How To Sell On Instagram: The Beginner’s Guide

Want to learn how to sell on Instagram? You’re in the right place.
In this beginner’s guide, I’ll show you how to successfully use Instagram to sell more products, step by step.
We’ll cover everything you need to know, from setting up your online store to creating and publishing Instagram content that drives sales.
First, we’ll start with the basics…
Why sell on Instagram?
Of all the social networks out there, Instagram is arguably the best place to sell your products. Here’s why:
- Huge reach. Instagram has over 2 billion monthly users and an advertising audience of 1.32 billion, so your potential reach is huge.
- It’s a visual-first platform. Instagram is all about sharing photos and Reels, so naturally, it’s a great place to visually show off your products in their best light.
- It’s used for product discovery. According to data from Meta, 83% of surveyed users said they use Instagram to discover new products, and 81% said they use it to research products and services, which makes it a great place to sell yours.
- Relevant to every niche. Because Instagram is so widely used, you should be able to find customers there no matter what your target market is. It appeals to virtually every customer demographic.
The two ways to sell on Instagram
There are two ways you can sell products on Instagram:
- Sell through your own online store and use Instagram to drive sales (recommended)
- Sell directly through Instagram Shopping & Instagram Checkout (not recommended)
Now, both of these options can work.
But in all honesty, I’d recommend using Instagram to drive traffic to your own store (which you can build with platforms like Sellfy), rather than relying on Instagram Shopping.
Here’s why…
Instagram Shopping
Instagram Shopping is the platform’s native social selling tool.
It lets you set up your own in-app storefront and turns your profile into a branded shopping experience.
You can tag product links directly in your Reels, Stories, and posts, and viewers can click them to go straight to your store, rather than having to go to your bio first.
Plus, if you use Instagram Checkout, they can add items straight to their cart from your posts and make their purchase without having to leave the app.
The main benefit of all this is that there’s less friction in the buyer journey which boosts conversions.
However, there are also some major drawbacks that—in my opinion—outweigh that benefit.
For one, you have very little control over your Instagram Shop. There are also extra transaction fees when you sell through Instagram checkout, which eats into your profit.
You can’t sell digital products through Instagram Shopping either. And a lot of creators either won’t have the right account type or meet Instagram Shopping’s strict commerce eligibility requirements.
Ultimately, I think too much reliance on platforms like Instagram for controlling the sale can do more harm than good in the long run.
Pros of Instagram Shopping | Cons of Instagram shopping |
Sell directly on Instagram (in-app checkout) | Must meet commerce eligibility requirements |
Tag products in posts | Limits your choice of ecommerce platform (must integrate with Instagram) |
Reduces friction & boosts conversions | Only works in supported markets |
Requires Business or Creator account | |
Physical products only (doesn’t support digital file delivery) | |
Transaction fees on Instagram checkout | |
Less control |
How to sell on Instagram the right way
Rather than relying on Instagram Shopping, it’s a much better idea to just sell your products through your own online store, and promote them on Instagram to drive traffic.
And the easiest way to do that is with Sellfy. Here’s how to get started.
Step 1: Sign up for Sellfy
Sellfy is a beginner-friendly ecommerce platform that you can use to create your online store in under 5 minutes.
Fortunately, Unlike Instagram Checkout, it doesn’t charge any extra transaction fees, so you keep all your profits.
And it has some useful features, like a built-in print-on-demand catalog so you can design and sell custom printed merchandise, and only pay for what you sell.
First, head to Sellfy’s website and choose one of the monthly subscription plans to sign up. You can also try it out with a 14-day free trial.
Step 2: Add products & connect a payment gateway
Once you’ve created your account, log in to open up the Sellfy dashboard.
Sellfy will have already built the foundations of your store for you. The next thing you’re going to want to do is add some products.
To do so, click Add new product from the sidebar, then choose the type of product you want to add. Options include digital products, subscriptions, physical products, print-on-demand products, and freebies.
