Ultra.
Editor's Note: On March 9th, 2023, Meta/Instagram announced they are officially ending the Reels Play Bonus program. Going forward, creators will not be offered new or renewed Reels Play bonus deals, but existing offers will be honored over the next 30 days, according to reports. The information presented in this blog post is historically how the Reels Bonus Program worked to help creators monetize their short-form content.
If you’ve stayed up to date with the Cross Clip blog (as we strongly encourage you to do), then you know we’ve covered how to make money on various short-form video platforms such as YouTube Shorts and TikTok. Today, we’ll explore how to make money on Instagram Reels—specifically through the Play Bonus program.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Instagram Reels Play Bonus program, you’re not alone—this incentive is available on an invite-only basis. If you hold a creator account on Instagram and regularly post content, you can receive an invite to earn money from posting Reel content via a pop-up notification on the app or in your Professional Dashboard.
How Do I Earn a Bonus With Instagram Reels Pay?
Before earning money from Instagram Reels Play, you must set up and accept the bonus before the eligibility expires. You can do this by going to your Professional Dashboard, accepting the terms and conditions, and inputting business and payment method information to activate your bonus.
As far as what the bonus will entail, it depends. Instagram is currently in the testing phase of bonuses, which may vary among creators. Below are some types of bonuses currently being tested through the Instagram Reel Play Bonus program.
- Performance-based bonuses: the amount paid based on the number of reel plays.
- Number of Reels: create a specified number of Reels to receive a predetermined amount per Reel.
- Themed Reel: respond to a prompt to create a Reel based on a theme, holiday, event, etc.
When you’re invited to the program, the details of the bonus will be available for you in your Profession Dashboard.
Instagram Reels Play Rules
For your Reel to count towards your bonus, you must tag the video for the program within 24 hours of posting. You can tag the Reel by selecting the Reel Play Bonus from the Bonuses page in your dashboard. The only exception is the last day of the month, as a Reel must be tagged for a bonus within the month it’s posted.
You may be disqualified from the program if:
- Your Reel is flagged for copyright infringement.
- Your content doesn’t comply with Instagram’s Content Monetization Policies.
- Your Reel is branded content.
- Your Reel is not in a language currently being tested. According to Instagram’s website, the currently supported languages are Arabic, Bengali, English, French, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Portuguese, Punjabi, Spanish, Tamil, and Urdu.
- Your Reel features watermarks from other platforms, such as TikTok or YouTube.
- Your Reel is flagged for fake engagement or views.
- Your Reel is permanently deleted.
When and How Are Instagram Reel Play Bonuses Paid?
Instagram Reels Play bonuses will be paid out in accordance with other monetization tools already available on the platform. This generally means that once you’ve earned a minimum of $100 from a bonus, Instagram will issue you an invoice around the 10th of the following month and will direct payment to the method you specified when accepting the bonus around the 21st. If you don’t meet the $100 threshold, your balance will roll over to the new month until you do.
FYI, using Cross Clip makes it incredibly easy to repurpose long-form videos (such as Twitch/Kick Clips and downloaded YouTube streams) to make vertical, short-form videos for platforms such as Instagram Reels. Let’s chat about all things short-form video on Twitter.