Haiden Hibbert
Instagram is the social media capital for creators. From landing brand deals to sponsored posts, monetizing your following can turn into a lucrative side hustle, or even a full-time gig. Instagram has even added built-in features to the app to help you make money off of your followers, like Live Badges and Instagram Shopping.
These are great options. But the truth is, creators are at the mercy of Instagram’s algorithm. You could spend weeks crafting the perfect post for your audience, only to have the platform decide not to display it to as many people as you’d hoped.
And while there are plenty of things you can do to increase the chances of your posts being seen, that’s a topic for another blog. Today, we’re going to focus on one of the best ways to grow your business and make money on Instagram.
Believe it or not, it’s to get your followers off of Instagram!
That may sound like a bit of an oxymoron, but the best way to steadily and sustainably grow your business is to leverage the content on your own website, where you make the rules.
Not sure where to start? Let’s take a look at 16 examples from MemberSpace customers and creators who monetize their Instagram followings by selling their own digital products.
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Table of Contents
1. Online yoga classes by Jenni Rawlings
Yoga teacher, Jenni Rawlings has built a following on Instagram by sharing her expertise with fellow instructors and yogis. She uses her platform to promote her yoga class library, which she sells in the form of a membership.
With the help of MemberSpace, Jenni offers students four tier options with varying levels of access to her classes, a forum, workshops, group training, and more.
2. Guitar lessons and sheet music by Robert Lunn
With 155,000 followers on Instagram, Robert Lunn has a massive audience to tap into when it comes to selling his digital products. On his platform, he shares his love of music and promotes his business where he sells sheet music and guitar lessons online.
With MemberSpace, Robert is able to restrict access to a Google Drive of his entire sheet music library, as well as his teaching videos. Once a customer signs up and pays for the library, they get full access.
3. Workout videos and nutrition coaching by Anne Craig Fitness
Anne Craig is a fitness and nutrition creator with her own fitness coaching business. She sells daily workouts, nutrition coaching, and cookbooks on her website and uses her Instagram to showcase the results of her clients who utilize her services.
With MemberSpace, Anne is able to restrict access to her workout videos and the content in her programs, so only paying customers can access them.
4. A paid podcast by The Confessionals
Creator and host of The Confessionals, Tony Merkel, uses Instagram to tease his podcast content and entice his followers to go to his website and listen to full episodes.
One way he uses MemberSpace to monetize his podcast is by offering a members-only listening experience. Paid subscribers get access to a new and exclusive episode every week, as well as ad-free episodes, a community, and an archive of previous members-only shows.
5. A self-help workshop by Bozoma Saint John
Bozoma Saint John is a creator, author, and owner of The Badass Workshop, a business that offers self-help workshops and consulting services. Her Instagram followers get a sneak preview of the topics taught in her workshop, but only paying customers get access to the exclusive content on her website, which is protected by MemberSpace.
6. 1:1 health coaching and programs by Unique Hammond
Unique Hammond started her online business, You’re Great, after battling with Crohn’s disease and recovering her health through diet and lifestyle changes. Now, she’s taking to Instagram to share her experience with her followers and offer them guidance through her lifestyle programs and 1:1 coaching.
She uses MemberSpace to sell access to her self-guided nutrition program.
7. Guided meditation by Breathe with James
James Dowler uses Instagram to share his knowledge of meditation and breathwork, as well as promote his business Breathe with James. On his website, James offers paying customers access to his “Breathwork Studio,” which includes guided meditations for things like sleep, anxiety, and manifestation.
MemberSpace helps James accept payments and put a paywall around his studio.
8. A masterclass on repairing the nervous system by Jessica Maguire
Jessica Maguire hosts a masterclass on repairing the nervous system, which she shares a lot about to her Instagram followers. When one of her followers enrolls on her website, they get access to an 8-week program that includes a presentation, video tutorials, guided audios, and a workbook.
With MemberSpace, Jessica offers access to the masterclass for a one-time payment of $675, or two-payments of $345 spread out over two months.
9. Cooking courses and recipes by Baking Angell
Brittany Angell is a food creator on Instagram who shares recipes and sells cookbooks on her website BakingAngell.com. Customers who join “Club Angell” get exclusive access to recipes and cooking classes.
10. A content library and community by Ladies of Real Estate
The Ladies of Real Estate is a popular community and content library for women looking to build their real estate careers. The brand uses Instagram to drive interested customers to their website, where they can sign up to access helpful resources like social media templates, graphics, and buyer/seller guides.
