Instagram is currently testing out its own version of Patreon by allowing paid subscriptions from fans. The idea is for fans to pay a monthly fee for exclusive access to their favourite creators.
Instagram’s latest launch
The subscriptions feature is currently being tested as another form of income for creators of the app. A small handful of influencers are currently testing out the idea of subscriber-only content, including lives, stories, and badges.
There will be an icon in the form of a purple crown found on influencers’ live streams, badges, and stories that are exclusive to paying fans of the influencer.
Exclusive lives and stories will be posted on a subscriber-only basis to make the content worth the money and creators will be able to see their subscribers with a purple crown badge placed next to their name in comments.
The amount can be chosen by the influencer, but it will cap at between $0.99 and $9.99 per month.
What is Instagram saying?
In a statement posted to the site, Instagram said: “With Instagram Subscriptions, creators can develop deeper connections with their most engaged followers and grow their recurring monthly income by giving subscribers access to exclusive content and benefits, all within the same platform where they interact with them already.”
How will this affect affiliate marketers?
By making another form of payment for creators that isn’t coming from the app itself, which is a limited pool shared amongst a growing number of people. As a result of this, there is likely to be a growth of influencers. Micro-influencers will grow with their dedicated fans and new creators who appeal to users will be able to develop into paid influencers.
This will allow for a lot more opportunities to branch out with affiliate marketing. There will be more choices when it comes to influencers and therefore marketers can be more selective with what influencers they work with and what demographics they appeal to.
