram Content?

Making faceless content for Instagram is not a walk in the park. 

Contrary to what some people think, you can’t just create brainless, spammy content and expect your account to grow. 

It takes planning, scripting, content generation, voiceovers, and editing to bring everything together. 

It’s a lot of work. 

So if you’re just getting started, and this all seems daunting to you, don’t worry! I made something just for you. 

It’s the AI Content Generator, the best tool for getting your Instagram account up and running as fast as possible. 

In it, you’ll find AI tools that are ready to use, templates you can steal, and tons of ideas you can draw inspiration from. 

With it, you can skip the guesswork and start creating content right away. 

So sign up here today for instant access! 

If you’re starting a faceless Instagram account, coming up with reel ideas is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face (pun intended). 

You probably have a few great ideas ready to go, but Instagram isn’t only about quality…quantity matters a LOT too. 

The real challenge is finding enough reel ideas so that you never run out of things to post. 

And you can’t just throw in low-quality ideas either. That’ll kill your account. 

That’s why in this article, I’m going over 38 faceless reel ideas for Instagram, giving you pointers on how to make them work, and also explaining the principles of good faceless content (so you’ll know how to come up with your own ideas that work). 

38 Proven Instagram Reel Ideas (Without Showing Your Face)

A lot of people associate faceless accounts with AI. And while AI is a great tool for faceless content, there are actually plenty of other ways you can make faceless content without it. 

Regardless of what your faceless account is about, you can split most successful faceless reels into one of these categories:

• Hands-Only, No Face
• Narration + Footage
• Screen Recordings
• Videos With Text
• POV (Point-of-View)
• Timelapses, and, of course…
• AI-Generated

Let’s take a closer look at how to create great content on each category, as well as some quick ideas you can steal for your account. 

Hands-Only, No Face

Use hands-only reels when you’re teaching or demonstrating something. They can also be super entertaining if you’re doing something that requires dexterity, or if you’re handling something unique. 

The secret to making this format work is showing clear progress from start to finish. 

So start with something like a blank canvas, an empty pot, or a sealed package to spark curiosity. 

Then show people your hands at work. Shooting from a point-of-view angle isn’t required, but it helps because people watching can feel like the hands are theirs. 

Then, end with the beautiful finished product, leaving people with a sense of accomplishment. 

Some reel ideas that do very well in this format include: 

1. Recipes – Don’t just tell people how to cook something. Show what your hands are doing! This is one of the most popular faceless niches today, with hundreds (if not thousands) of faceless recipe accounts. 

2. Painting / Artwork – Showcase your skills, and make people feel like they’re the ones painting the canvas. The best artists don’t always get the most views. Instead, it’s the people who can show the best progression from start to finish. 

3. Packing Orders – If you’re running an e-commerce store, showing your audience/customers how to pack your orders is an interesting POV that can also create curiosity about your products. Take @poppincandyofficial as an example, showing how they scoop their candies gained them over 1 million followers! 

4. Product Features/Reviews – Showing what products look and feel like in your hands is great for marketing. Do this well, and you might even score some brand deals for physical products. 

5. Simple Crafts – Who doesn’t love a bit of crafts? This takes skill to pull off. But if you have it, lots of people would love to watch. 

6. Coffee / Cocktails / Drink-Making – Countless accounts focus solely on making coffee, cocktails, or other drinks. There’s even one guy whose entire schtick is making “Stacked Water” (a.k.a. juice). 

7. Unboxing / Set-up – Unboxing a fresh package from the mail is always an exciting experience. If you can capture the excitement, surprise, or even disappointment that comes with unboxing, people will stick around to watch. 

8. Collectibles – Showing off your collection of toys, bells, books, or any other niche item you hoard is a great way to get views. Collections are fascinating, even for people who don’t collect the same items as you. 

Narration + Footage

There’s an infinite amount of content ideas you can create with this format, because you can always use stock footage or AI-generated videos if you don’t have original clips. 

But what sets boring narration reels apart from the ones that go viral? 

