YouTube is a great place to make a living.
In this article, I’ll show you some of the most effective methods how to earn money with YouTube and how you can do it too, even if it’s on a lesser scale.
Here are some ideas on how to earn money with YouTube:
- Join the YouTube Partner Program.
- Enable channel memberships.
- Build a blog to complement YouTube
- Capture your viewer’s email addresses
- Become an affiliate marketer.
- Work with brands as an influencer.
- Use Patreon with YouTube.
Join the YouTube Partner Program
The first step to making money on YouTube is joining the YouTube Partner Program. This program lets you get paid for ads that play before your videos, or through links in your video descriptions. You can also sell products and services from inside of some recorded clips (called ‘end cards’).
YouTube Partner Program – Requirements for monetization
- Have at least 1,000 subscribers.
- Have at least 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months.
- Channel/content must adhere to the YouTube Partner Program policies, YouTube Terms of Service, YouTube spam policies, and the Community Guidelines.
After you’re accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, start monetizing by turning on ads in your AdSense account.
Google will show advertising on your videos, and both you and YouTube get a cut of the revenue that Google collects from the advertiser.
The split is 45 percent for YouTube and 55% for the creator.
Let’s pretend you have a Top 5 Facts YouTube channel and midway through one of your videos, a Canva commercial appears discussing their newest creative tools.
We’ll make an assumption that Canva is willing to pay $1 for each time someone clicks on an ad that appears on your video.
Google will take $0.45 and you will earn $0.55 in your AdSense partner account.
This may not appear to be much money at first glance, but when you consider if you get hundreds or thousands of views every day, these figures can really add up.
How to Get Started
Step 1: Create a YouTube Channel
The first step to making money on YouTube is creating a YouTube Channel.
This process only takes a few minutes and when you finish, it will prompt you to add an email address for notifications about your channel.
It’s best not to use the same email that you have associated with other social media accounts like Facebook or Twitter as this can cause problems.
Step 2: Create Content For Your YouTube Channel
Once you’ve created a YouTube channel it’s time to start making content.
There are many ways that people make videos online, but for this article, I’ll focus on the most common formats of How-To Videos, Vlogs (video blogs), and Educational Content. But first thing is first…
Create Your Video Channel Art
The first thing your viewers will see is a thumbnail image.
It’s best to have an eye-catching image that represents what kind of videos you’ll be posting on your YouTube channel. It should also give people a sense of the content they’re going to watch if they click it.
How-To Videos are some of the most popular videos that people watch on YouTube.
It’s a great idea to make How-To Videos because there are always new trends and topics coming out every day.
If you’re wondering what kinds of How-Tos might be the most popular, check out this list from Common Craft: How To Tie A Bowtie How To Make A Paper Plane How To Play the Ukulele How To Be Confident How To Take Care of a Cat How to Give First Aid.
Vlogs(Video Blog) or Let’s Plays are another great way to generate income on YouTube.
It is similar in format as any other video blog, but instead, you’re playing a video game and talking to the audience as you do it.
Educational or How-To Content is also a great way to make money on YouTube because people are always looking for new information that they can use in their lives.
What do you do when you need to learn something new? What if you need to know how to fix something? Or what if you need to learn how to use a new software or service?
You probably look for a video. And you’re not alone.
According to a recent TechSmith study, 53% of people reported watching two or more instructional videos per week (up 152% compared to 2013).
Regardless of your chosen topic or niche, instructional videos are the best delivery method if you’re serious about teaching others, growing your business, or building an online course.
These videos don’t have to be boring either! There are many entertaining ways of delivering your content, like using animation or explaining the How-To with a funny personality.
Produce content that your viewers will enjoy. It’s best to concentrate on a specific niche and really delve into the material that they’ll appreciate.
Although it may take time, as long as you continue to produce content that your audience will like, YouTube will eventually recommend your videos to people and they’ll begin subscribing to your channel.
Make Money With YouTube Channel Memberships:
After you’ve hit 1,000 subscribers on your channel, you can enable channel memberships for your followers. This enables you to charge a monthly fee for them to view some of your exclusive material and, more importantly, it allows you to give other perks depending on their membership level.
Once you reach 10,000 subscribers, you’re ready to put up a merchandise shelf on it. This allows you to sell products directly through your channel rather than after each video.
If you have a motto or phrase that connects with your audience, this is an excellent way to make money on YouTube by selling merch such as t-shirts with your slogan or catchphrase on. But the merchandise could be anything.
Make as many videos as possible: YouTube is a numbers game and the number of views is the most important factor to success. The more videos you post, the more likely you are to succeed because of the number of video views that your channel will get.
Advertising revenue is one the most passive way’s to make money. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to monetizing YouTube.
Build a Blog to Compliment YouTube
YouTube offers immense opportunities to get your brand in front of your ideal audience and grow your audience in other areas as well.
But what’s most important to understand is that a blog will almost always outearn a YouTube channel because it’s a platform that allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper and more personal level, such as through email marketing, and so on.
Plus, blogs can show display ads and usually have higher click-through rates on affiliate links as well.
How to Start a Blog
The key to this is to make sure that your blog has the same look and feel as your YouTube channel. For this, you can either hire a graphic designer or use graphic design software if you’re a DIY type of person.
Share Your Blog to YouTube For More Traffic
Once you’ve started a blog, the next step of the process is to share the content that you’ve already created with your YouTube channel.
There are a few ways you can do this;
Mention blog posts in videos and tell people to check them out in the description
Create evergreen content to post in the description of your videos
The key here is to get people off of YouTube and over to your blog so that you can get them more deeply immersed in your brand.
Think of it this way.
What would you do if tomorrow you woke up and your YouTube channel was deleted?
