Affiliate marketing on Instagram isn’t going to make you a million dollars. 

Promoting affiliate links on Instagram isn’t as lucrative as traditional affiliate marketing on blogs and websites. 

However…

It’s a great way to make some money from your Instagram account. 

All without having to worry about sales fulfillment, inventory, refunds, and returns. Most of the time, you won’t have to negotiate a deal with brands, making affiliate marketing one of the most hassle-free ways to make a side income. 

In this article, I’m going to show you how to get started with affiliate marketing. I’ll tell you how to set everything up, what to avoid, and how to earn as much as possible.

Can You Do Affiliate Marketing on Instagram?

Short answer? Yes. 

All you need to do is: 

1. Partner up with a company, and get a special affiliate link
2. Promote your special link on Instagram (preferably by showcasing the product)
3. When someone clicks on your special link and buys the product, you get a commission
4. Rinse and repeat

However, there are a lot of differences between affiliate marketing on Instagram versus traditional affiliate marketing. 

The strategies for making things work on this platform are unique. 

So let’s take a closer look not only at how to use affiliate links on Instagram, but how to actually convert your followers into buyers. 

How to Get Started with Affiliate Marketing on Instagram in 4 Steps

Here’s how to do affiliate marketing on Instagram for beginners in 4 steps:

Step #1: Narrow Down Your Audience

The secret to success is targeting a very specific audience. 

Even if you already have an Instagram account, you’ll want to rework your content to target this specific group of people. 

Don’t pick a super broad niche like photography, gardening, or travel, or try to appeal to everyone interested in these broad topics.

Instead, get specific, like photography for newbies, gardening for seniors, or budget travel. 

Narrowing down your audience not only makes it easier for you to attract followers (you’re not up against industry giants), but it also helps you connect with people more. When people see that you’re like them, they’re far more likely to trust your product recommendations. 

Now… There are two things to consider when choosing a niche. 

First is to pick a niche that has a high buyer intent. 

Some audiences love to consume content, but they don’t intend to ever purchase anything online. While other audiences actively look for tools, products, and courses, fully prepared to spend on these. 

For example, niches like entertainment have a lower buyer intent than something like travel. 

People watch entertainment to be… well… entertained. But people watch travel content to find out new places they can go and visit themselves (and spend a lot of money while doing so). 

Niches with high buyer intent usually have many companies offering affiliate programs, making it easier and more profitable for you to go after these niches. 

Some niches with high buyer intent include: 

• Personal Finance – people who watch personal finance content are typically the kinds of people who sign up for credit cards, budgeting apps, investment platforms, insurance products, and other finance-related software. 

• Travel – airlines, tour providers, hotel booking apps, travel insurance, eSIMs… There are countless things travelers purchase, and tons of companies offering affiliate programs. 

• Online Business – people who want to start an online business usually invest in courses, website hosting, website builders, and other online tools to help grow their business. 

• Beauty/Skincare – while there aren’t too many high-ticket skincare products, this is a niche with high sales volume. Promote skincare products, cosmetics, hair treatments, or beauty devices, and you might get plenty of affiliate sales. 

• Parenting – parents are always on the lookout for things to purchase for their babies. Whether that’s baby gear, sleep solutions, or monitoring devices, the buyer intent for baby content is high. 

The second way is to pick a niche that YOU personally enjoy. 

If you ask me, I’d say that this is the right way to do affiliate marketing on Instagram. 

Why? 

Because building an account about something you actually enjoy is so much more fulfilling. You’re also far more likely to stick around for the long run. 

Finally, people will feel your passion for the niche too. 

When you’re posting content every day about something you don’t actually care about, your content will come off as dull, uninspired, and unoriginal. You might still get followers, but you’ll struggle to get that spark that causes people to closely follow you and your work. 

But if you’re passionate about the topic? 

Your posts are fresh, inspired, and have a unique spin that people won’t find anywhere else. People will be much more likely to follow you, and when you recommend a product? People will go and grab it because they trust you. 

Step #2: Build Your Follower Base

Before you start applying for affiliate programs, it’s a good idea to build a strong Instagram follower base. 

