YouTube offers multiple avenues to monetize content, including:
Ad Revenue: Through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), creators can earn money from display ads, overlay ads, skippable and non-skippable video ads, and more.
Channel Memberships: Offer exclusive content and perks to subscribers for a monthly fee.
Super Chat and Super Stickers: Engage with your live stream audience by offering paid comments and stickers.
Bollywood and Entertainment: Reviewing Movies, Music, and Celebrities
Overview
India’s love affair with Bollywood and entertainment is well-known. As a YouTuber, tapping into this passion can lead to substantial engagement.
Content Ideas
Movie Reviews: Provide insights into the latest movies, their storylines, performances, and overall ratings.
Music Analysis: Analyze music videos, lyrics, and musical compositions.
Celebrity Interviews: Engage with celebrities or share insights about their lives, careers, and upcoming projects.
Entertainment News: Cover latest happenings, scandals, and trends in the entertainment industry.
Challenges and Opportunities
Competition: This field may be saturated, so uniqueness and creativity are essential.
Engagement: An enthusiastic audience is ready to engage with this content, making it a promising niche.
Education and Tutorials: Providing Guidance on Academics, Software, or Hobbies
Overview
Educational content and tutorials are in high demand in India. With a young and tech-savvy population seeking to upskill, this niche has great potential.
Content Ideas
Academic Lessons: Teach subjects such as mathematics, science, or languages.
Software Tutorials: Provide guidance on software like Photoshop, coding languages, or web development.
Hobby Classes: Teach skills like painting, dancing, or cooking.
Challenges and Opportunities
Diverse Audience: Catering to various age groups and interests requires adaptability.
Demand: The ongoing need for educational content creates sustainable opportunities.
Food and Cooking: Sharing Recipes and Culinary Techniques
Overview
India’s diverse culinary landscape offers endless content possibilities. From traditional recipes to fusion cooking, this niche resonates with a wide audience.
Content Ideas
Regional Recipes: Showcase unique dishes from different Indian states.
Cooking Techniques: Teach specific culinary skills or kitchen hacks.
Food Reviews: Review restaurants or street food.
Challenges and Opportunities
Diverse Taste Preferences: Catering to the varied taste preferences across India is both challenging and rewarding.
Community Engagement: Food often sparks community discussions and participation.
Travel and Vlogging: Exploring Different Places Within India and Beyond
Overview
Travel vlogging is about sharing journeys, experiences, and insights into different cultures and places.
Content Ideas
Destination Guides: Share travel guides, tips, and experiences for different locations.
Cultural Insights: Showcase cultural festivals, traditions, and lifestyles.
Travel Tips: Offer practical advice on budgeting, planning, and packing.
Challenges and Opportunities
Investment: Travel may require significant time and money.
Uniqueness: Offering fresh perspectives can set a channel apart.
Technology and Gadgets: Reviewing and Explaining Tech Products
Overview
With the tech industry booming in India, reviewing and explaining gadgets and technology appeals to a wide audience.
Content Ideas
Product Reviews: Review the latest gadgets, including smartphones, laptops, and cameras.
How-to Guides: Provide how-to guides for using different technologies.
Trends and Analysis: Analyze tech trends and future predictions.
High Engagement: Tech enthusiasts actively seek out reviews and tutorials, offering strong engagement potential.
Each of these niches provides unique opportunities to connect with Indian audiences, and aligning content with local interests, culture, and needs can pave the way to YouTube success in India.
Promoting content through other social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help in reaching a wider audience in India.
6. Understanding Legal and Tax Implications
Indian YouTubers must be aware of tax regulations related to their income. GST might apply to various revenue streams, and creators must comply with copyright laws.
7. Collaborations and Brand Partnerships
Partnering with brands or collaborating with other creators can enhance a channel’s appeal and revenue.
These tables collectively provide insights into YouTube consumption in India, popular content categories, top YouTubers, potential earning streams, and challenges. Understanding these factors can help aspiring YouTubers to strategize their content creation, monetization, and audience engagement in India.
This article offers a foundational overview of the intricacies of YouTube monetization in India. Like any business venture, success on YouTube requires a mix of hard work, strategic planning, and a bit of luck. Keep experimenting, learning, and evolving, and you might find yourself among India’s YouTube success stories.
YouTube has become a viable career for many around the world, and the United Kingdom is no exception. Aspiring content creators in the UK have the opportunity to turn their passion into profit.
But how exactly does one go about making money on YouTube in the UK?
Let’s explore the key steps, strategies, and unique challenges.
1. Understand the Basics of Monetization
Firstly, you need to understand how monetization works on YouTube. The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is essential for earning revenue. In the UK, you must meet the following criteria:
At least 1,000 subscribers
Minimum of 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months
2. Choose Your Niche Carefully
Selecting a niche that resonates with your interests and the UK audience is crucial. Whether it’s British culture, fashion, football, or gardening, finding your unique voice and target audience is essential for success.
3. Create Engaging Content
Quality content that engages viewers will make them return for more. Being authentic, entertaining, and informative can help you build a loyal community.
Ad Revenue: Through Google AdSense, YouTubers receive a share of the revenue from ads displayed on their videos.
Channel Memberships: Offer exclusive perks to subscribers for a monthly fee.
Super Chats: During live streams, viewers can pay to have their messages highlighted.
Affiliate Marketing: Partnering with brands and promoting products for a commission.
Sponsorships: Collaborating with businesses to create sponsored content.
5. Comply with UK Regulations
Understanding the UK’s regulations regarding taxes, copyright laws, and advertising guidelines is essential to operate legally and ethically.
6. Analyze Your Performance
Regularly analyzing your performance through YouTube Analytics helps in understanding what works and what doesn’t. Focus on metrics like watch time, audience retention, and engagement.
7. Network and Collaborate
Collaborating with other UK YouTubers can expand your reach and increase your credibility. Attending events and engaging with the community both online and offline can foster meaningful connections.
These tables give an overview of various aspects of YouTube in the UK, such as the requirements for monetization, average earnings, popular categories, and demographics of content creators. Keep in mind that these numbers are illustrative and should be cross-referenced with up-to-date sources for accuracy in specific situations.
Challenges and Unique Aspects in the UK
Stiff Competition: The UK’s YouTube scene is bustling with talent, so standing out requires creativity and perseverance.
Cultural Sensitivity: Understanding and appealing to the diverse cultural landscape in the UK can be a unique challenge.
Making money on YouTube in the UK is an exciting prospect but requires hard work, persistence, and strategic planning.
By understanding the UK market, abiding by the local regulations, engaging with the community, and leveraging multiple revenue streams, you can turn your YouTube channel into a thriving business.
Whether you’re in London, Manchester, or Edinburgh, the opportunities are vast, but the journey is uniquely British, filled with both challenges and rewards.
Australia, with its robust economy and thriving online community, presents a fantastic opportunity for content creators to make money on YouTube.
With a population that embraces technology and digital media, there are numerous ways to turn your passion for video creation into a profitable venture.
Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to make money on YouTube in Australia.
1. Understanding the YouTube Landscape in Australia
Australia’s internet population consists of 21 million users, 15 million of whom are active YouTube users. With a reach that extensive, YouTube offers an incredible platform to communicate, entertain, and monetize.
Unique Niches in Australia:
Travel and Adventure: Australia’s diverse landscapes make it an ideal location for travel and adventure vlogging.
Wildlife: Australia is home to unique fauna and flora, providing ample content for wildlife enthusiasts.
Cuisine: The Australian cuisine, blending various culinary traditions, offers a wide scope for food vloggers.
Sports and Outdoor Activities: Surfing, rugby, and cricket are part of the Australian culture, offering sporting content creators a niche audience.
2. Monetization Strategies
YouTube Partner Program (YPP)
To start earning from YouTube, you must join the YouTube Partner Program. Requirements include:
Adherence to all YouTube’s policies and guidelines
Ad Revenue
YouTube offers different types of ads like display ads, skippable video ads, and more. Australian YouTubers typically earn an average CPM (Cost Per Mille) of $5 – $8.
These tables present an overview of YouTube usage in Australia, potential earnings from various monetization strategies, and the popularity of different content niches.
It’s important to recognize that these numbers can vary widely depending on individual circumstances, content quality, audience engagement, and other factors.
Conclusion
Making money on YouTube in Australia is a viable and exciting opportunity. The journey requires understanding the unique Australian landscape, identifying your niche, and employing various monetization strategies. Persistence, creativity, and adherence to the guidelines will enable you to turn your passion for video creation into a profitable venture.
YouTube has emerged as a powerful platform for content creators worldwide, and South Africa is no exception. With a growing community of YouTubers, the potential for earning income through YouTube is more viable than ever.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to make money on YouTube in South Africa, with key strategies, statistics, and actionable insights.
With 11 official languages, South Africa presents a fertile ground for content creators to produce videos in different languages like Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans.
2. South African Culture and Heritage
Channels focusing on South African history, art, cuisine, and traditional practices can attract a local and international audience interested in unique cultural insights.
3. Local Travel and Adventure
South Africa’s diverse landscapes offer a niche for travel vloggers to explore wildlife, adventure sports, and local tourism destinations.
With the growth of local businesses and entrepreneurship, channels providing guidance on starting and running a business in South Africa can find a targeted audience.
Challenges for South African YouTubers
1. Internet Accessibility
Although improving, internet access remains limited in certain areas. This impacts both the content creators and the viewership, as high-quality video streaming requires a stable internet connection.
Monetizing a channel might be more challenging due to lower average CPM rates and purchasing power, compared to other developed markets.
4. Regulation and Censorship
Compliance with local laws and regulations may add complexity to content creation, especially when dealing with political or sensitive social issues.
5. Equipment and Technology
Access to cutting-edge equipment and technology may be more expensive or challenging to find, potentially limiting production quality.
South African YouTubers face a unique set of opportunities and challenges shaped by cultural diversity, economic factors, and technological infrastructure. Embracing local niches and overcoming challenges through innovation and a deep understanding of the South African audience can pave the way for success on the platform.
By recognizing these unique aspects, content creators can align their strategies with South Africa’s specific dynamics, opening doors to growth, community engagement, and financial success on YouTube.
Challenges and Solutions
Growing and monetizing a YouTube channel in South Africa poses certain challenges, such as competition and compliance with YouTube’s policies. Solutions include consistent uploading, focusing on your niche (such as YouTube SEO, tips and tricks, etc.), and engaging with your community.
Conclusion
Making money on YouTube in South Africa requires dedication, understanding of the platform’s monetization methods, and leveraging the specific trends and behaviors of the South African audience. By focusing on creating valuable content, engaging with your target audience, and strategically monetizing your channel, you can turn your YouTube passion into a profitable business.
YouTube and blogging are two powerful ways to earn a fairly passive income online. YouTube is a visual platform that relies on video content while blogging gives you a little more licence to deep dive into ideas with writing, images and videos blended into a comprehensive article.
But how can you monetize your youtube channel and blogs, and what one is more profitable?
Lets look into making money online in the first place. You can make your site a profitable business by monetizing it in the following ways:
Affiliate Marketing
It’s one of the most popular ways that bloggers use to make money. with this type of marketing, you need to promote certain products that belong to other businesses. So, every time a person buys the product through your affiliate link, you earn a commission.