After that, fill out the product details with a name, description, category, etc. You’ll also need to set a price, choose your stock, set up shipping options, etc.
As you add products to your catalog, Sellfy will automatically create a product page for them.
But before your customers can add the products to their cart and checkout, you’ll need to connect a payment gateway (Stripe or PayPal). To do this, go to Store Settings > Payment settings.
Bonus tip: Sellfy is one of the best platforms to sell digital products. See the posts below for guidance on specific digital product types.
Step 3: Customize your storefront
At this point, you already have a functional online store. But one final thing you might want to do before you start selling on Instagram is change the way your store looks.
Click the store icon in the top right of the sidebar, then hit Customize. This will open Sellfy’s store editor tool.
From here, you can change your store theme, global style options, pages/navigation, and anything else you want to tweak.
Step 4: Add a link to your Instagram bio
Now you have your store up and running, you’ll want to link to it from your Instagram profile bio.
That way, whenever you make a post on Instagram that promotes your products, you can write ‘link in bio’ in the caption, so customers know where to go. This is how we’re going to drive traffic and sales.
To add your link, open your Instagram profile page and tap Edit Profile. Then in the website field, copy and paste your Sellfy store URL, and hit Done.
Use the rest of the characters in your bio to highlight your store link. For example, I’d recommend including a call-to-action. For example, something like ‘buy the merch’ or ‘shop our products’.
You can also use emojis and symbols like arrows to draw extra attention to the URL and improve your click-through rate (CTR).
Bonus tip: If you want to drive traffic to more than one URL in your Instagram bio, the best option is to use one of these Instagram bio link tools. They let you create a mobile-optimized landing page featuring multiple links, and generate a shortlink that you can add to your bio.
10 tips for creating Instagram content that drives sales
Now we’ve set up our store and bio link, it’s all about content.
You’re going to create and share content to get more Instagram followers, promote your products, drive traffic to your store, and ultimately, make sales.
Here are some tips to help you do just that…
1. Follow the 80/20 rule
While your ultimate goal is to use Instagram to sell products, that doesn’t mean every Instagram post you share should be promotional.
If the only posts you share are trying to sell products, you’re not offering anything of value to your audience, so you’re going to struggle to grow your organic following.
Instead, I’d recommend following the 80/20 rule. That means that 80% of your content should be regular, engaging content designed to get likes, comments, and follows. The other 20% can be promotional posts designed to sell products.
Bonus tip: When you publish posts on Instagram, include relevant hashtags in your caption or in the first comment to maximize its reach. This makes it easier for users to discover your posts in the Instagram app.
2. Find your best time to post
Your Instagram posts will reach more viewers and get more engagements if you share them at the right time. That will usually be whenever your target audience is most active.
We’ve written a complete guide on how to find your best time to post on Instagram here—I’d recommend starting there. But in short, you’ll need to experiment with different posting times and then look at your data to see when your posts tend to perform best.
Once you’ve found your best time to post, use that to devise a weekly posting schedule and stick to it. The more consistent you are, the better.
3. Use an Instagram scheduling tool
Instagram scheduling tools make it easier to stick to a consistent posting schedule and stay active.
They allow you to schedule posts months in advance. The tool will auto-publish them for you at the date & time you set.
A lot of schedulers also come with additional tools for things like content curation and inbox management, all of which can help you save time and get better results.
I’d recommend using Pallyy. It’s the best Instagram scheduler on account of its visual interface, easy-to-use drag-and-drop calendar, generous free plan, and affordable paid plans.
It also comes with a few extra features that Instagram users will find useful, including a built-in link in bio tool, Instagram analytics, and more.
4. Run Instagram ads
Running ads and boosting posts on Instagram allows you to reach more potential customers than you’d be able to reach organically.
Obviously, it costs money, but as long as you can get a good return on investment (ROI), it’s a good way to sell products fast.