MemberSpace takes care of accepting customer payments and managing access to their exclusive content.
11. Online courses by Growing Families
Growing Families is a brand that shares parenting tips on Instagram. On each post, they promote their website, where they sell additional resources for parents, like online courses and videos.
One way they use MemberSpace is to restrict access to video streaming on their website.
12. An online directory by Biz Birthday Bash
Co-creators Cami and Elizabeth run an online business, Biz Birthday Bash. They help other entrepreneurs with business strategy with their A-Z Directory, a list of vendors and suppliers. They use Instagram to share behind-the-scenes looks into their business, previews of podcast episodes, and business strategy tips.
As a MemberSpace customer, Biz Birthday Bash is able to put a paywall around their online directory and other membership resources, so only paying members are able to access them.
13. A digital magazine and community for car enthusiasts by Avants
Avants is “the ultimate community for car enthusiasts,” offering their Instagram followers an exclusive look at what it’s like to be a part of their membership. Paying members get access to a digital magazine, events, a podcast, and a community.
With MemberSpace, Avants is able to sell access to annual three membership tiers.
14. A fitness program for people with autoimmune disease by Andrea Wool
Get Immune Strong, created by Andrea Wool, is a fitness program for people with autoimmune disease, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. Andrea posts on Instagram to provide her followers with tips on managing their disorders, while also promoting her program.
Get Immune Strong uses MemberSpace to sell two plans for the fitness program, as well as access to a small group coaching program.
15. A digital newspaper by Good Good Good
Good Good Good is a well-known digital newspaper and online community with over 350,000 Instagram followers! As their bio states, they “help you feel more hopeful and do more good” by offering inspiring stories. They use Instagram to promote their publication, share important news, and uplift their followers.
With the help of MemberSpace, Good Good Good customers can subscribe to receive a digital newspaper or a paper copy in the mail, as well as notifications about their latest podcast episodes and other premium content.
16. A digital conference for independent fiction authors by Inkers Con
Inkers Con is an annual digital conference for fiction authors. They use Instagram to share more information about the virtual event, which gives attendees access to Q&As with best-selling authors, presentations, round tables, and an online community.
With MemberSpace, Inkers Con offers two payment options to their event attendees, a one-time payment of $249 or a two payments of $125.
Now that you have some inspiration, let’s take a look how to launch your first digital product and promote it to your followers!
Step 1: Identify what your Instagram followers need
The first step to selling your own digital products on Instagram is to identify what your followers need. This means understanding their pain points and figuring out what solutions you can offer them. Here are a few ways you can uncover this information:
- Take a look at your comments and direct messages to see what questions your followers are asking.
- Look at Instagram Insights to see how your followers have interacted with your content, what gets the most engagement, and basic information about your followers like age and location.
- Post polls on your stories to ask what kind of content your followers want to see from you.
- Run a giveaway for your followers, where the winner(s) gets free access to your digital product.
Step 2: Figure out what you’re going to sell to your followers
Based on what you uncover about your Instagram followers in step 1 and the inspiration from fellow creators at the beginning of this post, it’s time to decide what digital product you will sell.
With MemberSpace, you can sell access to any kind of digital product, membership, or online community and take advantage of tons of features to help you manage and grow your business. Some of the top-selling products our customers sell include:
- Newsletters
- Memberships
- Community access
- Paid podcasts
- Content library
- Videos
- Online courses
- Digital downloads
- Paid Zoom calls
- Digital magazines
Step 3: Choose a tool to help you sell your products and accept payments
Before you can start selling digital products to your Instagram followers, you’ll need a tool to help you accept payments.
Whether you’re selling a newsletter subscription, a paid podcast, access to a community, or something else, you can add MemberSpace to any website and start selling your products right away.
Here’s how it works:
- Sign up for a free MemberSpace account.
- Add your digital product to a page on your website.
- Restrict access to that page, so only paying members can access them. MemberSpace takes care of all the payments through the built-in Stripe integration.
- Get instant payouts as soon as you start selling your products!
Step 4: Promote your products on Instagram!
Once your digital product is for sale, it’s time to start promoting it to your Instagram followers! Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Add a link tree to your Instagram bio. This allows you to create a simple page with several links on it. Include a link to anything you want to promote – your digital products, your blog, etc.
- Create Instagram reels, stories, and posts that share about your new product. Give away just enough information to get people interested without giving away too much!
- Host an Instagram live for your followers, where you will answer their questions in real time and talk about the product launch.
Final Thoughts
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