Making money on Instagram.
Search for how to make money on Instagram and you land on American figures and accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers. This guide is about what happens in Belgium with an account of one or five thousand followers, what can actually be earned there, and what you need to put in order.
Door Thierry Fondu, oprichter van Kollaborate · bijgewerkt op
Het korte antwoord.
With an Instagram account under 10,000 followers in Belgium you do not earn from the platform’s advertising revenue, but from collaborations with businesses in your own area. That can be cash or payment in kind, and both count as income. The fastest realistic route is not collecting more followers, but choosing one clear topic and offering yourself to local businesses with a price calculated on the work rather than on follower count.
The ways, listed.
Not every route is open to a small account. This is what is realistic in Belgium.
Sleep de tabel opzij voor de andere kolommen
| Route | From what size | Realistic with a small account |
|---|---|---|
| Paid collaboration with a local business | From a few hundred followers | Yes. For most creators this is the first and longest-lasting source of income. |
| Payment in kind | From a few hundred followers | Yes, and often the first deal you get. Note: it counts as income for tax purposes. |
| Affiliate links and discount codes | Works at any size, pays off with an engaged audience | Sometimes. Yields little without an audience that actually buys on your recommendation. |
| Selling your own product or service | Any size | Yes, if you have something to sell. Often more lucrative than brand deals. |
| Ambassadorship across several months | From a few thousand followers | Yes, and more stable than one-off deals because you are not searching again every month. |
What you will not see listed here: a payout from Instagram itself. Do not count on that as a plan.
What you may charge.
Count in work, not in followers. Add up what a collaboration costs you: the travel, the filming, the editing, the writing, the publishing and replying to comments. On top of that comes what the business gets beyond the post itself, because content they may also use on their own channels is worth more than one story that disappears after a day.
For local collaborations in hospitality in Belgium we work with roughly 80 to 150 euros per creator for a smaller account, in cash or in value. Treat that as a starting point: a run of four posts with exclusivity is not the same as one story.
Payment in kind is counted at its real value. A 90 euro treatment is 90 euros, even if it costs the salon less. If you think that is too little for the work involved, ask for a hybrid deal: the product plus an amount.
And say no when it does not add up. A business that wants three posts for a free coffee is testing how much of yourself you give away. Making a counter-proposal is normal and professional, not cheeky.
What actually improves your chances.
In this order, because the first two weigh more than the rest.
One topic, held consistently.
A business looks for someone who fits its product. It can only see that if your profile is about one thing: food in your city, beauty, fitness, interiors, parenting.
An audience that lives in your own region.
For a local business that is the only thing that counts. A thousand followers from your city are worth more than ten thousand spread around the world.
Content you already make without an assignment.
Two or three pieces about places you genuinely like are immediately your portfolio when someone asks what you can do.
A verified profile.
When your follower count comes from an official connection rather than an input field, a business does not have to take your word for it. That changes who approaches you and what you get.
Delivering what you agreed.
Delivering on time and doing what was agreed gets you the second assignment. That is where most creators lose work, not on quality.
What to sort out once something is in return.
Anyone who regularly posts advertising falls under the definition of an undertaking according to the FPS Economy and must register with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. That includes making your company number, address and email address findable, for example through a link in your bio. A one-off collaboration does not make you a business, an ongoing run does.
What you receive in kind counts as income. A dinner, a treatment or a product in exchange for content is not a gift for tax purposes. Keep a record of what you received and what it was worth, even when no invoice was involved.
Student, side activity or main activity mainly changes your social contributions, not the principle. Check your own situation with an accountant or a social insurance fund, and do it before your first paid collaboration rather than after.
Finally the labelling obligation: every paid collaboration must be recognisable as advertising, even when you only received a free product. Use an unambiguous word, immediately visible and not among the hashtags.
Sources.
- FPS Economy: content creators must clearly identify advertising
Labelling obligation, accepted labels and registration with the company register.
Veelgestelde vragen.
How many followers do you need to earn from Instagram?+
Does Instagram pay you directly?+
What do you charge for one post?+
Does a free product count as income?+
Do you need a company number?+
Can you earn without showing your face?+
Let businesses find you.
Create a free profile, connect your Instagram so your figures are right, and see which local businesses have an offer open. You keep 100 per cent of your fee.