Can you blog on Instagram?
Absolutely – before I became a full-time blogger with my own website, I started blogging on Instagram too.
This platform helped me narrow down my interests and understand the types of content that actually resonate with social media users.
An Instagram profile can be an incredibly powerful tool to level up your business or grow your personal brand.
So, how do you become a blogger on Instagram?
This guide offers Instagram blogging tips including:
- profile examples to follow
- how to start a blog on Instagram
- pros and cons of starting an Instagram blog
- tips and ideas for writing blogs on Instagram
- how to make money
- influencer networks you need to join
- tools to grow your IG profile
Let’s get started with a couple of stunning Instagram blogs to inspire you!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instagram Blogs: Examples to Follow
@bougemama is a lifestyle Instagram blogger with a stunning high fashion feed. Kat produces gorgeous content in the luxury fashion, beauty, and fitness genres – this mama is definitely one to watch!
@fawndesign is an incredibly successful women’s accessory company that earned its reputation through the power of social proof – their diaper bags are a hit with Insta moms, myself included!
My Instagram profile @nikkislivarich focuses on motherhood, life at home, and my job as a blogger and IG content creator.
I aim to inspire other busy moms like me to go for what they want – there’s no reason you can’t have it all, mama!
How to Make Money Blogging on Instagram
To start an Instagram blog, you’ll need to have an Instagram profile.
Have an existing profile?
Consider whether or not you want to clean it up or start fresh!
Instagram Profile Clean-Up
To tidy up your Instagram profile, have a look at the following:
- delete or archive grainy and/or low-quality photos
- create Instagram highlight covers for your highlights reel
- edit your bio – be sure to include a description of your business or personal brand
- change your username – limit the use of numbers and special characters so your account is easy to find and remember. If in doubt, use your name!
- remove irrelevant accounts from your following list
Create a New Instagram Account
To start a new Instagram profile, open the IG app on your phone and click your profile icon.
Then, click your username and selectLog In or Create New Account.
Choose aUsernameand click the Next button.
UnderChoose How to Log In, select your existing account or register new contact information withSign up with email or phone number.
Enter yourPhonenumber and/orEmail.
Enter theConfirmation Codesent to your phone or email address to verify your identity and login to your new account!
You can be logged into up to 5 Instagram accounts at once on a single device.
Once your new account is active, choose a profile photo by clicking the circle icon in the bottom right corner of the app and selectEdit Profile.
ClickChange Profile Photo.
Don’t overthink your choice too much – you can always come back and select a new photo later!
Click the field next toBioto write a short description of who you are and what it is you do.
Pros of Blogging on Instagram
Starting a blog on Instagram is perfect for those who are:
- on a budget
- aren’t sure they want to start a website
- want to expand their social media reach
Let’s break down each of these pros a bit more.
Budget-Friendly
Instagram is a free social media app that offers built-in features like Photo Filters, Boomerang, Superzoom, and Live to enhance your content.
You can start growing your Instagram blog forFREEwith just one tool you already have – the camera on your phone!
Note:Professional influencers and content creators tend to opt for high-end equipment like mirrorless and DSLR cameras plus video and photo editing software like Lightroom.
This isn’t an investment you need to make from the start and you can upgrade at your own pace!
Related: Best Instagram + Blogging Tools to Grow Your Business
No Website Required
I’ll be the first one to admit it – managing a self-hosted blog is a lot of work!
Instagram is free to use while it will cost a few dollars a month to host your blog – I use Siteground website hosting for mine.
But before I started a website, I started micro-blogging on Instagram.
It allowed me to narrow down my focus and build a following before I launched my first website.
I learned photography, improved my writing skills, and discovered how to market my content and find the right audience.
It also taught me how to work with brands and make money online.
As someone who wasn’t technologically inclined whatsoever, Instagram in itself was a learning curve!
But it was an amazing introduction to the world of content creation and being an online entrepreneur.
