Wondering how to make money on Youtube? With affiliate marketing you could make a lot of money without sponsored videos. If there is an audience, there is an opportunity to sell!
How to make money on youtube
Great Youtube content is more than just videos showcasing expertise or building brand awareness. It’s also an opportunity to earn some extra income by marketing for other companies.
Here is a how to guide of everything you need to know about Youtube affiliate marketing.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is where you promote a product or service within your content in exchange for commission.
Youtube is the second largest search engine, next to Google. Millions of videos are viewed every hour. With such a massive audience there is plenty of opportunity to make some money with affiliate marketing.
How Does It Work?
First, you have to get set up with an affiliate marketing program. There are a lot of businesses that have these programs; Nordstrom, Target, Microsoft, Amazon and many others.
Once you’re all signed up, they give you an affiliate link. This is a special URL that you include in your content. It helps the business keep track of the sales that come directly from your content.
Every click on your unique link that leads to a purchase, you get a commission. The payment is usually a percent of the sale.
Additionally, there are also much larger affiliate marketing networks like Clickfunnels and Affiliaxe. These networks connect you with businesses who are willing to pay a commission for each sale your content gets them.
Of course, the bigger the audience, the better the chances that your affiliate links will get clicked and lead to a sale.
It is important to note that you should choose the products or services that you’ll promote carefully. Relevance is crucial, thus your products need to relate to your niche and the type of content you create.
Where Do You Put Affiliate Links on Youtube?
There are two main options for link placement, and they work best when used together.
- The Description:
Always include your affiliate link in the description. In-video elements, like Youtube cards that let you plug in the link. However, the viewer can often miss it or ignore it.
Not only should the link be in the description, but you should also recommend users to actually look at the description in the video.
Don’t worry about trying to sell the product. Let’s say your video is a tutorial and requires a specific tool that is one of your affiliate products. Simply say something like “You’ll need this type of screw drive for this part; if you don’t have one, I’ve included a link in the video description to one that I trust.”
- Youtube Cards
In addition to including a link to an affiliate product in the description, also link them in Youtube cards.
They’re non-intrusive notifications that appear in the top right corner of the video player. If a viewer clicks, they can see more information, such as a link or a poll.
Best Practices For Affiliate Marketing:
- Provide an affiliate disclaimer – The FTC recommends including a statement like “I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.”
- Include an affiliate link in your video description
- Share your video on social media
- Include a call-to-action in your video to check out the description
- Don’t be too salesy or pushy
- Do your homework on the product or service as well as the brand
How Do Payouts Work?
Every time someone clicks on your special affiliate link, a cookie is put into that person’s computer to track what they purchase. They don’t actually have to purchase that specific product. Anything they buy from the website, you’ll get commission for.
What Are The Commission Rates?
Every business is different and will have different commission rates. For example, Amazon will go up to 10% depending on how many products you sell within a month.
However, some brands will do only 5% whereas others will do 20% or even 50%. It’s important to read the terms and conditions for any affiliate to ensure you get the commission you’re after.
How To Make Money By Optimizing Your Video For Search
Youtube is a massive search engine and in order to increase the odds of your video being found, you’ll need to optimize it. Similar to what you would do for a website to rank in Google.
Here are some basic things you can do optimize your video:
- Target specific keywords: There are many keyword ranking tools for Youtube that help identify strong search volume terms (TubeBuddy, Ahrefs and Keywordtool.io)
- The right tags: Tags help Youtube know what your video is about.
- Set up an in-video “subscribe” button: Youtube tends to favour videos that drive new subscriptions, so make it easy for viewers to subscribe to your channel
- Keep text authentic: Don’t copy the title or descriptions from other creators or even from your own website. Keep it original
- Create video playlists: Themed playlists are great for keeping people on your channel.
- Use closed captions: Youtube has its own closed caption, but it’s best practice to review and edit.
- Promote your content: Share it on social media, email it with links, write blog posts or post it on your website
What Are The Benefits Of Affiliate Marketing?
The advantages of Youtube affiliate marketing are extensive. If you want to know how to make money with Youtube or content in general, this is a great starting point.
Not only is it cost effective, it is low risk, flexible and offers a high return on investment.
The content creator benefits because they get a portion of the sale. The viewer benefits because they get to watch great content without having to see ads. The company benefits because they get a sale.
Key TakeAways For How To Make Money on Youtube With Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a great way to generate income without the excessive use of ads or sponsored videos. All it requires is signing up with a brands affiliate program, receiving a unique link and integrating it into your content.
Simply add the link into the description and Youtube cards as well as mention it within the video itself. Always remember there is no need to be overly salesy or pushy.
Additionally, optimize all your content for search because after all Youtube is one of the most popular search engines. You can do this with proper keywords, original text, the right tags and the right promotion.
Affiliate marketing is a simple way to make money on Youtube. It benefits the viewer, the company and of course, yourself.
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