Instagram is attempting to monetize itself in a similar way to youtube, by creating its own version of the partnership program. Interestingly, Instagram and Facebook are rolling out new and innovative ways in which creators can monetize their content, all while throttling the organic reach any new creators or small accounts will get.

Until recently Instagram has relied on basic advertising for revenue, but they are attempting to make the monetization all-pervasive to incentivize users to remain on the platform longer. Many of these rollouts will benefit already established big creators but will not really help smaller beginner creators. But despite this facebook held their first Creator week declaring the importance of creators to the platform and their promise to support them.

So below is a summary of the latest Instagram features for monetization

1. Instagram Affiliate Tool

One of the major launches is the news that Instagram is beginning to roll out a native affiliate tool. This new tool will enable creators to discover new products available for purchase in the app, then share them with their followers and earn commissions for any subsequent purchases that they drive.

The new process will enable eligible creators to choose from products available in the app to add to their posts. And if users tap through on their post, and go on to make a purchase, the creator will get a commission – so it’s essentially an influencer marketing process without the creator having to do any of the negotiation or leg-work to put the incentive deal in place.

The keyword is “eligible”. Of course, Instagram will not allow any old creator to enter into affiliate partnerships, as that might result in some embarrassing situations. But Instagram has not specified what makes you eligible yet. It will very likely be some kind of combination of follower count and verification or something like Twitter. 

The affiliated content will have a special ‘eligible for commission’ tag so the potential buyers can know that by purchasing that product they also support their favorite creator.

Currently, this tool is tested with US-based creators such as Kopari, Benefit, MAC, Pat McGrath Labs, and Sephora and it is planned to expand to more creators in the future. 

2. Creators Instagram Shops 

The beginnings of the shopping tools on Instagram date back 2 years ago when they first introduce Instagram Checkout and after a few iterations and rollouts, the platform has evolved in providing dedicated Facebook Shops. and also Instagram Shops, for each of the networks respectively that mostly use the same platform in the backend. 

Instagram Shops are extremely valuable for Creators who sell their own products. It is probably the most innovative mobile and e-commerce solution that makes it easy for the sellers and also for the buyers to make a quick and secure purchase right on their mobile phones. 

Instagram rollout a global option allowing Creators to link Instagram shops not just with their brands business profile but also with their personal accounts in order to expand the reach of their product lines

Creators can use Bravado/UMG, Fanjoy, Represent, and Spring to make new product launches and excite their Instagram followers. This will be available at the end of the year. 

3. Instagram Live Badges

These seem to be very similar to twitch donations for those of you familiar with that platform

Instagram badges are a feature that allows you to show support to creators during a live video. When you purchase a badge during a live video, a heart icon appears next to your name in the comments.

Once badges are purchased:

Badges will remain next to your name during that live.

Your hearts are highlighted in the comments field during that live.

Your Instagram name appears on a list visible to the creator of that live video for up to 90 days.

If you ask a question during that live, your question will be highlighted to the creator.

If you make a comment during that live chat, your comment may be pinned by the creator.

Also similar to this is Facebook live stars. These again your audience can send to you while you live stream For every Star you receive, Facebook will pay you $0.01 USD.

In the hope to boost interaction, Facebook is launching Stars Challenges. This allows Creators in the program to earn payouts from Facebook in the form of free Stars, if they meet certain milestones, such as broadcasting a certain number of hours or earning a set number of Stars within a designated time period

4. Waiving commission

Last but not least, Instagram has removed any commissions until the end of next year. ‘Products where users pay creators directly we are waiving all fees through the end of next year,”

… Which means, that once the year is over… you will be paying Instagram commissions. So yes, these new tools are very interesting and will probably be very beneficial to creators. But these new updates will be making Instagram more like a streaming platform, pay to play. These new updates will very likely skew the benefits towards pre-established creators 

Many have predicted that email marketing would either fade away or be replaced and ultimately become a thing of the past. But email marketing is still going strong, and actually, remains one of the most effective marketing strategies out there. 

Since email marketing is a highly effective method for engaging potential and existing customers, it’s also one of the most common. Billions of emails are sent out daily, that’s right, daily. Many of these emails are ignored or sent straight to spam, which is simply wasted efforts. If you want to make your emails sing and compete with the rest of them, we’ve got some top tips that can help you increase your open rates and click-through rates. Let’s jump in. 

