THEBRANDSTARTUP PRESENTS

TURN YOUR
INSTAGRAM
INTO A
6-FIGURE
SIDE HUSTLE
ENGAGEMENT, FOLLOWER GROWTH, AND MONETIZATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 FIRST 10K
3 GET STARTED
4-5 MINDSET
6 BOOKS TO READ
7 GET INSPIRED
8 GET A LOGO
9-10 WHAT TO POST
11-12 ENGAGEMENT
13-14 MONETIZATION
15 SHOUTOUTS
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE 2

FIRST 10K
On March 16, 2020, I began aggressively growing Here are snapshots of when my journey began.
this page @TheBrandStartup on Instagram. The @TheBrandStartup started with only 4,000
goal was to grow the page to one million followers. followers and now it has over 680,000 followers.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
GET STARTED
WHAT IS THIS BOOK?
This book aims to serve as your guide to
maximizing your potential on Instagram; in
regards to engagement, follower growth, and
monetization. In a nutshell, this book will provide
thought processes and actions that have proven to
be successful.
FOLLOWER GROWTH
ENGAGEMENT
3
HOW TO USE IT?
In each section, there will be guiding questions to
guide you on your journey. For best results, reflect
and take notes along the way. These tips and
tricks won’t be of any service to you if you aren’t
engaged.
MONETIZATION
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
MINDSET
To become great in any field, you can’t have
a quitter’s mentality. Online branding is no
different. There are peaks and valleys you have to
ride out to be successful. You must have a laser
focus on your goals, and follow up with actions to
make things happen for yourself.
Most people, unfortunately, simply will not
take action. For example, only a few people will
purchase this book. Even fewer will take the time
to complete it. They’ll start, but then have a day
when they don’t “feel” like it, and that snowballs
into a week. You must build up positive habits and
stick to them if you want to be successful in online Those that take action and persevere tend to
branding and life in general.
5 MINDSET TIPS
1. Your words have power. Use them wisely.
2. Speak things into existence. What you speak
and think will become reality. Think it, speak it,
and watch it happen.
3. Speak and act because knowledge is NOT
power, but applied knowledge IS power.
4. Accept failure. Fail up. Study why you failed. The on a conscious and consistent level, so you’re
key to success is being a problem solver.
5. Understand that a loss is never a loss. It’s a
lesson. When you make mistakes, you become
wiser. If you study your mistakes, chances are
you’ll never make those mistakes again. Take every reach back and pull someone up.
‘L’ as a learning opportunity.
4
Discipline is a key to success. You need to be
keenly focused on the goal in front of you.
Everyone won’t share your vision, and that’s fine.
Sometimes you must isolate yourself to see your
vision come to fruition.
The people around you who don’t have the same
discipline and focus won’t get it, but that means
it’s not for them. Everyone who reads this book
won’t get it. Stay consistent on your journey and
accomplish what you set out to achieve. Don’t stop.
Keep moving.
succeed. Share your success by helping others,
but remember you can’t rely on or expect outside
motivation.
Try to learn and grow every day. If you’re working
on a skill and get even 1% better each day, by the
end of the year, you’re at 365%. This time next
year, you will be three and a half times better
than you were when you started. Even if someone
is developing their craft once a week, you will
be outpacing their work. The secret is that most
people aren’t advancing themselves or their goals
ahead of the game just by waking up and working
towards your target with purpose.
Giving back to others is also crucial. You won’t
make it alone. Always take time when you can to
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE 5

MINDSET (CONTINUED)

What is your goal? Is it detailed? Take a moment 4. Decide Your Reward - It doesn’t have to be
and list three (3) things you want to accomplish, huge, but the reward should reflect the work put
then draft an actionable plan to accomplish these in. You tackled a goal. Enjoy yourself so you can
goals--including a deadline and reward. refresh before starting the next.

Write your goal as ONE (1) sentence answering 5. Track Your Progress - Figure out what
ALL of these questions. checkpoints are en route to the goal so you can
know how much of a dent you’ve made in your
1. Goal - What do you want to accomplish? How? work.
By When? With Who? Make sure your goal is
realistic and achievable within the time frame
you’ve given yourself.

