134: The Key to Making Money on Instagram (Part 1)
I want to talk about something that I think is one of the most misunderstood parts of Instagram marketing for small business owners. People come to me all the time saying: I am posting, I have a great offer, I know my audience, so why is Instagram not making me any money? And what I have found, after coaching hundreds of business owners, is that the answer is almost never what they expect. It is not a better hook. It is not more reels. It is not a new trending audio. It is almost always one of two things: either they do not have a clear path for people to take from their content to their offer, or they have the path but they are not showing people how to walk it. Today I am kicking off a two-part series on the key to actually making money on Instagram. Not just growing followers, not just getting views, but turning your content into consistent revenue.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
03:22 Why most business owners are missing a clear path from their content to their offer and what that costs them in revenue every single month
07:45 What a customer journey actually is and how to map yours from total stranger to paying client
13:10 The three types of content every Instagram account needs and why most people are only creating one of them
19:38 How to use DM automation to turn your most popular content into an always-on lead generation system
25:14 Why your call to action matters more than your hook and the most common CTA mistakes Elizabeth sees
29:52 The Instagram profile audit: the five things your profile must do before any content will convert
36:07 Your homework: map your own customer journey from first touch to paid offer in five steps
YOUR HOMEWORK THIS WEEK
Map your own customer journey in five steps. Open a Google Doc or grab a piece of paper and answer these questions:
How does someone first discover me on Instagram?
What is the first action I invite them to take after watching my content?
What happens after they take that action?
What is the next step that moves them closer to my offer?
What is the moment they become a paying client or customer?
If you cannot answer all five clearly, that is your gap. That is what to fix before you create another reel.
A Truth You Need to Hear:
"You can have the best content in your niche and still make zero dollars on Instagram if there is no clear path for people to take from watching your reel to buying your offer." - Elizabeth Marberry
LINKS MENTIONED
Hot Reels My 12-month Instagram content lab. DM me the word HOT on Instagram @elizabethmarberry
Free DM Automation Guide + 1 Month of ManyChat Free DM me the word LEADS on Instagram @elizabethmarberry
S3 Ep134 Transcript - The Key to Making Money on Instagram (Part 1)
00:00
Last month was a record sales month for my personal brand, but I only gained 155 new Instagram followers. So in today's episode, I'm breaking down why followers and views alone don't create revenue and what your business actually needs to have in place to make money on Instagram. I hope you're excited. Let's go.
00:25
Welcome back to the show. Thank you so much for sharing your precious time and energy with me today. As always, every week I am here, hopefully demystifying Instagram so it feels more simple, clear, effective and fun so you can grow your small business on Instagram. Today we're kicking off a brand new three-part mini-series all about how to make more money on Instagram and know
00:55
I'm not gonna tell you that you need to post three reels a day, go viral, or reach some magical number of followers before Instagram can start producing revenue for your business. In fact, I wanna begin this series with a quote from my friend, Austin Armstrong, who was a guest on the show just a few weeks ago. Dude has millions of social media followers, super successful guy.
01:20
I met Austin speaking at Social Media Marketing World this year in California, and then I had to bring him on the show. We talked all things AI. But Austin recently shared something that stopped me in my tracks, and I was like, oh, this is it, Austin, yes. He said, I'll die on this hill. Being a full-time content creator is the worst business model of the last decade. You're building an audience you rent from an algorithm.
01:46
then monetizing it with brand deals that pay once and die. Own the product, then make content about it. Every video I post sells software I own, same effort, permanent asset." And this was the part that he said that I was like, ooh, this is gold. Don't be a content creator, be a business owner who creates content. So that final line is the one I really wanted you to hear today.
02:15
Don't be a content creator, be a business owner who creates content. Now, before anyone comes from me, there is nothing wrong with wanting to become a content creator or an influencer. I have worked with clients whose accounts exploded after working with me and who went on to receive influencer opportunities and brand deals and all of that. And that can be so fun and exciting and lucrative when it's approached intentionally.
