Have you ever wondered how people make money on Instagram? I am often asked, “How in the world do you make money posting photos of your home on Instagram?!”

This blog post is a departure from my typical design post BUT I know there are people out there sharing photos of their home on Instagram and questioning how they can make side income from it.

There are many ways to make money on Instagram … from paid retailer sponsorships to affiliate marketing to promoting your own products and services. One of my primary sources of income is affiliate marketing. More specifically I use rewardStyle, the premium affiliate marketing platform for fashion and home bloggers. RewardStyle’s Instagram component is called LikeToKnow.It.

Although this blog post focuses specifically on the home décor niche, the general affiliate marketing principles below can be generalized to ANY and ALL niches on Instagram! 

One other important note (added 10/3/19) – I make most of my rewardStyle affiliate income via promoting products on my blog/website. RewardStyle makes it EASY to do affiliate marketing on three platforms: (1) the LikeToKnow.it app, (2) Instagram, and (3) your Blog/Website.

WHAT IS AFFILIATE MARKETING?

According to Wikipedia, Affiliate Marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.

In layman’s terms, affiliate marketing is simply an individual promoting retailer products to her followers on a blog or social media platform.

Here is an example of how I use affiliate marketing on my website: SHOP MY INSTAGRAM POSTS.

WHY YOU SHOULD TRY AFFILIATE MARKETING

If you are like me, you started your home decor Instagram feed as simply a creative outlet. There is nothing wrong with this; I did it for a full year before I realized I was leaving money on the table!

Do you realize that you are marketing for a retailer EVERY time you answer questions about a product in an Instagram post, or EVERY time you tag a retailer in a photo?! You are driving potential business to the retailer, and you SHOULD be compensated! In essence, you are already doing affiliate marketing!

I refrained from affiliate marketing for many months because I was skeptical that I would make any money and that if I did, it would merely be pocket change and not worth my time. Let me tell you … IT’S WORTH THE TIME!

I have earned commissions ranging from 5 cents (yep, that’s CENTS!) to several hundred dollars on a single sale. I make a little side income for my family simply by posting photos of my home on Instagram … photos that I would have posted anyway! No brainer, right?!

There are many affiliate programs available but RewardStyle is a fabulous choice for home décor bloggers.

REWARD STYLE AFFILIATE PROGRAM

* I updated this blog post on 10/3/19 with new information re: the rewardStyle application process.

RewardStyle is the premium affiliate marketing platform for the home décor and fashion niches. It used to be an invitation-only program; therefore, you had to be referred by a current rewardStyle Influencer in order to complete the application process. I say process but it is quick and easy! NOW you have the opportunity apply on your own at rewardStyle.com! Yippee!

Once accepted as an Influencer (a.k.a. Affiliate Marketer), you are assigned an advisor who teaches you everything you need to know about using RewardStyle. She remains your point person any time you have questions about the program and she also checks in with you periodically! 

RewardStyle partners with hundreds of home décor and fashion retailers. When you post a photo on Instagram, you can link products in your photo through LikeToKnow.It. Here is my LikeToKnow.It account as an example. These linked products send your reader to the retailer website. Your reader purchases directly from the retailer and incurs no extra cost.

When someone clicks a product link and purchases ANYTHING from that retailer, you earn a commission! They don’t need to purchase the specific product you linked. Even better, you earn a commission on ALL items they purchase after clicking through to the retailer from your LikeToKnow.It link.

Commission percentages via rewardStyle vary based on the retailer but the average is roughly 8%. Commissions take 2-5 months (depending on retailer) to close. You won’t transfer income to your bank account immediately BUT once you hit the four-month mark, you will have a steady stream of commission income each month!

CONCLUSION

There you have it … an overall explanation of how affiliate marketing and, more specifically rewardStyle, allows me to make money on Instagram by posting photos of my home décor! I would love to hear from YOU … please comment below with any questions, or let me know how YOU generate income on Instagram!