HOW TO START AN INSTAGRAM BLOG

Do you love writing microblogs?

Is sharing pictures and videos online your favorite time?

Do you love creating short videos and sharing them online?

Or

Do you want to sell products online free of cost?

 If your answer to any of these questions is a ‘yes’ then Instagram Blogging is meant for you. 

Are you wondering what it is? Don’t worry. We are on your side.

In this blog post we are going to walk through:

• What is Instagram Blogging?
• Why is Instagram Blogging used?
• How to start an Instagram Blog?
• How to earn money through Instagram Blogging?

 Let’s dive in!

 

WHAT IS INSTAGRAM BLOGGING?

 

DEFINITION ALERT

Micro-blogging is a method of posting short blogs frequently to engage the audience.

 Instagram Blogging is a type of micro-blogging because of its character limit of 2200.

 Big companies to budding startups use Instagram blogs to sell their products, develop customer relationships, branding, boost user engagement, promotion, and marketing purposes.

 Since Instagram is more visually oriented, unlike other social media platforms. Instagram blogs contain attractive images or videos with a short text (up to 2200 words) to attract the user.

 Instagram provides you various video editing and photo-enhancing features (filters) to make your content look visually appealing.

On Instagram, it is all about creating arresting content to attract user attention.

Here is a list of successful Instagram Bloggers for you to stalk:

• Huda Kattan (Beauty Blogger and founder of one of the best cosmetic brands called Huda Beauty. 
• Kyla Itsines ( Fitness Blogger and co-founder of sweat app) 
• Mariano Di Vaio ( Italian Blogger, fashion designer, and actor) 
• Julie Sarinana aka Sincerely Jules ( Fashion and Lifestyle Blogger) 
• Jenn Im ( An American fashion beauty vlogger)

You must be wondering- Why only Instagram?

No need to worry. We have you covered.

WHY INSTAGRAM BLOGGING?

Let us begin answering you by stating a few statistics:

In Q3 2021, Instagram attained a milestone of two billion active users and has since maintained a consistent growth rate. It is projected to achieve 2.5 billion active users by 2023. Additionally, India has the largest Instagram user base, with over 300 million active users.

If these numbers are not enough to convince you then maybe Mark Zuckerberg can help.

Mark Zuckerberg stated that Instagram will help creators generate more revenue from their content with growing time. Hence making Instagram an essential platform for generating revenues.

What’s more interesting is Instagram is incorporating AI features that will automatically help brands discover creators. This is another lucrative way of earning through this platform.

 TAKEAWAY: Instagram is continuously growing with time and if you are not using Instagram then, mate you are missing out on something HUGE!

 

HOW TO START AN INSTAGRAM BLOG?

Now that we have warmed you up with the benefits of Instagram. It is time for you to understand how to start one.

 Here is a step-by-step guide to creating an Instagram Blog:

 

1. CREATE AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

Creating an Instagram account is the most obvious step to starting an Instagram blog.

It is not an esoteric task, it only takes a few minutes and it’s absolutely free of cost.

 All you have to do is go on your Android’s play store or Apple’s app store and search Instagram. Then go ahead and download it!

 Once the download is finished, open it and start creating your account on Instagram in a few simple steps as below :

•  Android users need to sign up with their email address or phone number. While iPhone users need to create an account using their phone number
•  For verification, you would also need to enter the OTP sent on your number.
•  You can also use a single sign-in through your Google or Facebook id.
•  Subsequently, you’ll be asked to create a username and password for your Instagram account.
•  You’ll be given two options to choose whether you want to keep your profile Public or Private.
•  If you want to create an account for personal use i.e only want your friends and family to see and react to your posts, then choose Private Profile On the other hand, if you want to create an Instagram account for business and promote your services and products, then keep it Public so that you have a wider reach.
•  Here since your main focus is creating blogs on Instagram then definitely you will have to create a ‘Public’ profile.