Some of the most popular affiliate programs include:
Amazon associates
Commission junction
ShareASale
Publish Sponsored Blog Posts
You can get paid to write and publish a blog post on your site. This is simply sponsored content, and it offers one of the best ways to improve your blog monetization strategy. A business organization, company, or individual can pay to create content about their products. In some instances, they might prepare the content themselves and then give you for publication. Some of the best blogger networks that can provide you with such opportunities include:
BlogDash
ValuedVoice
Sell Ad Space
If you have ad space on your site, you can sell it at a set price to an interested buyer. This sounds better than getting a small amount of money every time someone clicks on your ad, and you simply charge a flat rate.
Write Product Review
Once you have built your site and become a reputable writer, you can get paid to write reviews. You can try out a sponsored product, write a product review about it, and get paid to do that job. But it’s important to find a niche that you understand and products relevant to your audience. For instance, if your blog is about health and fitness, it will make sense to review supplements, smartwatches, wellness applications, and fitness apparel.
Get AdSense
When you start writing and publishing content for income, advertising is usually at the back of your mind since you want to profit from your work. The easiest way to monetize your blog is by using Google AdSense, i.e., an Ad Network run by Google. AdSense usually displays adverts on websites, and when a visitor clicks on it, you make money.
YouTube.
Just like blogging, there are several ways you can use to monetize your YouTube channel. If you are in the YouTube Partner Program, then you can earn money through:
Ads
If you meet YouTube’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines, then you can turn on ads. You can check your eligibility by checking out the self-certification examples and guidance found on this platform.
But understand that choosing to turn on adverts doesn’t mean they will automatically appear on your video. Your content must go through the standard ads process that includes human and automated reviews to determine if it meets the guidelines. Besides that, you need to have all the rights to the audio and visual elements in the video. YouTube has two types of ads options; hence you can turn on ads for:
Individual videos
Multiple videos
Merch
YouTube has a merchandise shelf that allows interested creators to sell their branded merchandise on this platform. Note that this feature usually appears on certain video pages that are eligible channels.
Memberships
Allow viewers to join your channels via monthly payments. However, you should be ready to give them members-only perks such as emojis, badges, and other types of goods. YouTube has policies and guidelines to help eligible account holders.
Chat and Super Stickers
You can turn on this feature and connect with your fans during live chat. Making super stickers and chat content can earn you up to$500. Viewers can purchase the super chats option to highlight your message in the live chat.
Premium Revenue
YouTube premium revenue will automatically turn itself on. If a viewer is subscribed to YouTube Premium, then every time they watch what you publish, you will earn part of the fee they pay for their premium account.
In this blog vs YouTube earnings overview, it’s clear that both platforms offer multiple channels of earning money. However, more people prefer to watch videos rather than read blogs, and this is because they have a better chance to view content in a “live” way.
Q: When to get AdSense
If you are a blogger, you can apply for AdSense once your site starts receiving at least 100 unique visitors daily. Blogging rules have changed, and it may be quite difficult to get accepted, especially if your site doesn’t generate a reasonable amount of traffic every day. Besides that, you need to have a Google account, e.g., Gmail, to use AdSense. With YouTube, you need to have at least 1000 subscribers with a total of 4,000 watch hours.
Q: Does AdSense Pay Per Bloggers Per View?
Blog: No. AdSense doesn’t pay bloggers based on ad views. Instead, people get paid using cost-per-click (CPC). This is an established payment system that allows you to receive a portion of your payment when a person from your target audience clicks on the targeted ads by Google AdSense. So, if one of your users clicks on your ad, you should receive 68% of the payment as the publisher.
Q: How Much Does AdSense Pay Per Click/View?
Blog: Your commission is 68% of the total click amount, but this can go down to 51% in AdSense for search. Generally, the amount you get in terms of the commission depends on the existing competition on the Google Search engine platform and the CPC in that niche. The commission per click usually ranges between $0.20 and $15.
YouTube: according to various sources, you can earn between $0.01 and $0.03 per view with YouTube AdSense, but this amount usually averages out at around $0.18 per view. Like blogging, Google will pay you 68% of the generated AdSense revenue, and so for every $100 that the advertiser pays, you get $68 as the publisher.
Q: How Can You Improve Your AdSense Earnings?
For bloggers, AdSense earnings matter. To maximize your AdSense revenue after monetizing your website, here’s what you need to do:
Craft High-Quality Content
Your content is what will make you stand out. Valuable content will always get more clicks, which will organically raise your revenue. This is because it will generate more traffic and leads. By doing so, your chances of getting more clicks will increase, making your site attractive for product or service advertisers.
When crafting content for a specific niche, look at what your competitors are doing first, including their writing styles. This way, you will know what’s expected of you and how you can uniquely craft your content for your audience.
Use the Right Keywords
A combination of engaging, high-quality content with the right keywords will be highly effective in revenue generation. Look for those keywords that people commonly use when searching for specific content. Optimize your keywords so that search engines can easily crawl on your site and rank your content on top of search results.
Of course, more traffic will lead to more clicks, and the result will be more earnings from Google AdSense.
Consider Best Ad Placement Best Practices
Ad placement is important in maximizing your earning. On your homepage, you can increase the click-through rate (CTR) by:
Using 728 x 90 leaderboard ad image unit just right above your homepage’s fold and below the main bar navigation.
Consider testing different ad units, i.e., 300 x 250 medium rectangle or 160 x 600- a wide skyscraper in your sidebar.
On your main blog page, use:
A 336 x 280 large rectangle image for your ad unit right on top of your article.
Consider using a similar type of ad unit before the comments section at the end of your post.
Ad size and style all matter in boosting a blogger’s AdSense earnings. This gives your visitors several chances to notice and then click on your ads. When considering ad style, understand that the goal is to make them more visible while simultaneously reducing ad blindness.
That’s why google usually recommends that you consider using different colors for your links and ad text to make them stand out.
There are three main ad styles that have been proven to be technically effective, and they include:
Color contrast: use ads with colors that easily stand out against your website’s background.
Blend: ensure that your ad units are the same color as your site’s borders.
Complement: use colors that preferably already exist on your website even though they don’t exactly match with the borders or background but easily blend.
Use a Plugin for Ad Management
Ads that generate good revenue must be managed. This makes it possible to group ads depending on the content and where they can be inserted. Some of the useful features of an ad plugin include:
Ad rotation: you can opt to use a timed or on-page rotation for your site’s ad group
Adblocker: it checks if the browser has an ad-block software and then issues notification for it to be disabled.
Expiry date: you can set an expiry date for your ads.
For YouTubers, you can only make money with your YouTube partner account to get AdSense Revenue. The best way to increase your YouTube earnings include:
Publish Quality Videos
In content creation, quality will always sell. There is more to creating videos, which means creating content that can easily captivate the viewer. There are already several other creators in your niche; hence, you should create videos that people can watch. But how can you effectively do this?
Create videos that meet YouTube guidelines
Create a schedule for your video posts- it is important to upload videos to create a schedule that your audience will be in-tune with. Do you want to upload videos twice weekly, 5x monthly, etc.? You can learn more about scheduling here
Create your Thumbnails. Even though YouTube offers you the thumbnail option, it’s great to create your own since you can customize it to meet specific user preferences. You can use a graphic editing app to do this.
Briefly describe what happens in the video in the description area. Note that the summary of the information you provide here should be accurate, and you can even add blogs or websites that you are affiliated with.
Ensure that you sparsely use the relevant keywords to fill out all the details outlined in the title, tags, and description. SEO is also relevant in YouTube.
Create a quick but captivating intro that highlights what the viewer should expect.
Manage your Channel
Only a great channel with a reliable number of viewers will earn you a good income. YouTube success doesn’t come easily, so you must build and manage your channel. Ensure your channel’s description, including colors and logos, matches your niche and user profile. Besides that:
Fill in all your profile information
Customize your site’s color scheme and background
Use a captivating cover photo
Use a captivating cover photo
Channel management also requires you to vary the presentation of your videos. There are those subscribers that love short videos while others love longer versions. Analyze the performance of different videos based on the length and use that information to create relevant content. This way, you can:
Publish video content of varying lengths to cater to the different needs of your target audience
Create your playlist featuring a series of various videos
Lastly, consider your community in content management. There isn’t any successful YouTuber who doesn’t have a community. How can you build your community?
Directly interact with your fans by replying to comments
Ask them to give you their opinions
Make them feel like they are part of your content creation journey
Improve your AdSense Ads
Use your YouTube partnership account to improve your AdSense. Do keyword research to drive more traffic and result in better showing ads. The more traffic you get and the better the quality of the ads, then the more money you will earn.
In this case, consider the type of tags you use. Tags should be ideally used to connect videos with similar characteristics. So, the more connections you get, the better your chances of getting more views.
Market Your Channel
It would be nice for your channel to get more exposure on YouTube and other platforms. A high level of exposure guarantees you more leads and traffic, which leads to more views that generate revenue.
Q: How Many Views Does a Blogger/Youtuber Need to Get Paid?
Blog: There isn’t a specific fixed number you need to get paid. You can get paid with as little as 100 visitors. However, you should understand that every page view generates $0.01 and $0.25. That means that you would earn $1 -$25 monthly.
If you want to make money from blogging, you need to get around 10, 000 views unique visitors monthly. This way, you can monetize your blog easily and use it nicely for a revenue stream. However, the biggest challenge for most people is getting these numbers. For a YouTuber, the views you need can be equated to 4,000 hours of watch time.
Q: What Kind of Blogs/Channels Make More Money?
You can flourish in any niche and earn a modest income if you put in the work. However, there are niches that if you invest in, you are guaranteed more revenue. This is because such niches are popular, and their content is highly demanded.
We “interact” with money almost every day. Whether it’s buying food, transport, paying for accommodation, or even accessing the internet, so, money is an important factor for the sustenance of our livelihoods, and that’s why starting a finance blog will put you a step ahead in ensuring you earn more.
People are always looking for effective ways to handle money, and finance blogs are the best in providing actionable insights that the user might need. Whether it’s a busy professional, a retiree, or a young college student, finance content will never go out of style as it appeals to most people. Some of the aspects of finance you can focus on. Include:
• Passive income – blogging is one of the best ways to earn a passive income or use it as a side hustle.
It is currently one of the best niches to focus on since most people are actively looking for ways to make passive or active income through marketing.
With your marketing blog, you can help your target audience learn how they can master e-commerce skills before starting a business. Some of the areas that seem to be attracting big numbers include:
• SEO
• blogging
• Email marketing
• E-commerce marketing
Travel Blog
Travel blogs have become a necessity in this era, with more people keen on exploring their locals, regions, or even international areas.
Travel blogs are quite popular, and you can always make good money, regardless of the zone you decide to focus on. You can make money through affiliate links, accommodation reviews, etc. Additionally, you sell travel apparel on your blog.
Food Blog
If you are a foodie, this is a new area for you to flourish. Food blogs are popular currently, and you can make yours the online recipe book. Teach your target audience how to prepare different tasty dishes, and you can even use some nice photos from your kitchen.
Besides that, you can prepare specific meal recipes that target a certain group of people e.g.
