The Complete Guide to Starting an Online Business Using Instagram

Mar 9

Did you know that you can grow your online business to six-figures and multi-six-figures only using Instagram?

What?!

Yep. I have many online business owner friends who grew their businesses to between $100K - $400K ONLY using Instagram - No website, no email list, no other social media platforms, no podcast, no YouTube.

As much as a multi-platform strategy is often recommended and presented as “The Way” to do it by 7-figure online entrepreneur legends (you know rhymes with Kenna Butcher and Mamie Windshield - obviously not their real names…) using a single platform and mastering it can be an extremely effective way to start (and run) your business.

In this post I’m going to give you the complete guide to starting your business using ONLY Instagram. I’ll be sharing:

What you need to know about your business to get started
Why you would want to pick Instagram as your starting platform
How to set up your Business Instagram
What to say in your Instagram Bio
How to market yourself and your business through content
The tools I use and recommend to my clients to make Instagram “easier” and save you time
How to start selling your offer or product on Instagram

I recommend saving this post so you can refer back to it! Pin it, Bookmark it, Email it to yourself - whatever works best for you - you’re going to want to save this!

What you need to know about your business to get started

So you want to start a business and use Instagram. There are a few simple things you will want to get clear on before you start your Instagram page - and you should NOT spend a lot of time on this. I want you to answer these questions right here and right now. If you are spending more than 5 minutes here you’re thinking too hard!

Simply answer these questions:

What are you selling? (Is it coaching, is it a service like copywriting, or maybe a physical or digital product, or something else?)

You need to decide, in a general sense, what you are planning to sell. Obviously this might morph and change with time (and that’s normal!) but we want a starting point. You don’t need specifics on your offer, just put a general label on it!

Who are the people who will buy your offer? (Is it men, women, both? Other business owners? People who work 9-5? Who will best be served by what you are selling?)

Do these people use Instagram? (Yes or No)

This is a big one! Most of the time the answer is YES! But, I personally have an example where the answer was No.

For the first 18 months of my business I only worked with online solopreneurs. They were absolutely on Instagram. When I expanded my business to serve sales & marketing professionals in the corporate space, I realized that most of my contacts and connections in this area were 1) On LinkedIn, 2) Many didn’t have Instagram or were only on Instagram to follow their personal friends (yes, I did stalk their following lists to see if they followed any people who posted more business like posts - even those big name entrepreneurs or celebrities. Many of them did not.) When I came to this realization, I knew that my social media strategy had to change to accommodate connecting with the people I wanted to connect with. This didn’t mean that I couldn’t find these people on Instagram, but I knew it was going to be much easier using a different social media approach.

If you discover your people are NOT on Instagram… Skip down to the section on How to market yourself and your business through content and What type of content to create. What you’ll learn here can apply to many other social media platforms as well!

Why you would want to pick Instagram as your starting platform

I picked Instagram as my starting platform for my business because at the time it was the only social media I was familiar with and used personally. It was a path of least resistance - I was somewhat familiar with it, I enjoyed using it, I was quickly able to determine that the people I wanted to work with were on Instagram.

But here are some other reasons why Instagram might be the best place to start your business:

It’s FREE
There are already millions of Instagram users
Many people already buy products and services from people they find on Instagram
If you already use Instagram, you already know what type of content you like and have a basic understanding of how the platform works (yay! Smaller technology learning curve!)
It is easy to make mini-pivots. For example, you’ll learn quickly what works for you and doesn’t work for you and making adjustments is as easy as making a change the next time you post.

And probably the biggest argument is for picking only one platform to start:

By focusing on one platform, you consolidate your time and efforts to being really good at one thing vs sorta okay at many platforms. This actually allows you to scale to other platforms more easily in the future, because you will have figured out your messaging, content workflow, sales process, and which platforms will actually help you grow. If you start using a variety of social media or other platforms, your learning efforts are diluted and you spend more time doing low value busy work. Low value busy work = feeling productive and making zero money.

How to set up your Business Instagram

When I started my business on Instagram I created a brand new account. That put me at follower count 0 (zero). I chose to do this because I had been using Instagram for personal use and didn’t feel that my friends and family were my target audience. I was also worried AF that they would judge me. So a new account allowed me to hide for a little while from the people I knew in the real world. And if you want to do the same - there is nothing wrong with that!

If you want to convert your personal account to a business account, also nothing wrong with that.

Either way, you need to ensure your Instagram is set up as a Business Account. If you set up a new account, Instagram will prompt you to select personal or business. If you are converting your personal account to a business account:

Go to the 3 lines on the top right of your account.
Then select Settings
Select Account
And all the way at the bottom there is the option to “Switch account type”
Click that and switch to a business account.

