YouTube turned 15 this year, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the top social media sites for making money. If anything, it has only gotten better for businesses and entrepreneurs that know how to use it right.
There are plenty of ways to make money on this video-based social media platform. It can provide both affiliate marketing revenue and help grow your business at the same time. So what does it take to earn money with YouTube in 2022?
YouTube might seem a bit old school, but even after 15 years, it still is bringing in unique viewers. According to HootSuite, YouTube has 1.7 billion unique viewers every month. That’s more than Facebook, Wikipedia, Instagram, and Amazon. YouTube is the second most visited platform in the world.
Of its billions of worldwide users, 62 percent access the platform every day and some multiple times each day. Not only do they access the site, but they also spend time there. On average, visitors are there for 19 minutes each day. That adds up to 694K hours of video – per minute of people watching art classes, learning how to fix their lawnmowers, and watching cats dance the mambo.
Clearly, spending some time on YouTube to make money makes sense, given the number of visitors and the activity level of the platform. The unique nature of this social media giant can make getting started there awkward, though. Videos are not for everyone. What you need is a strategy.
When creating your YouTube strategy, first decide what this platform offers you. Next, what do you hope to accomplish with videos? For example:
Once you know why you should use YouTube, you can figure out how to put it to work for you.
YouTube is built around a channel system. Ideally, you get people to subscribe to your channel and build your audience that way. That all starts with giving your channel a name. You want it to be catchy but not deceiving. For instance, an artist or art gallery might choose something like “Art Minded.” It grabs their attention and gives the viewer an idea of what to expect.
Once you get the channel up and running, it's time to do some marketing.
An excellent place to start any marketing campaign is with friends and family. Ask the people in your life to share information about your YouTube channel. Also, practice good YouTube SEO.
YouTube is run by Google, the master of the algorithm. You will want to optimize your channel to get the best results on the video platform. Like any social media content, you need to optimize for keywords. Keyword research is critical.
Start with seed keywords that provide a broad view of your topic. For instance, if your channel is about working with influencers, you might have influencer marketing as a seed. On the other hand, if it is a beauty channel, makeup or makeover makes sense.
Seed keywords help you find unique keywords that will build your audience. Take your seeds and type them into the YouTube search box. This will help you create unique long-tail keywords that will grab the search engine's attention. Then, you build the video around the keywords and use them in the description. Add one of your primary keywords to the video title, too.
People have low attention spans, so your video needs to grab them quickly and hold them. The longer they watch, the more money you will make from affiliate ads. The search engine algorithm also monitors watch times. So, the longer you keep the viewer, the better you will do on search rankings. And, the longer the video, the longer they can watch it.
The key to keeping them hooked is in the first 15 seconds of the video. In that 15 seconds, you need to grab their attention and tell them what the video is about, then tease the rest of it.
Pattern interrupts also help to hold their attention. This means changing things up in the video. For example, show different backgrounds and change the colors often. Once the channel and videos are up and running, and the marketing is done, it’s time to figure out how to make some money off your YouTube channel.
This is the most common way people monetize their YouTube channels. As part of the YouTube Partner program, you earn ad revenue via the ads that run during your videos. We have all seen them. It's the ads that give you the option to “Skip this ad.”
There are also longer ads that run before and after the video. Every time an ad runs, Google splits the revenue with you. So, if the ad provider pays one dollar for every ad run, you would get 55 cents. The more views you get, the more ads run, and the more money you make. That explains why influencer marketing on YouTube is so popular. The better the influencer, the more people watch the videos and more ads run.
Sounds pretty good, right? Not so fast. Although joining the YouTube partner program is a practical way to make money, there are a few requirements to meet before you qualify:
That is why marketing and optimization are things to tackle first.
Affiliate marketing is another option, but it only works if you plan to do product reviews. You find companies with an affiliate program and make videos about their products. You might do a review or a demo, for example. Then you earn a commission each time a viewer clicks on an affiliate link. You put the links in the video information and point the viewer to them in the video.
The key to success on any social media channel, including YouTube, is to drive traffic your way. That means setting up other content marketing options to support the video channel so it can make you money. For instance, you might create a blog that coincides with the videos. You would write blog content and then embed your YouTube video for people to watch.
You can also set up Facebook and Instagram accounts to support the channel and embed the video on these pages.
Sponsorships allow you to talk about someone else’s products on your videos while you earn an income because they pay for your time. Sponsorships work well once your YouTube channel starts to get some traction. Sponsorships ad revenue to your videos that coincide with your other revenue programs like YouTube Ad Partnerships and affiliate marketing.
Once you get your video channel up and running, then consider joining a crowdsourcing platform like Patreon, so subscribers can help fund your efforts. Remember that you have to have something to offer them in return for their contribution. This works well for anyone offering courses or entertainment.
Subscribers can access members-only content via the crowdsourcing program and gifts for a small monthly fee. For example, digital artists might offer free software brushes for Procreate or Photoshop.
You are probably starting to realize to earn an income via YouTube in 2022, you need to take a layered approach. You have multiple ways on one video to make money, and that video continues to earn for you as long as it runs. Although it is lucrative, it’s not easy. You need to use all the tools in your toolbox to get the most out of your YouTube channel.
One way to get a step up on the competition and earn an income on YouTube is to use an influencer. The influencer can promote your videos and push more traffic your way. Finding the right influencer matters, though. You need someone that fits both your budget and your demographics.
That’s where Beatly comes to the rescue. We offer a full-service platform that will help find you an influencer that has the potential to turn your YouTube channel into a moneymaking success story. The right face and name can be all it takes to activate each layer of your YouTube marketing campaign so you see real revenue.
Find out more about the full-service influencer marketing options we offer by visiting the Beatly website today.