2. Gather Resources - What physical materials or

complementary skills do you need to accomplish
this goal? If you don’t have immediate access to
these resources, who can you bring in? List them
here, how you will reach out and when?

3. Set Your Plan - You have to build a plan that

works for you. Some people will thrive by thinking
the whole operation out and dedicating time to
each specific step throughout their goal. Others
need to focus on the next immediate steps before
addressing the bigger picture. Remember, when
drafting your plan, do it according to what will
work for you. There’s no wrong way to go about
this.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
BOOKS TO READ
He who reads leads. Reading helps shape the
mindset you need to win everyday. The right books
will undoubtedly sharpen your business and mind.
The benefits of reading are endless. It would
behoove you to pick up some books and set some
time aside to read.
If you find that sitting down and reading isn’t
working for you, definitely look into audiobooks.
The accessibility of audiobooks makes it easy
to seamlessly implement them into your daily
routine. Whether you trade it out for your morning
commute music or workout tracks, this simple
change can further your information intake
exponentially.
What are you into? What are you curious about?
List 5 topics for each of those questions and start
there. There’s a book about any topic you can
imagine. Even if you’re not into informational
texts, check out a fictional book on the topic.
Rediscover or find your passion for literature. It’s
imperative.
6
Here’s a list of books I recommend you start with. I
revisit these books often.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki - This
book took the word “can’t” out of my vocabulary.
Now instead of closing doors on an opportunity,
I ask questions and generate plans to fulfill my
vision.
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
- This book helped me understand that we create
our universe. I had to speak what I wanted into
existence. It also helps me see the power I possess
and how much is truly possible with purposeful
intention.
One Million Followers by Brendan Kane -
This book by Brendan Kane contains too much
valuable advice to list here. I’ll just say you MUST
read this book if you’re looking to be successful
online. This is the book I read that inspired me to
create @TheBrandStartup.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE 7

GET INSPIRED
This is a quick note. In the game of
entrepreneurship, you have to motivate yourself.
I enjoy watching Gary Vee and Eric Thomas
videos when I need that extra gas in my engine.
Where and how you spend your time is valuable,
so I like that they give me that boost in short
videos.
Gary Vee offers great advice on content creation
and getting the most out of every successful idea.
He never misses a day of content. He posts at least
once a day on every social platform. This inspires
me to be consistent.
What inspires you? What makes you want to be
more and see more? Is it a place or person? A
dream that’s slightly out of your reach? Write down
five (5) things that make you want to conquer the
world.
Write down five (5) people who inspire you
(personally or professionally). Reach out to them,
read their writings, and/or watch one of their
interviews or speeches. Next time you are feeling
unmotivated, revisit these two lists for inspiration.

Eric Thomas is extremely motivational. I appreciate

the power and passion he speaks within all of his
videos. He also has strong morals and faith, which
I feel add to his strong character.

