Whether you already have your store up on other platforms, sell from a physical shop, or still starting a business from scratch, you may have thought of using Instagram as a selling venue.
Yet, as a first-time Instagram seller, the initial steps may seem extra hard.
This feeling is normal, though, because all other thousand-follower Instagram sellers were in your shoes one day.
After reading the following guide on how to sell on Instagram, you’ll find out that it’s one of the easiest routes you can take to make money selling online!
- Why You Should Consider Selling on Instagram
- Problems With Selling on Instagram
- What You’ll Need to Sell on Instagram
- What to Sell on Instagram
- How to Sell on Instagram: Step-By-Step Instructions
- Things to Consider When Selling on Instagram
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Similar Tutorials to Check Out
- Wrapping Up
Why You Should Consider Selling on Instagram
Using Instagram for selling has numerous benefits, which is why many online sellers make it a priority to promote their products on Instagram as well as other selling apps.
Here’s what business owners admire about selling on this social media platform:
- Ease of use: Instagram’s user-friendly interface makes it equally simple for both buyers and sellers to use the platform for business purposes. Even if it’s your first time selling on the app, you’ll find that setting up an Instagram shop is a piece of cake.
- The popularity of Instagram: Instagram’s popularity is already huge, and it’s still growing by the day (2 billion active users in 2021!). This means your products will be exposed to a wide base of all types of users.
- No seller fees: Whether you’ll be setting up a normal or business Instagram account, the platform won’t charge you for any sale you make. It can be beneficial if you’re starting small and only have limited capital.
- A handful of business-related tools: If you set up a business account, many advertising tools like Instagram Insights, Links in Stories, Instagram Ads, and Boosted Posts will be at your disposal. While some of these options aren’t free, using them won’t be as expensive as marketing your business elsewhere.
Problems With Selling on Instagram
Selling products on Instagram comes with a set of challenges that you need to be aware of before setting up a virtual store on the platform.
Here’s what you should know:
- Not everyone will follow you to buy your products: Many people on Instagram follow accounts to look at their products without intending to buy anything. That’s why it’s crucial to build an Instagram marketing strategy that focuses on reaching a target audience.
- Needs a lot of effort to grow organically: The majority of your posts have to be content-driven so that you don’t lose the interest of potential buyers. These Instagram posts tend to be time-consuming to create and manage.
- People are hesitant to follow business Instagram accounts: No one likes to be showered with repetitive promotional posts, and business accounts on Instagram are notorious for doing that. This makes a lot of Instagram users wary of following business accounts in the first place.
What You’ll Need to Sell on Instagram
If you think that selling on Instagram is for you, here’s everything you need to prepare to launch your Instagram business:
- An Instagram business account: While you can still sell on the social media platform by creating a normal account, choosing a business account makes the selling process smoother.
- The items/products you’ll be selling: Keep an inventory of the products you intend to sell on your Instagram store. If you’re out of ideas, the following section can help you out with some suggestions.
- A good camera: You need to browse some of the best cameras for Instagram product photography. Since the first thing that your audience will see is your product’s picture in each post, the image needs to be clear and show your item’s best features.
- Packaging materials: Buy everything from shipping boxes to bubble wrap and labels to be ready to ship your products to buyers as quickly as possible.
What to Sell on Instagram
If you don’t already have a running business, you can use this list of best-selling items to sell on Instagram for inspiration.
1. Makeup and Skincare Products
Two of Instagram’s instant best-sellers are beauty and skincare products.
Anything from face moisturizers, lotions, hair care products to fine fragrance mists and perfumes has thousands of potential customers on the platform.
Why This Product Sells Well
People all over the world are getting more conscious about their looks and skin health by the day.
This interest shows in makeup and skincare market statistics (the skincare market is expected to generate $177 billion by 2025!)
2. Clothes, Shoes, Bags, and Accessories
You can also start a business on Instagram to sell clothes, footwear, bags, sunglasses, and the like.
To stand out, you may want to specialize in certain niches like vintage apparel, sustainable bags, handmade jewelry, trendy workout clothes, etc.
Why This Product Sells Well
Instagram is where everyone wants to look their best. Plus, with the rising popularity of influencers and fashion bloggers, people want to get their hands on unique fashion items to bring out their inner models!
3. Products for the Home and Garden
Lastly, investing in a home and garden accessory or furniture Instagram business can always be a great idea.
Think along the lines of stylish kitchen utensils, cute side tables, eye-catching accent chairs, pretty vases, grills for the garden, swings, and many more ideas.
Why This Product Sells Well
Instagram is where many people post cozy pictures of their lovely patios or homey bedrooms with nice decorations.
The wealth in which these posts exist on the platform compels others to try to capture the same vibes within their homes, too.
How to Sell on Instagram: Step-By-Step Instructions
After gathering all the supplies and settling on a product to sell, it’s time for you to understand how to sell stuff online on Instagram as a beginner.
