There’s no doubt that Instagram is one of the most powerful marketing tools today. Statistics show that 50% of Instagram users have purchased a product or service they saw on the platform. What’s more, Instagram is the seventh-most visited website in the world as of June 2021, according to Statista.

If you’re looking to make money off Instagram, your first step is choosing an Instagram niche that has the potential to be profitable. 

The best Instagram niches tend to be specific and aspirational, and they lend themselves well to visual content. Plus, they solve specific problems for specific customers through products and services.  

11 profitable Instagram niche ideas

If you’re interested in using your Instagram channel to market your own or other people’s products or services, here are some of the most profitable Instagram niches to consider, along with some examples of even more specific subniches:

• Health and fitness
• Pets
• Fashion
• Lifestyle
• Photography
• Parenting
• Food
• Business
• Travel
• Beauty
• Technology

1. Health and Fitness

The health and fitness niche is huge, as almost everyone is seeking ways to live a healthier lifestyle while staying on top of their daily responsibilities. If you can provide a solution to some of the challenges people face in their quest to be healthy, health and fitness could be your niche. 

But since health and fitness is extremely broad, you’ll probably have a better chance of making money if you narrow down your focus. Here are some examples of subniches to get you started. 

Health and Fitness Subniche Ideas 

• Cardio for individuals with specific health conditions or disabilities
• Diets for busy people
• Meal preparation ideas
• Goal-based training
• Workout challenges
• Supplements and consumables
• Fitness equipment

Why Is the Health and Fitness Niche Profitable? 

Health and fitness is an evergreen niche. Given that the modern lifestyle promotes unhealthy practices, such as spending hours in front of a computer, the demand for healthier practices will always be here.

Plus, this niche lends itself well to visual content, such as posts and stories, and it’s associated with an almost infinite array of products and services that you can promote. 

2. Pets

According to a recent study by the American Pets Products Association, 67% of US households (about 85 million families) own a pet. This statistic creates endless opportunities if you’re a pet lover looking to venture into Instagram marketing. 

And everyone loves spoiling their furry friend, so promoting pet products on Instagram probably won’t be a particularly hard sell. Here are some subniche ideas to get your wheels turning. 

Best Pets Subniches for Instagram

• Pet healthcare
• Supplements for pets  
• Training
• Pet products, such as dog beds 
• Pet clothing, accessories, and fashion
• Toys

Why Is the Pet Niche Profitable? 

The pet niche has seen serious growth over the years. In 1988, 56% of American households owned pets, a number that has risen by 11% since then. Today, the pet industry is worth approximately $110 billion. 

3. Fashion

The fashion niche needs no introduction; it’s been profitable for decades, if not centuries. Now, Instagram models and influencers are taking fashion entrepreneurship to another level. Instagram makes it possible to grow a following and promote products (or send users back to your own fashion blog or Amazon store). 

Fashion Subniche Ideas for Instagram

• Luxury for less
• Independent designers
• Thrifting
• High street fashion
• DIY fashion
• Sewing tutorials
• Throwback fashion
• Belts
• Handbags
• Jewelry 

Why Is the Fashion Niche Profitable? 

Statistics have shown that Instagram has a huge influence on fashion trends across the world. In 2019, fashion brands reportedly performed best on Instagram than on any other social media platform, generating an average engagement rate of 0.68% per post, higher than Twitter or Facebook. 

4. Lifestyle

The lifestyle niche can encompass everything from beauty to travel, food to fitness. It typically works best for influencers who want to build a personal brand on Instagram. By being the face of your brand, you can promote various lifestyle products without having to feel pigeon-holed into too specific of an Instagram niche. 

Ideas for Lifestyle Subniches for Instagram

• Natural living
• Outdoor living
• Religion and spirituality
• Social norms
• Sustainable living

Why Is the Lifestyle Niche Profitable? 

Think of the lifestyle niche as the mother of all niches. Lifestyle can encompass various other profitable niches, such as travel, food, fitness, beauty, health, or religion. 

