Member-only story
Here’s How Much I Make From 1.9 Million Followers on Instagram
Not everyone gets paid celebrity rates
You’ve probably heard about the crazy rates celebrities are charging on Instagram. According to analytics platform Hopper HQ, the top earner is currently Kylie Jenner, who makes an estimated $1.2 million per sponsored post. She’s followed by Ariana Grande and Cristiano Ronaldo, clocking in at just under $1 million per post each.
But there’s an equally intriguing niche on Instagram that rarely gets any attention: curation accounts, or profiles built on featuring other creators’ work. Examples include:
- @pinlord, a hub for enamel pin enthusiasts.
- @beautifuldestinations, a travel photography page.
- @houseofhighlights, a sports highlights curator.
They’re interesting for two reasons. First, anyone can build a curation account to millions of followers — no celebrity appeal required. Second, as far as monetization goes, they’re the Wild West of social media. There are no standards for how much these accounts make their money.
I run one such account at @goldenretrievers. At 1.9 million followers, it posts nothing but — you guessed it — Golden Retrievers. I currently don’t have a dog, so I use it to highlight other creators’ content. In exchange, they get thousands of new followers every time they’re featured.
I started the account in late 2016 (you can read the full story), and at one point, I was using it to make what I’d consider “decent” money. But last year, I made a conscious decision to stop all monetization.
Why? A couple of reasons, the most important of which was to sacrifice short term gains for long term potential. Don’t worry — I won’t leave you hanging on the specifics. But to better frame the context, let me first provide a breakdown of how I’ve monetized it so far.
How Much I’ve Made
@goldenretrievers has had three income streams: sponsorships, e-commerce projects, and a #1 best-selling iMessage sticker pack.
First, sponsorships. I’ve made a total of $25,000 in this category, and all of the sponsorships have come through three different influencer agencies over…
