Ainfluencer for Instagram Creators
Instagram is where most brands look first, and it has its own rules on Ainfluencer: a DM code instead of a bio code, a monthly data refresh, three post formats and one of them that cannot be read. This guide covers what is specific to Instagram, from the first DM to the payout.
What this guide covers
- What Instagram means on Ainfluencer
- Connect with the DM code, and fix it when it fails
- The numbers brands see, and how they get there
- A media kit that fits an Instagram brand
- Feed, Story and Reel: what each means for delivery
- Price and pitch for Instagram
- Gifting and affiliate on Instagram
- Review, quality and staying active
- Mistakes that cost Instagram creators money
- Questions Instagram creators ask
Stop 1
What Instagram means on Ainfluencer
Instagram is the platform most brands search first, and it has the most moving parts on Ainfluencer: a direct message to prove you own the account, three post formats, and a data refresh that decides what brands see.
| Topic | On Instagram |
|---|---|
| How you prove the account is yours | You send a six digit code in a direct message. Nothing goes in your bio |
| Where you work | The Ainfluencer mobile app only. The website is for brands |
| Post formats brands can ask for | Feed, Story or Reel |
| What brands see about you | Followers, engagement, a quality rating, your latest ten posts and the insights you uploaded |
| How your numbers are kept fresh | A monthly refresh for every Instagram account, plus Sync once every 24 hours |
| What Ainfluencer can read after you post | Public feed posts and reels. Stories and private posts cannot be read |
- A campaign shows in Explore only if it targets the platform of the account you have selected, so an Instagram account sees Instagram campaigns.
- You can connect more than one Instagram account. Each has its own media kit, review status and public page, and all of them pay into one wallet.
- Facebook and X cannot be connected, even though Instagram is Meta. Only Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are supported for creators.
The general steps are in Ainfluencer for New Creators and the growth decisions in Ainfluencer for Micro-Influencers.
Stop 2
Connect with the DM code, and fix it when it fails
Instagram is proved by a direct message. The steps are simple, and almost every failure comes from the same few causes.
- Choose Instagram and type your username without the @.
- The app shows a code such as
ain-123456. - Tap Open Instagram & Follow + DM. It copies the code and opens a message to @ainfluencer.official.
- Follow the account and send the code on its own, from the account you are connecting.
- Tap Confirm you did it. The app waits six seconds and checks.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| We received the code for @username | The DM arrived and your account is being set up | Wait a moment, the app continues to your media kit |
| We could not find your verification code | No message arrived, or it had other text in it | Send the code as a separate message and tap Confirm again |
| Your code was replaced | You generated a newer code since | Copy the code showing now and send that |
| The code came from a different account | The DM was sent from another profile than the one you typed | Send it from the account you are connecting |
| Already added by another Ainfluencer user | The account is on another login, often an old one of yours | Contact support with both email addresses and the username |
| Submitted | Two failed checks sent your account to manual review | Wait. It is a target of 24 hours, not a timer |
- Every time you re-enter your username the app creates a new code and the old one stops working.
- A typed
@or a trailing space is the commonest cause of an invalid username. - The pop-up in manual review still says not to remove the code from your bio. That is out of date, and you do not need the code in your bio.
- After a rejection, the card shows Verification Rejected with the reasons. Fix them and tap Resubmit Verification Request.
- After five rejected requests you cannot submit again for seven days, and a request that is still pending blocks a second one.
- Some Instagram accounts go to manual review even when the DM was right. Pending Verification on Instagram is usually not a judgement about your account.
The full gate sequence is in How to Join and Get Approved.
Stop 3
The numbers brands see, and how they get there
Brands filter and decide on your numbers. Instagram’s numbers are pulled in by a monthly job, so knowing the schedule saves you from stale figures.
| What | How it works |
|---|---|
| Monthly refresh | Every live Instagram account is refreshed once a month: followers, following, post count, picture and your latest ten posts. A full run takes days |
| Sync | Profile, then the three dot menu on your account card, then Sync with my Instagram. Once every 24 hours per account |
| Shared cooldown | A monthly refresh also starts your 24 hour Sync cooldown |
| Latest posts | Brands see your latest ten posts from the last refresh. Sync refreshes them |
| Missing profile | If the username cannot be found, the account is archived and drops out of search. Only an admin restores it |
| Insights | Screenshots of your audience statistics for the last 90 days. They are required in the media kit and shared with brands that ask |
- Sync right after a growth spike, a viral reel or a profile update. If it says you synced recently, it shows how long to wait.