02:43
But if you already own a business and you're coming to Instagram because you want it to help you make more money, your primary goal is not to become a full-time content creator. Your goal is to use content to grow the business that you already own. And that is probably why you are listening to this podcast. You are my people, small business owners, creative entrepreneurs who want to get seen and paid.
03:13
for their work on Instagram. And that is a very important distinction. And it might seem obvious, but I really wanted to start with this nuance because I find that when small businesses come to work with me, sometimes there's some confusion around how it actually works to monetize your Instagram account. To give you a little background on me, every month,
03:43
I receive payments from Metta, the parent company that owns Instagram and Facebook, of course, based on the performance of some of my content. One of my highest monthly payments I ever received from Instagram, it was a couple of years ago when they were running this like Reels bonus program. There was multiple months where I was earning about $150 a month from Instagram for my content. Today, I monetize through Facebook and depending on my views, I receive
04:13
less than $100 a month. so nothing to completely jump out about about. Of course, I'm happy to take the money. I kind of laugh when I see that money flow in every month because I think to myself, okay, if Metta wants to deposit a little bonus into my bank account, I'm not going to turn it down. Thank you very much. And I laugh because I Metta is paying me to market my own business, which I just think is funny, but
04:40
I have generated more than 50 million organic views across my brands. And if you're listening to the show and you're not sure my history in the context of what I do. So I own a brick and mortar dance studio in Denver, Colorado. It's in the wedding industry. It's called Wedding Dance Coach. We've been in business 16 years. I am in the CEO visionary seat of that business. I have a small team that does all the deliverables and the lessons and all the admin and leadership.
05:09
and I get to be in that CEO visionary seat, which is pretty awesome. And then of course I have my online coaching business where I'm an Instagram marketing strategist and business growth mentor. So I have a group coaching program, private coaching. I have of course this podcast and I'm a professional speaker. So conferences have me fly out and to be an educator on their stages and things like that. So if I had built my entire
05:35
business model around Instagram paying me for views, obviously that would be a problem. I can't feed my family on $100 a month. The real money I've made through Instagram, of course, has not come from Metta. It has come from selling products and services that I own and really understanding how to leverage social media and Instagram to attract dreamboat clients.
06:04
and get them into a world and a sphere that I own where I can continue to deepen the relationship and of course, invite people into my products or services, right? So Instagram has helped me sell our private wedding dance lesson packages for wedding dance coach. It has helped me to sell high ticket coaching programs, one-off workshops, get booked for speaking gigs and all of that. And it's helped me to grow an email list of thousands of people.
06:33
all without spending a dime on paid ads. Instagram has also really helped me to build authority within my industry and get invited onto massive podcasts and stages and like networking opportunities that I could only dream of. And of course, it's really attracted some of the most dreamboat clients that I get to work with. I keep both my private and group coaching programs very intimate where I know your name, your business.
07:01
all the things about you that is such a huge value of mine. And Instagram has helped me to attract those people who are really aligned with my energy, my philosophy, and the people who I can help the most, which is really cool. So that's why when people ask me, how do you make money on Instagram? My answer, of course, is not, well, you just gotta get more views or followers.
07:24
The best way to make money on Instagram is to sell your own products or services. And once we understand that, we can ask a much better question, which is, is your business properly positioned to turn Instagram visibility into revenue? And this is where people sometimes become frustrated and decide that Instagram isn't working for them. I've seen this many times where
07:51
You know, they come to me and they're posting and they're trying reels and they're experimenting with all the hooks and they're listening to probably way too many different Instagram gurus and coaches giving advice. I know it can get so confusing when you're listening to so many different people. We all do that from an intention of, okay, I wanna learn and figure this out, but you have to be really careful about that, because that can often send you into even more confusion and actually slow you down. But you know, they're posting, they're trying reels, they're studying.
08:17
from different Instagram gurus and they may be even following trends or getting more views than they're used to. But they're still not seeing consistent leads or sales from the platform. Sometimes the issue is their Instagram strategy. You know, there may be opportunities to improve their content, hooks, call to action, consistency, know, positioning your Instagram profile so it works like a magnet to...