• New moms
• Those struggling with weight loss or weight gain
• Diet time limits
• Fitness enthusiasts
Some of the other areas you can focus on include:
• Restaurant reviews
• DIY meals
• Food and traveling
• Affordable outdoor dining
Fashion Blog
You don’t need your clothing line to write a fashion blog. You can still express your unique sense of style on your blog through product reviews. There are new fashion trends almost every month, and this means that people are always trying to keep up to date with what’s happening in the fashion world. The best thing about being a fashion blogger is that you can link your site to your social media page, become a social media influencer as well, and add affiliate links.
Not all YouTube videos are the same, and there are certain types of videos that tend to perform better than the others, regardless of the publisher. These videos generate more income, and they include:
How-to videos
They are quite popular since people are always looking for popular solutions to fix and do things. How-to videos top the charts since they are better off than instructional manuals. You can cover a wide range of topics ranging from education, travel, and photography.
Product Reviews
These are videos that involve a YouTuber testing out a product then giving the target audience a review, including the downsides and pros, based on their personal experience. According to Google, product reviews have generated more than 50,000 years of YouTube watch time in the last couple of years only.
Vlogs
These are videos that cover a wide range of niches depending on the creator. You can vlog about basically anything but lifestyle topics, including music, comedy, and entertainment
You can learn more about YouTube side hustles here
Q: What’s Easy Monetize, YouTube Channel or a Blog?
It depends on your content and the effort you put in. it takes about six months to start earning from your blog. With YouTube, your channel needs to have t least 1,000 subscribers and a total of 4,000 watch time hours within the last 12 months.
It will take you roughly a year to get to 4,000 watch hours, i.e., 240,000 minutes, if you maintain an average watch time of 20,000 minutes per month. But YouTube divides watch time across the whole channel, and so you can achieve the watch hours in less than a year if you produce a few high-quality videos.
To get quickly monetize your channel and get up to 4,000 hours of watch time, here’s what you can do:
Create fresh content
To be discovered on YouTube can be easy if you upload fresh content that appears on top of YouTube’s search results. Your goal should be to publish videos that remain relevant all year round, and this means that you can continue to earn revenue from the same video for months to come.
The best way to make evergreen content include:
• Interacting with your viewers and asking them about which content they prefer
• Answering their questions as much as you can
• Consider trending topics and offer valuable information regarding them
• Create videos that offer solutions or give deeper insights
Do Livestreams
Of course, your community of fans wants to know and interact with you on a one-to-one basis. The best way to boost viewership and improve your target audience’s confidence is by hosting live stream sessions. Understand that the numbers might be small at first, but the more you do, the better your chances of growing your channel and earning more revenue.
consistently Upload Your Videos
More hours mean that you need to have more videos under your belt. Create viral videos that will quickly give your channel the needed boost to attain those 4,000 hours. Don’t forget to be consistent. There’s a lot that goes in during video creation. Hence you must be ready to put in the work.
Go for Quality
The length of your YouTube video matters in attracting and retaining your target audience. But sometimes, to hit those high numbers, you need more quality content than quantity. A popular video with your audience will generate more traffic, and your channel will quickly hit those hours.
Q: Blog vs YouTube Earnings: Which One Should You Consider?
It all depends on what you have in your hands at your interests. There is a whole blog vs YouTube earnings debate that never seems to go out of style. But here are a few tips to help you consider the right type of platform that suits you:
Rate of earning income
A blog will quickly earn you a reasonable income, especially if you can monetize your ads and work with affiliate links. While YouTube has a better-earning potential, it’s more volatile and only seems more profitable for people who have fully established themselves with short- to medium-term goals. Overall, getting your foot in the blogging field seems easier, and you can get the job done within 3-4 months.
SEO Benefits for Growth
You stand a better chance to grow exponentially if you start with blogging. Blogging can help your YouTube channel to grow. Some of the benefits of starting a blog before a channel include:
• Understanding keyword research and its benefits in content creation
• Improving click-through rates
• Content length and what appeals to your audience
• How to describe photos and videos
With this information, you can create SEO-friendly videos that increase watch-time and more audience retention, leading to more revenue generation. Besides that, you will learn the importance of creating longer videos because they give you more watch time, a better chance of retaining viewers, and provide your target audience with more values. Lastly, you can use your blogging skills to caption and describe your videos using the right keywords. You can learn more about YouTube captions here
Startup Costs
Before you start blogging or vlogging, you need to invest a sustainable amount of money. While there are cheap ways to do this, it remains a fact that you need to put some money aside for content creation.
Blog costs
You will mainly invest in services. Here is a brief overview of blogging costs:
• Hosting: you need a host for your website. Expect to pay at least $60 annually, but this depends on the host you choose.
• Domain name: your blog needs a unique identifier in the form of a domain name. a basic domain name will cost you around $13.00. remember that you should choose a unique domain name that complements your site’s profile.
• Paid theme: while this isn’t a requirement, remember that you want to use your blog to generate revenue. Some bloggers may avoid this and opt to use free themes with limitations. To be on the safe side, ensure that you get a paid theme, and this can cost you around $30.00
YouTube Costs
You need a camera and a good microphone to start a YouTube channel. However, some may argue that you can use your smartphone. However, your success with a smartphone is quite limited based on the 720p to 1080p standard. You will be disadvantaged if you don’t produce high-quality content because your competitors are, and that’s why they are earning more revenue. On average, here’s what you need:
You can find more information regarding the tools from alanspicer.com
Starting a blog is cheaper, and you can leverage that to create a good YouTube profile. You will probably have better deals initially as a blogger, and the whole setup process is cheaper.
Selling Your Work
If you need a platform with a good exit strategy, you should probably consider blogging. People sell their websites all the time, which can generate up to 50x of the platform’s monthly average profit. Overall, it’s easy and quite profitable to sell a blog.
Meanwhile, how many times have you heard a person sell their blog? This is because it’s highly unlikely for that to happen. In fact, if you do so, then you will be going against the terms and services of YouTube/Google.
This doesn’t mean that people don’t sell their YouTube channels, but the whole process is complex and involves many backdoor deals.
In conclusion, if you want to grow your target audience quickly with a moderate income, then you should consider starting a blog. But if you are patient, want to build a community, and earn a significant amount of money in the long run, then YouTube should be your go-to solution. To learn more about starting a YouTube channel, here’s what Alan Spicer, a certified YouTube Expert, offers.
People today understand more than ever the importance of diversifying when it comes to your source of income. After decades of financial crisis’ and global pandemics, younger generations are acutely aware of how risky it is to put all your eggs in one employment basket.
This has always been the case for YouTubers, of course. Since the beginning of YouTubers making money from their content, it has always been the advice for smart YouTubers not to rely solely on YouTube to pay their bills. Adpocalypses, changes to personal situations, and much more can make YouTube earnings evaporate in no time.
Of course, telling you that it’s important to spread your wings a bit financially is all well and good, but we want to go that extra step and give you a few ideas on where you can spread your wings!
A side hustle is defined as any job or occupation that is not your main job or occupation. In a traditional sense, an example of this might be someone working in a factory through the week and then doing a few shifts tending bar on the weekend. In this case, the bar work would be a side hustle.
Of course, things are a little more fluid these days, with the lines between side hustles and a “main job” being a little blurrier, but there is an emotional component that is strong these days than it once was. It is not uncommon for people who make their money online to have something that they consider a side hustle actually be their primary source of income!
Still, whether you classify something as a side hustle based on the money it makes you or how important that activity is to you, the basic premise remains the same; it’s a way of earning money that you consider secondary to another way of earning money.
How Much Money Can You Make With a Side Hustle?
The amount of money you can make with a side hustle will, of course, vary tremendously depending on several factors, such as what the side hustle is, how good you are at it, how much time you put into it, and more.
As mentioned above, how much money it makes does not necessarily affect its status as a side hustle. If you consider YouTube your “primary” hustle, you may well find one of your side hustles overtaking as your largest source of income. Our advice would be to not think too much about things like the exact amounts. As long as you’re making enough (whatever “enough” means to you), it doesn’t matter which hustle is making the most money.
Don’t Think of it as a Side Hustle!
While you should get too hung up on the specific amount being made by any form of hustle, it’s important not to think of things as secondary, or unimportant. If your job involves making money on the Internet, you should consider all of it your job, whether it’s making the most or not.
If you start thinking of legitimate income sources as unimportant, you run the risk of letting them slip until they stop being legitimate income sources. You may think of yourself as a YouTuber, but if you have half a dozen side hustles, they will quickly amount to a significant portion of your income, so you probably literally can’t afford to neglect them.
Top 10 Side Hustles for YouTubers
That’s enough about what side hustles are, it’s time to get to our top ten side hustles for YouTubers. Of course, if you simply searched for side hustles and found this post, you aren’t a YouTuber, don’t stop reading. We’ve picked these ten side hustles because they work well with YouTubing, but they are perfectly viable side hustles for other walks of life, too.
In fact, if you see your main hustle on here (blog writer, or podcaster, for example), just swap that one out for “YouTuber” and keep on reading!
Oh, and a little side note about the YouTube Partner Programme, we haven’t included that in this list because we assume that if you’re looking to add side hustles to your resume, you’re already making money from YouTube.
#1 Affiliate Marketer
Affiliate marketing is perhaps one of the most well-established means of making money on the side for YouTubers. This is the process of promoting something in the course of your usual content and making a little money on the actions taken by your viewers.
The most well-known example of this is, of course, Amazon’s affiliate program. When enrolled as an Amazon affiliate, you will be able to get a personal affiliate link from any Amazon product. Viewers who happen to buy that product will not pay any extra—indeed, they wouldn’t even know it was an affiliate link if you didn’t tell them (more on that in a second)—but you will make a small commission on anything they buy through your links.
There are many forms of affiliate marketing available, as well as services designed specifically to facilitate linking companies with people like you. It should be noted, however, that you should always give some sort of indication to your viewers that a link you have put in the description or a product you are promoting in your video is something you are promoting as an affiliate. It’s not hard to find out, and viewers will be turned off by this kind of dishonesty. It could also get you in trouble with YouTube.
#2 Merchandise Seller
Whether you have some kind of merchandise that exists independent of your YouTube channel, or you start releasing merchandise that ties directly in with your YouTube channel, having that channel can be a great way to promote it.
Naturally, if your merchandise is tied to the channel (for example, t-shirts with the channel logo on them), you’re going to want to promote it from that channel. Alternatively, if you want to start (or already have) a small clothing line, you sell artwork, or you sell pretty much anything on a site like Etsy, you can leverage the popularity of your YouTube channel to give that side hustle a bit of a kickstart.
#3 Course Instructor
Many YouTubers have some area of expertise, even if their channel is not about imparting that expertise. These days, the administrative side of creating and hosting an online course to teach other people things is relatively painless. There’s still a lot of work in putting the course together, of course, but there’s a lot of work in running a YouTube channel, as well, and you’re not letting that stop you… are you?
Of course, if your channel is centred around educating, such as a DIY channel, or tutorials on coding, it will be much easier to translate that audience into an online course. But even channels that are not about teaching viewers something can take advantage of this side hustle, as long as the course is teaching a skill that is on display when you make your videos.