Tip 1: Segment your email lists

You probably wouldn’t tell the cashier at your local supermarket about your recent break-up, would you? That’s because, in life, we are selective about which bits of information we tell to which people. The same goes for your email lists. You don’t need to send out every email to every person on the list, you need to be selective. Segmenting your email lists can help you send out emails to the relevant recipients. For example, if you offer student discounts you could segment your email list according to age groups. 

Tip 2: Master your subject line

A great subject line can be the difference between an ignored email and an opened one. You want it to be compelling enough to persuade recipients to open the email, but not so compelling that it comes off as spammy. Nobody likes spammy. You could spell out an offer, or something exciting that’s happening, whilst also keeping it short and to the point. Subject lines with less than 50 characters tend to get the best open rates. 

Tip 3: Ensure your emails are mobile-friendly

People aren’t just checking their inboxes on a desktop or laptop, they’re checking them on the go with their smartphones too. If your email doesn’t load properly on a mobile screen, it’s bound to get sent straight to trash. Many email marketing tools allow you to test your emails so you can see how it looks on both desktop and mobile inboxes, don’t skip this step!

Tip 4: Personalise your emails

A simple trick to increasing those click-through rates is adding your contact’s name to the emails you send them. People are more likely to open emails that are addressed to them as it comes off less robotic and more personal. Plus, taking note of your contact’s previous behaviours, such as which emails they tend to open and which types of content they most interact with, will enable you to customise the emails you send out to them in future.

Tip 5: Include a clear CTA

One of the biggest mistakes people make in their email campaigns is not including a clear call to action. If it’s not immediately evident to your contacts what action they’re supposed to take, it’s likely they’ll just close the email and move on. Whether it’s making a call or opening a link, spell it out with a clear CTA. 

Tip 6: Consider the time of day

The best time of day to send emails is between 8:00 am, and 9:00 am. This is because the first thing people tend to do when they arrive at work is to check their emails, so catching them at this point is your best bet. 

Tip 7: Cleanse your email list

Your email list will degrade over time. For example, when people change jobs their old email address will become redundant. It will negatively impact your delivery rates by having inactive users in your email list, so make sure you cleanse your list by removing those addresses that haven’t been engaged in a long time. As a rule of thumb, you should be doing this once a year. 

And there you have it, our 7 top tips for crafting the perfect marketing email. If you’d like to read a more comprehensive guide to email marketing, check out this article we wrote. 

Good luck!

Let’s be honest, the primary goal of marketing is to sell stuff. Today’s folk have adapted to the traditional marketing methods though, and nobody wants to feel like they’re being pushed to buy something. So how do you sell a product or service without acting like you’re trying to sell something? Enter content marketing. 

What is content marketing?

All marketing activities focused on producing and sharing relevant, valuable, consistent information to a clearly defined audience are classed as content marketing. 

Instead of blatantly pitching your product or service, content marketing enables you to express your expertise in a certain field and build an audience that is genuinely interested in the solution you are offering. 

Examples of content marketing

There are so many types of content marketing out there, here’s a list we created of the main ones:

• Blogs
• Videos
• Social media posts
• Podcasts
• Ebooks
• Whitepapers
• Infographics
• Webinars
• Slideshare presentations

We could go on, but we think you get the picture.

The importance of content marketing

Content marketing is giving away valuable information for free. Yes, that’s right, for free. You might be thinking that sounds a little counterintuitive when the ultimate goal is to make money, but here’s why it works.

Back in the day customers were less likely to question the expertise of a company, but today we have the internet. An endless stream of information and home to countless businesses offering the same products or services. You can judge companies by reading reviews, and you don’t have to stay local. If you want to buy a new coat you can have it delivered from across the globe, if you need a new car insurance deal you can find and compare hundreds in the click of a mouse. With so many options to choose from, customers are becoming increasingly critical in their decision making before they decide to buy something. Online researching before you commit to purchase is standard practise these days.

This is where content marketing comes in. A thorough content marketing strategy can help businesses compete by sharing their expertise and building trust in potential customers.