08:46
attract your ideal clients or customers, right? Like when I come to your Instagram profile, your bio, I should know, oh my gosh, this page is for me. Like I'm immediately interested. And of course, looking at your grid quickly, like, is this for me? I should know that. I should know clearly like who it's for, what kind of content you create, all of that. So all of those things are real and super important. But sometimes the real gap exists underneath the Instagram strategy.
09:14
And so I wanna have you just kind of pause and ask yourself a few of these questions. And maybe you'll be like, oh yeah, no Elizabeth, got this like check, check, check, got it all dialed in. And then some of you might be listening and be like, oh, you know, this seems like an obvious thing, but I think this is a moment of growth for myself or something I can look at within my business. And I want you to ask yourself some of these questions. So number one, are you clear like crystal?
09:43
about what you are selling. Is your offer something people genuinely want or need? Do you understand who your ideal client or customer is? Can you explain the problem that your product or service solves for this ideal customer? Do you understand why someone would choose your solution, right? Like your product or service.
10:12
instead of continuing to live with the problem that they have or buying from someone else, why you, why your company, why your product or service over the others? Is your messaging clear enough that the right person recognizes it and says, oh, this is for me? know, like how I was just describing what I should feel when I go look at your bio and your recent like nine posts, like do I get it really quickly?
10:42
Or am I still kind of scratching my head like, hmm, I'm not really sure who this is for, or I don't really see myself in it, know, pretending I am your ideal client. If I go to your account and I see it, like, will it activate me? And finally, what happens after someone finds your content? Like, where do they go next? And these are business questions, right? Not Instagram growth hacks. These are business questions.
11:12
And you have to do some of this work off of the platform, off of social media, before you can expect your content on the platform to produce meaningful revenue. Instagram can absolutely help more people discover your business. Like that is one of my favorite parts about the opportunity that is Instagram. But it cannot clarify an offer you haven't fully developed. And it can't
11:42
make an undefined audience, like if you're not clear on who your people are that you want to attract, it's going to be really hard when I coach you and tell you, hey, I want you to create content that helps your ideal audience feel seen. And you're like, well, it's still wishy washy, right? Instagram cannot build a customer journey for you if you haven't created it.
12:06
and it can't consistently sell something you're unable to clearly explain. So if I met you at a networking event and I said, hey, Mishanda, so nice to meet you. Like tell me about what you do. Like I want you to tell me in 60 seconds, like who you help, what you do, how I can work with you, right? Or what products or service you sell or who it's for. And you need to understand how to clearly explain what you do.
12:32
I was in a networking group this past year and it was really interesting being in a group of lots of really brilliant female entrepreneurs in the room. One thing I did notice, and this is something I absolutely used to struggle with, so no judgment, but it was the type of thing if we would go around the room and kind of share like what we do, and there would be some people that would talk for like five, 10 minutes and I still wasn't really clear on what they did.
13:01
And that's a problem, right? And I used to feel that way, believe me. I was actually going through some videos of me talking to the camera when I was first starting to film myself speaking to the camera, which was really in about 2019 is when I started to try to speak more to the camera. And it was so awkward and it took me so long to get my thoughts out there.
13:28
in a clear and powerful way. So please don't hear me judging you if that's you. Like I have a hundred percent been there and that's something I've worked really hard on, but that is part of the work, right? That is part of the work of it needs to be crystal clear. You have to be really rooted in that piece. So that way you can sell more effectively because certainty sells and confusion loses.
13:56
I think Brock Johnson says that, when you confuse, you lose. It's true, right? So certainty sells and when you confuse, you lose. And this is why I describe the work I do with my clients is so much more than Instagram coaching. Yes, I am 100 % an Instagram marketing strategist. I think it's so much fun and I love the work.
14:18
I teach my clients how to create stronger hooks, make better reels, understand their analytics, improve their reach, grow their followers, create content that people wanna consume. But I'm also a business growth mentor with over 16 years of experience as an entrepreneur. And when I work privately with a client, we're not simply filling in a content calendar, we may be refining their offer or...