#4 Channel Manager
If you have a particular flair for handling YouTube channels, you might consider turning your attention to becoming a channel manager. Essentially, you would take on the management of other people’s channels, and handle almost everything except for the content itself.
Many people don’t have the time or desire to effectively manage their channel themselves, but proper channel management can make an enormous difference. As you will no doubt be aware of this is a side hustle you are considering.
The main thing to beware of here is letting this side hustle take over. A good channel manager will typically have several clients. And, while managing a channel doesn’t take nearly as much time as making content for it, it all adds up if you keep adding clients to your roster.
#5 Blogger
Bloggers may resent seeing their profession listed as a side hustle on a YouTube blog—especially since blogging was a viable source of income before YouTube—but don’t be mad; YouTube can just as rightly be called a side hustle for bloggers. And the good news is this makes sense whichever way round you look at it.
Essentially, you have something to share with an audience, and you are currently doing it in video form. By translating that content to written form, you can reach a whole new audience. Or you can make it supplemental, giving your YouTube audience something else to consume.
#6 Podcaster
In a very similar vein to being a blogger, you can get more of your message out in audio-only form through podcasts. And, again, if you are a podcast, you can easily look at this suggestion in reverse, with YouTube being the side hustle.
This suggestion works best for channels that already have a podcast-like feel, such as panel show channels, or interview channels. If you regularly put out hour-long videos that are mostly talking, you’re going to miss out on a lot of viewers purely because of the time requirements. Not everyone has that much free time to sit and watch YouTube.
Those same people might have an hour’s worth of commuting to do every day, or regularly go for a job and like to listen to something while they do. They might just want something to put on while they do a bit of cleaning around the home. If your content is already podcast-like, putting it out as a podcast will involve negligible work. And, if it succeeds, it could drive more traffic to your YouTube channel.
Of course, you can still make a podcast if your channel isn’t the kind of channel described above. As long as you have something interesting to talk about, you can find an audience.
#7 Produce Video Content
This one is a little trickier. As we mentioned above in the channel manager section, creating content for a channel is the most time-consuming part, so the idea of producing video content for others might not seem like the best plan.
While you could certainly produce video content for other YouTube channels, we’re suggesting something more specialist, such as making animations idents, or infographic clips. If you have a skill for this kind of thing, there will undoubtedly be plenty of people and companies that are happy to pay for your services.
#8 Stock Trader
This one doesn’t really tie in to you being a YouTuber unless your YouTube channel revolves around you being a stock trader, or talking about stock trading in some form. If this isn’t you, you can still get into stock trading (or currency trading), to earn a little (or a lot) extra on the side, just be sure you know what you’re doing. We categorically do not recommend anyone dabbling in the stock market without knowing what they’re doing beforehand.
#9 Become a Consultant
You don’t have to make content to take advantage of your expertise. Consultancy work is a great way for you to exploit your own knowledge while helping others. One example of this could be helping other YouTubers grow their channel (assuming you have proven yourself able to do this in the first place of course!), but it could just as easily be any other area of expertise you have.
#10 Champion a Cause
This one is kind of cheating. You won’t necessarily make any money from championing a good cause, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Whether it’s planting trees or donating to charities, you have the power to make an impact.
Final Thoughts
YouTube is undoubtedly a great platform for launching other projects, whether they are passion projects, side hustles, or even new careers. The list above is a relatively small selection of the possibilities for adding new hustles to your game, so don’t worry if none of the above work for you.
Of course, if all else fails, your side hustle could always be other YouTube channels.
Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube
Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.
1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search
I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.
When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.
Big mistake!
I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.
That is why I took the plunge and invested in my editing and design process with Adobe Creative Suite. They offer a WIDE range of tools to help make amazing videos, simple to use tools for overlays, graphics, one click tools to fix your audio and the very powerful Photoshop graphics program to make eye-catching thumbnails.
Best of all you can get a free trial for 30 days on their website, a discount if you are a student and if you are a regular human being it starts from as little as £9 per month if you want to commit to a plan.
3. Rev.com helps people read my videos
You can’t always listen to a video.
Maybe you’re on a bus, a train or sat in a living room with a 5 year old singing baby shark on loop… for HOURS. Or, you are trying to make as little noise as possible while your new born is FINALLY sleeping.
This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.
A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.
4. PlaceIT can help you STAND OUT on YouTube
I SUCK at making anything flashy or arty.
I have every intention in the world to make something that looks cool but im about as artistic as a dropped ice-cream cone on the web windy day.
That is why I could not live on YouTube without someone like PlaceIT. They offer custom YouTube Banners, Avatars, YouTube Video Intros and YouTube End Screen Templates that are easy to edit with simple click, upload wizard to help you make amazing professional graphics in minutes.
5. StoryBlocks helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways
I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.
And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.
I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.
I can talk about skydiving, food, money, kids, cats – ANYTHING I WANT – with a quick search on the StoryBlocks website I can find a great looking clip to overlay on my videos, keeping them entertained and watching for longer.
Affiliate programs are one of the most popular ways of earning money online; whether it is as a nice side-hustle for a little extra cash or the backbone of a five-figure a month income, they provide a way to earn revenue while doing the things you are already doing.
They can invisibly add additional revenue streams that, in some cases, can even add value for your viewers.
With all of this in mind, it is natural to wonder; does YouTube have an affiliate program of their own.
After all, being profitable is a serious concern for the platform, not to mention the added incentive it would give to content creators.
Does YouTube have an affiliate program? – No, YouTube does not have an affiliate program, but you can monetize your channel with the Partnership Program if/when you meet the 1K subscribers and 4K hours of watch time requirements. However you can still use external affiliate programs to make money on YouTube with click through traffic.
Through using YouTube marketing for your channel, you can grow awareness and drive traffic to your affiliate account.
We’re about to take an in-depth look at affiliate programs and how you can use them on YouTube, so let’s get comfortable.
What is an Affiliate Program?
If you’ve made it this far into the post without knowing what an affiliate program is, don’t worry; we’ve got your back. An affiliate program is a system whereby you can earn a fee in exchange for actions taken by your viewers. With the most popular forms of affiliate programs, this fee often comes in the form a commission of a product or service sale. In some cases, it can be a fixed fee in exchange for a user signing up to something.
By far, the most popular affiliate program for individual YouTubers—and many other content creators—is the Amazon Affiliate program, which allows you to generate a unique link for any product on the Amazon marketplace. If one of your viewers clicks through your link and buys something, you earn a small percentage of the sale.
The other way in which affiliate programs are typically run is when a service that is looking for members will reward people who refer new users to them. Fiverr is an excellent example of this with its affiliate program explicitly designed to reward people for driving traffic to their service.
Once you understand how affiliate programs work, it should be easy to understand why YouTube doesn’t have one.
First of all, they don’t sell any products, so they can’t offer a commission on the sale of those products. But secondly, there is no paid service to subsidise a traffic-driving affiliate program like the one Fiverr has. Granted, there is YouTube Premium, but that is a very narrowly focussed product that would not have much re-use value for any given YouTuber.
With a platform like Fiverr, there are dozens and dozens of different services available, so one person could theoretically want to keep going back, which in turn means there are far more ways in which an affiliate link can be worked into the content that is being created.
As for the non-YouTube Premium content, it doesn’t make much sense for YouTube to incentivise people to drive traffic to their platform, given the sheer number of people who are on that platform attempting to drive to traffic to their own videos already.
YouTube is all about retention—once a new person lands on their site, they aim to keep them there as long as possible, and they’ve gotten very good at that over the years.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a popular YouTube who drives millions of unique views a day to the site, or an unknown YouTuber who is just starting out who might bring three new sets of eyeballs to the platform, YouTube will work to keep those people on the site viewing videos, and that retention just as valuable—if not more so—than bringing in new viewers who might not be so interested in sticking around.
Tips for Using Affiliate Marketing with your YouTube Channel
So, YouTube doesn’t have an affiliate marketing program, that much we’ve made clear.
But what we also made clear was the fact that this doesn’t stop you from running affiliate marketing programs through your YouTube channel in order to increase your revenue, so let’s talk about that.
The strength of affiliate marketing lies in invisibility—when you can provide a link to a service or product that fits seamlessly into your content and provides your viewers with something of value to them, you are on to a winner.
To help you achieve affiliate success, we’ve put together some of our top tips for using affiliate programs in your videos and on your channel.
Full Disclosure
We live in a cynical age, borne of many web services and content creators taking advantage of their audience, more and more people assume that anytime something is hidden from them, it is for negative reasons.
To that end, you should always be upfront about any affiliate links you use, even if all you do is put “(PAID)” next to the link in your description. YouTube viewers are generally accepting of the fact that their content creators need to make money somehow, and will not go out of their way to stop that from happening.
But including affiliate links without disclosing this fact can breed bad blood with your audience—especially if you are reviewing a product or service that you are linking out to through an affiliate program.
Keep it in Context
Google puts a lot of time and effort into figuring out the best ads to show a particular individual at any given time.
This is because merely showing the ad is only part of the battle—if nobody ever clicked those ads, advertisers would stop paying for them.
The same approach should be taken for affiliate links. There is no sense in making a video about guitar building and then including an affiliate link to an eBook on making money online.
Sure, some of the viewers of that video might be interested in the eBook, but it is such a shot in the dark, it would hardly be worth the effort of typing the link.
While we’re not saying there is never a good time for an out of context affiliate link, the best use of these links is within the context of your video. If you are doing a video on the top five sports cameras, have affiliate links to each of the cameras on Amazon in your description. The people watching that video are far more likely to be in the market for a new sports camera than viewers on other videos, and your video might just be the thing that pushes them to pull the trigger.
By including a link to the product, you are saving them the effort of going off and searching for it themselves.
And, as affiliate programmes are almost never more expensive—if anything you can often get a better deal through affiliate links—you are not inconveniencing your viewers in any way.
As an additional note, being in context doesn’t necessarily mean the product or service relates to the subject matter of the video directly. A
s an example, a channel whose content is primarily about how to make better YouTube videos might list off the equipment they use in the description, along with affiliate links to where that gear can be bought. This is useful to that channel’s viewers since “what equipment do you use” is one of the most commonly asked questions that successful YouTubers get asked.
Pick Something you Believe In
I am a huge fan of services like Rev – They help me add captions and foreign language subtitles to my youtube videos at a time fee per minute. I use them personally so I know they are good and that is why I promote them using an affiliate program. It is this personal edge that helps my audience understand that if I use it, its a god product and not just a huge list of products you could grab from Amazon in a blind blog post.
Not every channel creates videos of the top ten latest gadgets that can be easily linked to on Amazon, but that doesn’t mean those channels should miss out on the affiliate marketing train.
Firstly, remember that Amazon—and direct product sales in general—are not the only options when it comes to affiliate marketing. Many digital products and services have affiliate marketing options attached to them. Indeed, services like Clickbank specialise in finding digital products that can be marketed through affiliate linking. There are also services, such as Fiverr, as we mentioned earlier.
Ultimately, if there are no affiliate products or services that you can tie into your content directly, you could go on the hunt for a product or service that you truly believe will be beneficial for your viewers, and promote that instead. For example, for a programming channel, you could promote an ergonomic desk chair. For a yoga channel, you could promote a particular type of yoga mat.