It really is that simple. And now you have access to business tools like Insights and adding a book now button to your bio, etc.

Side Note: Creating a business account will give you access to paying to promote your content - DON’T DO IT. There is NO need or reason to pay for promoting your Instagram posts, especially when you are starting your business and growing into the six-figures. Do NOT do it until you are well established and know what you are doing with paid ads. Or you’ll waste a ton of money. Thank you for reading my PSA.

You will also need to pick your Instagram Handle (the name that is shown on your Instagram). Some suggestions for picking your Instagram Handle:

Keep it simple and don’t use numbers unless it fits your business name. (DON’T: JaneDoe2401. But you could: Copy4you (I have no idea if this is an actual account, just using it as an example).)
Use your name or the name of your business (if your name is taken, try a “.” or “_” between your first and last name)
Use your name and a word that describes what you do: Yourname_copywriting
You have the ability to change this in the future so don’t worry if you don’t feel like it's perfect yet. It’s more important to start posting than to have the perfect handle.

What to say in your Instagram Bio

Now that you have your Business Instagram Account set up, it’s time to fill out your Bio.

On your Instagram home screen you can simply click: Edit profile.

Many of the items in your bio are searchable on Instagram (they keep changing this, but there are best practices you can follow).

Here is how to set everything up:

Profile Picture: Take a great selfie or use a photo you already have. Best practice is to have a clear, color, image of your FACE. It should be just you, no friends or partner in the photo with you. You want people to recognize you and “get to know you”. You can save the artsy stuff for later on when you have a more established following. People always ask me about using a Logo. Only use a logo if you are selling a physical product (you make pottery or earrings or something). In this specific case you’ll want people to connect and recognize the business first, then learn the behind the scenes and get to know you as the business owner. But if you are selling something like a service - it needs to be a photo of you! People buy from people.
Name: If you used your name as your handle, you can use this space to say what you do (e.g. Business Coach, Copywriter, Stationary Creator). If you used something that is not your name for your handle, make sure you put at least your first name here. Everyone will want to know what to call you! And it’s super awkward trying to build connections if you don’t know what someone's name is! You can also do something like: Name | Business Coach
Username: we already picked this. But if you choose to change it, here is where you would do that.
Pronouns: You can add your pronouns here or leave it blank.
Website: At this point, you can leave this blank. At a later point you’ll be able to add any important links here (e.g. your meeting scheduling link if you want to use a scheduler)
Bio: This is the money spot. You want to tell anyone who comes to your page what you do and who it’s for. That way, in a quick glance, someone knows if they want to be connected to you. An “I help” statement is a great place to start.
Once you have your “Website” link picked, you’ll also want to add a simple CTA that tells people to click the link. The link that you put in the “Website” link will actually show up below your bio. But before you have a website link, you can always say something like “DM to inquire” or “DM to work together” or “DM to schedule your free consult”.
Don’t be afraid to put some personality in there or use a couple of emojis. I’ve followed people solely for the reason that they had something like “Lover of Tacos” (I also love tacos!). You can poke around to some other accounts that do what you do and get some ideas for your bio. You can edit this at any time - so get something in there and don’t be afraid to edit or adjust as you figure things out more!

Here is a quick formula to follow:

I help _(who you help)_ do _(what you help them with)_. Lover of Tacos. DM for more info.

Public Business Information: this allows you to link a Facebook Business Page (if you have one), select your category, add contact options, action buttons, and choose how your profile is displayed. You’ll want to select your Category, but the rest are optional and not needed at this point. The Profile Display allows you to decide if you want to share the category on your bio or not, just choose what you prefer, there is no right or wrong.

WOW! Look at you. Your profile is all set and now it's time to grow your following and connect with people!

How to market yourself and your business through content

As you start diving into using social media, you will for sure start to hear about “The Algorithm.” All social media platforms use an algorithm, even Google using an algorithm. Basically the algorithm’s goal is to push content to you that you like to consume so that you stay on the platform longer.

The algorithm changes, sometimes big changes, sometimes small changes, but we never actually know what the algorithm is selecting for. Also, be prepared for new features rolling out across the app as it continues to grow. Choosing to adopt new features as soon as they are available has actually proved to be very beneficial when you are trying to grow eyes on your business, so don’t be afraid to try new things. At the end of the day: Instagram makes money when people spend time on their app.

So don’t worry about the algorithm. It will stress you out and not serve you or your business. Instead, focus on creating content that people want to consume!

Using Instagram you have a variety of content types you can use. They are good for different reasons (I’ll tell you what below!) and I highly recommend trying all of them and figuring out which works best for your creation process.