You can build your ads in Meta Ads Manager. The most important thing is to get your targeting options right—you want to make sure your ads are only getting shown to your target buyers to maximize your ROI.
You can also try running Instagram shopping ads. They’re like standard ads but with product tags, so viewers can click the post to go directly to its product page.
Bonus tip: You’ll need a Facebook Page and Instagram business profile to run ads. You can change your Instagram account to an Instagram business account from your settings page.
5. Partner with influencers
Another great way to sell on Instagram is to collaborate with popular creators in your target niche and have them promote your products to their audience.
You can search on influencer marketplaces to find creators that are a good fit for your brand and budget, and then reach out to them for sponsored posts.
Creators must declare paid sponsorships on Instagram, which will add a ‘paid partnership with [brand name]’ tag next to the post.
Bonus tip: Consider boosting the posts of influencers you work with to maximize their reach.
6. Create Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are a great place to promote your products/store.
Why? Because, unlike regular posts, you can add links directly to your Stories.
When you create your story, just click the chain icon in the top-right. Then, enter the URL and tap the checkmark. Viewers will then be able to see the link in the ‘See More’ section below the Story.
And because Stories only last for 24 hours, they’re a great way to highlight limited-time discount offers and product launches.
7. Share Instagram Reels
Instagram has gone all-in on video content in recent years. Ever since they launched Reels to compete with rival platform TikTok, the algorithm seems to have been favoring video.
So, if you want to reach more users, get more engagements, and sell more products, Reels should be a big part of your content mix.
To create Reels, tap the Reels icon from your profile. Then, record a video, choose some music from the library to play over it, and edit it to add text, effects, and other creative elements as needed.
8. Run an Instagram giveaway
Instagram giveaways are a fantastic way to promote your products as they have a ton of viral potential.
It’s easy to set up a giveaway with SweepWidget. All you have to do is choose a prize (e.g. a package of your best-selling products) and set your entry requirements.
For example, you could ask users to like, comment, and tag a friend in your post to be entered for a chance to win.
Bonus tip: Check out these 16 creative Instagram giveaway ideas for inspiration.
9. Repost UGC (user-generated content)
Social proof matters when you’re trying to sell products. As such, it’s worth reposting user-generated Instagram posts that show your brand and products in a good light. For example, positive reviews and testimonials from previous customers.
Another way to go about this is to run a UGC competition. For example, you could host a giveaway and ask users to share a photo of them using your product for a chance to win the prize.
Make sure you tell them to include your branded campaign hashtag in the caption to make it easy for you to find entries.
Then, select the best photo submissions and share them on your own Instagram page as social proof.
10. Engage with your followers
Take time to engage with your Instagram followers by responding to and liking comments, sharing polls and questions, going live, etc.
This helps to build a stronger community around your brand, which improves customer retention and in the long run, helps you to sell more products.
You can also try engaging with Instagram users who represent your target customers but don’t already follow your account.
One way to go about this is to follow the people who engage with posts shared by your competitors.
When they get the ‘new follower’ notification, they’re likely to check out your profile to see who’s followed them. And if they like what they see, they might follow your back, or even click your bio link to check out your store.
Final thoughts
That concludes our beginner’s guide on how to sell on Instagram. Let’s recap.
The best way to sell on Instagram is to create a Sellfy store, add a link to it in your Instagram bio, and share posts to promote your products and grow your following.
Sellfy doesn’t integrate with Instagram directly so it can’t be used for Instagram Shopping, but I wouldn’t recommend relying on Instagram Shopping anyway—it just isn’t worth it.
Try to post a good mix of promotional and entertaining content, stick to a consistent posting schedule, and consider using paid ads, boosted posts, and influencer partnerships to boost your reach.
Not sure what products to sell on Instagram? See our guide on how to come up with new product ideas.
And remember, selling products isn’t the only way to monetize your following. See this post for more ideas for ways to make money on Instagram.
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