You’ve seen people make big money from YouTube affiliate marketing, but is YouTube affiliate marketing something that can work for anyone without a big platform or tons of content to upload? Or is earning money on YouTube reserved for the few who understand how to get into the good blessings of the YouTube powers?
Now, you might be thinking – are affiliate links allowed on YouTube?
The good news is yes, all affiliate links are allowed on YouTube.
I have more good news.
You can also learn how YouTube works and how you can make money from YouTube in conjunction with affiliate marketing as a YouTube Affiliate.
Even if you don’t have a YouTube channel or subscribers right now, and even if your YouTube video skills aren’t the best (yet).
If you’re uncertain about how to make things work for you — don’t worry about it just yet. Continue reading this article as we explain how you can get started as an Affiliate on YouTube to make money from your YouTube videos and your YouTube Channel.
By the way, you can also make money with affiliate marketing without ever recording your own YouTube videos. More on that in a minute!
Understanding the different Affiliate Marketing requirements
Before we go too far into the complexities of receiving commission and making money through YouTube and affiliate marketing, you’d need to make sure that you select an affiliate marketing platform with terms that work for you.
Bonus reads:
When you sign up for any affiliate platform or network, you’ll be credited with the % from a sale if you were the last person to refer the customer.
Some affiliate networks credit you with the commission if you are the first one to refer.
Other programs like the Amazon affiliate program reward you for every transaction that anyone makes within 24 hours of clicking on your link… earning you an affiliate commission in the process.
Depending on how you promote yourself and what you promote, you can work with each of these instances. It all depends on what works best for you.
Say you’re marketing a new product. You don’t think a lot of people have heard about it, and you can find an affiliate network that delivers the commission to the first person who provided the referral link – you can make a good profit.
On the other hand, if you are marketing a product that many people have heard of and are likely to have clicked on other people’s affiliate links, it would be in your best interest to find a program that gives the last person credit for the transaction.
The terms of the Amazon affiliate program are good for many YouTubers. Simply because even if you refer anyone to one product through your Amazon affiliate links, you’ll also get credit for everything else they put in their cart when they make a purchase over the next 24 hours.
Use YouTube to Sell Affiliate Products
With more than 1.9 billion people using YouTube, do you think you might get a few people to visit your YouTube page, watch YouTube videos, click your affiliate link, and make a purchase?
It doesn’t sound that hard when we put it that way, doesn’t it?
By simply getting a few people to watch your YouTube videos and then reminding them to buy the stuff they want, you might have the lifestyle you’ve been dreaming of. By the way, yes, you can get rich through affiliate marketing, as some people are making as much as $10000 a month.
YouTube is a great advertising tool because it gives you a simple way to get in touch with your audience and speak to them about the goods and services you enjoy.
There are various types of videos that you can upload on your YouTube channel when you want to make sales. We’re going to go over a couple of those here.
1 – Reviews of product or service
This is the most obvious one. If you buy a product that you enjoy or find a service that benefits you, you’re probably going to tell a few people about it. Ordinary people are going to tell a friend or family member, but you’re not “ordinary.”
You’re a YouTuber!
- You’re going to tell everybody who’s going to listen to your experience with a certain product or service that speaks to your target audience.
- You’re going to get paid a fee when they decide they want to get the same results or experience you’ve received.
This is the pillar that holds the entire “beauty bloggers” on YouTube. They tell you about the amazing makeup they just bought and how wonderful it is. The target audience gets excited, wants to purchase the same makeup, and follows their affiliate link to make a purchase.
There are a few ways you can do it.
- You may decide to review the product you’ve chosen to use and tell people all about the features and why you like it.
Or:
- You may want to do a summary comparing different products that might be a solution, and then either show why you chose the product that you chose or use affiliate links for them all.
Both of these types of videos can be very successful, and they’re not hard to produce. Remember to share what you love about the goods along with any disadvantages you’ve experienced.
Providing an accurate and comprehensive analysis helps people move through the decision-making process. The goal is to address all their questions in a YouTube (affiliate) video, so they’re ready to make a purchase through your affiliate links even before they leave your video.
2 – Videos for tutorials and learning
Making instructional (aka “How-to”) videos for your YouTube channel is another way to easily get in front of an audience that you can offer affiliate links to. Tutorial videos could be long or short, but they should include all the details required.
If you only provide people with partial details, they’re going to click on another more in-depth video tutorial.
You want to show viewers a step-by-step “how to do it” and show what you use when you’re making tutorials videos. Since viewers see you using a variety of assets or services, you can easily engage in other affiliate sales by connecting the video description to the items you used in the video. Ever seen in the video description things like “For filming this video, I used this camera, this tripod, this spotlight… etc.”. All links pointing to Amazon? That’s what I am talking about.