Social Media Reach
More than 1 billion users are active on Instagram monthly – 116 million IG users are from the US alone!
That means, every time you post on this platform, your content has the potential to reach a massive audience.
Something which is possible by:
- using the right hashtags
- posting at the right times
- creating content that makes users want to see more
More resources to start a blog on Instagram with a bang:
- 10 Flat Lay Photography Tips for Creating Instagram-Worthy Images
- How to Stay Focused and Get More Done: 10 Tips to Boost Productivity
- The Ultimate Instagram Post Checklist: How to Grow Your Reach Now!
Cons of Using Instagram to Blog
Starting a blog on Instagram doesn’t come without a few flaws.
These include:
- terms of use
- security
- limited income potential
- need to be active on the platform
Let’s dive in a bit deeper!
Terms of Use
To use Instagram, you must agree to their terms of use.
Instagram states that the user grants them “a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivatives or your content”.
They also have the authority to “remove any content or information you share on the Service if [they] believe that it violates these Terms of Use” – this includes disabling and terminating your account altogether.
Have you heard of Instagram Engagement Groups or Pods? This method of inflating engagement is also against Instagram’s Terms of Use and could get you booted from the platform.
Instagram explicitly states that “artificially collecting likes, followers, or shares” goes against their Community Guidelines.
Imagine spending hours, days, or even months of your time growing your Instagram blog only to have it revoked.
The terms of use may be a long and boring read but they are worth glancing over to protect your content and your account!
Security
This happened last year to a fellow mom blogger – her account with more than 60,000 Instagram followers was compromised and wiped from the platform!
Again, I can’t imagine devoting so much time and effort into a platform only to have my content and identity simply disappear one day.
In the event that your Instagram profile was compromised, having a self-hosted blog is one way to protect yourself – you could send an email to followers who have joined your mailing list and/or write a blog post about what has taken place.
You should install a security plugin on your blog as an extra precaution – I started with the free version of Wordfence and it was enough to protect my growing self-hosted blog for years.
Set up two-factor authentication and choose a strong password for your Instagram profile from the start!
I also personally write my passwords down on a piece of paper rather than storing them digitally – you can never be too careful!
Limited Income Potential
When I received my first paid collaboration proposal on Instagram, I’ll admit that I was both shocked and jumping for joy!
I couldn’t believe someone wanted to pay me to take photos and try their product!
It was incredibly exciting and something I loved doing – for a short time.
However, keep in mind that when you do sponsored posts, you:
- need to meet deadlines
- often have to submit drafts of your content for approval
- must submit analytics for your post’s performance
- compete against other influencers for jobs
- payment is often dependent on the size of your audience – less followers = less earnings!
Instagram-sponsored posts require you to work all the time whereas writing a blog post on a self-hosted website today could earn you an income in the future.
To give you an idea, I have blog posts I wrote in 2018 that continue to make a couple of hundred dollars a month now – that’s with little to no effort made revising them!
You can create a website with Siteground today for 60% off.
Need to Be Active on the Platform
Elaborating on the point above, content is more short-lived on Instagram than it is on a self-hosted blog.
This means you’ll need to produce a lot more of it to get your work seen.
You also need to be consistent for your followers to want to keep up with you.
Instagram users should aim to post and create stories at least once daily – be sure to keep them high quality and relevant to your niche!
Note: You can save a ton of time by planning your feed a month or more in advance with Tailwind Instagram Scheduler and Hashtag Finder!
Tips for Writing Blogs on Instagram + Ideas
Instagram is all about visuals – before anyone even stops to read your caption, the image you uploaded is the first thing they’ll see.
Choosing a color palette, and theme, and planning your feed are essential to building a stunning Instagram blog.
Shoot a variety of thoughtfully planned photos to build your repertoire, then upload them into an app like Tailwind or Preview to plan your feed.
You can even pre-write your captions with Tailwind and schedule your posts to go live at the right time – one when plenty of Instagram users are online and could interact with your post!