Gary Vaynerchuk
Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker

Eric Thomas
Motivational Speaker, Author, Minister
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
GET A LOGO
We all know the power of a powerful logo. You
know the familiar look of the bitten apple, and
your subconscious instantly thinks of Apple.
When you see the Nike Swoosh, you expect a
level of quality and durability in your gear. The
same should be true for your logo: it should be
inseparable from your brand and immediately
evoke emotion from your consumers.
You need a logo. One that stands out, describes
your business and relates to you. Make it authentic What is real to you, and how you engage with the
to your sensibilities.
For this particular brand, I created the logo myself. quiz to hone in on who you are. This will help
When I started: Now:
8
The logo is straightforward and to the point, like
the business itself. The arrow symbolizes the
accelerated growth we want to accomplish.
I would advise you to find someone with the
correct skills for the look you’re aiming to achieve.
Check out an artist’s previous work to ensure they
can meet your vision. You don’t want to waste your
time and theirs on a project that was never a good
fit.
world? Are you laidback or high-energy? Flashy
or lowkey? Prim or blue-collar? Take a personality
you key in on the type of content you should be
creating.
Get connected with some graphic designers to get
your logos started. For this, I recommend Fiverr, an
app created to connect illustrators and designers
with customers. The app is international, so
communicating may be tricky, but a little money
can take you far. A great artist can make your vision
a reality.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
WHAT TO POST
You have to find your niche. There are millions of
users on Instagram, and you can find people who
will follow you for your content. Always remain
consistent with your niche.
What @TheBrandStartup post:
1. Infographics to teach lessons
2. Quotes to inspire & motivate
3. Success stories (Memes)
9
I thought about what I wanted my page to
represent. I wanted it to attract people excited
about growth and education, life-long learners.
I make sure everything I post is geared towards
inspiring my followers to be greater or valuable
information they can take with them. I make sure it
looks sleek and evokes a feeling of professionalism
because again, that’s part of my niche. Every piece
of content is aligned, which after consistency, gives
your followers something to anticipate.
If you built a strong following posting cat content,
don’t stray away and start posting about
rhinoceroses. That’s contradicting your growth
and alienating your fanbase. More importantly,
you’re ignoring your base.
This doesn’t mean you have to box up all of your
content options. Just make sure it’s aligned
to what people can expect from your page
consistently.
Besides, Instagram rewards you when you provide
value. The algorithm wants people to stay on the
app for as long as possible. Instagram moves
toward this goal is by taking notice of the posts
being liked, commented on, and saved by users.
These posts receive higher placements on the
explore pages. Therefore, if your page gets a lot of
interaction and engagement from your followers,
Instagram will prioritize it because it helps them as
well. Use this to your advantage. Work smarter, not
harder.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
WHAT TO POST (CONTINUED)
Create memes to tell a better story. A meme is a
post created with a photo or video with phrases or
text on the content. Let’s say you just started your
business; instead of posting a photo announcing
the news in your caption, announce the news with
a meme.
EXAMPLE
10
What’s your niche? What are you into? What
feelings do you want to evoke from visitors to your
page? What kind of posts do you like to engage
with? Are you already a part of this community?
Who can you connect with to start networking in
this group?
List three (3) possible niches your page could fall
into. Is there any way to combine two of them or
all three into a single idea? The ideal is one main
topic, but it’s okay to have a page centered around
two things, but they should be very closely related.
Three is too many.
Now list three (3) ideas you can base content
around. For example, my page is about educating
yourself, so I’ll have a post daily about what I’ve
learned. Another example is finding a thought
influencer within your niche and posting a short
motivational clip from them.
Don’t forget, memes have great value, so work
on creating memes that resonate with your niche
market.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
ENGAGEMENT
The first comment on your post may be more
important than the caption itself. You should start
your marketing strategy here. I like to turn my
comments into a place to be and have real people
getting involved. This is called social currency.
Most posts on Instagram have captions, but a
great way to stand out is to add a question or an
additional comment immediately after to engage
with your followers.
Some posts serve as motivation to me and my
Instagram community. I have prepared 5 & 6 AM
posts that are usually aimed toward people who
wake up early and get to it. “IT” could be anything
from working on their own business, taking care of
their responsibilities, or keeping a healthy mental
state.
The way I drive engagement on my early morning
posts is by asking a question or leaving a call to
action in the comments. For example, a post about
keeping a creative, physical, and financial hobby
would be followed with an additional comment
asking, “Who’s up?”. This simple question does
a lot of things at once: it invites others into the
conversation. Instead of just talking to them, it
shows that you’re interested in what they have
going on?
That simple question turns my comments into the
place to be. People checking in and commenting
with each other about their early morning
productivity habits, which now makes your page
11
more engaging. Others will see the community
we currently share and make my page a place of
learning by engaging with the tips.
The interactions between followers will occur
naturally as your page grows, but you can
stimulate that engagement by simply hopping
online and responding to the people who answer
your question. A simple “Be great” or “Keep
going” will take you far. You don’t have to be super
original or funny, but it helps.
FIRST COMMENTS I LIKE TO USE
1. Who’s up? (Morning post)
2. Agree?
3. True or false?
4. Thoughts??
5. Drop a “100” to affirm.
Reflect. What’s something authentic to you and
your brand that you can engage with people
around? What kind of post do you like or comment
on?
Plan two (2) posts. Underneath the caption,
brainstorm two (2) questions you could ask to
get people talking underneath your post. Then
compare and contrast to see which one does better
with engagement; whichever one does the best,
run with that one more often so your community
can get engaged.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE 12

