The social media landscape is constantly evolving. To stay ahead as a creator, you must adapt to new platforms, features, and monetization models.
Instagram’s new subscription offering represents a major shift in how creators can engage their audience and generate revenue. Subscriptions allow you to unlock a new world of exclusive experiences, community engagement, and stability.
As a business owner, perhaps you’ve seen the subscription call to action and now you’re curious about how does this work and how can you monetize with this feature, while staying on brand.
And that’s exactly what you’ll be discovering today!
I will walk you through everything you need to know to leverage Instagram subscriptions for sustainable growth as a creator.
So let’s roll!
The Rise of Subscriptions on Social Media
Instagram subscriptions continue the broader trend of social platforms rolling out paid features for creators to monetize their audience.
It started with the introduction of Facebook fan subscriptions and Youtube channel memberships. Now Instagram expands options for creators to establish consistent income beyond relying solely on sponsorships and product sales.
Subscriptions are extremely popular today. Personally, I believe that with the surge of AI tools to create content, technically, anyone can create a digital product using AI and grow a channel to promote it.
Instagram subscriptions empower creators to:
- Provide exclusive experiences that reward their biggest fans, allowing more intimate engagement with their most loyal followers.
- Establish a stable, recurring revenue stream by providing subscriber-only content fans are willing to pay for.
- Deepen trust and goodwill with their audience through a transparent value exchange based on subscriptions.
- Produce creative content types and formats without worrying solely about reach and virality.
With the explosion of influencer marketing and the creator economy, lead by the top creator in Youtube, Mr. Beast, subscriptions represent the next step in cementing direct relationships between a brand and its audience.
The Anatomy of Instagram Subscriptions
Instagram subscriptions allow followers to pay a monthly fee for exclusive access to content from accounts they follow, similar to Patreon or OnlyFans.
Here’s an overview of how they work:
- Creators can enable subscriptions from Instagram’s professional dashboard. They choose their monthly price point starting at $0.99.
- Subscriptions are prominently displayed on a creator’s profile. Followers can purchase via in-app checkout.
- Subscribers gain access to exclusive Stories and Live videos. Creators mark this content with a special “Subscriber” sticker.
- Creators retain full ownership of their subscriber content. Instagram collects the monthly fees, keeping 30% as platform royalties.
The feature provides built-in tools like subscriber stories, subscriber chats, and subscriber badges to identify paying followers.
But the exclusive experiences offered through subscriptions are fully customizable by each creator. This empowers you to cater directly to your audience.
Unlocking the Potential of Paid Content
Subscriptions represent a creative breakthrough, allowing creators to produce content specifically for their most engaged community rather than the often random social algorithms.
You can leverage subscriptions to provide:
- Deeper Dives: Give superfans extended cuts, bonuses, and snippets they can’t get anywhere else.
- Behind-the-Scenes: Offer an insider’s view into your creative process with unfiltered videos and Stories.
- Community Connection: Build camaraderie through subscribers-only Live sessions, chat channels, and group experiences.
- Sneak Peaks: Reward loyalty with early access to new products, content, or releases before the general public.
- Ask Me Anything: Schedule exclusive Q&A’s to answer subscriber questions and feedback in real time.
- Tutorials: Provide your niche knowledge through masterclasses, guides, and tips accessible only to paying followers.
By shifting from a mindset of what will get views or likes to what your true fans will value, a new creative world opens through subscriptions.
The Power of Consistent Income for Creators
One massive benefit of subscriptions is providing creators with a consistent, reliable income stream. Rather than unpredictable sponsorships or fluctuating view counts, subscriptions empower creators to:
- Establish stability through recurring monthly revenue that better supports consistent content production.
- Invest in higher-quality equipment and production without relying on one-time brand deals.
- Spend more time creating content rather than constantly hustling for the next collaboration.
- Take creative risks knowing you have a safety net in your subscriber base if a video flops.
- Earn a bigger share of revenue compared to ads, affiliate marketing, or brand sponsorships.
With income stability, creators have greater freedom to take chances on passion projects and push the boundaries creatively.
Best Practices for Pricing Your Subscription
When rolling out subscriptions, one of the first decisions is choosing your monthly pricing. Instagram allows price points between $0.99 to $99.99 per month. Consider these factors when selecting an amount:
- Production Time: A higher subscription cost may be warranted for video-heavy content requiring significant work.
- Uniqueness: If your perspective and content is one-of-a-kind, you can justify a higher fee.
- Engagement Metrics: Creators with higher views and likes can test higher price points, which loyal fans will likely pay.
- Value Perception: Does your audience view your content as entertainment or education? The latter supports charging more.
- Demographics: Assess your follower composition and what price is reasonable for them to pay monthly.
- Competitor Benchmarks: Reference similar creators in your niche and consider aligning with standard industry pricing.