(Hint: it’s not your voice. Anyone can use AI voiceovers nowadays.) 

The secret is to be a good storyteller. 

Learn how good stories start (hook), keep the tension going all throughout the reel (so people don’t get bored in the middle), and learn how to end on a high note (so people like, comment, and share your reel). 

If you’re using AI voiceovers, being a good storyteller is even more important. Building a loyal audience is more difficult with an AI voice (hundreds of other accounts probably use the same voice, so unless your stories are unique, people won’t feel the need to follow). 

Plus, many people associate AI voiceovers with spammy accounts. That’s why if your storytelling needs to be sharp, people will scroll right past. 

For stock footage, you can use sites like Canva, Pexels, or Pixabay for free footage, or libraries like Adobe or Shutterstock for premium footage. Keep the footage as closely related to what you’re saying as possible. 

If you’re going for AI-generated content, you can use popular tools like Google’s VEO3, Open-AI’s Sora, Kling, or MidJourney. 

Ideas:

9. Top Listicles – Top 3, top 5, or even top 10 lists. Stories that work well for listicles are “worst to best,” “best to worst,” “these are my favorite,” “these are the worst,” and so on. Try to highlight the differences between the items in your list as much as possible. 

10. Mistakes People Make – Whatever your niche is, there are sure to be common mistakes. Position yourself as an authority, showing beginners mistakes to avoid, or position yourself as someone relatable who’s gone through what your audience is going through now. 

11. Myths vs Reality – Debunk popular myths in your niche. Positioning yourself as an authority is important here, especially since you’re going against common advice. Make your storytelling hinge around why traditional advice is wrong, and people will be hooked. 

12. Hot Takes – This is a more opinionated version of myths vs reality. Instead of saying others are “wrong,” share your unique (and potentially controversial) take on issues in your niche. People who disagree might argue, but people who agree with you are likely to become loyal followers. 

13. Storytime! – Pick an interesting story from your life and share it! The way to get people to listen is to make it applicable to them as well. Whether you share a lesson at the end, or just have a super relatable story that people feel seen, never just tell a story for telling a story’s sake. 

14. If I Had to Start Over – These are extremely helpful for beginners in your niche. Talk about what you would do if you were in their shoes, whether it’s for fitness, business, or trying to learn any skill, tell people what you’d do if you had to start over. 

Screen Recordings

Screen recordings work best when you’re showing people how to use a certain tool. 

These can be tools like Photoshop for photographers, Canva for designers, HubSpot for marketers, Excel for data analysis or finance, or even AI generation tools like Sora for people who want to make their own AI content. 

Work on making your tutorials as easy to follow as possible. 

Give clear step-by-step instructions, so people don’t get lost. But don’t overdo things and include a bunch of extra details that people don’t need. 

One trick I like to use is to put the most important bits in the reel, while keeping the smaller details in the caption for people who are really interested to learn everything. 

Reel ideas that use screen recordings include: 

15. Tool Tutorials – Simple tutorials for popular tools. The more users a tool has, the more views you can get. And if the tool you use is complicated by nature, you can even make your entire account teaching how to use it, such as @PixImperfect with Photoshop. 

16. Processes – Processes are less about the tools and more about the result you get from using the tools. So show your process for planning, design, editing, or anything else, and show which tools you use to help you. 

17. Tool Hacks – Similar to tool tutorials, except this one is about hacks that people might not know about. These hacks can be for making things easier, faster, or better than using traditional methods. 

18. How I Use {Tool} To Get {Result} – This is another idea that focuses more on the result rather than the tool itself. This is great for introducing new tools that your audience might not know about yet. 

Text-Based Videos

Text-based videos rely heavily on catchy text-on-screen. 

If you’re making these reels, take extra time to find the most interesting text hooks you can think of. Because if your text-on-screen is dry, people are going to scroll right past. 

You’ll want the text to say enough so people stop to read more, but not too long that people scroll thinking, “I’m not reading all that.” 

The best text-based reels are relatable (the text says exactly what people feel), spark curiosity (the text hook makes people want to learn more), funny (make people laugh), or highly shareable (“send this to your friend that _____, send this to someone who _____). 

