Looking to start a blog on Instagram? Then you already know the advantage of blogging on this social media platform.
With over 1.3 billion monthly active users, Instagram can be excellent for bloggers to reach a wider audience. Despite primarily being an image and video-sharing social media platform, Instagram accommodates texts in post captions, story descriptions, etc.
So, in today’s post, let’s find out how to start a blog on Instagram and make it successful.
Is Instagram Good for Blogging?
Instagram is excellent for blogging, as more than 500 million daily users frequent this social media platform. It also provides powerful creators tools to create, promote, and manage your content.
You can grow your followers and readers on the same platform with an effective strategy.
How Much Money Can I Make Blogging on Instagram?
You can earn between peanuts and a million bucks by blogging on Instagram. You can make between $10-$100 per post with less than 10,000 followers as a starter.
The actual earning for an Instagram influencer depends on factors like followers count, engagement rate, value propositions, monetizing strategies, etc.
Who Is the Top Instagram Blogger?
Huda Kattan (@hudabeauty on Instagram) is the most successful beauty blogger, with nearly 50M followers in her Insta blog. Similarly, Caroline Daur (@carodaur) is a top fashion blogger with over 5M followers.
However, different niches have their own successful Instagram bloggers, making it unreasonable to have one correct answer.
What You’ll Need To Start a Blog on Instagram
Aside from having some basic knowledge of the social media platform, you will need the following to start an Instagram blog:
- An Instagram creator account. While it’s not an absolute must, having a creator account on Instagram will make your life much easier as a micro-blogger on the platform.
- A device to use the Instagram app. You may also need a computer for research and content creation.
- A reliable internet connection. Blogging is a digital activity requiring the blogger to be constantly online for content sharing and engagement.
You will also require accessing the analytics tool on Instagram to review your post performances and audience engagement.
How To Start a Blog on Instagram: Step-by-Step Instructions
So you’ve decided to start an Instagram blog? You will need to go beyond the basics of using Instagram and have a strategic plan to become successful.
In fact, creating an Instagram blog post is merely a step in the holistic blogging process. A successful blogger needs much more.
1. Set a Purpose and Goal for Your Blog
Why are you planning to blog on Instagram? Is it just for passion? Or for making money on Instagram?
You must know the answers to these questions to create a blogging strategy and plan your content type.
You can start an independent blog on Instagram or use the platform to promote your blogging website. Serving both purposes simultaneously is also possible, albeit with more thoughtful strategies.
Some examples of Instagram blog purposes include:
- Sharing a passion, hobby, or artistic endeavor with like-minded people on social media.
- Raising awareness regarding a social, economic, or political issue (i.e., climate change).
- Helping Instagram users to get things done with actionable tips and tricks (i.e., makeup tips).
- Increasing brand awareness and giving it an authoritative foothold online, possibly by diverting traffic to its website.
- Promoting products and services with how-to guides, announcements, republic relation messages, etc.
Once you have an understanding of your blogging purposes, you can set some goals for it.
Consider what measurable performance will help you attain your blogging purpose and then set achievable targets for that (aka goals). Some Instagram blogging goals examples can be:
- Getting X amounts of followers in a given period.
- Achieving X amounts of post views and engagements.
- Directing X amounts of potential readers or customers to your website.
A set of actionable goals will guide your strategy and keep you focused while blogging.
First, figure out your blog’s long-term goals. Then you can ponder the short-term goals that will get you to your ultimate destination.
2. Create an Instagram Creator Account
Do you already have an Instagram account? Then you know that the social media platform offers three types of accounts – Personal, Creator, and Business – with different features.
You must find out which account offers which benefits and then align it with your blogging purpose. Then you will know the most suitable Instagram account required for your blog.
You can use a business account to post excerpts from your company blog, driving traffic to your website. It also enables you to add a call-to-action (CTA) button.
Otherwise, choosing a creator account might be the best.
An Instagram creator account offers numerous features optimized for blogging and content creation. It includes:
- Adding labels to your Instagram profile, describing who you are or the purpose of your blog.
- Scheduling your blog posts ahead of time so that you post consistently without additional effort every time.
- Accessing a detailed and customizable Instagram Insights and analytics tool to measure your performance and engagement.
- Running and managing Instagram Ads to promote your blog with sponsored posts.
Convinced about starting an Instagram blog as a creator? You have two options for becoming an Instagram creator:
- Switching to Professional Account: You can navigate to your Instagram profile Settings > Account on your personal account. Then select “Switch to professional account” to become a creator.
- Adding a New Professional Account: You can add a new professional account to your personal account by selecting “Add new professional account” from Settings > Account.
Successful Instagram bloggers often have separate accounts for blogging and personal use with different target audiences. As your blog grows, you may need more niche Instagram accounts.
For example, beauty blogger Huda Kattan maintains three separate accounts for her personal life (@huda), blogging (@hudabeauty), and cosmetic range (@hudabeautyrange).
3. Make Your Instagram Profile Credible
You must make your Instagram profile credible so your followers know who you are and what you do.
After logging in to your Instagram account for the first time, you should focus on filling up your profile with correct information. You should:
- Upload a clear, attractive profile picture. It might be the same picture used on your blogging website.
- Write a concise bio detailing who you are and what you do in this Instagram profile. You can also link to your other Instagram handles and insert a link to your website.
- Check the privacy and sharing settings and make changes that fit you best. However, keep most things public for growing your Instagram blog.
Instagram bio can be a maximum of 150 characters long. So you must put on your copywriting hat to describe succinctly why people should follow you.
Next, focus on getting some Instagram followers.
Start by granting the social media app access to your contact so that people you know in real life can find your blog. Asking your friends directly to follow your Instagram blog is another option.