Here’s how it works

Say you’re currently redecorating your house. You’re trying to decide which tile to buy for your new bathroom, and so you hit Pinterest in the hope that by browsing hundreds of images of bathrooms you’ll stumble on the perfect bathroom inspo. As you’re browsing, you click on an image that takes your fancy. You’ve found it, the perfect tile. A white rectangular porcelain number. And what’s that link attached to the image? A link to a shop that sells these exact tiles…handy right? Well, that’s content marketing. This hypothetical bathroom tile business has used Pinterest as a platform to post free content of their products. 

The same company might also have a blog where they post weekly home DIY articles, an Instagram page full of beautiful eye-catching images and a Facebook page showcasing their customer testimonials. 

There are endless options when it comes to content marketing. If you’re struggling to figure out which kind of content will work best for targeting your perfect customer, check out our guide on how to create a top tier marketing plan.

Good luck!

Reaching customers is arguably the most difficult part of running a business. That’s where SEO copywriting comes in. If you’re wondering what it is and how it could help your business, we’ve written a simple guide of everything you need to know. 

What is SEO copywriting?

You’ve probably heard of copywriting – the act of writing text that aims to increase brand awareness. But, what is ‘SEO’ copywriting? Well, it’s a specialised form of traditional copywriting that contains keywords or phrases. These specially selected words are those your target customer is likely to type into a search engine because they desire the service or product you are selling. Ultimately, keywords will enable your content to rank higher in search results. Sounds simple. Right? 

Well, unfortunately, it’s not enough to just shove a bunch of keywords into your website content and hope it pays off. Your copy needs to be fine-tuned to the constantly changing search engine algorithms to ensure it ranks high on google. It also needs to be clearly written and enjoyable for your audience to read. 

4 Steps to successful SEO copywriting

To better understand what SEO copywriting is and how to do it, we’ve broken the process down into steps.

Step 1: Keyword search

Before you start writing, carry out some keyword research. Begin by channelling your customer, and ask questions similar to these: 

• What are people searching for?
• How many people are searching for it? 
• How do they want their information presented to them?

A lot of people bypass this step because it seems like a lot of effort when you already know what content you want to write. But, it really does pay off. Putting time and effort into the planning means your content is more likely to satisfy both what you want to rank for and what your audience really wants to read. 

Now that you’re inside the head of your audience it should be easier to create a list of keywords. You can also use tools such as wordtracker to help you decide on the best variations and combinations of these terms. You might then want to create a table of your keywords to summarise the information and order it according to some form of priority. 

Still a little unclear on keyword research? Take a look at this helpful guide .

Step 2: Plan your writing

We know, we know… more planning. But, if you want the writing part to go smoothly, then this stage is essential. Again, begin by asking some questions similar to these:

• What is the purpose of what you’re writing?

Answering this question will help you decide how you are going to write the article. For example, is the purpose to amuse your reader? Inform them? Or, is it to persuade them to do something? 

• What’s the key question you want your writing to answer?

Having this in mind will ensure your piece stays on track which is important because you want every word to count.

• What information is required for your piece?

You’ll need to make sure you adequately research the topic before you begin writing. Otherwise, you will risk running out of things to talk about or fail to answer the question your piece is intended to answer. 

• How do you want to structure your article?

A clear structure gives you a better chance of ranking well on Google. Your target readers are more likely to grasp your main points, and there’s a higher chance of converting them into customers if they properly understand your message. 

Step 3: Get writing!

Don’t let all of that planning and research go to waste, it’s time to get writing.

People often find it overwhelming to stare at a blank page, wondering where to begin. A good trick is to begin by mapping out the structure of your text, write your intro and conclusion, and then fill in the gaps. This way you’re breaking it down into manageable steps. Don’t worry about grammar and spelling, for now, you can perfect this in the final stage.

Step 4: Proofread and edit your text

With your SEO copy written, it’s time to make it perfect. In this final stage, you’ll want to remove sentences that are unclear or awkwardly written, correct any grammar or spelling errors and make sure your structure is well organised. It helps to pinpoint mistakes in this stage if you read slowly and outloud, you can also ask for feedback from someone else – a fresh pair of eyes will spot things that you’ve potentially missed. 

The aim of the game is to increase your brand’s search engine visibility. Using the right keywords in your writing is bound to have customers stumble across your content. But, if you want to maximise your success, follow our step by step guide on how to write a great SEO article that will not only rank high but be an enjoyable read for your customers too.

Good Luck.

Byter Team.