If you want more meat in your reel, put the details in the caption instead. So that people who are hooked by the text-on-screen can go there if they want to learn more. 

You’ll also want to pair your text-on-screen with catchy footage or AI-generated content. Strong text + catchy footage is a great combination to get views, shares, and follows. 

Here are some ideas you can use: 

19. Simple Text + Simple Clip – This is one of the most viral formats on Instagram today. Use a simple, relatable, or funny text paired with a catchy clip. I also like adding a longer caption, so people who stay to read increase your watch time. This is an idea you absolutely need to try regardless of your niche, because it has huge potential to go viral. 

20. Affirmations – This is a variation of simple text + simple clip, but it focuses primarily on words that affirm what people already feel. Remember, when people feel seen or heard by reels, they’re very likely to share them. That’s why good affirmation reels go viral. 

21. Inspiration – Aside from affirmation, people also love reels that inspire them to take action. Go through your friend’s stories, and count how many inspirational quotes you find. So use inspirational text-on-screen, paired with inspiring music and matching b-roll, and you can potentially get a lot of shares. 

22. Brutally Honest Truth – This is another super catchy, simple text, simple clip variation. Add the brutally honest truth for the text-on-screen, then explain in the caption. Again, if people stay and read the caption, this adds watch time, which is one of the more important metrics for Instagram’s algorithm. 

23. Listicle in Caption – Make your text-on-screen the title of your listicle, like “My top x places to visit,” “Top x mistakes beginners in y make,” etc., then add the actual list in your caption (instead of showing it in the reel). Listicles are already very shareable, but this method once again increases watch time. 

POV

Point-of-view reels can be either relatable or inspirational. 

If your POV is something that everyone in your niche experiences, people are going to feel seen or heard. Your POV doesn’t have to be perfect if you’re going for this vibe. Instead, make it feel as “real” as possible. 

Meanwhile, if you’re trying to inspire people, then that’s when you go for the “perfect” POV. Show people the life they dream of in POV (so they feel like they’re the ones living it). 

Note: A LOT of people don’t understand what POV means. If something is from your point-of-view, your face is NOT going to be in it. Too many people post “POV reels” while showing their faces; that’s not real POV. 

Here are POV ideas you can add to your list: 

24. Travel POV – Travel is one of the best niches for faceless POV, since the places you visit are the ones that carry your account. There are so many gorgeous places on our planet, so show people what you saw with your eyes, and they won’t care that they never see your face. 

25. Day in the Life – This is where you can get very relatable. Show your point-of-view throughout your day, through the good, the bad, and especially the mundane. Showing the mundane is super relatable because most people aren’t doing exciting stuff 24/7. 

26. POV: You Stopped {Bad Habit} – These reels can inspire people to stop bad habits. Show people how wonderful your life is in POV fashion once you make this change, and they’ll want to do it too. 

27. POV: You Started {Good Habit} – This is the flipside of the bad habits POV. It’s more positive and also very inspirational, so use a mix of this and the bad habits POV. Or, if you’re selling a product, you can make the POV how wonderful life is once you get your product. 

28. Unique Angle – If you have an interesting job or hobby (such as a sport), showing your POV can draw in a lot of views. For example, there are plenty of goalkeepers like @sheawoodsford who film from their POV (while most spectators see a completely different angle). 

Time-lapse

While some time-lapse reels may have faces on them, they’re fast and don’t rely on personality, which is why I’m including them here. 

The key to making time-lapse reels work is having a clear before and after. The bigger the difference between before and after, the more interesting it becomes for viewers. 

For example, if your car is relatively clean, nobody wants to see you wash it to make it 2% more clean than before. 

But if your car is splattered with mud all over the place, people would love to see the process of turning it back into the shiny car it once was. 

Keep this in mind, and try these reel ideas: 

29. Before and After – From messy to clean. Another tip for before and after reels is to show progress. Don’t just put the before and after side-by-side, but show the time-lapse of you working on the project. 