 

2. CHOOSE A USERNAME

An impactful username is a must for your blogging journey since it is the face of your brand.

While choosing a username keep the following things in mind:

• Make it memorable
• Short and sweet
• Eye-catchy
• Choose it according to your target audience
• Contains your name if you are popular
• If you already have an established blog name, make sure you use the same name across all the platforms including Instagram to maintain consistency.

Though you can change your username later, this will create confusion amongst your visitors and damage your brand integrity. So make sure you pick your username wisely and stick to it!

 

3. PICK A NICHE

Choosing an appropriate Instagram niche for your account is very imperative because this will attract visitors to your page.

 To be a successful blogger, you need to deliver to your audience what they expect & what you promise them to deliver.

 You need to be very conscientious while choosing a niche for your Instagram account. Though you can change your niche at your convenience, it’ll only cause confusion to your audiences. Moreover, you will have to revamp your entire content strategy if you choose to do it, so be careful!

There are a lot of niches you can choose from. Some of which are listed below:

• Lifestyle
• Fashion
• Food
• Beauty
• Fitness
• Health and Nutrition
• Travel
• Entertainment
• Music
• Health and Fitness
• Art
• Parenting
• Business
• Photography and Filmmaking
• Nature
• Makeup
• Interior Designing
• Crafts and DIY
• Memes
• Money and many more

 You can also combine more than one category to form a niche that you are passionate about. However, try to pick varied categories to avoid confusion and focus on the ones which are interrelated with each other example entertainment and music can be one good niche.

 Since all your content will revolve around the niche, pick one on which you can form content LONG-TERM.

 Lastly, keep your target audience in mind while picking a niche. (see if they like reading content based on the particular domain). You can do this by conducting market research on various platforms like Quora, Facebook, Google Auto-suggest, etc, or even by performing competitor analysis.

 

4. WRITE AN ATTRACTIVE INSTAGRAM BIO

After your username, Instagram is the first thing that users will see in your profile.

Hence you have a few seconds to capture your user’s attention before they bounce off to another page.

Keep a few things in mind to write an exception bio:

• The character limit is 150 so make sure you do not write great sentences.
• Include relevant keywords
• Share your skills and professional experience
• Include your achievements
• Use emojis
• Put hashtags
• Make it readable (you can add whitespaces)

Your Instagram bio should be target specific for example if you are targeting teenagers make it fun and catchy, while for business professionals you can make it a little professional.

 

5. PUT PROFILE PICTURE

If you have already decided on a logo for your blogging business, then put that as your profile picture instead of your personal or your team picture.

Since the Instagram profile picture size is 110 x 100 pixels. Make sure you choose it accordingly.

 

6. WRITE BLOG POSTS

An Instagram blog post is not more than 2200 words and can also be considered a micro-blog.

 The most important lines amongst the entire content are the opening and the closing line consisting of the Call To Action (CTA).

 Let us explain this in some detail.

Briefly, your opening line or first line should be eye-catchy to attract the user’s attention. You can put intriguing one-liners, this should stop people scrolling by your post and stick them in. Prompt an emotion in your readers through your opening line.

Some examples are-

•  “Is iPhone Dead? 😮 “
•  “The Veggie Garden Of Future”
•  “Infinite Takeaway Tea”

 Next, comes your concluding line which should always end with CTA. For example, you can ask people to tag their friends in the caption, share their journey of blogging, or even can contain a question.

 Figure out ways you can attract more visitors with your blog posts, and add high-quality pictures and videos to make them more appealing. Do not compromise on this since Instagram is visually oriented. Invest in a good editor or photographer if your pocket allows.

  Here are a few popular Instagram blog profiles that you might want to visit. Click to see.

7. USE HASHTAGS

Hashtags are a group of words prefaced by ‘#’ used to categorize content and make it more discoverable. 

If you want to expand your reach for free then including hashtags in your content is the easiest way to do so. If you use a hashtag then your post gets displayed on the page for that hashtag. For example, if you use #workoutChallenge then your post will get displayed on the #workoutChallenge main page.

