How To Sell On Instagram Without A Website And Make Money (2023)
So you want to start selling on Instagram without a website? Well, I’m here to tell you it’s possible! With the right strategy, you can make money and grow your business without needing a website.
Selling on Instagram without a website is a great way to sell products and create a profitable ecommerce store without having to invest in an expensive ecommerce website.
Can You Successfully Sell on Instagram Without a Website?
Learning how to sell on Instagram without a website may appear daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right strategy and basic marketing skills, you can easily launch your business on Instagram and start earning money.
Taking advantage of this social media platform’s features, such as hashtags and polls, helps increase visibility and boosts engagement from potential customers. It’s even possible to make money on Instagram with a small number of followers.
Think of Instagram as a virtual storefront that allows you to build relationships with customers, and – plus, it’s free to use! When used effectively, you can be successful at selling products or services solely through your Instagram online store.
Benefits of Selling Products on Instagram
Instagram is becoming an increasingly popular platform for businesses to sell their products and services. With over 2.5 billion active users at the time of writing, it offers a wide range of benefits for businesses looking to increase their sales. Here are some of the top benefits of selling products with your Instagram account:
- Reach a large audience – with over 2.5 billion active users, Instagram provides you with access to a large, diverse audience that can be targeted based on interests and demographics.
- Increase brand awareness – by creating engaging content and hashtags, you can reach potential customers who may not have heard about them. This helps to increase brand awareness and build relationships with customers.
- Connect with your customers – through comments, messages, and stories, you can connect with customers in real time and build relationships with them. This helps create a sense of trust between you and your customers, leading to increased sales.
- Generate leads – by running contests or promotions, it’s possible to generate leads from people who may be interested in your products or services.
- Measure results easily – with built-in analytics tools, it’s easy to measure the results of your campaigns on Instagram and adjust your strategies accordingly for maximum success.
- Sell Directly Through Posts – use Instagram Shopping posts which allow you to link directly from posts to product pages where customers can purchase your items without leaving the app, which makes it easier to make purchases quickly and conveniently!
How To Sell On Instagram Without A Website
1. Convert To A Business Profile
The first step to selling on Instagram is converting your current Instagram account profile to an Instagram business account. This will give you access to features such as insights, shopping tags, and Instagram Ads, which are all essential for running successful campaigns.
First, open the Instagram app or website and go to settings. From there, select “Switch to Professional Account”. You will then be asked to choose between two types of accounts: Creator and Business.
I’ve found that with some accounts, you need to click your profile, and then the option to change to a professional account (business account) will be at the end of the list.
Select Creator if you’re looking for more insights into your followers and posts. If you’re representing a business or brand, then select Business.
Once you have selected, you will be asked to provide additional information about yourself or your business. This includes things like contact information and website URL (not applicable in this case!). Once this is complete, click “Done” and you’re all set!
Now that you have switched over to a professional account, you can take advantage of features such as analytics and insights into who is viewing your content, as well as access to tools like Shopping on Instagram which allows customers to shop directly from posts in their feed.
2. Set Up A Facebook Business Page
Creating a Facebook Business Page is essential for selling on Instagram without a website. It allows you to create a public profile that will help promote your business and increase the visibility of your products and services.
You can create ads, manage accounts, and even add a shop section to your page where customers can purchase items directly from Instagram. You can use the page to share updates about new products or promotions, engage with customers, and build relationships with them.
3. Research Your Hashtags To Increase Your Reach
When researching hashtags, it’s important to look for ones that are relevant to your content and have a good amount of engagement. Popular hashtags like #love, #instagood, and #followme may be tempting, but they won’t necessarily help you reach the right audience.
Instead, focus on finding hashtags that are specific to your industry or niche. For example, if you’re a fashion blogger, try using hashtags like #fashionblogger or #fashionista. If you’re a fitness enthusiast, use tags like #fitnessmotivation or #fitfam.
It’s also important to remember that you don’t need to use hashtags in every post; too much of anything is not good!
Using a mix of popular and less popular hashtags in each post is also helpful. Popular tags will get more eyes on your content but can be very competitive; less popular tags may not have as much competition but may not get as much visibility. Experiment with different combinations until you find what works best for you.
Don’t forget to check out the analytics for each hashtag before using it in your posts. This will show you how many posts have been tagged with the hashtag and how much engagement those posts have received.
You can also see which other accounts are using the same hashtag so that you can connect with them and potentially collaborate in the future.
4. Write Strong Captions With Calls-To-Action
The key to writing effective captions is to be creative and engaging. Use storytelling techniques such as metaphors, analogies, and anecdotes to draw in your audience and keep them engaged.
Make sure to use language that resonates with your target audience, and don’t forget to add a CTA at the end of each caption. This could be anything from “Shop now” or “Follow us” to “Tag a friend” or “Share this post”.
To create captions for promotional posts, focus on highlighting the benefits of the product or service you are promoting rather than simply listing features. For example, instead of saying, “Our product has X feature”, try something like, “With our product, you can do X in no time!”
You can also use one-word captions to effectively capture the essence of a post or series of posts. For example, if you’re sharing a picture from your latest vacation, you could use the caption “Escape” to evoke a sense of relaxation and freedom.
Finally, don’t forget to add emojis! They’re great for adding personality and are visually appealing.
5. Leverage Influencers and Micro-Influencers
Leveraging influencers and micro-influencers can be a great way to reach new target customers. To get started, figure out who your competitors are and follow some of the influencers that they have worked with.
You can also extend this to other brands that are in a similar industry. Additionally, you can use campaign-specific hashtags, leverage user-generated content (UGC), create sponsored posts, and tell a story with your promotion.