5. Photography

What’s Instagram without pictures? Ever since the invention of this popular social media platform, the demand for high-quality photos has increased dramatically. If you are an established photographer or aspiring to be one, uploading your photos on Instagram could help you gain tons of followers overnight.

Although everyone on Instagram is sharing images, not everyone is sharing high-quality photography. If you’re a skilled photographer, you can still stand out and gain a large following. 

Ideas for Photography Subniches on Instagram

• Animal and nature photography
• Portrait photography
• Street photography
• Food photography
• Sports photography
• Still life photography
• Event photography
• Newborn photography
• Stock photography 

Why Is the Photography Niche Profitable? 

Given that Instagram is a visual platform, you’ll need to ensure your photos stand out. But when done right, this niche could provide endless marketing opportunities such as selling photography equipment, paid photoshoots, or advertising existing businesses (e.g., a restaurant seeking food photography).

If you’re looking to build a career as a professional photographer, Instagram could serve as your portfolio and resume for high-paying clients. 

6. Parenting

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of parents documenting their lifestyles on Instagram. This trend has created immense opportunities for Instagram marketers to promote their products and services targeting new and existing parents. 

Parenting Subniche Ideas for Instagram

• Single parenting
• Crafts for kids
• Family travel
• Pregnancy
• Childcare
• Step-parenting
• Children and finances

Why Is the Parenting Niche Profitable? 

Many parents seek parenting advice or guidance on social media. Some sign up to interact with fellow parents, purchase parenting-related products, or find parenting-related services. 

Whatever the reason, you’ll never run out of monetization opportunities under the parenting niche. If you build a large following, brands may pay you to advertise their products via sponsored posts. 

7. Food

The food niche is one of the most popular on Instagram. High-quality images of food practically sell themselves, since they trigger a user’s taste buds almost immediately. Creating content in the food niche on Instagram is especially great if you run a food blog and want to send users back to your site for recipes (and then make money through ad revenue from all your blog traffic). 

Food Subniche Ideas for Instagram

• Hotel and dining
• Vegetarian diet
• Meal preparation
• Diet plans for weight loss
• Wines and champagne
• Home recipes
• Cooking
• Family meal planning
• Baking
• Tea and coffee
• Cookware
• Grilling
• Recipes for college students
• Recipes for busy moms
• Smoothies
• Religion-based recipes
• Soup
• Nationality-based recipes

Why Is the Food Niche Profitable? 

Many people are looking to step out of their routine and try new foods, something you could easily turn into a money-making opportunity. However, you don’t need to be a great cook — you could also make money selling cookware, promoting businesses that sell certain foods, or even reviewing restaurants.

8. Business

Ever heard of the “Great Resignation?” Statistics show that a record 4.4 million Americans have quit their jobs in recent months, citing poor income and working conditions. This trend has also increased the demand for financial independence, precisely through self-employment. So if you know a thing or two about financial independence, you have a ready audience waiting for you on Instagram.

Business Subniche Ideas for Instagram

• Work-at-home businesses
• Online businesses, such as blogging 
• Freelancing 
• Self improvement
• Investments
• Small businesses 
• Advertising
• Affiliate marketing
• Vlogging
• Coaching
• Dropshipping

Why Is the Business Niche Profitable?  

Instagrammers can now mention a small business directly in their stories using the Support Small Business Sticker to give their followers a preview of a business’s account. Consider your business idea, identify your target audience, study similar Instagram accounts to find out what they’re doing and what you can do better, and begin making money promoting your business. 

9. Travel

Don’t be intimidated by all the established travel accounts on Instagram; there’s still so much to talk about when it comes to travel. 

AdWeek describes Instagram as the “modern-day travel agent,” and they have the data to prove it. According to statistics, 48% of travelers choose their destinations from content they viewed on Instagram.

Here are some subniches worth considering if you’re interested in the travel niche. 

