How to blog in 2021 and make money on instagram

Amplifer's support manager and Instagram blogger Anastasia Chernykh told how to start blogging on Instagram, find readers and make cool content.

Before the smart feed and algorithms, it was not difficult to gain subscribers, because your posts were displayed to all users at the right time , received likes and easily got into the recommended ones. Now you need to work hard to find and retain your audience.

We talked about how smart feeds work in social networks

I started blogging about 2 years ago - I wanted to share my favorite coffee shops, locations in St. Petersburg and my thoughts. I experimented with photos, videos, texts, promotion and gained 5000 subscribers. You can look at the recommendations of Sergey Korol, who told how he maintains his blog . I explain how to start blogging yourself, gain an audience and create posts.

Decide on the topic

What do you want to tell the readers? Where are you an expert? Who will you write for? Pick 2-3 topics that you understand and that are of interest to you. You don't need to write about what you don't like, but is popular now .

Of course, proper nutrition, feminism and life hacks about business can attract a lot of subscribers, but keep in mind that you will have to write or talk about it every day and you should really like the topic.

Analyze your everyday life - what do you like? What do you do in your free time? What do you like to chat with your friends about?

It seems that finding a unique blog theme is difficult and all niches are already taken. But do not forget that it is the feed that catches the eye. You are the reason people will click the Subscribe button . Don't be afraid to be yourself - sincerity always touches.

Tidy up your profile

You have a minute to hook the reader. To do this, you need to work on the avatar, nickname, profile header and publication feed. Also, advice on the design of Instagram from Valeria Svirskaya will help you .

Avatar

It should be simple and recognizable. It is better to choose a photo with your close-up portrait in which you can be clearly seen. It's great if the avatar overlaps with the topic of your blog - so the reader will immediately understand who he is dealing with and will recognize you among other bloggers.

Nick

It is better to choose a nickname that is clear and short - readers should remember it easily.
It is better not to use very long nicknames and a lot of punctuation marks and symbols in a row (periods, underscores, etc.) - they are difficult to search for in a search.

The main difficulty in choosing a nickname is that many popular nicknames are already taken, so you need to use all your imagination. It is good to use your surname, nickname, an indication of the type of activity as a nickname - it is quickly remembered and evokes associations among subscribers.

For example, if you are blogging about fitness, then you can use the word "sport" in your nickname:

Profile header

Think about how you can introduce the reader to yourself. Briefly and succinctly tell your readers what your blog is about. These tips will help you style your hat correctly:

Leave information about yourself . The most basic thing in acquaintance, of course, is the name - what can your reader call you? It is not necessary to indicate how old you are, the city in which you are located and your marital status, if this is not related to the topic of the blog.
Highlight the main topics that you bring up on your blog . Tell the reader what they can find on your page, but don't turn your profile header into a mess. It is a bad story to list all the topics that somehow flicker on your blog. You may get the feeling that there is no specificity in your blog.
Avoid common phrases and find your own flavor . Don't write abstract words like “happy mom, I love reading and traveling,” because that doesn't say anything about you. Find what characterizes you and makes you stand out from other bloggers.
If you have your own hashtags or you blog on another platform, then feel free to leave this information in the header . The reader will be able to get to know you better, but don't overdo it - a canvas of hashtags and links is unlikely to look cool. By the way, we have an article on how hashtags work on different social networks.

Here are some good examples of profile design:

Publication feed
First of all, Instagram is still about beautiful photos and that is why you need to take care of the beauty of your feed. The fashion for whitewashed photos has long passed, now live frames with minimal processing and video are relevant.

But it is still important that photos and videos are combined with each other - it can be a common color scheme or one bright accent that unites all images and videos. I have already shared some tips for photos on Instagram , they will be useful to you.

Photos can be varied: close-up, full-length, flatlays, cityscapes and so on. The more diverse the material, the easier it is to combine - there will be many more combinations for the tape and you can alternate photos with you, layouts and nature, for example. A profile with no photos of the same type looks much more interesting.

I usually use VSCO , Snapseed , Lightroom for photo manipulation , and Planoly to test how the photos will fit together. My feed looks like this:

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"Stories"

And if you run an Instagram company, then check out Vary Vedeneeva's column on how to maintain a brand profile.

Now "stories" are much more popular than the main tape - in "Stories" readers see a "real" blogger, watch his everyday life like a TV series.


Remember that subscribing primarily to a person, not a set of useful topics, so don't be afraid to communicate with your readers.

A guide to effective Instagram Stories

Use all the features of Instagram: polls, tests, timer, question window, gifs, slider. This will help diversify your stories and engage your followers.

Check out our selection of apps for creating beautiful Instagram Stories

Do not neglect processing applications - now you will not surprise anyone or hook anyone with a talking head. Apps help make stories rich, atmospheric, and memorable.

I like:

edit video in InShot : here you can easily join multiple videos, add interesting transitions, effects, filters and insert music;
make collages for photos and videos in Unfold : many templates for "Stories", film effects, fonts and stickers;
create animated collages in Instories : you can choose a convenient template from 90 available, add photos, add music and get a beautiful animated "Story".
Do not forget to make fixed "Stories" (highlights) - they help to divide all your "Stories" into headings so that readers can easily navigate through them. For example, I have a highlight “What is where in St. Petersburg”, in which I leave publications about my favorite places, or a “Kino” highlight, where I share films. This is how my highlights look