ENGAGEMENT (CONTINUED)

Post Post

First
Comment First
Comment

Results

Results
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
MONETIZING
This part comes toward the end of the book
because you have to do the work first. To
make money on Instagram, your brand has
to be attractive to potential customers. Once
your follower base is large enough, and your
engagement is high, you can move up to
optimizing your brand’s worth in a social space.
YOU NEED A PRODUCT OR OFFER A SERVICE!
Here are my specific ways you can generate cash
for your business:
1. Paid Promotion - People paying you to post
their content
2. Affiliations - Partnering to market a product
and receiving funds on the backend for the
amount of business you helped generate
3. Retained Clients - Receiving a retainer fee
(monthly) to manage the social media pages of
other brands
4. Merchandise - Your own a brand of shirts,
hoodies, hats, etc.
These are the revenue streams that are currently
working for me. You may find others. I encourage you’re skilled at brand growth if they have more
you to seek them out. The internet is a place where followers than you.
creative minds are rewarded.
13
The bulk of my revenue is from paid promotion.
This is from brands reaching out to us with a “Pay
to Post” offer. This is simply a post to the story
or page for a predetermined amount. The post
usually includes a direct shoutout or call to action
that sends your followers to that page. Your price
can rise with your follower account, but always
remember not to price yourself out of business.
You can also be active and search out brands who
could benefit from a boost on your page.
The next revenue source for my brand is
affiliations. I usually negotiate a 50% commission
to promote a product on my brand’s page. This is
a good business to get into because there’s very
little overhead working in digital products. As a
marketer, you only have to worry about promoting
the product to get sales. I’d also advise a link
specific to your brand so you can generate solid
data when it’s time to pay the commission.
The newest source of revenue my team and I have
utilized is retaining clients. We assist in managing
social media accounts for a monthly fee. This type
of work will not be optimal or beneficial unless
you’ve done the hard work laid out in this book. It’s
also damn near impossible to convince someone
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
MONETIZING (CONTINUED)
The last source of income was generated from
merchandise. My content is geared towards
creating generational wealth so I decided to
design a t-shirt to inspire the person wearing it to
manifest generational wealth.
I bought these shirts for $5 (the shirt and print
included) from my local print shop. I sold the
shirts for $10 and charged $6.25 for shipping. The
shipping cost was $3, so I made a profit of $8.25
per unit. This is just another way to monetize your
Instagram account.
MERCHANDISE REVENUE
14
Have you done the work? Is your page large
enough where it can start bringing in money? How
can you generate revenue? What do you have to
offer? Is there a specific skill you already possess
that you can use in conjunction with the page, like
singing or comedy?
Set your price now so that you’ll be prepared if
anyone contacts you looking for a Pay to Post
opportunity. Next, make a list of ten (10) brands
with a similar, but smaller follower base than you.
Contact them and offer your services and price.
Be sure to let them know you will tag them and
anything else you’re willing to offer. Do the same
for five (5) possible affiliates.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE 15

SHOUTOUTS
This business of marketing and brand building is
based on social media, so you have to be social to
grow. If you add a little cash behind that, you’re in
business.
I can’t stress enough the importance of spending
wisely. Don’t throw your money into the void
because someone DMs you offering a paid
promotion.