Reels - Reels are a short video (at the time of this post you can make Reels up to 60 seconds long and they are one of the newest Instagram features). Because Reels are newer to Instagram (and they compete with TikTok), Reels are very favored, meaning Instagram likes you if you are creating Reels. They are an amazing way to build your audience and get new followers. You can do everything from funny videos to quick How To’s to simple education to inspiration and much more. Use your imagination or follow current Reel trends. There are plenty of “Here’s how to make great Reels” influencers that you will stumble upon and can learn from.
Stories - Stories go in that bubble at the top of your Instagram feed. Stories are only available for 24 hours, but you can take stories that you post and turn them into highlights on your profile page (more on that below). Think of stories like you are telling a story. Some of the best Instagram Stories posters are those who use it like “a day in the life” or a mini-episode of whatever point they are trying to get across. Stories are a great place to test out content, because it will be gone in 24 hours! This is really the place to connect with your people. Showing your face and talking to the camera might seem terrifying, but it's really the best way to build connection and talk about how you can help people with your offer or product.
Story Highlights - I mentioned that you can add highlights to your profile. When you go to your own page there will be empty circles below your bio. And a “+” this allows you to add “Highlights” from your stories. Some great stories to start collecting as highlights might be: About Me, Mini-Training, Client Results, My Program, FAQ. When you click the “+” you are able to select previously posted stories that will live on your profile.
Posts - Posts live on your feed. These can be a photo, a graphic or text, or a carousel. Carousels are posts that have multiple photos or graphics that you can swipe through. See below where I talk about speaking to the cold, warm, and hot people in your audience. This will get you started posting!
Videos/IG Lives - I love videos. And yes I was terrified to film them to start, but they don’t feel weird once you do more of them. I love videos because I’d rather talk about what I do than write an Instagram post (that might just be the phase that I’m in… as I write super long blog posts LOL). But as I mentioned with Stories, it’s pretty easy to hop on a video or do an IG Live (Live streams your video to your page and followers), and talk about what I do or give examples or share a little story that people will relate to. What might feel hard or confusing to type out, might flow effortlessly when you speak.

What type of content to create:

You’ll want to focus on content that speaks to your audience's relationship with you. Are they new to you (Cold), are they familiar and want to see what your about (Warm), or are they loving what you’re doing and want to know how they can work with you (Hot).

When thinking about your Cold audience (people who don’t know you yet), think about how people can get to know YOU (yes, show some behind the scenes, share a little bit of your personal life, post a story with your dog, etc). People buy from people and people buy from people they feel connected to. Sharing a little bit of who you are helps create real human connection. You want your audience to feel like they know you even if they haven’t ever talked to you.

You speak to your Warm people by creating content that people enjoy - educating or entertaining. Warm content is the content that they keep coming back to your page for. What quick win can you teach? How can you bring joy to someone’s day?

Hot people are people ready to know how to work with you. You need to create content that specifically talks about your offer or product and how people can buy. What are the next steps? Many people try to “soften the blow” by easing into selling… it doesn’t work. Be blatant and obvious. People will trust you more if you aren’t trying to hide things or being weird about selling. It can simply be, “I can help you _____. To get started, just send me a message and we will find a time for us to meet on Zoom and discuss.”

The tools I use and recommend to my clients to make Instagram “easier” and save you time

You can download these in the app store!

Planoly
- One of my current clients who started using Planoly said to me “This has been a complete game changer for me and my business!! I LOVE IT!” She (like me) spent way too much time writing posts, planning them, going to post them and editing on the spot, posting and then scrolling. UGH. For both of us this was a stressful process, left us feeling burnt out on Instagram, and very unproductive. I obviously recommended Planoly to her because it was such a positive improvement for me and has been for so many other clients of mine.
- Planoly allows you to plan and schedule your Instagram content. If you choose the free version, it will notify you when it’s time to post something you’ve scheduled then walk you through posting it to Instagram. If you pick the paid version (I pay for the basic version), Planoly will AUTO POST your posts. I will say that some types of posts you still need to do manually, but if you have a single image post, you can schedule it and Planoly will post it for you to Instagram. I went MONTHS without worrying about posting because I went crazy and just set up a ton of auto posts. It was the best thing ever.
- There are also other apps that do the same thing as Planoly (Preview, Hootsuite, Later, Loomy, etc) and if you like one better that’s great! Use it!
HishHash
- I use HishHash to organize and find hashtags. You basically can create hashtag categories and then for each post select the categories that apply to your post and Hishhash will randomly pick a selection of 30 hashtags from those categories for you.
- Hashtags are great to use on your posts if you want to get found on Instagram. Be sure that you are using hashtags that your people will be looking at or what they might type in looking for an offer or product like yours. Use the search bar in Instagram to browse potential hashtags and get an idea of the content associated with the hashtag, then go to HishHash to start creating your hashtag categories.
- You’ll want to select hashtags that have use, but not too much. A VERY general guideline when you’re starting is to stay away from hashtags with less than 10,000 uses and more than 700K. Low use means no one will be looking, and high use means you might get lost in the sea of posts or not attract the right people. HishHash will show you the use and similar hashtags to consider.
- Oh… and HishHash FREE!