Start on the lower end, assess feedback and opt-in rates, then adjust your pricing over time. Remember, you can always incrementally raise it later once you prove the value.
Marketing Your Subscription for Maximum Sign-Ups
The key to subscription success is promoting it effectively to incentivize followers to pay each month. We recommend creators:
- Highlight it prominently on your profile with badges and bios explaining exclusive perks.
- Post subscriber-only content teasers to give previews of what paying fans gain access to.
- Share subscriber testimonials to build FOMO around the exclusive experience.
- Promote new subscriber-only content drops to current subscribers, encouraging renewals.
- Run giveaways or contests for new subscribers to attract initial sign-ups.
- Post countdown timers and limited offers to create urgency around subscribing.
Think of creative ways to showcase subscriber benefits without alienating your general audience. The more value you convey, the more fans will subscribe.
Continuously Evolving Your Subscription Offering
The community you build through subscriptions becomes its own creative canvas. Savvy creators continually test and evolve subscription perks based on subscriber feedback and industry trends.
Ways to enhance your offering over time include:
- Experimenting with new content formats based on what your audience responds to most.
- Personalizing subscriber benefits like monthly 1-on-1 video chats.
- Polling your subscribers for new ideas they want to see.
- Cross-promoting your subscription program through collaborations and shoutouts.
- Launching members-only giveaways, discounts, or promotions.
- Adding varying subscription tiers at different access and pricing levels.
Leverage direct community feedback to tailor your program for maximum perceived value.
Monetize Your Content with IG Live
To effectively leverage Instagram Live for sharing free content while promoting a subscription service, focus on delivering engaging and informative live sessions on topics relevant to your audience.
During these sessions, provide actionable insights and a taste of the deeper content available through your subscription. Encourage interaction and engagement by addressing live questions and comments. Towards the end, incorporate a clear call-to-action (CTA), inviting viewers to join your subscription for more comprehensive, personalized guidance and exclusive resources. Highlight the additional benefits subscribers receive, such as in-depth tutorials, one-on-one coaching, or access to a private community.
Promote your live sessions in advance through Instagram posts and Stories, and follow up with a summary or key takeaways, reiterating the subscription offer to ensure maximum reach and conversion.
Instagram Subscription for Life Coaches
If you are a life coach, fitness coach, you can leverage the Instagram Subscription to offer exclusive content to your followers.This subscription model allows you to create a consistent revenue stream while providing value-added services to your clients.
Here’s how you can effectively use the Instagram Subscription model for your life coach business:
- Exclusive Content: Offer subscribers access to exclusive posts, stories, and videos that are not available to your regular followers. This could include in-depth coaching tips, personal development strategies, mindfulness exercises, or advanced fitness routines.
- Live Q&A Sessions: Conduct regular live sessions where subscribers can ask questions directly and get personalized advice. These sessions can cover a variety of topics relevant to your coaching niche, such as goal setting, overcoming obstacles, fitness challenges, nutrition advice, etc.
- Community Building: Use the platform to create a community of like-minded individuals who can support and motivate each other. Encourage subscriber interaction through discussion threads, group challenges, and shared success stories.
- Early Access and Discounts: Offer subscribers early access to your new programs, workshops, or events. You can also provide them with exclusive discounts on your other services or products.
- Feedback and Interaction: Use the platform to gather feedback on your content and services. Regular interaction with your subscribers can help tailor your offerings to better meet their needs.
- Regular Updates: Keep your subscribers engaged with regular updates about your life coaching journey, success stories, and insights into your coaching methods.
- Digital Products: Offer downloadable resources such as e-books, workout plans, meal plans, or guided meditation audio files exclusively to your subscribers.
- Personal Challenges: Create monthly challenges or activities that encourage personal growth, fitness improvements, or other goals relevant to your coaching services.
- Collaborations: Collaborate with other experts in related fields (like nutritionists, therapists, or personal trainers) to provide a more comprehensive subscription experience.
- Consistency and Quality: Ensure that the content you offer is not only consistent in terms of upload schedule but also maintains a high quality. This will help in retaining subscribers and attracting new ones.
By utilizing these strategies, you can create a valuable and engaging experience for your subscribers, which in turn can help grow your life coaching business through a steady and reliable income stream.
The Future Looks Bright for Subscriptions
As social media and content consumption continue evolving, creative monetization models like Instagram subscriptions will only grow in popularity and importance.
They represent a way for you as a creator to take back control – building deeper relationships with your supporters while earning income directly from them.
Now is the time to start strategically developing your subscription program as a cornerstone of your creative business.
If you are a life coach, an Instagram subscription might be good, but not as great as having a healthy email list.
-Jessica Campos
The potential of subscriptions is limited only by your imagination. Welcome to the future of creator monetization.
How will you leverage it to take your channel to the next level? Let’s create something magical together! Explore ways we can work together.