It’s a little like being sponsored by that product, only the people behind the product are not involved. And on that note, you should be careful not imply that you are sponsored, as that can cause problems with the company behind the product or service.
The important thing here is that the product or service you are promoting has some usefulness to your audience, even if it doesn’t directly relate to the content of your video. Again, you might find some people in the audience of a fishing channel who are interested in a mechanical keyboard, but it would be blind luck, and that’s no way to run a business.
Don’t go Overboard
Regardless of the exact method of incorporating affiliate links into your content you choose, it is a universal truth across all mediums that overdoing it will have negative results.
This can be because your affiliate content is overwhelming your actual content, or simply because your audience feels it’s a bit crass.
But, whatever the reason, if you stack your description full of affiliate links and hand out promo codes every two minutes in your video, you’ll almost certainly turn large portions of your audience off.
And affiliate programmes only work when you have an audience to click those links.
Will Affiliate Links Harm my Video?
To answer this question, we first need to understand a few things about the way YouTube works.
Firstly, affiliate links are very much allowed by YouTube, which is one of the main concerns YouTubers tend to have when first venturing into the world of affiliate marketing.
However, merely being allowed to do something does not mean it can’t have negative effects on your channel.
As we touched on above, YouTube is very concerned with viewer retention. Now, we’re not saying they have no interest in bringing new eyeballs to the platform, but they are more concerned with keeping those eyeballs on YouTube once they are there. This is why average watch time is one of the most crucial metrics of a video’s success in the eyes of YouTube because more watch time means that people are spending longer on the site because of that video.
With that in mind, there is no direct association that YouTube will admit to between external links—affiliate or not—and the YouTube algorithm deciding to recommend a video less often. But there may be an indirect association.
YouTube wants people to stay on the site as long as possible. The longer a viewer is on YouTube, the more chance there is to serve them ads, and the more money YouTube can make. But if a lot of users are coming to your video and then leaving the platform altogether and not coming back, that will reflect negatively in the eyes of the algorithm.
It’s something of a catch 22—you need plenty of viewers for your affiliate links to be useful, but if your affiliate links are too effective, YouTube might see that as users coming to your video and then leaving YouTube, which may lead them to recommend your video less, which means fewer viewers to click your affiliate links. Unfortunately, there is no way around this problem, and YouTube is typically quiet about the exact way that they handle things like this.
That being said, affiliate marketing is a game of percentages—you bank on a large enough percentage of your viewers clicking your affiliate links to make it worthwhile while accepting that the overwhelming majority of them won’t.
Many YouTubers have had a great deal of success through affiliate marketing on YouTube, so there’s no reason that you can’t, too. Just remember not to overdo it, and keep the subject of your affiliates in line with the content of your videos.
Thanks to the wealth of information we now know about our bodies—and probably in no small part because of the ubiquitous presence of attractive social media stars all over the Internet—the general public has never been more concerned with their health as they are today. You only need to look at the sheer number of fitness products, services, gyms, and, yes, YouTube channels.
There is clearly a healthy demand for fitness content, and where there is demand, there is an opportunity to make money. That being said, just because the demand is there doesn’t mean that making money serving that market is straightforward or intuitive.
But fear not, we have put together this bumper post on how to make money on YouTube with fitness content just for you.
We’re nice like that.
1. Standard YouTube Advice Applies
The first thing to note is that fitness videos on YouTube are no different from any other videos on YouTube, and all the same rules for success apply.
This post may be on how to make money on YouTube with fitness content, but you should absolutely check out other more general resources on succeeding on YouTube. There are plenty on this very site, not to mention the YouTube channel.
There is lots to cover in the realm of fitness videos specifically, so we’re not going to rehash anything we don’t need to here.
Just be aware that all those posts and videos about YouTube success that don’t mention fitness in the title are still well worth your time.
2. Practice What You Preach
When you are claiming to be an authority on something—which is precisely what you are doing when you give any kind of advice on YouTube—there is an element of trust involved. Specifically, the viewer’s trust that you know what you are talking about.
Unfortunately, no matter how many times our mother’s told us not to judge a book by its cover, we always do. In other words, even if you have a wall full of qualifications in a host of fitness-related fields, the viewers are going to be sceptical about coming to your for fitness content if you are overweight, or you are out of breath after relatively mild activity.
Whatever it is you are demonstrating (weight loss, bulking up, improved cardio, etc.), make sure you can back up your words with actions.
If you can’t, your viewers might see it as a sign that your methods don’t work, and go elsewhere.
There is an exception to this rule, however…
3. Take Your Viewers on a Journey
The exception to the above rule is if you are creating journey videos. These are videos where you are going on your own fitness journey and taking your viewers along for the ride.
In these cases, it would make no sense if you were already in great shape at the start of the series.
For example, a journey series on you getting your weight down to 160 lbs won’t hold much interest if you are starting off at 171 lbs. If you are starting at 230 lbs, on the other hand, people will be interested in your success.
Success is another important factor here. If you start this series and, ultimately, fail in your goal, it can leave a sour taste in the mouths of your viewers and may put them off of coming back for other content.
If you have unflappable confidence in your own ability to stick it out and reach your goals, by all means, jump in. If you want to play it a little more cautiously, however, consider creating the whole series first, then uploading the videos when you are done.
If for some unfortunate reason, you don’t succeed in your goal, you don’t have to release the series.
4. Align Yourself With Suitable Partners
The fitness boom we are experiencing is not limited to YouTube, and there is plenty of opportunity in taking advantage of that fact.
Whether it’s a trendy new protein shake, an innovative piece of exercise equipment, or the latest in high-tech fitness gadgetry, there is seemingly no end to fitness products and services.
When looking at potential partners, whether it’s for affiliate linking, a full-on brand deal, or anything in between, be sure to go with a company or product that suits your channel.
Try to avoid some of the more common partners, like Squarespace, and opt for a product or service that will appeal to your audience.
Similarly, if you are preaching the benefits of an organic diet, don’t promote processed protein powder!
5. Don’t Promote Dangerous Diets or Unsafe Techniques
As much as we like to think a disclaimer at the start of our videos carries a lot of legal weight, they’re not as reliable as many seem to believe.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t put disclaimers in your video, but they won’t necessarily protect you from legal action if you advocate an exercise or recipe that ends up seriously injuring someone or adversely affecting their health.
The unfortunate reality of the legal system is that it is possible for anyone to take anyone else to court, even when there are airtight legal documents in place.
Granted, having said documents makes it far less likely such a case would ever see a courtroom, and even less likely that the complainant would win any resulting case, but the risk is always there.
All of this is to say that you should be wary of what you advocate in your videos. If something is extremely risky or highly controversial, it may be worth just steering clear of it.
6. Find a Niche Within a Niche
If you’re reading this post, you clearly already have a main niche—fitness. However, as we mentioned at the top, fitness is a big niche, and there is a lot of competition there.
If you want to succeed at making money with fitness content on YouTube, you will benefit from drilling down even further to find a more specific area within the fitness niche to focus on.
You could focus on vegan nutrition for athletes or deadlifting technique.
You could even focus your content on how to get the best workouts without going to the gym, or retrospectives of famous athletes.
And, of course, there are more obvious options, such as reviewing fitness gear or posting short workout routines.
Don’t feel as though you have to appeal to everybody.
By zeroing in on a smaller subsection of the fitness niche, you shrink your potential audience, sure, but you also increase your chances of capturing that audience in the process.
7. Be Interesting and Unique
Such is the interest in fitness right now that even with a more focussed niche, you will still be facing plenty of competition for views.
To combat this, try to make your videos as unique as possible. If you have a lot of personality, you could achieve this by simply being yourself on camera, assuming that all that personality you have is likeable.
These factors do not have to be significant. Every touch of uniqueness you add to your content sets you apart from other channels, making you more memorable.
Of course, some viewers may not like your unique touches and see them as a reason to go elsewhere, but that is part of being a YouTuber; you have to accept that not everyone will like you.
8. Sell Your Own Products
If your channel starts to really take off, you could look to leverage that success by selling additional products.
You could go the whole hog, and work with manufacturers to develop and market your own unique products or services, of course, but if that is a little too deep for you, there is another way.
Many companies provide turnkey solutions for merchandise in much the same way that YouTube’s own merchandise solution works. These services allow you to modify products with your own logos and designs, selling things like T-shirts and mugs.
Of course, mugs and T-shirts aren’t very fitness-specific, so you will probably want to look a little further afield than YouTube’s own merchandising solution. One option is Total Merchandise, who offer an enormous range of customisable products, including things like sports flasks and outdoor gear. It should be noted that you would have to buy a large quantity from a service like Total Merchandise, whereas YouTube’s solution would sell directly to your customers.
9. Consider Partnering With Other Fitness Channels
If you have taken the advice we gave above about drilling down into the fitness niche to find an area where you can flourish, then you might want to consider teaming up with other YouTubers in the fitness niche.
Of course, you want to partner with people who are not offering exactly the same kind of content as you. For example, if you had a channel specialising in cardio workouts, you might partner with a channel that focuses on weight lifting or a channel that covers nutrition.
You wouldn’t partner with another cardio channel, however, because you would then be competing with each other.
The goal of this kind of partnership is to help each other grow and succeed. Someone may come to your channel for cardio but then go looking elsewhere for weight lifting videos. In this kind of partnership, you would be able to direct those viewers to your partner channel, and vice versa.
This way, you and your partners get to provide your combined viewers with a total fitness package, while at the same time helping each other to grow.
10. Motivate
Most of us mere mortals have motivation problems when it comes to exercising, and it is those motivation-deprived people that will likely make up the bulk of your audience.
Showing your viewers amazing techniques for getting toned abs or shedding that excess weight won’t count for much if they can’t muster up the willpower and interest to use those techniques on a regular basis.
In short, don’t neglect the motivational aspect of your videos.
We’re not saying you should don bright lycra and turn the cheerfulness up to eleven while you bounce around to upbeat dance music… unless you want to, of course. But put some thought into ways to help your viewers muster up the energy to do your workouts, or follow your routines.
Remember, the more success stories your channel creates, the bigger your reputation will become, and the more successful you are likely to be.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, much of advice for how to make money on YouTube with fitness videos is the same as it is for any other video, and as such, hasn’t been included in this post.
Things like making eye-catching thumbnails and attention-grabbing titles, promoting your channel on social media, uploading regularly, all of these are crucial components to a typical successful channel, and it is worth taking some time to look over some of the other posts on this blog to learn more about that side of things.
For fitness specifically, the most significant piece of advice we can give you is to be good at what you do.
With other kinds of YouTube videos, the ultimate gatekeeper to success is the quality of the content. If the videos are poor, the channel won’t succeed. While this is just as true for fitness videos, there is the added dimension of the fitness content itself.
You could make the best videos in the world from a production and entertainment standpoint, but if they don’t help people lose weight or gain muscle or do whatever it is they are supposed to be getting help with, then the channel will ultimately fail.
And don’t be afraid to check out the competition. If you find a channel in your niche—or very close to your niche—that is incredibly successful, watch their videos, analyse their content, and see what they are doing that is leading to that success.
Please don’t steal from them, of course, but look for elements that you can incorporate into your videos.
Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube
Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.
1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search
I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.
When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.