14:45
identifying their target audience or strengthening their messaging or building an email funnel or creating a sales page and planning a launch. One of my private clients, Amber, right now, she messaged me over the weekend. She's like, oh my gosh, I just closed a $97 master class sale in my sleep. The funnel is funneling. It's so fun to close sales in my sleep. And we were just celebrating. When it works, it works, right? But there's been a lot of behind the scenes.
15:14
going on to get that masterclass launched, right? And that's the work I'm doing with my clients, developing a podcast strategy or deciding how Instagram fits into the bigger vision that you have for your business. So one of the things I always come back to is how is the content that we're creating, how is it connected to our business? And that's the difference between creating content for the sake of staying visible and creating content
15:43
that supports revenue. I wanna give an example. I recently began working with new private clients. They are a husband and wife team, so fun. And they are developing a consumer packaged goods company. They've created a new food product. They're so excited about it. They believe in it and they hired me as their private marketing and business growth mentor. What's so interesting about this is they don't have the finished product in their hands yet.
16:12
Okay, so you cannot go to their website and buy it today. And yet we already have plenty of work to do. And that work is really the foundation building blocks of a company. And what I have found is that even after 16 years in business, you always need to come back to these building blocks, these foundational pieces, because as your company grows and evolves, these pieces will grow and evolve too.
16:39
So with this husband and wife team, it's been really fun because we've started to work on really developing the brand and their brand voice and uncovering the story behind the product and the people creating it. We're starting to research the target market and learning who their ideal customer really is and exploring the community they wanna build, the experience they want customers to have.
17:09
And of course the path someone will take from discovering this new brand on Instagram, on their website, you know, their social footprint to eventually purchasing the product. Because in this world of 2026 and beyond social media marketing, a product is not the thing. People connect with the humans behind the product or service. They connect with the story, the mission, the feeling, the way that the product could fit into their lives.
17:38
And social media gives founders an opportunity to tell those stories directly. I always say like video makes your brand, your business come to life in the 3D, which I think is so cool. But it also means that founders need to become comfortable showing their faces and using their voices and communicating why their work matters on social media, right? Which is a totally different skill set.
18:04
And so it's been really neat because while we are developing these foundational business pieces, I am also encouraging my clients to practice creating content on their personal Instagram accounts. And it's been kind of fun because I was letting them know like you don't need to worry about content strategy at this point. You just need to play. You need to experiment with filming videos, speaking to the camera, getting used to seeing your face, hearing your voice, finding all the buttons.
18:34
I wanna make that distinction clear because I'm not saying that you need to wait until everything is perfectly dialed in with your offer and your funnel and every single part of your business is perfect before you start posting on Instagram. That is not what I'm saying. So please do not use this episode as another reason to overthink your content or hide for six months while you work on your brand voice, okay? That's not what I'm saying.
19:04
You are absolutely allowed to build the business and practice content and have fun with your content at the same time. Okay? You can experiment before you have the perfect strategy. Right? I would love for you to take action, be doing. You can share your process. You can develop your voice by using it. Right? Like that's how I started to become a much more confident speaker is not only deciding to start this podcast, but
19:30
showing up in Instagram stories and using my voice and letting it be cringy and just doing it anyway. And you can become more comfortable on camera before you know exactly what every call to action needs to be and what your customer journey is and all that. But, and this is like the nuance of what I'm trying to highlight here, is you cannot expect an Instagram strategy to solve a business strategy that has not been developed.
19:58
And that is something that I see often in the Instagram space. And I see a lot of business owners getting frustrated by it and it breaks my heart. And so I hope that if you're listening to this, you are kind of knowing like where you're at, right? Like, do you feel super clear and rooted in your business strategy and your products and services and ideal audience and customer journey, all these backend pieces, and you're doing the Instagram and it's working or it's not, or...
20:27
Is it the type of thing where you're like, okay, yeah, you're right. There are these pieces that I'm unclear on and I need to go deeper into that, right? So I wanna give you an example of what this looks like when the pieces begin working together. In my brick and mortar business, Wedding Dance Coach, My Dance Studio, we created a free wedding dance music guide. So this guide is like, you know, it's our lead magnet.
