Cats have become an extremely popular subject on social media and the internet. According to Katzen World, there are over 150 million cat-related videos posted on YouTube and Facebook daily. The rising popularity of cats online can be attributed to their cute and quirky personalities which make for entertaining videos and photos. Additionally, cats are generally low maintenance pets, making them accessible to many people. This has resulted in a surge of cat Instagram accounts going viral and gaining millions of followers. Popular cat influencers like Nala Cat, Lil BUB, and Grumpy Cat showcase the range of unique cat personalities that capture people’s hearts. As cats continue to rule the internet, cat Instagram accounts provide entertainment and escapism for millions of cat lovers worldwide.
Monetization Methods
There are several ways cat Instagram accounts can generate income:
Sponsored Content
One of the most common methods is partnering with brands to create sponsored posts. The brand pays the account owner to feature their products or services in photos or videos. Compensation can range from free products to several thousand dollars depending on the account’s following and engagement levels (Source).
Affiliate Links
Account owners can earn commissions by sharing affiliate links to products featured in their content. For example, an account might share a link to the cat toy or food featured in a post. If followers purchase through that link, the account owner receives a percentage of the sale (Source).
Merchandising
Popular cat accounts can earn income by creating and selling branded merchandise like t-shirts, mugs, calendars, and more featuring their cat. Products are sold through sites like Teespring and Redbubble, and account owners receive a commission on each sale (Source).
Sponsored Content
Sponsored content on social media refers to posts or other content that is created in exchange for compensation from a brand. This is one of the main ways pet influencers can monetize their following and make money from platforms like Instagram.
Popular forms of sponsored content for pet influencers include:
- Sponsored posts – Creating a post featuring or mentioning a brand’s product. This is generally the most common type of sponsored content.
- Brand takeovers – When a brand “takes over” the influencer’s account for a set period of time to share their own content.
- Giveaways or contests – Influencers promote a giveaway of a brand’s product, encouraging followers to take a desired action to enter and potentially win.
- Discount codes – Sharing special discount codes from brands that followers can use on their products.
- Paid product reviews – Creating content reviewing or demonstrating a brand’s product as part of a paid partnership.
The rate for sponsored posts varies greatly based on the influencer’s follower count and engagement levels. Industry averages show pet influencers charge around $100 per 10,000 followers. Top influencers with 500k+ followers can charge $3,000+ per sponsored post.
According to this pet influencer calculator, an influencer with 100k followers could charge around $1,000 for a sponsored Instagram post. The price rises to $5,000+ for influencers with 1 million+ followers.
Affiliate Links
One of the most popular ways for cat Instagram accounts to earn money is through affiliate links and recommendations.[1] When a cat account links to or recommends a pet product, and a viewer uses that link to make a purchase, the account usually gets a small commission on the sale. Some popular pet affiliate programs used by cat Instagrammers include:[2]
- Chewy
- BarkBox
- Petco
- Pet Pro Supply Co.
- FurHaven
- Alpha Paw
Cat influencers can earn anywhere from 4% to 20% commissions on pet products by joining affiliate programs and sharing their unique links. The key is to recommend relevant, high-quality products that their audience would genuinely be interested in purchasing. Affiliate marketing works best when the recommendations feel natural and genuine.
Merchandising
One of the most popular ways for cat influencers to monetize their audience is through merchandising. This involves creating and selling branded products like t-shirts, hats, mugs, calendars, and more featuring their cat’s likeness and branding.
According to Newsweek, successful pet influencers like Nala Cat have built merchandise empires off their feline fame. Products featuring Nala Cat’s likeness are available on her website as well as third-party outlets. Other popular cat influencers like Lil BUB have also created robust merchandising programs over the years.
Merch allows fans to publicly display their love for a pet influencer while also providing the influencer with an ongoing source of revenue. Products are typically sold at a large markup, allowing influencers to profit handsomely, especially when merch goes viral.
Designing fresh, high-quality merch requires an investment of time and money upfront. However, pet influencers have tremendous opportunity to build an empire off their brand through creative, tongue-in-cheek products their passionate fans covet.
Ad Revenue
Cat influencers on platforms like YouTube and Instagram can generate ad revenue from their videos and posts. On YouTube, creators can monetize their videos by allowing Google to place ads on them. YouTube shares a portion of the ad revenue with the creator. The exact amount earned depends on factors like number of views, video length, type of ads, and more. Top pet influencers on YouTube with millions of subscribers can earn thousands of dollars per month. According to Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/cat-influencer-shares-2023-earnings-inspiring-internet-1856653), popular cat YouTuber Cole and Marmalade earns around $150,000 per year just from YouTube ad revenue.