Big mistake!
I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.
That is why I took the plunge and invested in my editing and design process with Adobe Creative Suite. They offer a WIDE range of tools to help make amazing videos, simple to use tools for overlays, graphics, one click tools to fix your audio and the very powerful Photoshop graphics program to make eye-catching thumbnails.
Best of all you can get a free trial for 30 days on their website, a discount if you are a student and if you are a regular human being it starts from as little as £9 per month if you want to commit to a plan.
3. Rev.com helps people read my videos
You can’t always listen to a video.
Maybe you’re on a bus, a train or sat in a living room with a 5 year old singing baby shark on loop… for HOURS. Or, you are trying to make as little noise as possible while your new born is FINALLY sleeping.
This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.
A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.
4. PlaceIT can help you STAND OUT on YouTube
I SUCK at making anything flashy or arty.
I have every intention in the world to make something that looks cool but im about as artistic as a dropped ice-cream cone on the web windy day.
That is why I could not live on YouTube without someone like PlaceIT. They offer custom YouTube Banners, Avatars, YouTube Video Intros and YouTube End Screen Templates that are easy to edit with simple click, upload wizard to help you make amazing professional graphics in minutes.
5. StoryBlocks helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways
I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.
And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.
I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.
I can talk about skydiving, food, money, kids, cats – ANYTHING I WANT – with a quick search on the StoryBlocks website I can find a great looking clip to overlay on my videos, keeping them entertained and watching for longer.
Of all the niches that video streaming platforms like YouTube have either created or allowed to flourish, few can boast as much unprecedented growth as gaming.
Twitch may be the first name that comes to mind when you think about making gaming video content, but it is only very recently that YouTube began to compete with Twitch in the live streaming arena directly.
Even before that, YouTube acted as an excellent complementary platform for Twitch streamers to put highlight videos out on. Now, of course, YouTube is making moves of their own in the streaming world, which only increases the number of ways you can make money with gaming content on the platform.
The truth is, there are many ways to make money as a gaming YouTuber. Sponsorship, affiliate marketing, live stream super chats, superstickers, YouTube premieres, donations and directly selling services like direct gaming advice or multiplayer games where you join their fireteam in a co-op game – and even a few ways to make money on YouTube with gaming content if you aren’t a gamer.
This post will cover more than just video ideas for gaming content. There are some interesting legal question marks over this niche that deserve mention.
So keep reading as we explore how to make money on YouTube as a gamer.
Affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful tools for any budding YouTuber or Twitch gamer looking to make money online but it an be full of jargon. That is why I wrote a deep dive into affiliate marketing for beginners to help you wade through all the confusing words and get you on the path to making money online fast – without any need to buy silly expensive courses.
Gaming Content and Monetisation
If you intend to make Let’s Play style videos, there is a question of rights ownership that may affect your ability to make money from your content. YouTube has its own policy on software and video game content, which essentially boil down to it being fine to monetise as long as there is commentary and instructional value that is associate with the video.
All of that is a wordy way of saying you can’t just have an hour of video game footage playing while you talk about something unrelated to the game, or don’t talk at all.
You won’t be prevented from making this kind of content, of course, but YouTube may demonetise it, which will put a major roadblock in your efforts to make money as a YouTube gamer.
The other thing to note in the legal realm of YouTube gaming is the policies of the companies behind the games themselves. Though they have since eased up on their draconian approach to gaming content, Nintendo has been an example of this for some time.
This is because they would routinely claim videos of their games through YouTube’s Content ID system, claiming the revenue those videos made.
Since then, Nintendo has adopted a more fan-friendly approach, instead issuing a set of guidelines that state more or less what YouTube’s own policies state—that you have to add commentary or creative input to the content. If you want to just upload straight video of Nintendo games, you have to do it using Nintendo’s own tools.
That being said, it is worth noting that Nintendo chose to soften their stance on this after negative feedback, but there is no legal impetus for them to do so, and nothing to stop them from going back to a more hostile approach in the future.
Of course, there are more than just the Nintendos, Sonys, and Microsofts of the world.
The Internet has fostered a vibrant independent game development scene, and many of the developers and publishers in that scene are more than happy to let YouTubers make content using their games as it brings more exposure to their product.
An excellent example of this can be found at Devolver Digital, a small game development studio who actively encourage people to make content using their games, and even have a page on their site where you can enter your channel name to get written permission.
Choosing Which Games to Make Content Around
Once you’ve made peace with the various legal hurdles surrounding intellectual property, there is the small matter of what kind of content you intend to make.
There are plenty of different types of gaming video you can make, and we’re going to list a lot of them shortly, including examples of each.
As with any attempt to create regular content—especially if you intend to make money from it, one of the best things you can do is play to your strengths. It will not only produce better content, but it will also make your life more comfortable since it is always less work to do something you are good at than it is to do something you struggle with.
As an example, let’s consider a personality-based YouTube gaming channel. This is a channel where the YouTuber themself is what draws the views because the subscribers like to watch that person specifically. With a channel like this, the YouTuber could theoretically play anything they wanted, and the views would still roll in.
But by playing to their strengths, they can make better content and attract more views than just those diehard fans who will tune in for anything.
Two examples we have picked out are PewDiePie and DrDisRespect. Both of these YouTubers are incredibly popular, and could probably make a video of them eating a sandwich and still get millions of views. Despite this, they have clear strengths in the video game niche.
For PewDiePie’s part, he greatly enhanced his popularity by playing horror games. It was his comical reactions to jump scares and tense moments that pushed his channel into the upper echelons of YouTube during his early days of making videos, something that he would not have been able to reproduce with a different genre of game.
This stage of PewDiePie’s YouTube career is an excellent example of playing to your strengths, as PewDiePie started out making video game commentaries, but it wasn’t until he started making horror game videos that his channel really took off.
In the case of DrDisRespect, as his name suggests, his gimmick is being disrespectful. Now, while he could be disrespectful while playing a casual, friendly game like Animal Crossing, it wouldn’t have quite the same impact as it does while playing competitive multiplayer shooters. DrDisRespect, for all his gimmicks, is a very good gamer and has plenty of opportunities to boast during his playthroughs.
There may be a bit of trial and error in finding your strengths, but it is a worthy goal to achieve, especially when you are just starting out.
Who knows, maybe PewDiePie would have just been another successful YouTuber with a few million followers had he not started making horror game videos, rather than the most successful individual YouTuber in the history of the platform.
Different Types of Gaming Content
Before you can play to your strengths, you need to know what kind of content there is a market for. Of course, it’s worth noting that there will always be rewards for those who can think outside of the box and be successful because of it.
What we are about to list are established types of gaming content with proven popularity. We are not saying these are the only options if you want to make gaming content.
Unfortunately, if you want to blaze new trails, you will be on your own on that journey. After all, it wouldn’t be trailblazing if there was a post like this one telling you how to do it!
Straight Playthroughs
These are the kinds of videos that companies like Nintendo won’t allow you to monetise, so you will have to think carefully about what games you intend to make your videos around if you choose this path.
With a platform as big as YouTube, there is an audience for just about everything, including watching games being played. Sometimes it is merely a desire to watch the narrative in some of the more cinematic games, other times it is a gamer wanting to see parts of the game they missed but are not prepared to play the game again. With enormous open-world games like Fallout 4 and Grand Theft Auto V, it is easy to miss a lot of the content available to you. It can even be people who can’t play a particular game for one reason or another but still want to see it.
If you choose this style of gaming video, you will want to make sure you are offering something to the viewer. If you are showing the cinematics, don’t have 3 hours of regular gameplay in between.
Gameplay With Commentary
You may have seen these videos labelled as Let’s Play videos in the past. These videos involve the YouTuber playing through a game while talking about it. Videos like this will often have the YouTuber’s face in the video so the viewers can see their reactions.
This is by far the most popular kind of gaming content on YouTube, and both of the above examples of PewDiePie and DrDisRespect fall into this category.
Speedruns
If you are a particularly talented gamer, there is a whole niche around the ability to complete video games as quickly as possible. There is no limitation in terms of the game, with everything from retro platformers to huge open-world role-playing games being completed in ludicrously short spaces of time.
One example of this kind of channel can be found in GarishGoblin, who may not have that many subscribers, but has been able to amass millions of views with various speedruns in the Halo franchise.
Comedy Videos
Comedy gaming videos can come in several forms. One of the more famous examples is Red Vs Blue, a series on the Rooster Teeth Animation channel that features comedy sketches acted out using the Halo video game franchise.
Another example is SovietWomble, who creates highlight videos from his streams, often with humorous edits and effects to enhance the final product.
These types of videos are considerably more work in terms of editing when compared to something like a commentary video. On the other hand, they require less skill at actual gaming, which makes them an excellent option for people who enjoy gaming but aren’t necessarily that good at it.
Update Videos
Update videos could take the form of a general roundup of gaming news; however, that would be a competitive niche to enter, and one that would contain several media outlets. Success may be more attainable with a model like that employed by the YouTuber, ShadowFrax.
ShadowFrax makes videos detailing the latest updates surrounding the game, Rust, an open-world multiplayer survival game that is continually getting new content and updates from the developers. T
here are hundreds of popular games in active development, and finding one that you like and focusing your content on that could be an excellent way to create gaming content.
How to Make Games
This option is a little less attainable for your average YouTuber, but if you have the ability, making videos on how to make certain popular games may be a good option, as demonstrated by small YouTuber, b3agz, whose videos on how to make Minecraft and 7 Days to Die have amassed hundreds of thousands of views despite only having a few thousand subscribers.
Of course, you don’t necessarily need to create full step-by-step tutorials in the way that b3agz does; you could make videos analysing game mechanics, or talking about the methods behind certain aspects of the game. There has never been a better time to be providing resources for game developers, with game development being more popular now than at any point in its history.
How to Make Money on YouTube as a Gamer Conclusions
Ultimately, the key to making money on YouTube as a gamer—or as anything else, for that matter—is to make good content that people want to watch.
Granted, you must navigate the hurdles we mentioned above regarding intellectual property rights, but once you have done that, the first thing you should be focussing on is your content.
If you make good content, your chances of succeeding on YouTube—and making money as a result of that success—will be significantly improved. And, while we can’t guarantee a good video will make you money, we can say with confidence that a lousy video won’t make you money.
Or, perhaps more accurately, it could make you money, but it will be a short term thing that could damage your earning potential in the long run, as your channel will get a reputation for poor content, both in the eyes of the viewers and of YouTube itself.
So you have a Facebook group and you’re looking to find ways to monetize it. It’s not as easy as you think it would be. If you’ve got a Facebook page, you’re able to jump through hoops, qualified based on engagement metrics and start working with brands.
But a Facebook group is a community of people built around a specific ideal hobby or event.
I am the founder and admin for the Download Festival fan page on Facebook. The Download Festival is a music festival in the UK that is the spiritual child with the monsters of rock festival in the 1980s. That Facebook group has around about 60,000 people, but I don’t monetize the page. I simply spam them with a load of my videos from time to time and build up an audience that way.
But they’re ways that you can monetize a Facebook group.
1) Relevant and related affiliate links.
One is sharing relevant affiliate links. So using this Download Festival fan page, as an example, the festival, there’s music there and there’s campaign and relevant links could be run about a month or two before the festival.
