The first day of Instagram’s Creator Week has revealed a few new ways creators can make money on Instagram. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Instagram is working on a native affiliate tool that creators can use to earn money off of recommending products.
How is Instagram going to implement affilate links?
The way affiliate links work, whenever a creator recommends a product and shares an affiliate link to their audience, they earn a cut of the revenue if the person buys the product. Many creators like to use affiliate links because they can generate income without much extra effort. According to Zuckerberg, the native affiliate tool will exist on the top of products. The products will be available through Instagram Checkout. Also, brands can set their commission rates. So, creators will make different amounts of revenue depending on the product and brand.
All posts will display an “eligible for commission” — label letting a creator’s followers know they’re going to receive a cut of the sale.
Merch storefronts on Instagram profiles
In addition to the affiliate link tool, Zuckerberg revealed plans to roll out a merchandise storefront feature. According to the post, creators can soon open merch storefronts on their Instagram profiles. They’ll be able to add links to shops as well. Overall, it looks like a promising feature that will help many creators sell their merch to their followers — making merchandise readily available on creators’ platforms.
When are these features releasing?
Instagram expects to have the tool ready in a few months. It’s entering the testing phase, so there might be a few changes before the tool releases. As for the merch storefront, we can expect to get more updates on the feature sometime later this year.