You can also find and follow some Instagram bloggers with similar interests. Some of them may follow you back to return the favor.
4. Find a Niche and Explore Post Types
In the beginning, bloggers often overlook the value of finding a niche. You shouldn’t do the same to be a success at Instagram blogging.
You must spend time finding a niche for your blog.
What are you good at? What value can you offer to your reader? How do you want to monetize your blog in the future?
Asking and answering questions like these should lead you to find your subject. You can also derive it from your blogging purposes.
Some popular Instagram blogging niches are:
- Beauty & Fashion
- Lifestyle
- Photography
- Travel
- Pet Care
- Digital Marketing
Your niche can be specific, like Shoes, or something broad, like design. Feel free to choose from one of these niches or find some less-competitive ones.
Merging different complementary niches or giving an established one a unique twist can also be helpful to stand out.
For instance, @thebucketlistfamily is a travel blog posting within a specific family travel niche.
After finding your niche, think about what you want to share and how.
Instagram users can create different post types for various areas, including feed posts, reel videos, temporary story decks, etc.
As a blogger, you should create feed posts and text-heavy carousels before mixing them up with some Instagram reels or Instagram live recordings.
If promoting your blogging website is the primary purpose, consider sharing post excerpts as your feed or story content.
Now that you know what you want to post about which subject, you can create your first Instagram blog post.
Tap the Create (+) icon from your Instagram profile or feed and choose what you want to create.
There are different features for a particular Instagram post type. So, you better learn the best way of using various Instagram features.
Feed posts are excellent for bloggers as these can be accompanied by a text-based caption.
The Instagram caption is essentially your micro-blogging interface, where you can write up to 2,200 characters (around 450 words).
You can also extend it to the comments or write something much shorter.
Blogging on Instagram is significantly different from blogging on a website platform. After all, it is a visually-heavy social media channel designed primarily for interaction and engagement.
Your Instagram blog post could benefit from having the following:
- Aesthetic Visual Content: Your blog caption should be accompanied by an interesting picture or video to grab the attention of your Instagram followers. Ensure you have the right to share a particular content or create your own. You can also post screenshots or graphics with blog excerpts.
- Captivating First Sentence: As Instagram only displays a few lines of your caption to your follower’s feed, you must hook your audience in the first sentence. Otherwise, they may not engage with it or tap the “More” button to read the rest of your post.
- A Call-to-Action Sentence: Remember your short-term and long-term blogging goals? You should end your blog by encouraging action from your readers based on that. For instance, you can write something like “tag your friend” if increasing brand awareness is your goal.
- Few Relevant Hashtags: Hashtags are practically the keywords for the Instagram search engine. Used correctly, these tags can enhance your post’s reach through the Instagram algorithm, making it visible beyond your followers, including in search results and the explore page.
Pro Tip: Create a Content Schedule for Instagram
Instagram algorithm prefers Instagram accounts that post consistently without too much content gap. In addition, specific times and days are best for posting on Instagram for a different audience.
You can maintain an engaging consistency by creating a content schedule using the Instagram (Facebook) creator studio. Accessing it is one of the perks of having a creator account.
Using a more advanced third-party social media management tool like Hootsuite or Sprout Social is also helpful, but it may cost you a subscription fee.
6. Promote Your Blog and Build a Community
While it is not essentially a tip for starting a blog on Instagram, you shouldn’t forget about promoting your Instagram blog inside and outside of the social media platform.
Adding relevant hashtags and search keys should already make your blog text optimized for engagement, which should be rewarded by the Instagram algorithm with increased visibility.
You can take promotion further by creating sponsored posts with Instagram ads; any associated costs might be worth paying as these ads are hugely influential for growing your Instagram following.
You should also promote your professional Instagram profile in your other Instagram account’s bio section. Sharing your blog name (handle) on your website is another excellent way.
Instagram also allows content creators to share an Instagram post to multiple social media simultaneously, including Facebook and Tumblr.
Sending direct messages on Instagram and Facebook Messenger are other marketing tactics that can give your post the best chance of maximum engagement.
However, building a meaningful community is vital for your Instagram blog’s success.
Your blog will most likely fail to satisfy the Instagram algorithm’s different engagement metrics if your followers don’t care about you.
Some practical ways to build a strong rapport with your Instagram followers include:
- Showing a genuine interest in your follower’s life and understanding their likes and dislikes.
- Engaging with your audience’s posts and replying to their comments or direct messages in a friendly way.
- Rewarding interesting commenters with pinned comments, fostering positive and inspiring dialogues around your blog topic.
Once you get your blog up and running with loyal followers and adequate engagement, you can focus on monetizing your Instagram blog to earn an income.
Similar Tutorials To Check Out
As mentioned above, making your Instagram blog successful requires in-depth knowledge of different Instagram features. So check out some of my other tutorials below:
- How To Write Instagram Captions: Grab your followers’ attention and get your message across by exploring how to write Instagram captions.
- How To Grow Your Instagram: Spread the word about your social media presence and reach broader online communities by learning how to grow your Instagram.
- How To Delete Multiple Instagram Posts: Remove Instagram content that no longer adds value for your followers by discovering how to delete multiple Instagram posts.
Wrapping Up
Starting an Instagram blog is as simple as creating a social media post, but making it successful is a whole different game.
A successful blogging journey starts right from the beginning, as an excellent start can give it a strong base right from the get-go. Nevertheless, saying it is much easier than getting it done.
You can start a blog on Instagram in the most informed way by following the tips in my guide. I am always available for further help, which you can request in the comments.
It would also be excellent if you shared my post with your social media audience or blog readers.