I start sharing out camping equipment, torches, tents, gazebos, rucksacks boots, because you know, this festival is during June in the UK, so normally it is either baking hot with sunburn and hay fever, or you’re drowning.
These affiliate links, you can push towards places like Amazon, or if you have an arrangement with a camping company, my case, then you can push in that way.
But let’s say, you’re talking about Tech in your Facebook group. You can then push them to phones and cameras and laptops. Maybe you’re a filmographer and you’re pushing people towards cameras. Or in my case, on my YouTube channel, I’m helping you figure out what animations you need to use.
So you could use place it down below for intros and in-screens. Or if you’re trying to get subtitles, I’d push it down to something like rev.com, where they can easily subtitle all your content from just $1 to $2 per minute, per video, in any language.
You see, the relevancy matters because if I’m pushing on this channel halfway through teaching you about YouTube, I’m pushing you to go and buy a nightlight for a toddler, or I’m trying to sell you a tent, it’s not relevant and it won’t convert as much, but if you’re pushing relevant links on the page, not only does it mean that it blends in well with the thing, but it adds a value.
People could ask you, “Well, what for man 10 can I use?” And I could go, “Well, here’s 3/10 that you might want to look at, or here’s a torture. Here’s a bundle that they do, because it’s more relevant.”
It might help them do their research and it’s more likely to convert in the long run rather than me selling baby grows in a group that’s dedicated to male bodybuilding.
2) Digital products.
Now this is the next step up from affiliate marketing, where you possibly have a book or a download pack or a training course of some kind, the group is they’re learning about that specific field, so let’s say the group is about cameras.
This digital product could be a user guide menu on how to set a type of camera. It could be tips and tricks on lighting. It could be a download looks pack for grading your colors. It could be 10, 20 backing tracks because you’re there and you’re creating the music.
A digital product could be a great way to monetize that group while still offering them value. Once again, you don’t want to be giving breastfeeding tips to an entire group dedicated to kids’ toys, memorabilia, but a digital product can just float around, it could be connected to the group.
I will be launching one very soon for this channel myself and if it already exists, then there’s a link down below, and it could be something about helping you with your thumbnails or giving you loads of templates to play with.
3) Newsletters.
Now this doesn’t directly monetize the page up point of impact.
But if you get people in your group that are interested in the content that you share to sign up for your newsletter, then you’ve got your way to engage them at a later date, should you have a digital product or should you be promoting in my case, a music festival, in which you can send an affiliate link where you buy your ticket through here and I get paid.
I have a newsletter here, which I’ve handed out a free ebook for ages, right? And then I just engage with news. Once again, I could be much more aggressive with the way I monetize my content, but I don’t.
There’s many people out there that will have it home. They’re selling you online courses, or they’re selling you this, or they’re selling you that, or they’re upgrading your membership.
I prefer to just educate you here, and then hopefully in the long run, if you feel that I can help you, then maybe you contact me and I can coach you, or you trust me enough to use the affiliate links down below. I don’t want to strong arm you, but a newsletter could be a good way to build a contact list of all people that are really interested in that specific niche.
So let’s say you’re really good at knitting, you want to build a mailing list of everyone that’s good at knitting or interested in that hobby. That newsletter can then send out patterns once a month, and then when you’re ready, you can sell a book with the patterns in it, or you can push them towards specific knitting needles, or you can start selling popular patterns.
So that say, here’s how to knit your own granny blanket or face mask or Willy warmer or whatever it happens to be.
4) Selling advertiser posts.
Now, this is a direct impact on the community that you’ve built there.
I don’t do this for my festival page, but the 60,000 people there, if there was a band that wanted to promote themselves, if there was a product that wanted to be launched, maybe a new camping supplier that wanted to pay me 50, 100, 200, or a thousand pounds to post an advert to have it pinned or to have it promoted, that’s a good way for you to make income based on your group.
You know the engagement that you can get, you know the impact that it might have on your metrics. You have the insights tab on Facebook, so you can drill down and give that juicy info to the possible advertiser.
The best thing is that you’re not giving personal data to the advertisers, so you’re still covered by GDPR, but you access to your community, you get money in return, kind of a win-win.
5) Associated podcasts.
Now I’ve got a podcast for my YouTube channel. It’s called the “Start Creating Podcast” and you can go and see it at “startcreatingpodcasts.com.” It’s hosted by anchor, it’s on Apple and Google Play and Stitcher and in most places that you search for your podcast.
I teach you on there some of my tricks and tips that I shared on here and every now and then I do very deeply personal ones as well. I’m able to break out of the 5-10 minute format here, and I can talk to you for 20, 30, 50 minutes waffling on in a slightly less edited format.
Podcasts can distill the hardcore audience within a page into something that they want to listen. Going back to the camera fanatics idea. You are in a group where there are 20,000 or 30,000 people, or even 200 or 300 people that use that group to learn about cameras.
Each week you could sit down and you could talk about the latest camera, the latest camera news, the latest tech, the latest shots. You could get out the photographers on them. They can tell you how they shoot a wedding, how they shoot action shots, how they do skydiving.
The podcast is the way that you monetize that page because you bring them over to that audience, and then you can start putting adverts in against that podcast or using those metrics to start inviting guests on that may pay you to be on your podcast, or in the long run, pushing people to affiliate things through that podcast because they trust you and are willing to listen to you on a regular basis.
6) Charity fundraisers
Six, you can monetize your Facebook group with charity fundraisers.
Now this doesn’t directly put money in your pocket, but it doesn’t have to, really. Let’s say your group is all about cancer survivors or COVID survivors or Grenfell or MLS,Alzheimer’s, dementia, veterans of war.
Here’s your chance to give back because they’ve given to you with the support. You can put up your charity fundraiser, everyone’s motivated and highly engaged. I’m not suggesting that you do it every day, but you can monetize that audience to help a set cause by just picking a charity fundraiser, promoting it, and hopefully you could have other people that have gone through similar situations.
Final Words
Now, if you want to learn how to monetize your Facebook page, there is a video here. And if you want to learn how to monetize in general using affiliate marketing and passive income, there’s a video here.
Remember to subscribe for regular YouTube, Facebook, social media tutorials, and I’ll see you soon.
Revenue from affiliate marketing programs appears to be growing at 10% with no signs of slowing down.
The industry is worth $12 billion and has opportunities for one and all, with over 81% of brands relying on some affiliate marketing program. That is why I have pulled together this affiliate marketing for beginners guide.
Affiliate marketing can help you make money or sell your project alongside traditional marketing. If you haven’t already jumped the bandwagon, consider knowing what affiliate marketing is and how to get started.
Let’s refer to the affiliate marketing definition.
It can be defined as getting paid a commission to help other companies sell their products or services. In simple words, you will make money (commission) whenever you succeed in selling an item, including digital goods.
Unlike traditional selling or marketing, affiliate marketing is digital. You advertise online, and all your buyers are on the internet.
How Much Do Affiliate Marketers Earn?
Affiliate marketing is a rewarding field, and almost everyone makes money here. You must, however, be patient if you want to make a decent amount of money working as an affiliate marketer.
If you search the web, you will find affiliate marketers who make about $100,000 per month by selling affiliate products online. However, not everyone’s lucky; some people only make about $100 monthly.
The truth is that it is a competitive industry. You must invest time if you want to enjoy the benefits. It can make you a millionaire, but this will take time to happen.
Many affiliate marketers lose money when they start. You will make errors initially and may have to spend money to get started. It can take a while to break even. We’ll talk more about it later in this article.
It takes most affiliate marketers 9 to 12 months to break even and make a profit.
Working with a professional and having access to the right help can make this process easier. You’ll know what not to do to make money.
The average affiliate marketer makes about $1,000 per month. It can, however, be challenging to correctly predict how much you will make as an affiliate as it depends on several factors, including your experience, niche, and marketing budget.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
Affiliate marketing involves buying and selling, but you do not have to purchase a product to participate in affiliate marketing.
The structure is built on genuine relationships and transparency and not one-off transactions. Here are a few elements to know about if you want to know how affiliate marketing works:
The Product: This term is self-explanatory; the product is what you will sell. It can be a physical item or a digital good.
Each product comes at a price that may be fixed or variable.
The Merchant: The term refers to the vendor, brand, seller, or creator. Simply put, the merchant is the party that creates or manufactures the product you sell. The merchant can be a big brand like Adobe or a small firm that produces local soaps.
The merchant can also be a single seller like Trajan King, who offers online courses.
The Publisher: Also called the affiliate, the publisher can be an individual or person (you) who sells a product. Publishers use a variety of techniques to make a sale.
We’ll discuss the techniques publishers can use to sell a product later in this article.
Affiliate Network: Since manufacturers do not always sell a product directly, you may need to turn to an affiliate network like ClickBank. They work as an intermediary between merchants and publishers.
These networks work with several brands, giving you access to several products and services under one roof. It is imperative to choose the right affiliate network.
The Consumer: The consumer is your target audience, who will purchase the product. Remember that you will only profit when there’s a successful sale. The job of every publisher is to find as many buyers as possible. The more sales you have, the more money you’ll make.
The Commission:This is the amount of money you will make during asuccessful sale. The commission depends on products and networks or merchants. It can be as low as 1.5% or as high as 40%.
If a product sells for $40 and the commission is 10%, your profile will be $4. However, the network may charge a small fee for its services.
So, how does affiliate marketing work? You will have to find an affiliate network or brand looking for affiliates. Once approved, you will get a custom link that you will have to market.
Each time a consumer opens a website using your link and makes a purchase, you will earn a specific commission. This commission, however, can take a while to reflect in your account as orders can take weeks to get confirmed. Brands also have to take care of the ‘return’ window.
How do you get started with Affiliate Marketing?
Now that you know how affiliate marketing works, it is time to become an affiliate.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get started with affiliate marketing:
Choose a Niche
The first step is to choose a niche. If you already have a website or virtual presence,, it is best to stick to a niche relevant to your audience. For example, if you have a social media page about health and fitness with 500,000 followers, then it is best to choose health and fitness-related products to market.
If you want to create a new website,, you will have to choose a profitable and easy-to-manage niche. However, remember that it is not only about choosing a niche; you will also have to select suitable products.
Consider the ‘beauty and fashion’ niche; it is a popular option with several products, including beauty products for men, makeup products for women, etc.
We have covered the five best niches for affiliate marketing later in this article with some great tips on choosing an appropriate product. Keep reading for more.
Find an Appropriate Affiliate Program
Once you have selected a niche, it is time to decide how you wish to approach it. You can directly work with the manufacturer or choose an affiliate program. Each option has its perks and cons.
Working directly with the seller may offer you more money since you will not have to pay network fees and other charges.
Moreover, networks may also have stringent requirements, such as a specific number of followers, before you can sign up. But, there are various advantages of working with a network.
First of all, you will have access to many products under one roof. Top affiliate networks have thousands of products for partners to select. This makes management more accessible as you will not have multiple accounts to market various products.
Plus, affiliate networks are also known for ease. They offer insights and analytical tools that make marketing easier.
Lastly, affiliate networks offer more security. If you search the web, you will find several brands offering affiliate programs. While some are reliable, others are only out there to rob you.
