How to Sell on Instagram Without a Website — Ultimate Guide (2024)

“27% of small business still doesn’t have a website.”

Then how do these businesses make sales if they don’t have one?

Most small business owners right now maximize the high usage of social media platforms to advertise their products since we all know that almost everyone has one now.

One of the biggest social media platforms right now is Instagram, wherein you can share your aesthetically pleasing image and gain a lot of engagements through likes and comments, even sometimes a DM.

Selling on Instagram this year is common; sometimes, it can become your startup channel instead of a domain. 

“90% of Instagram users follow a business, or simply 9 out of 10 people.”

Now that you’ve learned that most people follow one and they might be following yours soon once you start your account, why not continue reading this article so you can learn more about the tips and tricks for your marketing strategy that you can use for your future customers?

Can you sell on Instagram without a website?

“There are over 200 million business accounts on Instagram with 52% of them composed of small businesses.”

To answer the questions, yes. If you’re a small business owner and still don’t have enough budget to start your website development, Instagram can be a big startup for you. You can maximize the features of Instagram to showcase your products or services for free to meet potential customers. 

Even if you are planning to have a website soon, Instagram is still a big help to support the business by posting images or videos of your products that can build brand awareness to the audience. Through Instagram, you can still gather direct sales. Once you have a running domain, you can still link it to your profile and let the customers purchase your products. 

When you can create a solid number of customers through Instagram, your website can add a smoother process whenever they purchase something from your business. But it does not mean that you will stop using the wonders of Instagram. Instead, this should lead you to fire up and broaden your reach.

Why should you sell on Instagram?

If you’re a startup business and you want to introduce and sell your products to people, Instagram can help you pave the way. Instagram can give your business more opportunities and growth for the business.

We are listing down two tops reasons you should sell on Instagram:

1. This is where your customers are located

With more than half of the population being active on Instagram now, this is a top reason why you should sell on this platform. You can meet different people that need your products or services. 

“70% of consumers go to Instagram to look for a product or service, and your business may just be the next one they will discover.”

Instagram will surely give you lots of engagements that your account needs. These engagements will help your account reach more potential customers and will help you gain direct sales. 

You need to give your customers 100%, especially in customer care. Providing them with a great purchasing experience will surely make them come back to you or even refer a friend that will give you another sale.

2. No need for enormous investments

Since the platform is free, selling your products on Instagram can save you from higher costs. You just need to work hard to earn the trust of your customers so they will surely come back to you. You need to make them see that Instagram is not just a platform to advertise your products but also a platform wherein you can connect to your customers. Whenever they think of a business related to your product, they would still rather repurchase from you since they have trusted you since day one.

An Ultimate Guide on How to Sell on Instagram Without a Website

Instagram has introduced features that can help you pull leverage to fire up your business.

Here is a ten-step process to sell on Instagram without a website by creating an online presence and reaching potential customers to put in their shopping mindset that they need your products or services.

1. Choose your product and niche

Before starting your business, you need to start by choosing your product and your target audience. By doing this, you are giving your business a direction and will help you meet the potential customers you are looking for. By also finding your specific niche, you are helping your business to grow to new heights shortly. 

You will help your customers easily find you and your account and help them finally find a solution to the problems they are having for quite some time now. This will also grow your account’s traffic and gain more audience and engagement.

You must do extensive research to find the right niche hashtags for your product. Again, the narrower your niche, the easier it will be for your audience to find you. This will help you build target-based content since you now have a specific audience you want to target and get them to buy your product.

2. Create your business account

Once you are done with step one and could choose your product and identity your niche, the next step would be creating your business account. Using the business option on Instagram gives you more edge since it has more cool features that can help your business levitate.

These features are:

• Instagram Insights –  This feature allows Instagram Business Account users to see analytics related to their profiles and posts. Using this, you’ll be able to identify what your audience likes and engages with the most to improve your strategy.
• Promoted Posts & Advertising – You may choose to target people based on their interests, location, and other factors. By boosting your post, you may reach a wider audience, increase engagement with your posts, and even get more followers.
• Shop in App – This allows the customers to shop without leaving Instagram. 
• Swipe-up Links – this allows the customers to swipe on the link you put on your stories, but these features work when you already have 10,000 followers on your account.
• Add valuable Information – You can put contact links on your bios, such as phone numbers and email addresses, that will help your audience to reach out to you.

3. Write an eye-catching bio

Just like the saying says that “first impression, lasts.” You have to ensure that you have an eye-catching and memorable bio since this will serve as the first impression to your potential customers. Make the most out of the 150 characters without overwhelming the readers.

4. Feature your products on your page

To advertise your products, you have to post contents that feature them. This is the most basic form of promotion for your product. 

Since we know Instagram for posting content with aesthetically pleasing vibes, you have to do the same thing. You have to make it attractive and tempting as much as possible with the help of a great caption that will entice the audience to buy your product.

