Back in June 2020, Facebook launched a subscription-based model to allow content creators and video publishers to monetize their content through their communities. Instagram is now following suit with a monetization service of its own, called Instagram Subscriptions.
Instagram Subscriptions aims to help content creators “develop deeper connections with their most engaged followers and grow their recurring monthly income by giving subscribers access to exclusive content and benefits.”
Once followers subscribe to a creator, they are granted access to perks such as Subscriber Lives, Subscriber Stories, and Subscriber Badges. Subscribers will also get a purple badge next to their usernames signaling their status to a creator.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, recently revealed different features of the subscription-based model in a Twitter post, claiming subscriptions as “one of the best ways” for influencers and creators to have a predictable stream of income.
🎉 Subscriptions 🎉
Subscriptions allow creators to monetize and become closer to their followers through exclusive experiences:
– Subscriber Lives
– Subscriber Stories
– Subscriber BadgesWe hope to add more creators to this test in the coming months. More to come. ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/SbFhN2QWMX
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) January 19, 2022
The latest monetization model will initially be available for a handful of creators in the United States, including Alan Chikin Chow, Sedona Prince, Aliza Kelly, Kelsey Cook, Elliott Norris, Lonnie IIV, Don Allen Stevenson III, Bunny Michael, Jack Jerry, and Jordan Chiles.
The model is expected to be available to more creators in the coming months and will allow creators to unlock a ‘subscribe’ button on their Instagram profiles. Creators can then set a monthly price of their own choice. The price will range anywhere from $0.99 to $99.99 per month, while creators will be at liberty to select the price point for their subscriptions.
In its aim to support the creators on its platform, Instagram states that it will not charge any fee for the subscriptions from creators until 2023, as stated by Co-Head of Product at Instagram, Ashley Yuki, in a comment given to TechCrunch. Yuki further stated, “Our main goal here is that we help creators make a living. We’re trying to think of all the ways that we can build monetization products where that’s possible.”
The global availability of the feature is currently unknown. However, as Instagram continues to test out the feature and slowly rolls it out in the United States, the feature will likely be available internationally in a few months.