- The monthly run looks your account up by its Instagram id, so a rename is usually found. Tapping Sync after a rename can archive the account, because the old username no longer exists, and an account that cannot be found at all is archived. Tell support before you rename a handle.
- Insights need an Instagram creator or business account. A personal account does not show them.
- When your saved insights are older than 60 days, the system may ask for fresh ones about an hour after you send an offer.
- Quality rating and engagement are shown on your card. Brands can filter by quality (Great, Good or OK) as well as by followers, category, hashtag, language, gender and location.
An Instagram account must be public while a reviewer looks at it. The private account rule is skipped for the DM check itself, but an account set to private when reviewed is rejected.
Stop 4
A media kit that fits an Instagram brand
Brands decide from your media kit before they open your feed. Each of the six steps has an Instagram angle.
| Step | Instagram angle |
|---|---|
| Media kit | The bio is pre-filled from your profile. Remove any email, number, website or handle, which are blocked. You must be 13 or older |
| Niche | Pick the categories your content is really in, and add the hashtags your audience follows. Saving with no hashtags removes the ones you saved before |
| Audience | Up to three audience locations, post topics and an audience description, and at least one Instagram Insights screenshot for the last 90 days |
| Showcase | Up to ten photos, and past collaborations as an Instagram post link or an upload. Choose Finish later if you have none |
| Shipping address | Needed to receive gifts. Choose Add address later to skip |
| Goals | At least one. Saving this step sends the account to quality review |
- The finished page is public at app.ainfluencer.com/public/profile followed by your account number. Tap Share on an Active account card to copy it.
- It lists your audience, gallery, delivered content, reviews and the brands you worked with, and edits take up to 12 hours to appear.
- Re-saving the last step on an Active account can send it back to review. Offers still work while it is pending.
Stop 5
Feed, Story and Reel: what each means for delivery
Brands choose the format in the campaign. What you deliver and how you prove it depends on which one, and one of the three cannot be read by Ainfluencer.
| Format | What you submit | Can Ainfluencer read it? | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed post | The direct post link, from Share then Copy link on the post | Yes | Fully supported. You get post analytics after approval |
| Reel | The direct reel link | Yes | Fully supported. Same as a feed post |
| Story | Agree the proof in the chat, and submit what the app accepts | No | Story links and profile links are refused or cannot be read. Public numbers are not collected |
- Submit one to five links per delivery. Each must match Instagram’s post format, otherwise the app says the URL format is invalid for Instagram. Duplicates are blocked.
- You can edit a link or add files until the delivery is approved, but at least one item must remain.
- When a link is read successfully, the deal’s start date moves to seven days after you submit. That is the brand’s approval window.
- When a link cannot be read, the start date does not move. The deal can then fail within about two days of the agreed date, even if you submitted it that day.
- Content only deals use Upload Content and files instead of a link.
- Instagram post analytics are collected about an hour, a day, three days and a week after you submit a readable link. Stories and private posts have none.
If payment depends on approval, prefer a feed post or a reel. A story based deal is workable, but agree in the chat how you will show it, and message the brand the moment you post.
The delivery steps are in How to Deliver and Submit Your Post.
Stop 6
Price and pitch for Instagram
The offer form is the same on every platform, but a few fields behave differently for Instagram work.
| Field | Instagram specifics |
|---|---|
| Price | Minimum $10. The app shows a suggested price for the account you are offering with. About 20% comes out when you withdraw, so divide what you need by 0.8 |
| How long it stays up | Tick I will delete the content after and choose hours, days, weeks or months, minimum four hours, or leave it permanent. Price permanent placement higher |
| Link in bio | A campaign may require one. Your Instagram bio holds one link, so check what is already there and for how long |
| Delivery date | The form starts two weeks out. Creators usually set four to six weeks |
| Collab types | Pick at least one. Pitch the format you can actually deliver |
| Portfolio | Insight screenshots and links to past collaborations as an Instagram link or an upload |
- Your pitch, topics and audience description are each 50 to 250 characters, and contact details, links and handles are blocked in them.
- Make a separate offer with each Instagram account you hold, because the limit is one offer per account per campaign.
- An offer from an account that is still pending is held and sent when the account becomes Active.
- The brand can change the price, date, duration or bio link before paying. After paying, it can send up to two revision requests that you accept or reject.