20:53
So in exchange for the guide, you give us your name and your email. And this free wedding dance music guide solved a very specific problem for our ideal client. Many engaged couples who are planning their wedding, they get completely stuck when it's time to choose our first dance song. There are thousands of options and they don't know where to begin. They want a song, of course, that feels like them, that fits the vision for their wedding.
21:20
but it's also something they can actually dance to from like a tempo rhythm standpoint, right? So we created Instagram content around that problem. And I remember we did a reel where we were talking about trending first dance songs and how to find the perfect first dance song and first dance song music mistakes and things like that. And in our call to action of our content, we would say,
21:49
Something like, if you're still trying to choose your first dance song, comment music below and we'll send you our free wedding dance music guide. Hundreds of people opted in to our list from that one lead magnet. And this is the important part, I want you to listen. We did not leave those people sitting inside of an Instagram DM conversation or comment section. The content brought them onto our email list.
22:18
which is of course the audience that we own. Remember how Austin was saying, okay, you wanna be careful of building a business on a platform that you don't own, right? So you always wanna be thinking about how do you get people back into your sphere, into a place that you have ownership? And so later that December, we had gained hundreds of people onto our email list without ads, it was all through our organic content.
22:47
We sent an email campaign out that December letting people know that our dance lesson packages would be increasing in January. And that email campaign helped us sell more than $15,000 in wedding dance lessons during December. So you can see how Instagram was absolutely part of the sale.
23:10
But Instagram was not the entire strategy, right? The Instagram content attracted the right people by addressing a real problem. And the call to action invited them to take a specific next step. The free guide delivered something super helpful. Our email list allowed us to continue the relationship. And then we had a timely reason for them to purchase, right? We were able to make that offer. So what I just described, that is a sales funnel.
23:39
And there's lots of different ways to set up your sales funnel. It does not have to be how I just described mine, but it works because the content was attached to a clear product or a ideal customer, right? An engaged couple who was struggling to figure out their first dance song. And if they were concerned about their first dance song, they probably care about their first dance and they probably want to take dance lessons, right? So we had a clear customer, clear problem and a clear customer journey.
24:09
I saw another version of this funneling well in my coaching business last month, my personal brand last month. And I'm so thrilled to share that last month was a record sales month for my personal brand. And I just wanna highlight this piece around money and Instagram, because of course, Instagram is what I teach. I love it.
24:37
And I think there's this disconnect in people's brains where they think I have to have a certain amount of followers to actually close the revenue that I want. And I just want to share that in record sales, like five figure sales month last month, so I have 36,000 followers on Instagram last month, I gained 155 followers. Okay. Now I am grateful for every one of those people.
25:06
Remember, followers are not just like, a metric. They're humans. So first of all, I find that a huge success for me. But some of you might be listening to me like, wow, that's not that much considering how big my account is. But what I love about the people who did come into my world is I am attracting all of my ideal clients or customers in my content funnel. And I don't need a lot of new people every month.
25:36
to have great revenue. know, audience growth matters and I will never pretend that it doesn't. You know, sometimes I think there's a misconception of like, when I'm speaking like this, where you think I'm saying, oh, you shouldn't want more followers and that's not what I'm saying. Of course, when you get in front of more people and your content is reaching more people, we want that visibility. The more people know you exist, the more sales you can make. I totally get that. But,
26:06
I did not have a record sales month because of the 155 new people that arrived and immediately bought from me, okay? Those sales came from an ecosystem that I have built over time. Instagram, my podcast, and my email list are the three foundational content pillars of my coaching business, of my personal brand. So I'm gonna say that again. Instagram, my podcast, and my email list are the three foundational content pillars.
26:35
And they work together to attract my dreamboat clients and build that trust and demonstrate the depths of my work and help people understand how I can support them. And during that launch, I used my Instagram content to absolutely...
26:54
bring awareness to my offers, right? I talked about it in my Instagram stories. I explained how people can work with me if they wanted help with their Instagram content strategy. And of course I shared client results and behind the scenes of the program and all of that. And I discussed the problems my coaching program would help solve. And I made invitations instead of assuming people would magically know what to do next, right? I had clear calls to action. It wasn't one viral reel. It was a connected strategy.
