Video is becoming more and more vital in the online world, and not only on YouTube. Now you can see it everywhere, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook all give you the option now of using video to get your message out there. So as marketers we need to serious think of creating videos.
In today article I am going to be showing you how to use affiliate marketing in You Tube. I am sure I will be covering the other networks too so stay tuned for these posts too. But that said You Tube is the largest video site on the planet.
Let’s just give you a couple of stats
400 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, YES MINUTE!
We watch over 1 Billion (that’s with a “B” ) hours of YouTube video per day that’s more than Netflix and Facebook live combined.
YOU NEED TO HAVE A SLICE OF THIS, RIGHT!
Now I can hear you saying if all these videos are being created how can I get people to watch mine… Read On and I will go through how you can create awesome videos, and get views.
Tools Required
These days creating videos is as easy as using your mobile phone, the quality today can be better than some video cameras. That said not everyone is comfortable being on camera.
Well, don’t let that stop you.
You can always capture a PowerPoint or do a screen capture of your laptop and then voice over it. There is various software that will do this. I would recommend Camtasia which is what I use to record and edit my videos. You can also use Snagit for short videos which is a cheaper product by the same company.
Another piece of equipment that you may want to invest in is a microphone, but to be honest, unless you are making videos on a daily basis then you will probably find that your sound is okay when recording through your mobile or your laptop. I do not use a separate mic for any of my videos.
Optimal Length – Success Tip #1
One of the questions I am always getting asked is what is the best length for a video.
Here is some pointers to bear in mind.
- Keep your video to the point, don’t waffle off the subject
- Make you videos clear from the start
- Don’t waffle on
With these points in mind try to keep you videos fairly short 2-10 minutes max. As you get better at your videos and tackle more in depth subjects these videos could be increased.
Adding Keywords – Success Tip #2
When you are choosing your video subject do some research on various keywords that people are actually looking for. There is no point doing videos for affiliate marketing products if no one is going to watch them.
Use You Tube itself to do some research after all it is the second biggest search engine after Google. Also, use keyword research tools such as Jaaxy these will help you find great long tail keywords that will be easier to rank for.
Once you have these keywords incorporate them in your title, description and tags. This can be done after your have uploaded your video to your You Tube channel.
I add keyworded hashtags too at the bottom of my description too, seems to help me.
Standing Out From the Crowd – Success Tip #3
Before people even watch your video you need to stand out from the crowd. The easiest way to do this is by creating an amazing thumbnail for your video.
As you can see from the image I am ranking high on page one for Pinterest board cover.
I have an eye-catching thumbnail
The keyword is in my title and in my description in the first paragraph
Currently with over 1.1K views which is not too shabby as I only have a few hundred subscribers. This obviously ranking high and getting clicks.
How to create a thumbnail
The best way to create a video thumbnail is by using a free site called Canva. Just create your free account and then select create design, scroll down and choose YouTube thumbnail.
You can then add in images, text and backgrounds or choose one of their free templates and just edit the wording to suit.
Adding Affiliate Links – Success Tip #4
In order to make any sales with affiliate marketing people will need to click on your link and then, in most cases, purchase a product or service. Where is the best place to have your link.
Before I tell you that information, let’s just talk briefly about your actual links. Now affiliate links can be long and ugly things I would always shorten your links before adding them anywhere.
You can do this by using a link shortener such as Bit.ly which is free to do.
Although I prefer, where possible to use a plugin called Pretty Link to create shorter, cleaner links that I can track directly in my dashboard. The video below will explain now I do this.
Back to where to place your links… I place them in two places … the first is within the first two lines of the description. This can then be visible when the video is viewed and without having to hot the show more tab. The second place is at the bottom of the description this is just in case people scroll down quickly and miss the first link.
Call to action – Success Tip #5
People some times need a little help with what to do.
Best bet is to tell them! When you are creating your video have a call to action within the video, even two or three times if you can. Here’s an example of what you say … “If you would like to look at (product name) more closely I have added a link for you in the description below, click this and you will go straight to the product page”.
Don’t be too pushy but try to come across as if you are helping them by having the link there so they don’t have to hunt for it.
You can have the same call to action in the description before the link itself.