How to start selling your offer or product

Okay you have your account and you know what content to start making, but how do you actually sell stuff on Instagram?

If you actually sell a physical product or are planning on being more of an “Influencer” and selling other people’s products (affiliate marketing is what its called), I recommend you do a little research on Instagram platform selling tools. People can click your image and if products are tagged, buy what they want straight from the Instagram app.

But what if you are selling coaching or a service? Perfect! This is what I am an expert at. To get started let’s think about some basic business. People can’t buy from you if they don’t know that you exist. And how we get people to know that you exist is by meeting them! So on Instagram, you will need to “meet” people.

Here are some ways to “meet” people on Instagram:

Searching and following others that you’re interested in or think might be your ideal client. Pro Tip: Don’t be the person that follows and then unfollows. Not only does it tell people that you don’t care about them, but it shows that you just want followers or money, AND it’s actually against Instagrams guidelines.
Find “competitors” (people who do what you do) and go through their follower list. If you sell copywriting, there is a chance that someone following another copywriter is interested in connecting with copywriters. Pro Tip: Don’t just blindly follow everyone in there. Do a little creeping and connect with people who seem interesting to you.
Once you’ve followed them, find content of theirs that is interesting to you, and engage genuinely. My favorite approach is watching Stories and finding fun things we can instantly connect over. When someone new sees that you’re connecting, they will likely click on your profile and see if they are interested in following back! (This is where your content and your bio come into play, people will follow you if they are interested.)
Post Reels. Reels are proving to be a great way to get your content in front of new eyes.
Use Hashtags. Hashtags are the OG version of getting in front of new people.
Use the DMs. This will take a little trial and error to figure out your style, but don’t be discouraged. You will probably say something awkward at some point and we’ve all done it, so don’t worry! Try thinking that you could be talking to a new best friend.

I know when I started out, I thought that you HAD to have a ton of followers. Not the case. You simply need followers who are actually interested in buying from you. Focus on the QUALITY of your followers and connections over the quantity.

Pro Tip: try connecting with people who are at your same follower count or slightly above For example, if you’re at 0 (zero) followers, look for accounts with less than 500 followers and increase that top number as your account grows. If you have 9 followers and try to connect with someone who has 32K followers, it’s likely that person isn’t following back all the people who follow them. This doesn’t mean to not follow them, if you like their stuff, by all means follow them! But don’t expect they will be looking at your new account as something worth following. Not because you’re not good. Just because your account is new. There is a BIG difference. This doesn’t mean to ignore people who appear to be further along solely based on followers - I know many people who have 3K-5K followers and make less money than someone with 700 followers. What I’m saying is people in a similar follower count (especially other business owners) tend to be the most likely to connect back with you when you are just starting out.

Now that you know how to meet people on Instagram. Focus on your content and continued connection. Talk about your offer or product and share how people can sign up or buy from you. Make offers to help people. Say “I can help you with that!”

One approach I love if you are just starting out is trying to find 5-8 free clients as quickly as possible. This means you’ll find people who might need your offer and say, “Hey! I can totally help you with XYZ. I’m just getting started selling here on Instagram and would love to offer to do ABC for you at no cost. All I ask is that you provide me some honest feedback of your experience working with me.” Some people will say, “No.” But the people who say yes will give you practice, confidence in your work, and testimonials.

Note: If you offer longer term coaching (e.g. 6 months), instead of locking in a free client for that length of time, offer them a 6-12 week program. This will build your coaching skills, confidence, referrals, and testimonials without keeping you working for free for ever.

You’ve got this!

So much of starting a business online is about being prepared to “fail” and learn and KEEP GOING. One secret to keep you on track is to just keep asking yourself, “What is the most important next step?” The next step can be something tiny - like “Download the Instagram App” - if you keep taking these little step instead of thinking about the entire mountain to climb, you will just keep moving forward, which is the most important part!

You’ve totally got this! And connect with me on Instagram @maggieforbush and send me a message letting me know your biggest takeaway from this post.

xo,

Maggie