It’s important to monitor influencers and creators talking about your brand or product as well as check the reaction they get from likes, comments, and shares.
You can find micro-influencers on Instagram by identifying popular hashtags relevant to your niche, looking for local micro-influencers, and searching your existing follower base.
Check out my post 250+ Ideas For One Word Instagram Captions to get your creative juices flowing!
6. Use Instagram Reels For Brand Awareness
Instagram Reels are short videos, usually up to 15 seconds long. They can be used to showcase products, create tutorials, and educate your followers on how to use your product or service. Using Reels is great for boosting brand awareness as they appear in the explore tab of Instagram.
When creating Reels, make sure to keep them creative and engaging. Use catchy music, vibrant colors, and eye-catching visuals to catch your audience’s attention. You can also use popular hashtags in the caption to make it more discoverable.
You can also create a series of Reels about a specific topic or trend. This will allow you to create an immersive experience for your followers, increasing engagement and driving more sales.
Don’t forget to ask people to comment on your Reels or use a specific hashtag to increase the visibility and reach of your post!
7. Create Shoppable Posts and Stories
Instagram Shopping is ideal for increasing sales and engaging with customers. With Instagram Shoppable Posts and Stories, you can tag products in your posts and stories, allowing customers to click through to learn more or buy.
This feature makes it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for and purchase directly from your business. You can also create an Instagram Shop by tagging products from your catalog in your Stories, Reels, or Instagram posts.
To get started, create at least nine shoppable posts to activate the “Shop” tab on your profile. With these features, you can easily reach more customers and make more sales with shoppable Instagram Stories stickers.
8. Offer Discounts and Promotions Through Stories and Posts
Instagram is a great platform to offer discounts and promotions to your followers. With the right strategies, you can create engaging stories and posts that will help you reach your target audience and increase sales. Here are some tips for offering discounts and promotions through Instagram:
- Use Instagram-specific features like carousel posts, interactive hashtags, stories, and polls to engage with your followers. This will help you create an interactive experience encouraging people to act.
- Offer your followers exclusive coupons or discount codes to incentivize them to purchase from you. You can also use influencer codes to get more people involved in the promotion.
- Publish posts regularly informing your followers about the coupon codes or discounts available, so they don’t miss out on any offers.
- Ensure that your content is relevant and interesting to stand out from other brands’ promotions.
- Use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to further promote your Instagram posts or stories.
9. Take Advantage of User-Generated Content (UGC) To Promote Products
This is a powerful tool for brands to promote their products on Instagram. UGC acts as authentic social proof that your product is worth buying and can be used in many ways to engage with customers and increase brand awareness.
Instagram comments, stories, and posts can all be used to feature UGC. You can also use it in your ads or featured product sections.
Encouraging your Instagram audience to share UGC is the first step. You can create a branded hashtag and ask users to post using it. This will make it easier for you to find user-generated content related to your product or service. Additionally, always remember to mention the rightful owner of the content when sharing it.
You can also use UGC in creative campaigns such as photo contests or reviews, which help you engage with your followers and create more visibility for your product or service.
Instagram Reels is another route to promote this content – you can put together a Reels campaign with five simple steps:
- Familiarize yourself with the format and its features
- Pick campaign goals
- Source UGC from existing customers
- Create engaging captions and hashtags
- Measure success metrics
10. Optimize For Mobile Devices
With more than 80% of users accessing Instagram from their mobile devices, businesses need to optimize their content for mobile. This means that your posts should be in the correct size and format, so they look great on phones and tablets.
- Optimize mobile device content using the correct size and format of images, graphics, and video
- Include mobile-friendly URLs in posts to make it easier for users to navigate to different pages
- Use Instagram features like Stories, Reels, and Live Videos specifically designed for mobile devices
- Implement text overlays on images to make content more visually appealing
It helps if your videos and images are of the highest quality possible to help with engagement. Try using AI upscaling software to dramatically enhance your images and videos if they’re not up to scratch. If you want to learn more about AI upscaling, check out my post on upscaling.
11. Create an Email List
Creating an email list helps you keep in touch with your Instagram followers and turn them into customers. You can use tools such as ConvertKit or GetResponse to create and manage subscribers, craft emails, automate the process, and track performance.
You can use your Instagram profile to build your email list by offering exclusive content or discounts to users who sign up. They say the money in the list, and it’s true! These will be your subscribers irrespective of what happens on social media, so make sure you nurture this relationship.
Include a link to your email subscription page in your bio, and create posts encouraging users to subscribe.
Additionally, create content that is exclusive to subscribers, such as surveys or polls, so they feel valued and incentivized to stay subscribed. You should also consider using AI writing tools to help you automate your content creation process.
12. Take Advantage Of Instagram Ads
Instagram ads are a way to reach out to potential customers. The sponsored content will appear at the top of your audience’s feed or within Stories and Reels. You can target users based on location, age, interests, and other factors.
Advertising on Instagram is easy and straightforward. You only need to select the post you want to promote and track how many people see it. You can also control where your ads appear and who sees them.
To get started, there are 8 steps you should follow:
- Select an editor and create your campaign
- Determine an objective
- Choose your audience
- Set your placement
- Set your budget
- Design your ad creative
- Monitor performance metrics
- Refine your strategy as needed
Insta ads can increase your reach and increase your brand’s visibility. With the right strategy, you can increase engagement and build relationships with followers who are interested in what you have to offer.
Wrapping Up
I hope this guide on how to sell on Instagram without a website has given you the framework you need to start your business. You will learn more as you go by taking action and refining your strategy.
There will be obstacles and challenges, but the important thing is to keep pushing forward. With dedication and consistency, you can build and make money from a successful business on Instagram without a website.
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