30. Blank to Finish – From nothing to something. Think of ideas like painting on a blank canvas or creating something from scratch. Show the exact process you use to create your finished product. 

31. Step-by-Step – Instead of just showing what you did, you can also turn timelapses into a step-by-step tutorial for your viewers. Make sure to leave instructions in the caption so your audience can follow. 

32. Transformation – Transforming something that’s already okay into something “better.” If you have a hobby where tweaking things is common, like room styling, sneaker restoration, or workspace setups, a time-lapse of you making improvements will pique your audience’s interest. 

AI Content

Last but not least, AI content! 

A lot of people have this idea that AI content means low-effort, low-quality work. 

In reality, if you post low-quality AI content on Instagram, you’re NOT going to get views and followers. 

Instead, the secret to success with AI content is to come up with a unique angle no one else is doing yet. 

Nobody is really impressed by AI visuals nowadays. That’s why the ideas behind your reels are the most important thing. AI is just there to give you better visuals for your ideas. 

To get more views, likes, and shares with AI content, you need to make people feel something, whether that’s surprised, entertained, informed, inspired, or humored. People need to feel like they got something from your AI reel for it to work. 

So don’t just rely on AI. Come up with your own original ideas, and use AI to generate catchy reels based on your ideas. 

If you need help getting started, here are ideas that work very well with AI-generated content: 

33. Info Content – Create AI content about topics you are knowledgeable about. The “gold-standard” example of this is @Zacdfilms, with his super entertaining and informative reels. However, you don’t have to copy him. Instead, make content on topics that you know more about than everyone else, because that’s your chance to stand out. 

34. Caricatures of Celebrities – AI is great because you can make caricatures of famous people doing funny/entertaining things. For example, my student @letscreateai did this with celebrities as babies singing, and now has over 20k followers and growing. 

35. Explainer Animations – Instead of using unrelated stock footage for explaining complex topics, why not use AI instead? You can make your visuals much more engaging than with boring stock footage, and make it more helpful too. 

36. “What If” Scenarios – These work best if you can think of creative situations. For example, check out this reel showing what your prison food would be based on your birth month. There is tons of content like this on Instagram, and they get shared like crazy because it’s interesting to think, “what if?” 

37. Stories With AI Animation – If you’re a good storyteller, AI can be your best friend. Instead of working extra hard on bringing your story to life with your words, you can use AI visuals for help. These also get more views because a lot of people watch reels on mute. 

38. Historical Reimagination – One of the most creative AI ideas that’s popping up on Instagram right now is historical reimagination. These accounts show what things looked like hundreds of years before cameras were invented, and it’s super interesting! 

5 Principles Behind Great Faceless Reels on Instagram

Now, whether you’re creating content showing your hands only or going for full-blown AI-generated content, there are 5 principles behind every great faceless reel. 

Learn these, and you can come up with an endless amount of content ideas on your own. 

#1: Value

Before you make a reel, ask yourself, “What value will my viewers get from watching this?” 

Not every reel has to be educational. 

But every reel should have something for your viewers to take away, like entertainment, curiosity, inspiration, affirmation, humor, or any other feeling. 

Never make a reel without thinking about what your audience will get from it. 

Keep this rule in mind, and you’ll have far fewer flops on your account. 

#2: Movement

People are naturally drawn to faces. 

But you know what else people are drawn to?

Movement. 

Generally speaking, when you’re making faceless content, you’ll want to avoid still shots as much as possible. Avoid using a clip for longer than 2 seconds (unless there is plenty of movement in the clip). 

You’ll also want to use your strongest visuals at the beginning. Find the most interesting clip, and put that right at the start to hook people in. 

#3: Clarity

Without personality, you’ll need your reels to have one CLEAR idea every time. 

So make sure your hooks show exactly what people will get by watching. 

Make sure your points are obvious. 

And make sure your payoff is clear as day. 

There’s no room for vagueness with faceless content. 

#4: Moody Visuals 

Let movement and visuals replace facial expressions, because studies show that good visuals get more engagement than poor visuals. 