Working with a reputable network reduces the risk of scams, as networks typically only include brands or companies that are safe and reliable.
The first step should be to create a website, or in my case, a YouTube channel, that can help people find what you’re selling. It should be in the same niche as the product you’re trying to sell. You can opt for an e-commerce store but that may not be the most effective option as it can be hard to rank online stores.
We suggest you start a website dedicated to the product and post content like blogs and reviews. Since about 97% of people read reviews before buying a product, posting such content can effectively find buyers.
In addition to a website, consider creating social media pages as well. You have various options including Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Since it can be challenging to be active on all social media platforms, we suggest you stick to one that houses your audience.
LinkedIn, for example, can be a great pick if you offer producers for executives, such as hiring services. Similarly, Instagram can be a great option for selling fashion and beauty products since it’s popular among makeup artists.
Market What You’re Trying to Sell
Merely having a social media account or website is not enough; you will have to market what you’re trying to sell. You can have the best product in the world but no one will buy it if they’re not aware of it.
Affiliate marketers use a variety of techniques to market products. Some use paid options, while some stick to free ways to market affiliate products.
The company you’ve joined hands with may have a manual on marketing its products. Affiliate networks are also known to offer marketing materials, including banners that can be placed on your website.
In most cases, you will be given a code or unique link to include in your marketing content so that the website can track your users. Using generic links or product names will not give you any results, as the system cannot link a sale to your account.
Some affiliate networks and companies are very stringent about the marketing techniques used. Could you make sure to go through the terms and conditions so that you do not get into any trouble?
You must know about the product you are trying to market or sell. Buyers may have many questions regarding your product, including its benefits and use.
Not being able to answer their questions can cause them to look elsewhere; hence, get educated and get your hands on what you’re trying to sell so that you’re fully aware of what it’s capable of.
Build Your Audience
Now that your site is running, it is time to build your audience. Remember that marketing is a continuous process. If you stop trying to sell and gain more views, someone else will dethrone you.
Competition is tough. Never take things lightly, and continue to put your best foot forward so that you can sell more.
Your website must be user-friendly. Remember to make it easy for people to give you money. Connect with your audiences and work on building relationships. Relationship marketing can help find success as an affiliate marketer.
Earn and Withdraw Money
Now that you’ve started selling, you will earn money. It can take new affiliate marketers months before they have enough money to withdraw. Also, some networks will keep your money for security purposes before releasing it.
Since affiliate marketing involves real money, you might be required to submit identity documents such as your driver’s license before you can withdraw cash. Hence, use true and real information to sign up for an account. Using fake information can get your account blocked.
How Can I Become a Successful Affiliate Marketer?
Everyone wants to be an affiliate marketer and make money, but only some find success in this field. Here are a few things you must keep in mind to become a successful affiliate marketer:
Choose the Right Product
This is the most crucial step because you will never be able to find success if you do not choose the right product.
The term ‘right’ is ambiguous as what works for someone else may not be suitable for you. Here are a few things to consider when selecting a product:
The Demand
Technically, there’s a demand for almost every product out there, but some have more buyers than others. It is best to stick to a product that’s heavily in market so that you do not have to work hard to find buyers.
You can look at tools such as Google Trends to know more about what’s in demand and what isn’t. Also, remember that some products are not in demand throughout the air.
Air conditioners, for example, usually sell well during the hotter months. If you choose a product that only sells a few months of a year, you might be unable to make a decent amount of money throughout the year.
The Price
Since you will only get a small percentage of the selling price, paying attention to this factor is very important.
Expensive products typically offer more money, but there may be better options since it can be hard to sell expensive products.
Think about shoes; a pair that costs $1,000 and pays a 2% commission will earn you $20 per sale. Since the price tag is very high, you might only be able to sell up to 12 units per month, which means you will earn a commission of only $240 per month.
On the other hand, if you choose to sell a pair that costs $100 and pays a 2% commission, you can sell 150 pairs in a month due to high demand.
Your commission will be $300. This example shows that commission for each unit is higher for expensive products but the overall profit is usually higher for more affordable products.
Always choose a product according to your buyers. If you think they can afford expensive shoes,, you can stick to $1,000. Otherwise, work with more reasonable brands.
The Competition
Affiliate marketing networks carried out over 170 million transactions in 2017. This does not only show how big affiliate marketing is but it also highlights how stiff competition can be. Everyone’s fighting for a share of the pie.
Cutthroat competition can make it difficult for new marketers to make a mark in the field. If you’re still finding a foothold,, try to find a niche or product that is not very competitive.
The Commission
As mentioned earlier, the commission is variable and can be between 2% to 40%. Big names like Amazon offer low commissions but a vast number of products. It’s also easier to sell Amazon products since the company provides international delivery and buyers also trust the brand.
Do not run after high commissions. A lot of companies that offer very high commissions are either scams or unreliable. It can be hard to convince buyers to purchase a product that has been manufactured by a company that nobody knows of. Hence, be responsible.
Select the Right Platform
Do not blindly select a platform. The first decision is between the official site or affiliate networks. If you are going for the latter then select options that are reliable.
Not all affiliate networks accept users from all around the world. Also, some may charge a joining fee or commission on every sale. A very important factor to remember when selecting a platform is the cookie period.
Most buyers will not make a purchase right away. They’ll go to multiple sites and compare products for a few days before they finalize a purchase. Affiliate networks take this period into consideration and offer a ‘cookie period’ that is usually between 20 to 60 days.
If a user reaches a product via an affiliate link through your site and makes a purchase within the specified period, it will be considered a sale and get credited to your account. The higher this period the better it is.
Make Sure to Market Properly
Do not make the mistake of neglecting this factor. You can use a variety of techniques to market products. Here are some of the most popular choices:
SEO, since about 51% of traffic is organic. But, get ready to spend a lot of time on SEO as it can take websites a long time to rank well.
Email marketing, after all, it still offers an ROI of up to 4,300%. You will, however, need a solid email list to make use of this method.
Social media because it influences about 74% of shoppers. Plus, buyers tend to trust reviews found on third-party sites.
YouTube as it is now the second largest search engine and a lot of people love to watch videos about how to use a product before they purchase it.
Website because it can help users find you. Post a variety of content on your site including blogs, infographics, podcasts, etc. Make sure to include a search function on your site and have a mobile friendly website since about 5.16 billion users now have mobile phones and most of them use mobile devices to access the web.
You can use all these marketing methods and compare what works for you. Once you find the option that offers the highest return, stick to it.
Do I Need Money to Become an Affiliate Marketer?
Technically speaking, you do not need money to become an affiliate marketer. However, it can be very difficult to be a successful affiliate marketer without spending a penny.
Here are a few expenses you may have to incur:
Get a Website – starts as low as $150 per year
A website is not a must to become an affiliate marketing but it can increase your chances of finding success. Plus, some affiliate networks have it as a prerequisite.
You can get a free website but a .com or paid domain looks better. It will cost you about $10 per month. Avoid cheap or free hosting servers. They have limitations and they’re also insecure. Spend about $100 on hosting per month.
The next step is building a website. You can use WordPress and other such platforms to create a free site. If you want a kickass website then you’ll have to hire developers. This can cost you between $100 to $1,000.
Come up with a unique name and get a logo. You can create free logos online or hire a designer to get the job done for you. It can cost between $5 and $100.
Create Content for Your Site – starts as low as $200 per month
You must post regular content on your site. It can be in the form of blogs, videos, or podcasts or a mix of all these.
You will not have much to worry about if you can create your own content. The articles must be informative, long, and SEO friendly. Consider including graphics as well since posts that contain images tend to get more likes, shares, and engagement.
Post at least twice a month to ensure your visitors have something to come back to. Plus, you can make money blogging if you play it right.
In addition to your website, you will also have to take care of your social media pages. You must post at least once a day so that engagement can be maintained.
You can use your mobile phone to click photos or make videos. Some marketers also opt to invest in professional cameras to get high quality content for their pages.
You can handle this all on your own but it can take about 10 to 20 hours per week since managing a website and social media is a full-time job. If you’re too busy you can consider hiring a manager or content creator to take care of the job. They’ll charge anywhere between $8 to $20 per hour.
Hire an SEO firm – starts as low as $500 per month
You will have to hire an SEO agency to rank well on search engines. This is important because about 71% of users do not go beyond the first page when they look for a product or service online.
SEO is technical and includes a lot of elements such as backlinks, inner links, keywords, etc. Companies charge between $500 and $5,000 per month for SEO services.
Look for a provider with experience in the business so you can increase your rate of conversion and sell more.
Advertise Your Content – starts as low as $5 per month
Affiliate marketers have the option to advertise on Google, Facebook, and other such platforms. It’s a quick way to reach buyers but such campaigns need to be designed with care because you will not get good returns if you do not target the right audience.
You can hire professionals to manage your accounts. They usually charge a percentage of the total advertising budget. Find an option that offers the best returns.
Which Is The Best Affiliate Marketing Niche?
Since there are a lot of niches out there, it can be very difficult to pick the right one. To help you become an affiliate marketer, we have highlighted five of the best niches:
Health and Fitness
You can sell supplements, gym equipment, gym memberships, and fitness eBooks. Commissions are in the range of 20 to 40 percent.
Wealth and Money
This is a very popular niche. You can work with trading companies, finance gurus, and investment firms. The commission can be up to 50% but competition is very stiff in this niche.
Fashion and Beauty
The industry is worth $2 trillion and has a lot of potential but commission is low – between 3 and 10 percent.
Gaming and Software
With a CAGR of 12%, this is one of the fastest growing fields. It offers very high commissions – up to 30% – and gives a chance to sell a variety of software in multiple niches.
Hobbies and Survival
This one includes all kinds of hobbies such as fishing, golfing, flying, and painting. Commissions vary based on products but the option is very lucrative due to the huge number of options out there.
These are some of the best affiliate marketing niches. Make sure to pick one that fits you the best.
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: FAQ
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about affiliate marketing:
#1 Can an affiliate work with several companies?
Yes, you can, there are no limits on the number of affiliate networks a person works with.
#2 How many followers do I need to become an affiliate?
This depends on the network or website you’re signing up for. Most require at least 5,000 followers but some can be more demanding.
#3 Shall I tell people if I am an affiliate?
Yes, the Federal Trade Commission requires affiliates to disclose if they get compensated for promoting a product or service. Not doing so can get you into trouble.
#4 How much money will I make as an affiliate marketer?
You can make between $100 to $10,000 per month depending on your audience, product, and other such factors.
#5 Which is the best affiliate network?
Some of the best affiliate networks include ClickBank, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Amazon Associates, and Rakuten Marketing. Compare all these options and pick what fits you the best.
#6 Can I sell outside of the internet?
You can market the product outside of the internet but all purchases must be made online.
#7 When will I get paid?
You will get paid when you reach the minimum threshold that can be as low as $50 or as high as $500 depending on the platform you’re working with.
#9 Can affiliate marketing be a substitute for a full time job?
While there are people making a lot of money as an affiliate marketer, the truth is that it may not be a safe substitute for a full-time job because the amount of money you’ll make per month is never guaranteed.
Ready to work as an affiliate marketer? Check our blog section for tips and get in touch with us to find out more about how we can help you.
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