3 – Best of / compilation videos
The “best of” videos are easy to make. All you need to do is make a list of “the best” you can do whatever you’re supporting. In your video, you should talk about both pros and cons of each product.
Go from the least decent to the best of the best to make sure you keep viewers watching the whole video. You can link to all of the products or services you listed in the video to make sure no profits slip from your affiliate piggy bank.
Getting views to your Youtube videos
Even if you’ve got the most impressive videos on the internet, you won’t get any results if nobody sees them.
Having traffic is one of the main obstacles people face as they want to make money with affiliate marketing.
The good news is that a lot of people are already watching YouTube, so you can get traffic just from being on the web with well-optimized YouTube videos. This is called the “related” category and we’re going to go over it right away.
Related YouTube Videos
You’ve probably watched more than 1 video on the subject. You’ll see a video on YouTube, and then you’ll see a similar video that looks like it could be interesting, so you’ll click away on that video too.
That’s why you need to carefully optimize your content by adding specific keywords to the title, description, and tags section.
Youtube Tip: YouTube currently requires you to write up to 5,000 characters in your video description… Therefore, be sure to pack as much public (and SEO-friendly) content as possible. Don’t forget to incorporate your affiliate link in your summary!
To get more traffic from YouTube-related videos, make sure you have interesting thumbnails that draw viewers and get them to click when they see the thumbnail.
Results from Google Search
Google search results can be a strong source of traffic for your videos and viewers. Depending on the keyword phrase and your niche, YouTube videos are more or less likely to appear on Google’s first list.
YouTube Tip: Uploading your video content to your blog is a perfect way to get started with SEO-optimized video… and get targeted traffic to both your videos and your blog.
Before you try and start ranking videos (or any other form of content) in Google, check the keyword to see if any videos are currently ranking well. If you don’t see any videos, this may not be the best keyword to aim your SEO-optimized video at when it comes to Google’s organic search.
Youtube Subscribers
Subscribers will receive alerts when you upload a new video if their notification option is checked. If they don’t have the choice picked, your video will still appear in their feed for all of their subscribed channels.
While you’re hoping people can hit the little bell and get updates, the subscription page is still a decent source of traffic. When people watch your videos, be sure to ask them to hit the bell to get notifications; then, in the future, you’ll get even better results from getting the initial traffic from your subscriber audience.
Focus on creating videos that your subscribers will enjoy. As this number increases, you’ll be able to get more traffic faster every time you release a new video.
If you’re worried that you’re too late for a YouTube affiliate marketing game, you’re not.
More and more people are getting online every day, and they want to learn from you on the web. Someone will always be creating content, and someone will also be watching. It could as well be you.
What’s YouTube affiliate marketing looks like?
In essence, YouTube affiliate marketing is making videos that will be hosted on YouTube with links and information that will contribute to the promotion of the services, goods, or products. The content you produce for YouTube allows viewers to purchase items from third-party websites that will earn you a commission. This is a legitimate and very interactive way to promote your affiliate links on the web.
Can you make decent money on YouTube with affiliate marketing?
The most obvious reply, of course, is “Yes.”
However, the longer answer is how do you get to that “yes.”
You’ll need a lot of patience and perseverance to monetize your affiliate channel.
Time spent on producing quality content would be your best chance of making significant money from an Affiliate YouTube channel. Focus on presenting yourself as a trustworthy, friendly voice that explains and educates people about useful products and returns to your channel. Just like with any other affiliate method – become an authority in your field.
There are several methods inside the YouTube platform itself to maximize the audience’s potential:
- React to feedback from users.
- Reach out to other YouTubers for partnerships.
- Make a video response to hot items and topics.
- Focus on high quality content that will bring organic traffic.
- Promote or reward your audience for sharing and engaging with your channel.
- Don’t focus on affiliate income or promoting an affiliate marketing program too often.
- Integrate your YouTube chanel with Google Analytics for better insights about your audience.
Use action calls in your videos with subscription requests, post them, and go to the affiliate links. Make this simple for your viewers by showing easy-to-find buttons and links not only in the captions but also in your video as it plays. Adding an annotation or clickable link to a video is a powerful tool that allows the viewer to keep watching your video when looking for the product.
Make it as simple as possible to find a product for a customer!
Tips and tricks on making YouTube affiliate marketing videos
To make money from your Youtube affiliate videos, you need to drive traffic to your channel. People may find your channel across a variety of social media platforms, so it is important to promote your content across these sites. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are the main components of promotions. They will allow you to post video clips and special promos to drive traffic to your channel.