So if your face should be sad, use visuals with a darker, sadder mood. If your face should be happy, use bright and happy footage. 

It takes work, but using moody visuals can replace your facial expressions. So people know what they should be feeling when watching/listening to your reel. 

#5: Audio

Audio matters more with faceless content. 

Spend some time adding sound effects to your reel. 

Maybe add a ding when you reveal something, a cash register sound when you talk about something money-related, a surprise sound effect, or even the super-popular “Vine Boom.” 

Without a face, you need to find other ways to make your reels as catchy as possible, and audio is one of the most underrated ways to do this. 

Ready to Start Creating Faceless Content?

Starting an Instagram account can feel overwhelming at first. 

Add to that the fact that you’re going faceless, and the road to success becomes even more challenging. 

But the truth is: starting is the hardest part. 

If you can hit the ground running, you’ll eventually reach a place where ideas come naturally. 

Because once you understand the formats and principles of faceless content, you won’t be relying on random inspiration anymore. 

But if you’re still struggling and just want to get your account up and running as fast as possible, then check out my AI content generator. 

It’s packed with ready-to-use tools, templates, and ideas, so you can skip the guesswork and jump straight into creating mode. 

One of my students even used this exact system to hit 564k views on just 2 videos, all without ever showing her face.

So click here to get instant access and start creating today!

A brand just slid into your DMs asking about a collab. Or maybe you’re about to pitch your first brand deal. Either way, the same terrifying question pops up:

“What are your rates?”

You freeze. 

If you haven’t prepared for this moment, it can be exciting, confusing, and nerve-wracking at the same time. 

You know you want this deal, but how do you price yourself fairly without scaring the brand away? 

The truth is, most creators either massively undercharge (leaving thousands on the table) or panic-quote a random number and lose the deal entirely. Neither is a good look.

That’s why we put together this complete pricing guide. By the end, you’ll have a clear formula, real rate benchmarks by follower count and niche, and the confidence to negotiate deals that actually reflect what your content is worth.

Let’s break it all down.

TL;DR: How Much to Charge for a Sponsored Instagram Post

Quick Formula: Charge $10 per 1,000 followers (the 1% rule). A creator with 10,000 followers charges ~$100 per post; 50,000 followers = ~$500 per post.

Instagram Reels: Charge 50-100% more than static posts due to higher reach potential. A 10K creator might charge $150-$200 for a Reel.

Instagram Stories: Charge less than feed posts. Package 3-5 story frames together, typically 50% of your post rate.

Add-ons that increase price: Usage rights (+20-150%), exclusivity (+50-100%), rush deadlines (+25-50%), high-value niches like tech or travel (+25-50%).

What Is the Standard Rate for a Sponsored Instagram Post?

The standard rate for a sponsored Instagram post is $10 per 1,000 followers, known as the “1% rule.” This means a creator with 10,000 followers typically charges $100 per sponsored post, while a creator with 100,000 followers charges around $1,000.

However, rates vary significantly based on engagement rate, niche, content type, and usage rights. Instagram Reels command higher rates than static posts due to their viral potential.

How Much Should You Charge for a Sponsored Instagram Post?

The easiest way to price a sponsored Instagram post is to ask for $10 for every 1,000 followers you have. This is known as the 1% rule.

So if you have 10,000 followers, you can ask for $100 per post. 20,000 followers, $200 per post. 

However…

This is just a quick “rule-of-thumb” pricing system if you have no idea where to start. Nowadays, brands care about more than just follower count. 

They’re now starting to care more about: 

• Your engagement rate
• Your niche (some industries pay more)
• Your content type and quality
• Contract terms like rights and exclusivity

The 1% rule is really just to give you a base to start with. 

A lot of creators charge MUCH more than that, but I’d strongly advise not going lower.

Especially if you’re putting more effort into your posts. 

In fact, a growing number of brands are now basing their budgets on engagement rate and average views rather than follower count alone. A creator with 8,000 followers and a 7% engagement rate can often command higher rates than someone with 50,000 followers and 1% engagement. So if your audience is small but highly engaged, don’t sell yourself short.