Create your business hashtags and encourage people to follow them or use them in your posts or stories. This will increase the reach of your posts to manifolds. Hashtags can be as simple as #businessname.

Looking for more inspiration?

 There are 9 different types of Hashtags that you can use:

• Hashtags for Instagram communities in your industry, like #foodiesoninsta #lifestyleupdates
• For special events or seasons, like #whiteday or #independenceday
• Using location, like #pastrynyc, #madeinToronto, or #nycstreets
• Daily hashtags, like #mondaymotivation, #tuesdaytip, or #fitinspiration
• Hashtags with phrases relevant to what you do, like #becreative or #writinglove
• Different hashtags with acronyms, like #qotd (quote of the day) or #ootd (outfit of the day).
• Hashtags with emojis, like #love🧡 #goodvibesonly😀

REMEMBER: Do not forget to follow your hashtag.

 

8. CONNECT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

To build trust and nurture your relationship with your audience it is essential to connect with them.

 But, HOW?

You can engage with your audience in the comment section. Respond to every comment, express gratitude for taking the time to read your posts, and acknowledge their presence.

Also, you can re-post the posts tagging your account and also share stories mentioning you. This way people will feel valued and special! Never miss a chance to make your customers feel loved.

 Additionally, you can engage with your followers by putting interactive stickers in your stories like polls and sliders. See the picture below to understand better:

 

 

 

9. CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY

There is no dying importance of consistency on Instagram. On Instagram, there should be consistency in what you post, when you post, and how you post to attract traffic. 

Make an Instagram post scheduler and make sure you stick to it. If you, for example, decide to post every Thursday and Friday, you are indirectly telling your audience when to expect a post from you. Not posting on a particular day will disrupt their experience. Not only this but posting consistently increases your Instagram engagement as well.

 Some tools help you schedule your Instagram posts:

• Later 
• Combin Scheduler 
• Eclincher 
• Tailwind
• Onlypult
• Buffer

As they say “Practice makes a man perfect”, regular postings will help in making you an expert in your domain.

 You also need to stick with the text color, formatting, and style to develop a seamless user experience.

 Lastly, follow pages that you resonate with. Following other accounts and engaging with them is a great way to keep a check on what’s going on in the market.

 

10. USE ANALYTICS DO NOT BE BLIND

For you to work in the right direction, it is very important to keep tracking your performance.

 There are 2 ways of doing this:

 

11. START MONETIZING YOUR BLOGS

After you have successfully tracked your analytics, drafted a content strategy, and launched your blogs. It is time you start making money from it.

 As per reports, the primary method of monetizing on Instagram is through sponsored posts, in which bloggers charge anywhere between $75 to $3,000 per publication. A blogger with a smaller subscriber count of 1,000 can advertise promotional content for around $80, while a larger influencer with up to 50,000 followers may charge around $271.

Isn’t it just amazing?

 You can earn huge figures through blogging on Instagram by various methods like:

• Affiliate Marketing
• Sponsored Posts
• Instagram Shopping (selling your products like ebooks, guides, or any other goods related to your niche)
• Reviewing Products (Careful to review only those products that match your niche)
• Paid Collaborations
• Instagram Ads ( Convert your post to an ad. If you make it eye catchy people are going to land on your page and may get converted into leads. Click to know more)

Follow these strategies to make money and you will be shocked to know the results. If you have tried already then comment on the method that worked most for you.

 

CONCLUSION

According to a source, there are around 2billion+ active users on Instagram and around 200 million+ businesses on Instagram. If you are not currently utilizing Instagram, you are overlooking a significant opportunity for growth.

Follow this blog post to know an easy step-by-step guide to starting an Instagram blog and how to start earning money from it.

Did you like this post? Share it with anybody who needs it and help them grow. We would also appreciate it if you could share in the comments what inspired you to become an Instagram blogger. Stay tuned for our upcoming content. See you!