27:22
And that is why follower growth and revenue growth do not always move at the same speed. So you can gain thousands of followers who are not the right people. Or you can have a smaller group of highly aligned people who understand your work and trust your expertise and are ready to buy. Like here's my credit card. So the goal is not to choose between, okay, it's either Instagram growth or it's sales. That's not it.
27:50
The goal is to build the visibility and the strategy that supports the sales. So I hope this episode was a helpful reminder to check in with the building blocks and really foundations of your business and asking yourself, okay, what are the products and services I sell? And am I clear on who it's for? What problem it solves? Why does this matter to my ideal person right now?
28:20
Why buy from me and not another company? What is your unique selling proposition? And remember, you don't need a massive audience to grow on Instagram. You just need clarity in your strategy. And I'm so excited about what's coming next in this little series, because I'm going to walk you through my organic Instagram sales funnel that I've used.
28:47
to grow two six-figure businesses without spending a dime on paid ads. We're gonna connect the dots between your content and your customer journey and start identifying where people may be falling out. And then we're also gonna talk about how to use DM automation to turn Instagram engagement into leads without losing that human connection that makes social media so powerful. So that story I shared about.
29:14
the Wedding Dance Music Guide, that was DM automation, direct message automation. And I'm gonna share behind the scenes of my strategy of how I use it. If you're not wanting to wait and you're like, wanna know how it's set up right now, you can make sure you're following me over on Instagram at Elizabeth Marbury, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y. And you can DM me the keyword leads, L-E-A-D-S. And my gorgeous robot assistant will send you over
29:44
just a short one page guide on how I have my DM automation set up. And also it will include a link to ManyChat, which is the platform that I use. And with my link, you can get a free month of ManyChat, which is super awesome. It's not a public offer. So if you wanna grab that, we'll link it down in the show notes, or you can just DM me on Instagram. Make sure you're following me so I get it. I also wanted to tease for you that I'm building, I'm so excited about this. I'm building a brand new
30:14
on-demand training that is gonna show you how to automate your Instagram sales funnel step by step, like total beginner friendly. And I'm gonna include a bonus module about how using AI like Claude or JGBT can help make the process faster, easier, and more effective. I'm so excited. And this is something I'm creating for my Hot Wheels clients.
30:40
So if you're listening and you're in my group coaching program, you already get this, you get access to this, but it's gonna become available as a standalone training. So if you're not inside Hot Wheels, you could still grab it. So I cannot wait to get this into your hands. So stay tuned because I'll be sharing more details on that soon. And finally, if you've been listening to this and realizing that what you need is bigger than another batch of hooks or content ideas, I currently have two openings inside my 12 month
31:10
Private Visibility and Client Attraction Mentorship. This is for established business owners who are already incredible at what they do and have a proven business, but know their visibility isn't reflecting the depth of their work. You're ready to refine your messaging, grow your authority and attract more premium clients, and build a content and client attraction strategy around your bigger business goals.
31:39
If that's you and you're ready to invest at a private coaching level, your next step is to apply for a complimentary 30 minute Instagram breakthrough session with me. I would love to meet you. So DM me the word apply, A-P-P-L-Y on Instagram. Make sure you're already following me over there at Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y and DM me that keyword apply.
32:06
and my robot assistant will send you the link to fill out a short application, or you can just hop on over right now to elizabethmarberry.com slash application. Together, we will hop on that 30 minute chat and explore your business, identify your next strategic steps, and determine whether my private mentorship is the right fit and investment for you and your business. I would love to connect with you. I hope that you enjoyed today's episode.
32:34
Keep showing up, keep experimenting. You are here because you are a badass business owner who creates powerful content that moves your ideal people into your funnel so you can grow your business and live your freaking life. I am rooting for you. I'm so grateful for your time and energy. And I can't wait to drop part two of this how to make more money on Instagram series next week. You do not wanna miss it, so make sure you are subscribed.
33:01
and following the show. Thanks for listening. I can't wait to start it with you next week.