Also, there are different ways to price your content. 

Let’s take a closer look: 

The Different Ways to Price Your Instagram Reels and Carousels

There are 4 main ways to price your posts:

Flat rate, cost per view (CPV), cost per action (CPA), or an affiliate setup, or a content package. 

1. Flat Rates

Flat rates are usually used for carousels or stories. 

Pick a number you’re happy with, and charge that amount. 

For carousels, you can use the 1% rule. But if a brand is asking for a carousel with plenty of slides, make sure you add a bit extra for your work. 

I’ll get into how much you should charge for stories in just a bit, but they usually cost less than carousels, and most people package stories into a set of 3-5 frames. 

Flat rates work best when you’re just starting out with brand deals and want to keep pricing simple. As you build a track record of results, you can transition to performance-based models.

2. Cost Per View (CPV)

Cost per view (CPV) is great for reels that you know will get reach. 

Reels have the highest potential to go viral. In fact, even accounts with very small followings can break 1 million views. 

I’m not saying you HAVE to use a CPV pricing for reels, but wouldn’t it suck to only charge $100 for a reel that gets a million views? 

You’ll bring huge exposure to the brand, but in return, you only get $100. 

That’s why, if you’re confident you can get the views, you can use a simple formula — say, $10 for every 1,000 views.

If you do go viral and get a million views, that’s already $10,000 for you. 

Pro Tip: Many experienced creators use a hybrid model — a guaranteed base fee (so you’re never working for free) plus a CPV bonus once the reel passes a certain view threshold. For example, $300 base + $5 per 1,000 views after 50,000 views. This protects you if the reel underperforms while rewarding you when it takes off.

3. Cost Per Action (CPA) / Affiliate Setup

Cost per action (CPA) or affiliate setups are great for sales-focused campaigns. 

If you’re confident you can help a brand sell its product, this can be great for you. 

Most creators ask for around 5% – 30% commissions for every sale they make. 

It’s also easy to ask brands for this type of setup — since every sale here is a win-win for both of you. 

However, the downside of this setup is that you aren’t getting paid for the exposure you’re bringing to a brand, which can sometimes be super valuable depending on your audience. 

If you go the affiliate route, make sure you negotiate a dedicated discount code or trackable link so you get credit for every sale. Some brands will try to give you a generic link that doesn’t properly attribute your sales — always push for a unique tracking method.

4. Package Deals / Retainer

Packages are great if you want to work with a brand long-term. 

There’s no magic formula for pricing a package. 

But if a brand is asking for 3 reels, 15 stories, and 2 carousels, you can mix and match your prices for each and come up with a package that costs slightly less than if they ordered everything separately. 

Or, you could strike a monthly retainer deal, where you make something like 1 post, 1 reel, 1 carousel, and 5 stories per month for a fixed price. 

Retainer deals are the holy grail for creators because they give you a predictable monthly income. When pitching a retainer, frame it as a discount for the brand (“You’re saving 15–20% compared to booking each deliverable individually”) while locking in reliable revenue for yourself.

Finding brand deals isn’t always easy. 

But they’re great bread-and-butter for content creators, since they can end up becoming long-term partners. 

If you’re still building your audience and haven’t landed your first deal yet, start by focusing on growth. Our guide on how to get more views on Instagram covers the exact strategies that make brands want to work with you.

Other Things That Affect Instagram Post Price

Aside from your pricing model, you’ll also want to consider:

• Usage Rights — If the brand you’re working with wants to reuse your content for their website, advertisements, or other social media channels, think about charging around +20% to +150% more than your base, depending on what they’re asking. 

• Exclusivity — If a brand wants you to avoid working with competitors during the campaign period, consider asking for an extra 50% – 100% more than your fee. If not, you could miss out on big opportunities for only a standard price. 

• Production / Deadlines — if a reel takes a lot of time to produce, or if a brand has a tight deadline, you can charge more. Think about adding an extra 25% – 50% depending on production or deadline demands. 