Research the examples shown above, then take a deep dive into the world of YouTube to the items you want to promote. The attention to detail and technical knowledge can be observed in these images. Bloggers are friendly, enthusiastic about the affiliate product, and the video is well lit. The goods themselves are clearly pictured from various perspectives, without any doubt as to how they are used.
Although some affiliates have fancy animation and motion graphics, it’s not really a must-have to get started. Especially when you start working for the budget and the commission, you’re going to want to have some simple resources at hand.
Keep the overall feel of your affiliate videos conversational, polite, and candid. The viewer would want to feel like they’re not watching an advertisement but rather talking to a trusted friend about a product they’re interested in learning more about.
When it comes to obtaining the attention of the viewer, credibility is the secret.
For example, if you promote exercise equipment, having the energy of a personal trainer would generate excitement about buying a product with the intention of using it in the near future. The personality component of your success when you talk about it is an important part of your channel.
Practice being in front of the camera to get relaxed and ask your friends and family for their opinions before you launch your videos.
The summary section of your video will incorporate a call to action with a friendly and knowledgeable environment. This is where you can mention how to buy and add links inside the video section as a visual tool.
The lighting, sound, and overall production of the video should be as professional as possible.
Take note of some of the Youtube affiliate videos that fall short of this.
By comparing and contrasting good to poor quality, you can quickly learn what mistakes stand out and how to prevent them yourself.
Think carefully about how long the video needs to be.
Extended introductions or personal stories will not draw the viewer’s attention, so be swift to get to the heart of the matter – your affiliate product. If you explain the use of the product, be as straightforward as possible in your descriptions and do not presume that your audience’s tech skills are at your level.
Checklist of best practices for your first affiliate Youtube videos:
- Build a studio room in your home or office that’s clutter-free. Light up your studio, so it’s bright enough to show you and the goods at the same time. Natural light can work sometimes, but it’s also a good idea to invest in an affordable, easy set-up of lighting. The ring light is a very useful appliance.
- Do your best to make your studio sound-proof. If this is not feasible, record at times when there is the least ambient street or apartment noise. Often that means taking your videos late at night. Body microphones are available at an affordable cost and often reduce ambient noise.
- Take the time to learn how to use the camera. Whether it’s a tablet, a DSLR camera, or the best video camera money you can purchase, the more comfortable you are with the equipment, the more professional you will be on YouTube.
- Use an external microphone for better sound quality.
- Tripod. Shaky-cam never works unless you’re on the Blair Witch Project.
- Write down a copy. If you’re a little shy about talking ‘off the cuff,’ the script will keep you on track.
- Editing software can be costly, but it typically requires free trial versions. If iMovie is not advanced enough, find the trial edition of Final Cut or Adobe Premiere. When your budget approves, invest in these services for potential use.
When you are about to upload:
- When uploading, go with a minimum of 720HD. The higher the resolution, the better.
- Write a robust video summary. Descriptive captions can be keyworded and used for searches.
- Don’t forget your affiliate links in the description!
Choose a powerful thumbnail to show as a still image before the user hits play. YouTube is an excellent platform for affiliate marketing because it’s so easy to upload videos and promote them through paid advertising. You don’t even need to worry about creating a website or building traffic – YouTube does that for you. All you need to do is create engaging videos and promote them. Once you’ve done that, you can start earning money.
How To Increase Conversion Rates from Affiliate Revenue on Youtube?
Lastly, here are a few small tips that will help you make money from affiliate marketing on YouTube, and increase your passive income.
- Create videos that are authentic and fun.
- Be yourself.
- Practice in front of the mirror.
- Include calls to action.
- Lighting, sound, and overall production quality will make or break your videos.
- Don’t assume your audience knows anything about your industry.
- Your videos need to be between 3 and 10 minutes long.
- You need to know how to use your camera before you start filming.
- Learn how to edit
Conclusion
There’s no reason to get frustrated, even though affiliate marketers know that Youtube is a highly competitive environment on Youtube. Keep your expectations achievable, be consistent, and produce authoritative, quality information on the products you sell.
You will gain the respect of the audience by keeping your tone of voice relatable and honest. By offering them valuable information with links to well-reviewed items, you can earn commissions and scale your affiliate marketing business. Keep shooting good stuff, and your customers will come back to see what you’re suggesting next. You can use YouTube to build your brand and grow your following. Create great videos that answer questions people ask you. Then, market those videos to your target audience.
Audiences respect consistency, human touch, and, most importantly, integrity. If you combine all this with a consistent growth plan, you’ll be on your way to becoming a good YouTube Affiliate Marketer.
Last Updated on November 28, 2023