On Instagram, influencers can earn bonuses by posting Reels videos. Based on views and engagement, Instagram shares ad revenue with creators through its Reels Play Bonus program. Though harder to quantify, top pet influencers likely earn thousands per month through Reels bonuses.
Paid Content Platforms
Some of the most popular platforms for monetizing cat Instagram accounts are paid content sites like OnlyFans and Patreon. These allow creators to offer exclusive content and interactions to paying subscribers.
OnlyFans is a subscription service where creators can charge fans to access content like photos, videos, live streams, and messages. It is known for adult content, but also used by YouTubers, fitness influencers, models, and more. Cat accounts on OnlyFans may offer additional photos, funny cat videos, and chances to directly interact with the pet and owner. Prices range from $5-$50 per month for subscription tiers. OnlyFans takes a 20% commission on creator earnings (https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/2/).
Patreon is a membership platform where fans can support creators by pledging monthly payments. Cat accounts may use Patreon to offer behind-the-scenes footage, bloopers, polls to pick content, and bonus photos and videos. Patreon takes a 5-12% commission on earnings depending on membership level (https://www.revenuecat.com/blog/growth/thomas-petit-podcast-paid-ua/).
Paid platforms allow cat influencers to diversify income beyond ads and sponsorships alone. They provide fans with exclusive interactions and content worth paying for, while giving creators predictable recurring revenue.
Brand Sponsorships
Brand sponsorships are a major source of income for successful cat influencers. Popular brands will partner directly with influencers to promote their products over an extended period through sponsored posts, giveaways, and other creative content. According to 14 Cat Brands Looking for Influencers, major brands like Chewy, Purina, Arm & Hammer, and Tidy Cats actively seek out kitty influencers to rep their products.
The most lucrative brand deals involve an exclusive partnership between the influencer and a brand. For example, Nala Cat, one of the most popular cat influencers with 4.2 million Instagram followers, is the “spokescat” for Friskies cat food. As part of this long-term deal, Nala appeared in Friskies commercials and content exclusively for years. Locking in an official brand partnership allows an influencer to count on recurring revenue from ongoing sponsored posts and obligation-free product gifts rather than one-off campaigns.
For micro and mid-tier influencers, most brand deals involve shorter contracts for a fixed number of sponsored posts. Rates can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per post, depending on follower count and engagement. Sponsored giveaways are also common, where the brand provides free product and the influencer creates a post and contest for their audience. To land deals with major national brands, experts recommend applying through official influencer programs like 14 Pet Brands Looking for Dog & Cat Loving Influencers.
According to a study by OnBuy Pets Suppliers, top tier animal influencers are estimated to earn as much as $32,045 for a single sponsored post. The study analyzed over 100 popular pet Instagram accounts to determine the average amount brands pay for sponsored posts based on follower count.
Average Earnings
In general, Instagram pet influencers can earn an average of $5-$10 per 1,000 followers from a single sponsored post. According to analytics from Speakrj, an account with 772,000 followers like @cathrinamajd can expect to earn $1,000-$9,000 per sponsored post.
For micro and nano influencers with under 100,000 followers, average earnings range from $100-$500 per sponsored post. Mid-tier influencers with 100,000-500,000 followers earn approximately $500-$5,000, while top-tier influences with over 1 million followers are estimated to make $10,000 or more.
Tips for Success
For any cat Instagram account, the key to success is consistently producing high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your audience. Here are some best practices to grow and monetize your account:
Engage with your followers by responding to comments and questions. This helps build a sense of community around your account. You can also run contests and giveaways to encourage more engagement.
Post regularly, ideally once per day. Variety is important – mix up close-ups, action shots, cute poses, costumes, etc. Make use of Stories and Reels as well.
Use relevant hashtags like #catsofinstagram, #instacats, #catstagram, etc. to increase discovery. Also tag brands your cat uses.
Partner with pet brands for sponsored content opportunities. Make sure to tag the brands and disclose sponsorships properly.
Sell merchandise like t-shirts, mugs, calendars, and other items featuring your cat’s photos.
Join affiliate programs to earn commissions promoting relevant products.
Optimize your content for SEO by including keywords in captions. This helps surface your content in search results.
Once you build a sizable audience, you can monetize through ad revenue on YouTube and Facebook.
Remember, consistency and high-quality content focused on your audience are the keys to a successful cat Instagram account.