Travel Subniche Ideas for Instagram

• Destination weddings
• Gastro-tourism (traveling to taste and discuss region-specific foods)
• Cruises
• Adventure travel
• Bleisure (traveling for business and leisure)
• Voluntourism (traveling to volunteer at your destination).
• Travel equipment marketing 
• Eco tourism (traveling to explore nature and wildlife)
• Cultural tourism (traveling to explore various cultures)
• Travel advice 
• Travel deals for individuals 
• Staycation destinations 
• Travel photography 

Why Is the Travel Niche Profitable?  

Statistics show that 52% of consumers say they’ve traveled to a specific destination after seeing an image or video of the destination on social media. Given that Instagram is a visual platform, the travel niche will continue to be a compelling and profitable niche. 

10. Beauty

Instagram has become the go-to destination for beauty products on social media. It provides a platform for beauty experts, makeup artists, models, and influencers to showcase their own or other companies’ products, services, and beauty tips. 

Beauty Subniches for Instagram

• Creams and cosmetics
• Hairdo and hairstyles
• Makeup
• Manicure
• Pedicure
• Beauty tips and routines
• Eyelashes
• Hair products
• Natural beauty
• DIY beauty
• No-makeup looks
• Jewelry

Why Is the Beauty Niche Profitable?  

In 2019, beauty brands performed better on Instagram than on Facebook or Twitter. This has also led to an increase in the level of competition among beauty brands fighting for brand visibility on social media. 

As of 2021, the beauty industry is worth $511 billion. With a great social media strategy, you can always have a slice of the pie. 

11. Technology

Technology is constantly changing and innovating. From new drones to smart home technology, the list of technology that you can promote on Instagram is (and will continue to be) endless. 

Technology Subniche Ideas for Instagram

• Tech reviews
• How to use new tech
• Artificial intelligence
• Internet of things
• Data science
• Big data
• Product discovery
• Futurism
• Gaming 

Why Is the Tech Niche Profitable?   

The tech industry is one the most profitable in the United States. This industry is projected to grow even further each year, creating unlimited opportunities for Instagram users to capitalize on an ever-hungry market. 

How Do You Make Money on Instagram?

Instagram offers various opportunities for users to make money while interacting with their followers on the app. Here are the most common ways to make money on Instagram, regardless of your niche.

Influencer marketing

Influencers make money by promoting brands through posts and stories. If you’re a travel influencer, for example, a tour company might pay you to take their tour and share your experience with your followers. The more followers and higher engagement you have, the more you can charge for sponsored posts.  

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is all about selling other people’s products and earning money for every sale. Once you join an affiliate program, you’ll get a special tracking link. If your followers click on your link and make a purchase, you’ll earn a commission.

While you can’t paste working links in image captions, there are certain workarounds you can use, plus you can share a link in your Instagram bio. Once you have a big enough following, you can also use the “Swipe up” feature in your Stories to send viewers to a certain website. 

Promote your own products

If you sell your own products or services, such as a cookbook or beauty business, you could promote them on Instagram. You can even create your own course and sell it to your Instagram followers. 

Instagram Live Badges

Instagram recently introduced a system to pay tips to influencers while they’re on Instagram Live. When a user purchases a badge on Instagram Live, the heart icon appears next to their name in the live chat. These badges usually cost between $0.99 and $4.99. While those are small tips, they can add up if you have a large following.

Bottom Line

When choosing an Instagram niche, it’s always a good idea to study the market and your competitors. It’s also a good practice to narrow down your focus to a specific sub-niche, rather than going too broad. 

While there are various ways to monetize your Instagram account, one way is to redirect your followers to your blog. If you don’t know how to create a blog, this step-by-step guide explains how. 

When you’re done creating your blog, check out these tips on all the best ways to make money blogging. 

About Rebecca Safier

Rebecca Safier is a blogger and digital marketer who teaches others how to use SEO and other best practices to build profitable blogging businesses.