Sponsored Post Rates by Following on Instagram

Maybe you just want a quick sheet showing you how much you should charge based on how many followers you have. 

If that’s the case, check this out: 

(I made this chart using data from TheCriqle, InfluencerHero, and other studies)

Follower Tier	In-Feed Post (Static/Carousel)	Instagram Reel (Short-Form Video)	Instagram Story (Set of 3-5 frames)
0 – 1,000 (Pre-Nano)	Gifted Product / $25 – $100	$50 – $150	Gifted Product / $20 – $75
1,001 – 10,000 (Nano)	$100 – $500	$150 – $750	$75 – $250
10,001 – 25,000 (Micro)	$500 – $1,200	$750 – $1,800	$250 – $600
25,001 – 50,000 (Micro)	$1,200 – $2,000	$1,800 – $3,000	$600 – $1,000
50,001 – 100,000 (Micro)	$2,000 – $3,500	$3,000 – $5,000	$1,000 – $1,750
100,001 – 150,000 (Mid-Tier)	$3,500 – $5,000	$5,000 – $7,500	$1,750 – $2,500
150,001 – 200,000 (Mid-Tier)	$5,000 – $7,000	$7,500 – $10,000	$2,500 – $3,500
200,001 – 300,000 (Mid-Tier)	$7,000 – $10,000	$10,000 – $15,000	$3,500 – $5,000
300,001+ (Macro/Mega)	$10,000 – $100,000+	$15,000 – $200,000+	$5,000 – $50,000+

This isn’t gospel. It’s just a quick chart showing how much the average creator in the United States charges, depending on how many followers they have. 

You can use this as a baseline, especially if you’re building a package deal for a brand and aren’t planning to use a cost-per-view or cost-per-action model. 

Keep in mind that these numbers reflect U.S. averages. Rates can vary significantly by country, with creators in Western Europe and Australia commanding similar rates, while creators in other regions may price differently based on local market conditions.

Sponsored Post Rates by Industry

Another BIG thing you should consider is your industry, or niche. 

Because the truth is… some industries pay more than others. 

A niche like technology usually has higher rates, since tech geeks are always looking to buy the latest gadgets. 

However, niches like memes can be very difficult to make money from. These pages get tons of followers, but people looking for a quick laugh on Instagram usually aren’t ready to spend money, making brand deals harder to come by. 

So…how much more should you charge for high-profit industries?

Here are some of the biggest niches:

Lifestyle

Lifestyle is often seen as a “baseline” when it comes to sponsored post rates. So the standard 1% rule or $10 per 1k views works pretty well here. 

Lifestyle is also a great niche because there are tons of lifestyle brands you can work with, all depending on your sub-niche. 

If you’re thinking about going the lifestyle route, our guide on how to become a lifestyle influencer walks you through everything from choosing your sub-niche to landing your first brand deal.

Food

Food creators typically charge about 10% more than the average niche, like lifestyle. 

Remember, a viral reel about a restaurant can give it a flood of new customers. So don’t undervalue how impactful your reels can be! 

Tack on that extra 10%, and make your base fee around $11 per 1,000 followers. 

Fashion 

Creators in fashion can charge about 20% – 25% higher than the average base of $10 per 1,000 followers. 

Thousands of people buy clothes online, which is why fashion is a high-profit niche. In fact, you don’t even have to be a “fashion” influencer. 

Go to any popular creator, find a post where they’re wearing a cute dress, and check the comments. Trust me, you’ll see a LOT of people asking where to get the dress. 

Fitness

Fitness creators can also charge about 20% – 25%  higher than average niches (like Lifestyle). 

Everybody wants to be fit, even if it means spending their hard-earned money on it. And brands know this. 

That’s why even if fitness creators use a base of $12.5 per 1,000 followers (25% higher than the 1% rule), many brands will be willing to pay it. 

Beauty

Beauty is an incredibly competitive niche. But if you break through, you can charge up to 30% higher than the base 1% rule.

The thing about beauty is, people TRUST creators here. So if you recommend a product, expect your followers to buy it. 