Even if you already have an account, you still want to get it to a place where affiliate marketing will make sense (and money). 

That way, when you start applying for affiliate programs, you’ll already have something to show, and brands will be much more likely to accept your application. 

I have a complete guide on how to reach 1k followers (which you can read here), but in a nutshell, here’s how it’s done: 

1. Find out what type of content your target audience wants

Open Instagram search, type in a keyword related to your niche, and watch and save the top 10 – 15 reels there that are doing well. 

Repeat this process with several keywords in your niche, and you should have a bank of ideas that your audience already enjoys. 

The great thing is, once you start saving these reels, it signals to Instagram that this is the type of content you enjoy watching. So the next time you click on the explore tab, you’ll be spoonfed with viral ideas in your niche! 

2. Use viral video templates

The cool thing about Instagram is you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. 

There are several templates that do extremely well, no matter what the niche is. So if you’re struggling to find content ideas, just take a template and adjust it to your niche. 

Some viral template ideas include:

• Listicles – top 3, 5, or 10 lists. Everybody loves listicles because they’re easy to consume and are exciting to see what’s at #1. 

• Authority hacks – take someone that everyone in your niche knows (eg, Mark Cuban for financial advice), and talk about what people can learn from this authority figure. 

• Simple clip, simple text – a short video with a simple clip and a text that’s relatable, funny, or interesting. This is the hottest format on Instagram right now. Pair it with trending audio, and there’s a good chance you’ll go viral because of how shareable these reels are. 

• Controversial opinion – this is a great way to find your tribe. Share an opinion that others will disagree with, but what your core follower base agrees with. This is a great way to be relatable and build a loyal following. 

Also, be a student whenever you use Instagram. Don’t just watch for entertainment, but pay attention to the formats that keep popping up, because you can use them in your own content as well. 

3. Avoid beginner mistakes

One common mistake I see starters making all the time is being afraid to copy. 

Again, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel for Instagram. If you see an idea working extremely well for a creator, copy it. 

Add your own spin, of course, but there’s nothing wrong with “stealing” someone’s idea on Instagram. 

On the flip side, another mistake I see beginners making is not having any originality. 

These people go to the other extreme and just copy anything that’s doing well. It’s so important to add your own spin to things because that’s how you get loyal followers. 

It’s a balancing act. 

Don’t skip ideas that are clearly working, but don’t be a copycat either. 

Another mistake I see so many beginners making is not knowing how to balance quality and quantity. 

I firmly believe that you should post every single day. 

Not only do you reach more people and give yourself more chances to go viral, but posting every day also teaches you what your audience responds to, and what doesn’t work as well. 

Too many beginners post only 3x a week, and their progress is painfully slow. 

However, I’ve also seen people pushing hard to post every day without caring about quality at all. 

Again, it’s a balancing act.

Spend a few extra minutes to give your reel the quality it needs to go viral, but try as much as possible to post every day anyway. 

4. Don’t ignore your community

As you start getting views and followers, you’re bound to start getting comments and DMs as well. 

It’s critical that you don’t ignore these, especially if you’re planning to promote an affiliate product later on. 

This is because people who interact with your account are the main people you’re marketing to. 

If you answer their questions with confidence, they’ll start seeing you as an authority in your niche. If you’re warm and friendly to them, they’ll naturally start to like you and pay more attention to what you have to say. 

Build trust, and these people will be the first to buy when you start promoting a product.

Step #3: Pick a Good Affiliate Partner

When you have a healthy amount of followers, it’s time for the fun part: choosing an affiliate partner.

Whether you already know who you want to partner with, or you want to find out which brands have affiliate programs in your niche, follow these steps. 

First, don’t try to get as many affiliate partners as you can and promote all of them. 

If you promote dozens of brands, you’ll have a harder time converting your followers, and people aren’t going to trust your recommendations as much. 

As much as possible, go for a few high-quality affiliate partners you can trust. 

The best affiliate partner is a brand that you personally use and trust. 

Find a partner like this, and marketing them will come naturally to you. You can be honest with your praise, and your followers will feel it too. 

However, the reality is that not all your favorite brands will have affiliate programs. 

But don’t fret!