Aside from fear, if you don’t have another platform to connect with your audience on, all of your hard work will be for naught.
Capture Your Blog Visitor Email Addresses
The key to making more money with your blog is to get visitors (whether they’re from YouTube or otherwise) to sign up for your email list.
The reason?
Generally speaking, email marketing is one of the absolute best ways to make money from your following. Studies have shown that for every $1 spent, you’ll see a return of $36.
Use your blog to provide something of value in exchange for their email address.
For example, if someone signs up for one of my free courses, I obtain their email address. With the course, I provide a TON of value to their inbox and remain in touch with them when I have other items to promote.
However, it doesn’t have to be a lesson. Creating a downloadable PDF in the form of a checklist, cheatsheets, e-book, guide, or anything else that your audience will find valuable is an option.
In your video descriptions, have a strong call to action to drive viewers to your blog or a landing page to capture their email addresses.
Once you have an email address, you can use it to grow your following larger and make recommendations that’ll bring in more revenue.
Affiliate Marketing
You may not always be able to count on YouTube video advertising for income. The good news is that there are several other revenue streams to explore, such as affiliate marketing.
If you have a connection with your audience, affiliate marketing is a fantastic idea. Large advertising firms do not rely entirely on their content distribution channels. They frequently find it more profitable to pay YouTube stars that already have a large following to promote their items and services.
That’s why affiliate marketing is a fantastic method to increase your earnings potential. Even with a smaller number of followers, you may still make a decent living on YouTube – as long as you employ an effective marketing strategy.
Sign up with a company’s affiliate program in your niche to get affiliate links for products that your audience might want. You can then recommend these products on your channel and get paid a commission for every resulting sale.
A straightforward way to get sales is by linking to the affiliate products in your video descriptions. The higher your conversions, the more money you’ll make.
To take it a step further, drive your YouTube viewers to sign-up for your email newsletter which is still proven to increase your affiliate sales and is one of the most powerful affiliate marketing strategies.
Here is an excellent example of how Sean Cannell from Think Media TV shares tips on how to choose a lens for video, and makes an income with Amazon affiliate links to camera and recording equipment. He has links below his video descriptions which takes the viewer to Amazon:
Whenever someone clicks on one of those Amazon products and purchases something, he’ll make a small commission. But these small commissions add up.
But it doesn’t have to stop with physical products. If you go to a platform like ShareaSale, there are many products and software you can promote to make extra money.
How to Maximize Earnings With YouTube Affiliate Marketing
Use VidIQ or TubeBuddy to complete keyword research to find a topic
Leave affiliate marketing links in the description of videos
Pin the first comment with affiliate links
Refer to affiliate links in videos
Add YouTube cards in your video pointing to affiliate links
Note: It’s important to note that disclosure is required if you want to make money through affiliate marketing on YouTube. This is simply a formal statement explaining to your readers that you have an affiliate relationship with the manufacturers of the products that you talk about in your digital content.
If you are in the U.S., you can follow the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) guidelines on how to craft a clear disclaimer. For creators in the U.K., follow the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) guidelines.
6) Review Products or Software
Affiliate marketing doesn’t just have to be for physical products. You can use it for any type of product you like. For instance, you can do software or product reviews on your channel for various companies in your niche and earn money from brands seeking exposure and sales.
This tactic works exceptionally well because it can be very helpful for your followers – provided, of course, that it’s a good market fit. You get paid, your viewers get useful information, and the brand gets more exposure – everyone wins.
Work with Sponsorships
Sponsorships are an excellent method to increase your revenue on YouTube. As your audience and viewership develop, companies will approach you to produce videos for them with product placements.
Influencer marketing is becoming more popular among businesses, and many pay extremely well for high-quality films that aid them in achieving their corporate goals.
The key to success in this area is to leverage your channel as a platform to demonstrate your talent and knowledge to potential contractors. The approach of selling yourself with the objective of being hired to create films for companies is called indirect monetization.
Direct promotion of this kind is basically like affiliate marketing, but with a slight difference.
The advertising companies pay you a fixed amount to collaborate with your YouTube channel. The amount you charge varies, and it depends on the quality of your videos, as well as your popularity.
Remember, sponsored content is advertising, so you need to be transparent about it on your YouTube channel. Make sure you adhere to all of Google’s Ad Policies in order to avoid possible issues with your account, such as suspension, or even termination.
Follow the FTC and ASA guidelines to make sure that your audience is aware that you are advertising to them. Use YouTube’s disclosure feature to add transparency in order to not only avoid legal issues but also build a stronger relationship with your viewers.
Use Patreon with YouTube
Patreon is an internet service that allows artists and creators to distribute their work to paying audiences, or “Patrons,” in a simple and straightforward manner. As a YouTube creator, you can use Patreon to leverage the power of your audience and make more money with your YouTube videos.It might even be a better location to connect with fans than a site created with an artist website builder.
You can monetize your work by creating a Patreon account and then releasing exclusive content or perks for your Patrons. Patreon works in almost the same way that YouTube Memberships does, except that you can set your own prices and decide precisely how you want to charge for your content. It’s a platform that focuses on crowdfunding, and it can be quite successful if you have an engaged audience.
How to Maximize Earnings With Patreon and YouTube
Make sure exclusive content goes on Patreon
Push people toward the platform
Regularly ask for input to keep your subscribers engaged
Offer tiers of Patreon memberships
Make Money on YouTube FAQ
How Much do YouTubers Make?
YouTube is a fantastic social networking site for both businesses and individuals to generate money. While anyone may quickly establish a side business and post videos to YouTube, not everyone will be able to make vast profits from it.
It all depends on a variety of factors, including your monetization strategies, content creation, and promotion tactics.
https://www.income.tube/how-to-start-an-affiliate-marketing-blog-for-beginners/