Brands know this, of course, so they’re happy to pay the higher rates. 

Travel 

Travel content creators often charge around 40% higher, so the 1% rule for them looks more like $14 per 1,000 followers. 

Why? 

Because most people are willing to drop a LOT of money on travel. Plane tickets can easily cost $500. Hotel stays? Another few hundred (sometimes even thousands) for just a few nights.

Then there’s travel gear like bags, cameras, and accessories — all high-ticket items that people actually research and buy after seeing them online.

That’s why travel content creators can make a lot of money. Brands are willing to pay them higher fees for the trust they’ve built with their audience. 

Tech

Tech content creators are arguably the highest-paid of all, being able to charge about 50% higher than those in more general lifestyle niches.

Tech is a niche where trust is invaluable. 

Not only are gadgets expensive, but tech is an industry where people do heavy research before spending. 

So if you can build a loyal follower base of techy people, get ready for brands to come knocking on your inbox, offering you BIG deals in exchange for your followers’ trust! 

How to Price Your Instagram Content (A Simple Formula)

After all that talk and numbers, if you’re STILL confused about what to price your content, here’s a super simple formula you can use:

I’m not saying this is the best formula. Try using it to get a rough estimate of how much you should be charging. 

1. Use the 1% rule to find a base rate — for example, let’s say you have 15,000 followers. Your base would be $150 per post. 
2. Apply your niche multiplier — let’s say you’re in fashion, which has a 25% multiplier. Making your rate $187.50.
3. Include production costs — say you have to go to a location to shoot a reel, you can ask for another 25%, making your base rate roughly $234.
4. List add-ons — things like exclusivity, production rights, etc. This is where you add them. For this example, let’s say there are no add-ons. 

This leaves you with a base rate of $234 per post. 

Pro Tip: Negotiate! This formula is just here to give you an idea. In reality, if you can prove your value to a brand, you can charge much higher than just that. 

Another negotiation tactic: always ask the brand for their budget first before you throw out a number. You might be surprised — many brands have allocated more than you’d expect, especially during Q4 when marketing budgets spike. If they share their budget and it’s higher than your planned rate, you’ve just avoided leaving money on the table.

Red Flags to Watch for in Brand Deals

Not every brand deal is worth taking. As you start getting offers, watch out for these common red flags:

“We’ll pay you in exposure.” Unless you’re brand new and genuinely want the portfolio piece, exposure doesn’t pay bills. If a brand has a marketing budget for ads, they have a budget for creators.

Unreasonable usage rights. Some brands bury perpetual, worldwide usage rights in their contracts, meaning they can use your content forever, anywhere, for any purpose. Always negotiate a time limit (30–90 days is standard) and charge accordingly for extended use.

No written agreement. Never start work without a signed contract or at minimum a detailed email agreement covering deliverables, payment terms, timeline, and usage rights. Verbal agreements are not enough.

Payment “after the campaign performs.” You should be paid for your work, not for results you can’t control. It’s fine to include performance bonuses, but your base fee should be guaranteed regardless of how the post performs.

Asking for too many deliverables at a “discounted” rate. If a brand wants 5 Reels, 10 Stories, and 3 carousels but only wants to pay what a single Reel costs, that’s not a discount — it’s exploitation. Always price each deliverable individually, then offer a genuine package discount of 10–20%.

Ready to Start Making Money on Instagram?

Just because Instagram doesn’t pay you for views doesn’t mean making a living off the platform isn’t possible. 

Once you learn how to price your content and work with brands, you can start a very fulfilling Instagram career. 

Sponsored posts are just one of many ways to earn on the platform. If you want to explore all your options, our guide on how to make money on Instagram covers 6 realistic income streams you can start building today.

But before you can even reach out to brands, you’ll need to build a following first. 

If you want to know how you can get followers (not just views), then read this article next, where I go over 12 ways to get followers (not just views!). 

And if you want the complete roadmap for growing from zero to a profitable Instagram account, check out our Instagram Growth Strategies guide for step-by-step strategies across every phase of growth.