Stop 7
Gifting and affiliate on Instagram
Besides paid posts, an Instagram account can take free products and earn commission. Both need the selected account to be Active.
| Gifting | Affiliate | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Request the gift or accept an invitation, add an address, then post | Tap Generate Link on a campaign and share the tracked links |
| Where on Instagram | A post, reel or story as the brand agreed, then submit the post links | Your bio, stories, reels and captions |
| Paid how | You keep the product | Commission through your own Stripe account, about five to seven weeks after a sale |
| Account rule | The selected account must be Active | The selected account must be Active, and the affiliate system needs an approved copy of your account |
- Gift requests stop with a clear message if the selected account is pending, suspended or archived. Switch to an Active account with the account selector.
- The app says the brand does not ship to your country when your address is outside its ship to list.
- Shoppers buy on Amazon or Shopify, and your link keeps working when you join a newer campaign with the same product.
- Connect Stripe before you promote, because affiliate commission is not paid without it.
Details: How Gifting Works for Creators and How Affiliate Campaigns Work for You.
Stop 8
Review, quality and staying active
Review is the gate that makes you bookable, and a few Instagram habits can take you out of it again.
| Status on the card | Meaning | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Connected, media kit not finished | Finish the steps. You cannot send offers yet |
| Pending Admin Approval | Waiting for quality review, usually within 24 hours | Browse and send offers, which are held until you are Active |
| Active | Approved | Offers, gift requests and affiliate links |
| Disapproved | Suspended, with reasons on the card | Tap Appeal Suspension. You get one appeal per suspension |
| Archived | The username could not be found | Email support with your current username |
- Reasons our team lists when it suspends an account include low quality score or engagement rate, low followers, low publishing activity, a high spam rate and asking to chat or pay outside the platform.
- A suspension has no end date and lasts until our team reactivates the account. Offers waiting under review are deleted, and after 48 hours your existing offers are hidden from brands.
- A suspended account cannot chat, edit its profile or make offers, and open gift requests can be cancelled for good if you have no other Active account.
- A denied appeal is shown on the card and sends no notification.
Stop 9
Mistakes that cost Instagram creators money
None of these is complicated, and each has cost real creators a payment.
| Mistake | What happens | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Submitting a profile or story link | The link is refused or cannot be read, and the approval window can shrink | Submit the direct link to a feed post or reel |
| Re-entering your username while verifying | A new code is created and the one you sent no longer works | Send the code shown now, and do not retype the username |
| Renaming your handle without telling support | The account is archived and leaves search | Tell support first so it can be restored |
| Applying below the follower bar | Reviewers most often decline accounts under about 5,000 followers, and five rejections lock you out for seven days | Wait until you are over it, then apply |
| Putting an email or number in your bio | The media kit step blocks it | Keep contact details out of every text field |
| Asking a brand to pay or talk off the platform | Contact details are hidden until payment, a nightly check reviews unpaid chats, and repeat breaches can lead to suspension | Keep the deal in the Ainfluencer chat |
| Letting a delivery sit unapproved | The deal fails and the brand is refunded roughly nine to ten days after a readable link is submitted | Message the brand the day you submit |
If something goes wrong, What to Do When Something Goes Wrong covers suspensions, appeals and archived accounts.
Stop 10
Questions Instagram creators ask
Do I need a creator or business account?
To connect, no. To get insights for the media kit, yes: personal accounts do not show audience statistics.
Why does my follower count look old?
Instagram is refreshed monthly. Tap Sync on your account card to refresh now, once every 24 hours.
Can I verify without the DM?
No. The DM code is the way to prove ownership, and manual review is a fallback if the automatic check cannot confirm it.
My account says Pending Verification.
It is waiting for a person to confirm ownership. Keep the account public, do not retype your username, and contact support if it passes 48 hours.
Can I post a story for a paid deal?
Brands can ask for one, but Ainfluencer cannot read story links, so agree the proof in the chat and message the brand as soon as you post.
Can I use more than one Instagram account?
Yes. Each has its own status, media kit and page, and they share one wallet. Switch accounts with the selector at the top of Explore.
How do I share my media kit?
Tap Share on an Active account card. The public page can take up to 12 hours to show edits.
From a DM code to a paid Instagram deal
The Instagram route in order, with the points where it usually breaks.
1Type your username without the @ and copy the code.
2Follow @ainfluencer.official and send the code on its own as a DM.
3Tap Confirm you did it. Two failed checks send you to manual review.
4Finish the six media kit steps, with an insights screenshot from a creator or business account.
5Wait for review, and send offers meanwhile with the Instagram format you can deliver.
6Post, then submit the direct link to the feed post or reel.
7Message the brand for approval, then withdraw from your wallet.
8Sync after any big change in followers.
Ready to connect your Instagram?
The Ainfluencer creator app is free on iOS and Android. Open it, choose Instagram and send your code.
