Instagramer makes $15,000 in one day by selling prints

You still think Instagram is for cat pictures and selfies only? Think again. Forbes published an article on Brooklyn-based photographer Daniel Arnold whose checking account balance was getting alarmingly close to zero when he decided to have a go at selling prints of his images and posted the following message to his (at the time) 22,000 followers:

Hello, I just turned 34 this second. For one day only I am selling 4×6 prints of whatever you want from my Instagram archive for $150 each. I swear I will never sell anything this cheap again. If you’re interested, send a screenshot of the photo(s) of your choice to arnoldaniel@gmail.com (one d) and I will send a paypal invoice, followed by a signed print. Easy peasy. Happy my birthday. I love you truly.

Despite the $150 per image price tag the response was overwhelming and Arnold ended up with print requests worth $15,000. According to Forbes, one buyer was even willing to pay $1,000 for any photo with more than 1,000 likes. A later count revealed that there are currently 71 images on his profile fulfilling this requirement.

Daniel Arnold has now stopped selling prints but is still marketing his book.

So it appears Instagram is not only yet another channel for brands to get in touch with consumers but there is also money to be made for individuals. To be fair, it probably helped that Arnold had already achieved a certain status in the Instagram community before posting his sales offer.

According to Forbes he was declared "the best photographer on Instagram"  by Gawker two years ago, after his account had been suspended for posting a photo of topless sunbathers at the beach. He has since setup his new account which now has 41,000 followers. Still, even if you have fewer followers than him but are strapped for cash, you might want to give his method a go and see what happens.