Instagram also allows you to tag your product on a post, making it easier for customers to shop on your account. This makes your feed as if it’s a catalog, and they can just simply go for window shopping, or let’s just say Instagram shopping.

5. Set up different payment options

Now that you’re done setting up your account, you have to drive your customers to purchase the products they placed or marked that they want to buy from your account. You can utilize your bio by linking an order form to it.

You can even put your WhatsApp account or Telegram account, wherein they can place their orders directly and contact you with less hassle. You can try the strategy wherein you will put the link on the caption, and the accounts can reach you for updates other than Instagram.

6. Grow your reach by using hashtags

Using hashtags on your posts can instantly grow your reach and help you find your target audience, through hashtags also helps you to spread your business to new potential customers, but to do it, make sure you are using the correct hashtags.

When selecting the hashtags you want to use for your business, you need to ensure they are related to your product. You can try to find the correct hashtags for you through the use of a research tool. 

Take note you can put up to 30 hashtags on your caption, but maximizing 3-5 will also do the same effect and help you narrow down to the niche you are targeting.

7. Maximize the use of Instagram stories

“58% of people say that they became more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories.”

Most Instagram businesses maximize the use of stories to advertise their products. With millions of people browsing on Instagram, I know that one of them interacted with your account upon seeing them in their stories. 

Try using user-generated content in your stories to gain customers since your content shows how trusted and how good your products are. Convince them to purchase using it.

These features of Instagram Stories can help you gain more reach:

• Countdown feature for product launches.
• Know what’s on your audience’s minds using a ‘question sticker.’
• Get your audience’s opinions by using ‘polls.’
• Keep the important stories in your highlights.

8. Post, engage, and repeat

Keeping your Instagram posts consistent will make your algorithm smooth sailing and increase your engagements in no time. 

“The type of posts that get the most engagement on Instagram is photo posts.”

Make a mental note not to let your feed get messy and keep it pleasing to the eyes to maintain the engagements you have right now. Make sure you have the right contents that are aligned with your business. 

To gain more loyal customers, engage with them at such a level that they will feel at ease talking to you. Through this, potential customers can see how friendly you are, leading to more sales since they know how easy talking to you can be.

These tips can also help you maintain the engagements you have:

• Write impactful captions. – Through captions, you can easily entice the audience to purchase your product, so write a good copy.
• Post your products with people on them, or using them. – When posting, you can try to experiment and let the audience see how people are patronizing your products. It can drive them to purchase your products.
• Engage with them by replying to their comments. – Getting on a friendly level will help you gain more engagement. It may not be a sale yet, but at least they now know how great you are at catering to the questions that will make them come back to you.
• Find the best time to post your content. – The best time to post on Instagram is from 11 AM to 2 PM on Tuesdays and 11 AM onwards for Mondays to Fridays. According to a study, Tuesday is the best day to post and gain engagements, so maximize that day.

9. Create an excellent strategy for DMs and comments

Using DMs can create a bond with your audience; you can use it to connect with them personally and let them share their feedback on your product. 

The audience engaging in your content may be potential customers, so cater to them with care and give them good service. This strategy, it will entice them to purchase, and it will add up to your sales; it will be a win-win situation. 

If they reach out to you about a concern, address it privately and try your best not to lose them. Give them the best treatment you can offer and solve the concern they’re reaching out about. But if it’s a spam comment, it will be better to remove it.

10. Maximize the use of sponsored ads and influencers to improve your product visibility

“38% of the marketers use Instagram ads for brand building.”

You can try to use sponsored ads to gain more reach to your target audience. By using it, you are guaranteed that somebody will see and click on your ad. You can put a call to action button to entice them to click it.

“56% of people have purchased a product after seeing an influencer use it.”

Reaching out to influencers to endorse your product can be a big jump for you to increase your sales. We all know how their testimonies on a product can easily influence us, so when they give a good review of your product, it can surely be a free pass to skyrocket your business.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve come this far, you already have an answer to your questions. Even without a website, you can still have sales. You just have to maximize using a social media platform such as Instagram. It is free and very easy to navigate, and with the help of the guide that we gave you, you can officially start selling on Instagram even without a website with no hassle.

If you do it correctly, you now have a business that runs even without the help of a website. By consistently engaging your audience, you can become the next top brand that became successful through selling on Instagram.

FAQ

Why should I sell on Instagram?

Selling on Instagram is also beneficial, as it allows you to target a niche audience by displaying your products or services to the correct individuals. Users can buy directly from your website or through the app’s built-in checkout without leaving the app.

Is it difficult to sell on Instagram?

Running your own Instagram ad campaign isn’t hard, but for many small business owners and influencers who haven’t done it before, it can be challenging. Luckily, it isn’t as difficult as you think! The simplest technique is to promote Instagram posts you’ve shared.