How to Make Money From Your Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels is not just about making short and funny videos. You can monetize your Reels to earn a little more money for all the effort you put into making them. Of course, you can’t simply start making money off of your Reels from the get-go, as there are a few things that you need to do first. If you’re a business owner or a social media star, it’s time to take advantage and make money from your Instagram Reels.

Follow this guide to learn how you can monetize your Instagram Reels.

What is Instagram’s Monetization Policy?

Anyone who wishes to use Meta’s monetization or promotional tools policy must comply with a set of standards set by the company. As per Meta, these rules will apply to all accounts. With this, there are a few rules to keep in mind.

1. Reside in an Eligible Country

You must be in an eligible country where the product or feature is available. Furthermore, you’ll lose your monetization rights if you move to an ineligible country or if Meta changes its product eligibility. For a complete list of the eligible countries for Reels monetization, you may refer to Instagram’s Reels ad placement.

2. Comply with Meta’s Community Guidelines

Most importantly, if you wish to use Instagram’s monetization features, you must comply with their community guidelines. These are safety provisions that defend users against hate speech, calls for violence, and sexualized content. The guidelines also include policies for intellectual property authenticity and more.

Remember that while you may be eligible initially, you can lose your eligibility if you break any of the guidelines.

3. Don’t Spread Misinformation

Meta will flag content with misleading or inaccurate information. Accounts continuously breaking this rule could lose their eligibility to monetize content.

4. Engagement Must Be Authentic

Meta will look for content creators that engage in manufactured engagements to boost their Reels or posts. This could include coordinating content distribution and fake accounts following or liking your Instagram content.

5. Follow Meta’s Payment Terms

Meta’s payment terms are long and complex. It’s important you follow through with these guidelines so that your money can be processed as smoothly and as swiftly as possible. If you’re under 18, you’ll need the guidance of a parent or a guardian to use the Meta monetization platform.

6. Have an Established Presence on Instagram

Before monetizing content such as Reels, you’ll need to develop an established presence on Instagram first. This means keeping a sufficient organic follower base for your account. Additionally, certain political and government entities are not eligible for monetization. Those are:

How To Make Money With Instagram Reels

There are two significant ways to make money from the Instagram Reels you post. The first is the Reels Play bonus, and the second is through sponsored content.

Reels Play Bonus

The Reels Play Bonus is an invite-only program from Instagram. If your account receives the invite, you can turn on Reels Play Bonus from your Instagram professional dashboard. With this, you’ll earn extra money depending on three factors:

• Based on Reel performance or how many plays it gets.
• Based on the number of Reels you create.
• Based on a Reel made according to a specific theme, like the holidays.

Invites are given to content creators and business accounts with a steady stream of Reels and a good following. Unfortunately, there are no exact standards for who’ll get invited into this. However, you should at least strive to have your account eligible for monetization on Instagram. You must also meet the following requirements:

• You need to have a business or creator account.
• You must live in the US and be at least 18 years old.
• You must meet Instagram’s monetization policies.
• Your follower count must be under a million.

To participate in the program, you must start making suitable Instagram Reels. Luckily, there are a lot of great editing tools that turn your basic Reels into something worth watching. 

Do note that as of March 9, 2023, Instagram has stopped sending Reels Play bonuses in the US and India.

Sponsored Content

If the Reels Play Bonus is unavailable in your country, you might want to try sponsored content instead. This involves working with prominent brands to create Reels for them in exchange for rewards and payment.

This can be challenging, as most brands would only want to work with Instagram creators in the same niche as them. For instance, if you’re running a food review Instagram page, you can collaborate with restaurants and other food brands. If you think your content has what it takes to get sponsors, try signing up for Upfluence or NeoReach. Both programs connect Instagram content creators with brands online.

If you are new to Meta’s platform, consider collaborating for posts and Reels on Instagram with your friends and influencers to expand your reach. 

Monetizing Reels Is Hard Work

Creating Instagram Reels is easy. The hard part is creating content that’s good enough for people to go crazy over. As you can see, monetizing Instagram Reels takes a lot of effort. Once you start making money from your Instagram account, there might come a time when creating Reels could substitute your day job. Now that you know how to monetize your Reels, it’s time to start uploading them from your phone or PC.