There you have it my 5 tips for success when affiliate marketing in You Tube, but before I head off there is just one more thing to ALWAYS include without failure disclose that you are an affiliate for the product.
Very good and useful guide on how to make youtube video that will rank better. I am also thinking on starting my youtube channel but I always postpone it as I think it needs a lot of work in order to create something good that will have a chance to rank high. Maybe your article was what I needed. Thanks.
Your first videos will always be a learning curve and you will get better at creating them the more you do. I would go for it now and then learn as you go. It’s the best way
Hello Admin, thanks for your article on Affiliate marketing using Youtube. To be frank, Affiliate marketing is very competitive and one needs to think of a more strategic approach in order to remain on top in the affiliate marketing industry. Like you rightly said, using youtube to do affiliate marketing has a lot of advantages and makes the product more convincing for the prospective buyers. Thanks for teaching me the steps of creating awesome videos.
Thanks Gracen, Glad you found this useful, good luck with your videos
This is one of the best post I have ever come across because it is really educating. Thank you for coming up with this such amazing post. making video to market your business is really much valuable now. But I really have the idea of making video to market my business but making quality video as been my problem. But with all these tips i have gotten from this post, I just got the best education about my internet business
Glad you found the article helpful … be sure to follow these tips and check out Wealthy Affiliate too as their free training on starting an internet business is second to none.
Great tips on how to use YouTube for affiliate marketing, this is one area I have struggled though Facebook lives are an option for me, I know there so much competition on Yourube but with the 5 tips you have outlined I will give it a try.
I will also try Camtasia and see if it is a fit for me, is snaget as good as Camtasia? Or is it a cheaper version and how much does it cost?
Hope to definitely use the 5 tips and see if I can succeed using YouTube for affiliate marketing.
Great to see you are going to give YouTube a try. Camtasia is a better product with lots more features and benefits cost is about $300 for a licence for two devices.
Hi, thanks for sharing this wealth of information. This would be very vital and helpful. I have noticed that as an affiliate marketer, using social media to also promote your business. I have been using Instagram and twitter but it would be better if I could add YouTube . Thanks for the insight.
Instagram and Twitter are great if they are working for you then carry on with these. You can of course add You Tube into the mix as well. Maybe do some research about your niche and see where your customers are hanging out. This can then be your target.
This is the first time that I will be reading about YouTube as a means for affiliate marketing. Thanks so much. I am a singer and a very good one (thats what I was told) and my niche would be vocal coaching. But I’ve been trying to get my head around managing a YouTube account and I’m just learning that I can incorporate keywords. Maybe thats why my music cover videos have not been getting views. Thanks very much. And I use camtasia. Its worth the price I tell you.
Great to see you are already using Youtube, my son in law is in a popular band they use video all the time to promote. Camtasia is a great product I agree well worth the bucks 🙂
Thank you for a wonderful article, Informative and educative. “Affiliate Marketing on YouTube” is an eye opener article for any online marketer who wish to be successful. The audience on YouTube is unlimited and as such your return for online marketing could be unlimited as well! People love the do it yourself that comes with video content than the write-ups. With mobile phones you can make YouTube content. How cheap or expensive is YouTube compare to others? How do you beat the competitions on YouTube?
Hey thanks for your comments. Youtube can be very cheap to get started, I would use the tips in the article to help beat your competitors.
Social media has become a very important tool for effective marketing of products. The sheer number of traffic social media receives makes it a choice destination for marketing.
The use of YouTube as a tool for affiliate marketing is quite effective as I’ve gotten good results using this tool. However, when creating a YouTube video, you must use a lot of graphic images to attract the attention of viewers. You must also try to keep it as short as possible so as not to bore your viewers. That’s just my two cents. Thanks for sharing.
Indeed Louis you are right there, grabbing your viewers attention is a must. Having short informative videos definitely work for me.
Nice article there. Is so full of information and educative key points on how to Affiliate Marketing In YouTube
many will find this article so useful because there is so much to earn from creating video for a product on YouTube.
among the five key points I always find number 2 so important which is keywords of the affiliate product to market .with the right keywords u make many sale.i will like to see more of your article on how to be successful in affiliate marketing