You can gain 1k followers for your completely new I recommend using the website Social Blade to
account with an investment of $100. A big way to check any Instagram page’s ranking, growth,
get ahead is by dumping revenue back into the and engagement. Check the engagements on
business. their posts and the type of comments people
are leaving. They may have bought a bunch of
When I started, I took the money I made and bots, and their whole business is scamming
bought more promotions, which led to more entrepreneurs. You’ve been warned. Stay alert,
followers and more money. It’s a beautiful cycle. don’t get caught sleeping.
Once your business is sizable, you can start taking
some revenue as profit, but you want to invest in How much do you have to spend on promotion?
your business as much as possible. How can you raise more funds? How long can you
commit earnings back into the business? What
Another essential piece of the branding puzzle pages do you want to reach out to? What are your
is finding other high-quality pages with similar best posts? Do you have a promotion ready to go?
followings. Don’t just pay anybody. Look for brands
that you respect and whose visions align with your List five (5) pages you will reach out to for a
own. shoutout for shoutout. List five (5) pages you
would be willing to pay to be on their page. Make
There is exponential growth that can be had from three (3) potential posts targeted towards your
paid promotions and shoutout for shoutouts. One usual followers, but with the explicit intent to share
of my favorite plays is DMing a smaller page with on someone else’s page. Prep copies of your best
a shoutout for shoutout offers. The other page is posts as a promotion as well, add your logo as a
naturally inclined because I’m a larger page, so it’s watermark.
a win-win situation.

Make sure to check out the quality of the content

of the page before you reach out. You should like
the look of any page you might be associated with.
TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE

NOW, Join my Instagram community. Simply, send

an email to thebrandstartup@gmail.com with
your receipt and a review of this book. I will reach

IT’S out with the next steps to join my community.

Additionally, add your name, contact number, and
Instagram page. Thank you for supporting

TIME TO
@TheBrandStartup.

Edited by:

TAKE
Devin Fields, IG: @billibookclub
Ross Williams, IG: @rwcommercellc

ACTION!
I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH 4 POWERFUL
STATEMENTS TO REMEMBER ON YOUR
JOURNEY.

1. INSTEAD OF SAYING “I CAN’T” CHANGE

THAT INTO “HOW CAN I?” A QUESTION
OPENS THE MIND, A STATEMENT CLOSES THE
MIND. -ROBERT KIYOSAKI

2. ALWAYS DO YOU BEST. YOU WILL FEEL

GREAT ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU DO IF YOU
GO INTO WITH FULL COMMITMENT.

3. BE A DOER. TAKE ACTION ON YOUR

THOUGHTS.

4. INVEST IN YOURSELF. READING THIS

EBOOK IS AN INVESTMENT IN YOURSELF
AND YOUR BUSINESS.
(BONUS) TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE
THE STARTUP GUIDE
1. Start your Instagram account.
Get a name that is unique to you.
I chose @thebrandstartup because
I was starting my brand from
scratch, and I wanted to lay out
the resources for others to do the
same.
2. Define your niche.
Entrepreneurship, finances,
sports, music, personal brand, etc. post that’s already on your page
3. Type a clean-cut bio that
describes your brand.
4. Make your page a business
account so you can see your
insights for your posts.
5. Get a professional logo. If you
need help getting one created,
send me an email,
contact@thebrandstartup.com.
6. Start posting valuable content.
7. Ask your peers to share some
of your content. See what people
are engaging with more and post
more of that.
8. Create your first post that you
want other accounts to share. It
can be something you create or a
going viral.
9. Start promoting with some
accounts. Here are a few:
@thebrandstartup
@blkbillionaire
@blk.wealth
10. Create a product or offer a
service. Start making money!
(BONUS) TURN YOUR INSTAGRAM INTO A 6-FIGURE SIDE HUSTLE

DEFINITIONS
Niche - a specialized segment of Engagement - to participate or
the market for a particular kind of become involved in.
product or service.
Affiliate - used primarily to
Viral - relating to or involving describe a business relationship.
an image, video, piece of In this case, one company becomes
information, etc., that is circulated affiliated with another in order
rapidly and widely from one to sell its products or services,
internet user to another. earning a commission for doing
so.
Promotion - the publicization
of a product, organization, or Marketing - the action or business
venture to increase sales or public of promoting and selling products
awareness. or services, including market
research and advertising.
Monetize - refers to the process of
turning a non-revenue-generating Insights - the capacity to gain
item into cash. an accurate and deep intuitive
understanding of a person or
Shoutout - a message of thing.
congratulation, support, or
appreciation.