There are other ways to find great partners. Such as: 

• Searching in Google – type in “brandname + affiliate program.” If the brand has an affiliate program, it should pop up in the search. There, you can learn their requirements and learn how to sign up. This is what you should do if you already know who you want to partner with. 

• Joining an Affiliate Platform – affiliate platforms like CJ Affiliate, Awin, Rakuten Advertising, Impact, and others make it easy for you to find brands that have affiliate programs. These platforms also make contacting and applying to the programs much easier. You can also search these platforms for your preferred brand (sometimes a Google search won’t bring up their program). 

• Check Your Competitors – try spying on your competitor’s Instagram accounts to see who they’re promoting. If they have affiliate links, there’s a big chance you can contact the brand and get your own too. 

But don’t just sign up for the first (or biggest) affiliate program you find. 

When looking for partners, there are several things you need to check first:

• Niche Fit – this is probably the most important criterion when choosing a partner. I’ve seen so many people trying to promote products that don’t fit their audience at all. If you do this, you won’t get any sales, and you could lose followers as well. So pick a brand you can see yourself and your followers actually buying and using. 

• Company Reputation – some of the highest-paying affiliates are from the shadiest companies. AVOID these. Yes, you might be able to make money, but if your affiliate partner scams your followers, you’ll lose all your credibility. 

• Commission Rate – generally speaking, digital products and subscriptions offer higher commission rates than physical products. If you’re promoting a lesser-known brand, look for something that provides at least 5% commission (hopefully, higher). If it’s a very well-known and trusted brand, you can get away with 2% (because sales volume is higher with trusted brands). 

• Cookie Window – a cookie window is the amount of time an affiliate link can track a buyer after they click it. If someone clicks your link today and buys within that time window, you get commission. Cookie windows can be short (24 hours) or long (30 – 90 days). Once the cookie expires, you won’t get paid for the sale. So the longer the cookie window, the better it is for you. 

Once you find a brand that you want to work with, then apply for it. 

Most affiliate programs will have you put in your info (such as your account), and also give you space to write a message to the company. 

In this message, try to highlight how your followers match their target customer demographic. Give me as much proof to showcase this because if you can prove this, they’re far more likely to accept your application. 

Step #4: Promote Your Affiliate Links Properly

One painful mistake I see creators making with affiliate marketing is overpromoting. 

They push their affiliate links so hard, you’d think they own the company. 

They post about it all the time; it’s as if the brand is paying them for ads. 

And guess what?

People hate ads. 

If you do this, you’ll lose your credibility, followers, and your Instagram account will start falling away. 

Instead, here’s how to promote your affiliate links on Instagram: 

• Subtle Product Inserts – try to place the product you’re promoting naturally in your reels. You can show yourself using the product, or even just place it in a super obvious place in your reel. People will naturally ask about it, and only then do you send them your affiliate link. 

• Pinned on Profile – you can make 1-2 reels dedicated to the product you’re promoting. Then, pin this dedicated reel to your profile. That way, whenever someone checks you out, they’ll see the product you’re promoting (without you having to constantly make reels about it). 

• Post in Carousels and Stories – reels reach new audiences, while carousels and reels are mostly shown to your current followers. Again, don’t overpromote. But once in a while, add your links to your stories or carousels, so that the people who follow and trust you can easily find them. 

• Link in Bio – of course, adding your affiliate link to your bio is key. You can add it directly to your bio, or you can use a free links tool like LinkTree if you have multiple affiliate links to promote. 

• Link in Reel – if you pay for a Meta Verified badge, you can directly add links to your reels (depending on the tier you purchase). This makes it super easy to promote your link, and if the reel goes viral, spread it to hundreds of thousands of people. You can read about Meta Verified requirements here. 

Ready to Start Affiliate Marketing on Instagram?

Affiliate marketing won’t make you a million dollars on Instagram. 

But it’s one of the easiest ways to make a nice side income while building an Instagram account you can be proud of. 

And if you find a brand partner that matches your content and account perfectly, you could even go on to ask them for a brand collaboration instead (hint: there’s more money in brand collabs). 

So if you’d like to learn how to do that next, then read my full guide here!