Instagram Blog Ideas: Types of Content
There are several different popular types of Instagram content:
- Lifestyle
- Tutorial
- Questions
- Before and After
- Behind the scenes
- Promotional
- User-generated content
Lifestyle
A lifestyle Instagram post is one that focuses on your life.
Feel free to talk about your kids, family, home, travels, etc.
IG users enjoy getting to know who’s being the brand – and being on a personal level with your fans and customers is an incredibly effective way of encouraging sales.
Selfies are another fan favorite in this category!
Tutorial
Teach your followers how to do something.
Share a recipe, parenting advice, makeup tutorial, or tips for how to do something else related to the content you create.
Related: How to Edit Gorgeous Instagram Photos with Lightroom
Questions
Ask your followers for advice!
It could be anything – from choosing a paint color to update your home, your next travel destination, or even a “this or that” for your wardrobe.
People love to give their opinions so, give your fans an opportunity to assist you – and be sure to share the results!
Before and After
I love these – I do plenty of them to compare my images before and after Lightroom photo editing.
Other ideas may include:
- home renovations
- hair cut and/or color
- weight loss/fitness
- artwork
- then versus now
Behind the Scenes
Offer a glimpse into what a day at work looks like for you.
For me, this is usually a candid shot of someone photographing me photographing something else!
If you create products, recipes, or other items though, you could feature a close-up of the materials you use in your manufacturing process and/or yourself at work too.
Promotional
Create a post or story for your latest product and/or sponsored content.
Showing your followers how naturally an item fits into your everyday life and/or how you already use it.
You could also feature another influencer or business in your promotional post – bonus points for including a testimonial!
User-Generated Content
As briefly discussed above, featuring another influencer or business is a great way to show your product in use and/or the extent of your reach.
Social proof is a widely popular and effective marketing technique that relies on external validation – like social shares, product posts/stories, reviews, etc. – to convert consumers into customers.
Basically, people make decisions based on what other people are saying.
And if you can show that a lot of people are talking about you or your brand, it’s an easy way to get more eyeballs on your Instagram profile!
Related:
- Instagram Content Creation Tips for Beginners
- 365 Instagram Ideas to Plan Your Next Year of IG Posts
How to Make Money on Instagram
Do bloggers on Instagram get paid?
Yes – some of them make incredible money doing it too!
How do Instagram bloggers make money?
Making money on Instagram is usually done through:
- sponsored content
- affiliate marketing
Sponsored Content
To start getting paid to post sponsored content, you’ll need about 1,000 followers – that’s when I got my first offer!
Brands will either contact you through a direct message within the IG app or email you.
You can also sign up for influencer networks that provide access to a job database where you can apply for campaigns.
Note: Be sure to read all guidelines carefully, post before the deadline, and keep your images high quality.
Failing to adhere to all guidelines could result in not getting paid for your efforts!
Affiliate Marketing
Style Collective, LikeToKnow.it, and the Amazon Influencer Program are becoming more and more popular with Instagram bloggers and influencers alike.
These platforms allow influencers to make money every time someone uses their unique product link to make a purchase.
Instagram users are paid a portion of each sale they make – this ranges from a set dollar amount to a percentage.
Affiliate marketing is my blog’s number one source of income but I didn’t have much luck with it on Instagram – as I mentioned before, blogging on Instagram is fast-paced with character limits as blogging on your own self-hosted website is long-game and as thorough as you’d like to be.
I mainly write about digital products and tools that didn’t convert as well as the physical products I recommended on Instagram.
These do better when people come across my site on Google or Pinterest.
That said, the right niches can make great money with affiliate marketing on Instagram. These genres include:
- beauty
- fashion
- home decor
- fitness
- parenting
Understanding your brand and ideal audience is key to being successful with affiliate marketing.
Note:before applying to any affiliate marketing networks for Instagram, be sure you have posted consistently for several months, have reached at least a couple of thousand followers, and have curated a high-quality Instagram feed.