Step 1: Set Up an Instagram Business Account
While you can still sell products on Instagram using a normal account, a business account offers you more perks when setting up a shop, enabling seamless payment methods, and more.
The process of signing up for a business account is simple. Start by heading over to Instagram Web or launching the Instagram app, then create a personal account by providing your credentials.
Once you do, go to the Settings menu, click on “Account,” then tap “Switch account type” and shift your profile into a business profile.
Pro tip: It’s a great idea to let your personal account run for a few weeks or a month to build a decent base of followers in your specific niche before converting to a business account.
Step 2: Enable the Instagram Shopping Feature
Instagram Shopping is a collection of useful features that make the process of people browsing and ordering your products seamless and as natural as shopping on sites like Amazon and Etsy.
In other words, it’s like adding a shop to your profile.
Go to the settings and hit “Creator” where you’ll find the option to “Set up Instagram Shopping.” Afterward, the app will walk you through a series of other easy steps that include attaching a catalog, linking your website, and picking your sale channels.
You’ll also need to edit the catalog or multiple catalogs you’ve previously attached with your inventory of products.
Make sure to enable the Checkout option, too, to make your potential buyers’ shopping experience smoother, as they won’t have to open an external app to process payments.
The final step involves previewing your Instagram shop’s appearance to make sure it’s up to your standard.
Step 3: Create Both Shoppable and Regular Instagram Posts
After your Instagram shop is up, you need to go back to creating posts to increase your followers and show the existing ones your new products.
We advise you to create a balanced plan for your posts, as you don’t want them to be all promotional or all normal posts. Both types of posts are equally important.
Shoppable posts will have built-in links and product tags, so if people like an item that you’ve posted about, all they have to do is tap the tag to buy it. These posts are also simple to create by choosing the “Tag products” option when you’re writing a new post.
Alternatively, the job of normal Instagram posts will be to provide your follower base with original, compelling content related to your niche. They’ll also focus on engaging your audience, growing your brand image, and drawing in more customers from outside your follower base.
A few ways to keep your normal posts interesting include:
- Asking your followers to choose between two products.
- Giving them a sneak peek of an upcoming project or event.
- Showing your audience something from behind the scenes.
Step 4: Don’t Forget Stories, Reels, and Live Broadcasts
Instagram Reels and Stories are addictive to people, so these should go side-by-side with your posts in creating entertaining content for your followers.
Note that you can also add a shoppable Instagram story to direct shoppers to your products using a simple tap.
Don’t hesitate to go live every now and then as well. Letting your audience see you live allows them to connect with you on a personal level and not feel like they’re constantly dealing with a screen or an unknown person.
Your Instagram DMs will be your followers’ way to get in touch with you to inquire about your services and products. Make sure to be responsive to elevate your customer service.
Things to Consider When Selling on Instagram
Before launching your Instagram selling adventure, keep in mind the following considerations to ensure you make the most of your presence on the social media platform:
- Using Boosted Posts and Instagram Ads: These two options work in tandem with Instagram’s algorithms to help your content reach a target audience. Fill in many details like age, location, interests, and more to draw in as many followers as possible.
- Enabling the 80/20 rule: Instagram sellers advise you to make your content 80% normal posts and only 20% shoppable posts to ensure you don’t come off as salesy. The opposite can have a counterproductive effect and cause people to unfollow you.
- Carefully choosing your hashtags: The right hashtags can help your posts reach other people’s Explore pages, which is the ultimate dream of every Instagram business owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you still have some questions, this section answers two popular frequently asked questions about selling on Instagram.
Does It Cost to Sell on Instagram?
No; it costs nothing for payments to be processed via Instagram. However, the app will charge you money if you use some of its advertising tools, not to mention that it’ll deduct a selling fee with Instagram Checkout.
In this case, you can expect to pay 5% per shipment or a flat fee of %0.40 for shipments that cost $8.00 or less.
What Are the Requirements to Sell on Instagram?
To be eligible for Instagram selling, you need to follow a few simple rules, according to Instagram: Be physically present in a market supported by the platform, follow Instagram’s policies, offer accurate information on your profile to be trustworthy, and represent your business and niche.
Similar Tutorials to Check Out
Besides Instagram, why don’t you consider also selling on Facebook, Poshmark, and Facebook Marketplace to further boost your sales?
- How to Sell on Facebook: Use the power of Facebook’s countless advertising tools and useful social networking features to establish an online store.
- How to Sell on Poshmark: Selling used or new fashion items and not sure where to begin? Poshmark can be the perfect home for your products!
- How to Sell on Facebook Marketplace: You can achieve a seamless selling experience by treading the waters of Facebook Marketplace.
Wrapping Up
Now that you know how to sell on Instagram using a business account, the whole process seems as easy as ever.
We hope that the information you gleaned from our guide was up to your standard. Let us know what you think by commenting below.
Also, you can always share our article with family and friends to help them kickstart their Instagram businesses!
