How To Get a Blue Check On Instagram Without Spending a Dollar

Getting a coveted blue check on Instagram is not a trivial task and may require a hefty spend.

The major part of the Instagram verification budget goes to making sure you are notable enough for Instagram to grant you the checkmark.

Influencers spend tens of thousands of dollars on stunning photoshoots and full features in prime media sources, as a part of the preparation for Instagram verification.

Luckily you can get there for free and get your Instagram blue check without spending a dollar.

How? Get organic press features: establish contacts with media sources and share meaningful and compelling insights with journalists.

If you read this article, I assume that you are a doer person focusing on a particular niche and want an Instagram blue check to set yourself apart from competitors, establish an authentic online presence, and share something genuine and meaningful. Otherwise, why would you need Instagram to give you a blue check anyway?

If that is you, then getting your name on the press is a pure game of numbers: the more attempts you make pitching journalists with your compelling stories, insights, expertise, and work, the more press features you will get.

In case you think that journalists are full of press inquiries from extraordinary talents or it’s hard to reach them, I will give you another perspective.

In reality, journalists work round the clock under tight deadlines to catch up with the current content plan and find meaningful and insightful content worth publishing.

They do get a lot of inquiries but very few help them meet their needs.

The below plan outlines how you can get featured in the press while helping journalists.

Step One: Align Your Expertise With Your Brand.

Write around five-ten things about what you do and know. These things shall relate to the brand you are building. If you publish posts, videos, books, or any media about what you do and know, use them as input as well.

If you have too many items on the list and are not sure which ones to choose, copy and paste all items into any free cloud generator. Have you noticed repeated terms in the cloud? They indicate your core focus.

Step Two: See What’s Trending In Your Expertise Area.

Get your list ready and use it line by line in Google News search: search the items on Google and then navigate to the Google News tab.

In this tab, you should see articles containing your search term in headline and body.

This is where you’re targeting to get eligible for Instagram blue check: Google News-indexed articles featuring you and what you do. Just make sure the article sources qualify the requirements listed in this guide.

Step Three: Find The Authors

Go through Google News search with every item, making a list of 10-20 articles you found on Google News.

Once you have the list from the previous step, visit each article and find the article’s author. In most cases, these authors are journalists and publicists.

Save the authors to your list next to the articles.

Find contacts of these authors. In most cases, the authors display their social profiles and other contact information. You can also use Linkedin or a free version of hunter.io. I included this tool in the Useful Resources section.

Don’t introduce yourself at this point.

Step Four: Pitch The Authors

Take the terms from the third step and craft headlines, stories, and insights around them. Or, see if you already have something to show. Don’t get intimidated. You can start pitching with just one short piece.

Approach the authors with your content. Make sure your pitch is just a few sentences short. It should be brief and to the point. It should spark the interest to learn more about your compelling content. If you are unsure, just Google “How to pitch a journalist?” and there you’ll have it.

Step Five: Repeat Until You Are Qualified For A Blue Check

Rinse and repeat until you’ve acquired 10-15 full features, which is enough to qualify Instagram notability criteria and get the blue check.

To score news features faster and have a better chance of appearing in reliable news sources, register at helpareporter.com. Monitor press inquiries that match your expertise and provide timely feedback. You will find this website in Useful Resources.

Make sure to have high-quality photos of yourself and a bio. Journalists may need them for your press features. Your biography and images should be appropriate to the content you share and satisfy the quality standards of the news publication.

Remember, it is a game of numbers. More attempts will bring you more results. Every failed attempt will bring you closer to getting your coveted Instagram blue check.

Step Six: Apply For Instagram Verification.

Now, as you are ready to apply for Instagram verification, make sure you follow the best practices for requesting your verification. They’ve been tested and proven for your verification success.

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Sophia Carrington

With a master's degree and almost a decade of experience in community management, Sophia found her mission building communities around meaningful knowledge and skills. She enjoys working with industry insiders and conveying their precious and rare findings to the world.

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