5 Top Tips To Create Instagram Stories That Work

Last Updated on August 26, 2024 by Jan Barley

You are not alone if you’re new to Instagram and baffled by stories.

What are we supposed to do in Instagram stories? Share our personal lives, pictures of our dogs, products, offers or what?

Like you, I wanted to know more about Instagram stories and whether it was worth bothering to make an effort to create them regularly.

I got the heads up from someone on Instagram who polled her significantly sized audience about whether they preferred her reels or stories. 94% of her followers said they preferred stories.

Digging deeper into my research, I found that these high percentages weren’t a fluke. People genuinely prefer stories to reels or posts.

What the heck?

OK, let’s see how we can master this story thing then. Here is what I learned.

Tip #1: Be Consistent

The great thing about Instagram stories is you can schedule or create them on the fly. Experts suggest posting niche-related stories up to five times daily. Yeah, I know—groan fest.

Here’s the thing. Instagram’s reach has dropped significantly, even for some big accounts. People with 200k followers are getting a few thousand views. Even though Instagram recently announced they were leaning towards supporting smaller accounts, many people chatting on Threads agree the reach has recently dropped.

I’ve been scheduling reels and posts twice daily, and my reach is pathetic. OK, I only have 110 followers as I started Instagram about a month ago, but come on, Insta. Help a newbie out.

If stories are the way to go, let’s focus on them.

Tip #2: Create Interactive Stories

To engage readers, you can add quizzes, polls, questions, and many other features to your stories. If you’re new to stories and don’t have many followers, keep going. People cannot resist voicing an opinion, so this tip works well. Try adding a Q&A to your stories to encourage people to ask more questions.

Tip #3: Create a Story Arch

Stories have a beginning, middle and end, so your Instagram stories will do better with a story arch (I wish I’d known this earlier!) Create a hook to encourage people to watch your story and end with a cliffhanger – like your favourite series does. It drives you insane, but you must watch the next episode as soon as it’s live.

Instead of doing what I did, which was randomly posting drivel, preplan your content. Consider what would spark someone’s curiosity and keep a person reading your story content. What do people get from sticking around? Finish your story with a CTA (call to action) to urge people to return tomorrow for the next exciting instalment.

Example Of A Series Of Stories

1. Story #1: Today, I decided to switch from a master resell rights (MRR) business model to a done-for-you business. Despite many people in my community making a ton of money, I see many others struggling with the tech setup and getting their first sale. I’m going to pay tomorrow.
2. Story #2: Today, I purchased the done-for-you product and got blown away by the effortless process. It was so easy to get started. I am super excited to help people with this easy business.
3. Story #3: I began exploring my dashboard and setting everything up. I love the setup because we have no choice but to work through the training linearly. As an ADHD brain, I do tend to jump ahead. It took me a matter of minutes to add the few details needed. It will take 5-7 days to get my personalised store, but I already have my affiliate link to my shop.
4. Story #4: This business is a Shopify store with 185+ products, many of which are low ticket PLR & MRR, done-for-you content like the 735 aesthetic stock photo collection.
5. Story #5: I attended a live welcome webinar last night. The lady who owns the company is so lovely. She started this business to build a family community based on integrity without the massive competition you often see in MRR circles. She is humble and committed to helping us all succeed.
6. Story #6: Today, I don’t want to do my day job as a freelance writer. I feel so driven to focus everything on this business. Sigh. My gut feeling is that this business is so easy compared to the MRR businesses that it won’t take long to build a sustainable business.
7. Story #7: Last month, I did a Pinterest SEO course, which has ramped up my website traffic and CTR and stoked my monthly views on Pinterest. I’ve been sorting out affiliate links for products I know and like. Many people make a full-time income from Pinterest. As there are 185+ products with the DFY business, that’s given me a load of pin opportunities to drive traffic to my Shopify store.
8. Story #8: I didn’t realise we get 12 months of done-for-you content with this business. Creating content is so time-consuming, and I’m always looking for ways to speed up the process. The shop has a 600 video reel package plus bonuses for personal or MRR rights. There is so much value here.
9. Story #9: All of my social media handles are dailyincomewithjan. I used that as my domain for the MRR business, but I will switch it to the DFY business as soon as my store is ready. I don’t know if I will continue with the $900 MRR product. Even though it’s a lot of money, I’m not entirely comfortable with it because of the tech setup and connecting to Stripe, which does not like MRR and PLR products.
10. Story #10: I love this business. We get a 70% commission on the DFY business. We get two tiers of commission -10% and 5%. It’s not MLM. It’s a genuine affiliate program with our own Shopify store. Imagine a year ahead when passive income comes from the two tiers. I love this business model.

Tip #4: Use Highlights Sparingly

Use highlights to categorise tutorials, FAQs, events and your best stories. Plan a strategy for where to feature your highlights, considering followers and non-followers.

Tip #5: Use Captions, Hashtags and Text Overlay

As many people watch content without sound, always add captions if you’re speaking. Your text overlay could be a hook, and you can use niche-specific hashtags. Put those out of the way, maybe at the bottom, so the story looks tidy. I keep a copy of my hashtags on an Excel spreadsheet on the laptop and notes on my phone, so it’s easy to copy and paste.

Anyhoo, I am here with you getting started with Instagram stories. Creating reels is tedious, especially if they aren’t performing. It makes sense to focus on what gets the best results, so let’s do this thing!

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