These criteria will significantly improve your odds of getting accepted the first time you apply!
Related: 5 Ways to Make Money Blogging
@bougemama features a Celine Phantom Luggage Tote for LikeToKnow.it.
Influencer Networks to Join
As a brand new Instagram blogger, I highly recommend getting started with Influenster and ChickAdvisor!
Both are actually product review platforms where there are no requirements to get started.
Simply sign up, write a few reviews, and keep applying for free samples and VoxBoxes until you get your first one! It’s a great introduction to creating sponsored content.
A few influencer networks you should join once you have 1,000 or more followers include:
- ShopandShout
- AmbassadHer
- Peersway
- Influence.co
- Aspire IQ
- Heartbeat
- Grapevine Logic
Tools to Grow on Instagram
A few of my favorite companion apps for Instagram include:
Pro Camera
Great for those on a budget to shoot photos in RAW without a mirrorless or DSLR camera.
Unlike the standard images taken by cell phone cameras, RAW photos are minimally processed and contain more data and color than their PNG or JPEG counterparts.
In English: when you edit your photo, you’ll experience far less quality loss post-editing.
Lightroom
This is my go-to photo editing app!
I frequently post tutorials and look at before and after retouching in my Instagram stories.
Lightroom is easy to use and offers magazine-quality retouching with just a few modifications.
Tailwind
Tailwind for Instagram is my go-to Instagram scheduler and hashtag finder.
It makes it easy to post at the right times with hashtags that are popular but not too competitive so your content actually gets seen!
Canva
I love this online tool for resizing images and designing Instagram posts and stories.
It gives my content a personality and allows me to brand my work.
Some great apps with free options include:
- VSCO
- Snapseed
- Layout
- Preview
- Photo Timer
Is Blogging on Instagram Enough to Earn a Living?
Starting a blog on Instagram is great if you want to dabble in blogging and social media before making a financial investment.
You’ll learn a lot about photography, photo editing, the IG app itself, and even marketing just through experience.
Here’s what my profile looked like when I first started out versus what it looks like now!
It’s a great stepping stone for something bigger in the future!
However, if you’re looking to turn your online adventure into a full-time job now, starting a self-hosted blog is the way to go – Siteground offers the best performance and service at an affordable price.
For me, making money on Instagram requires 10x the effort making money on my blog does.
On Instagram, I need to shoot photos at a certain time, capture the perfect image, edit that image, write a caption, research and mix up my hashtags, interact with followers and new posts in my home feed, etc. at the time it goes live.
For the biggest impact, you also need to post daily.
With blogging on a self-hosted website, I write, add a few pictures (including some stock photos to save time), create graphics, and promote.
Sponsored posts and affiliate marketing on Instagram pay alright (from $15 to $150 a post, on average) but there’s nothing like those emails that tell me I made money while I wasn’t even working!
One blog post on a self-hosted blog has a much longer lifetime than one on Instagram.
Earning potential is one of the major reasons I stepped back from IG to focus on growing my website – I love taking photos but I love providing for my family so much more!
To start a blog on Instagram successfully, you’ll want to:
- follow other inspirational Instagram blogs for reference
- clean up an existing IG profile or create a new one
- evaluate the pros and cons of an Instagram blog to decide if a self-hosted website if right for you
- practice writing blogs on Instagram and start brainstorming Instagram blog ideas
- decide how you will make money on Instagram
- join product review clubs like Influenster and ChickAdvisor before requesting influencer networks
- get the right tools and download awesome apps to grow your IG profile directly on your phone
What will you blog about on Instagram? Share your IG handle and what you do in the comments below.
Happy blogging, friends!
More ideas for starting a blog on Instagram:
- How to Get 1000 REAL Instagram Followers in Just 30 Days
- 10 Actionable Steps to Become an Instagram Mom Influencer Now
- How to Find the Best Time to Post on Instagram Today
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