Creating YouTube Videos That Earn You Money

Video is fast becoming the most popular media to use online for marketing your business, products, and services. If there is one thing that you need to do over the next few months, it starts creating YouTube videos.

Why YouTube?

Well, the answer is pretty simple really. YouTube is still the most-watched video platform and is also the second-largest search engine on the internet behind Google. These facts, plus they are owned by Google only reiterates why video is so powerful as a marketing tool.

One of the questions I am sometimes asked is…

How Much Does It Cost To Start A YouTube Channel?

There is no cost at all to start a YouTube channel but you will need to have a Google account as it is linked to this. You can then create your channel by adding a few details, it’s super simple and takes just a few minutes.

If you haven’t already got an account then head to Google and open an account then click create a YouTube channel and follow the instructions.

 

What Equipment Do You Need To Make YouTube Videos

If you are looking to earn money with YouTube then it’s probably best to invest in some equipment that will help you create amazing videos. The better your videos the quicker you can make money simple!

This works by getting people to watch more of your video, watch time is a ranking factor in the Youtube search, so the more people watch the more people should see your videos.

This, in turn, increases your subscribers. This will help to earn money too, but more on that later.

Okay so here is a list of that equipment.

  • Camera – Ideally a digital camera or video camera will give a much sharper picture quality. Note:- if you are just starting out your phone camera would do until you can afford to upgrade.
  • Tripod – A tripod will give you a much better quality.
  • Lighting – Good lighting is a must if you can afford quality stand-alone lighting then great otherwise don’t stick yourself in a dark room and expect to get results. Natural daylight is better than nothing and that is free.
  • External Microphone – These are quite expensive so the budget doesn’t stretch use your phone or laptop mic. The clearer your videos the more watch time you will get, and I have already covered what watch time does to your account.
  • Video Editing Software – As you get more proficient at making videos you will need to invest in video editing software. But, what is the best video editing software for YouTube? I have used Camtasia for years now and I have not come across anything as good as this. By editing your videos it will take them to another level.

Limited Budget

As already mentioned there are a few things to can use if you are starting with a limited budget such as using your mobile phone to record the videos. If you are not looking to be in front of the camera then you could use a video creation tool such as Content Samurai. Although there is a small monthly cost for this, you can access all the features on their 7-day free trial.

Read my full review of Content Samurai here

How Do You Make Your Own Videos On YouTube

The process is very simple to create your own videos. First, you need to decide what you are going to make your video about. This works best if you choose a topic that people are searching for. You can utilize the search facility on YouTube itself for this.

youtube search

This can do two things. Establish if people are searching for the topic you are looking to record about and show you all the competitors that are ranking for that keyword.

Keywords

Look for keywords that rank well and then use these words in your title and description of your video this should help it rank higher for that specific keyword. Tip:- Try using long-tail keywords as appose to just a broad term like “Health”

Tags

Tags are very important too so use relevant keyword phrases and single and broader keywords too. There is plenty of space here be sure to use it.

Thumbnail

Creating an amazing thumbnail for your videos is a must. This will help you get noticed within the search results. You can use a site like Canva to make great thumbnails and it only takes a few minutes to do, but well worth the effort.

Making Money With YouTube Videos

There are various ways to earn money from YouTube videos and all are really simple to set up.

Affiliate Marketing – This is probably the most popular way to create an income with your YouTube videos. Affiliate Marketing is a simple process where you promote other people’s products and services in return for a commission.

Read more about starting an affiliate marketing business here

This works by signing up for the products’ affiliate program, this is normally free to do and just requires a few details such as name and email. Once you have been accepted then you are given a unique link (your affiliate link) which is tracked to your account.

When people click on your link and make a purchase you are then credited with a pre-arranged commission. This could be a set amount of percentage of the sale.

If you are new to affiliate marketing and looking for products you can join affiliate networks such as Clickbank they have thousands of products available from all niches.

More on Clickbank read this

Own Products – If you have your own products you can, of course, promote these too.

The easiest way to promote both these methods is to have a link to the product in the first two lines of the description under the video, and then have a call to action prompt within the video telling your viewer where to find the product.

YouTube Partner Program


youtube partner programA couple of years ago you could join the partner program whenever you liked but now they have certain thresholds you need to meet before you can be part of it.

You have to have 1000 subscribers and reached 4000 watch hours in a 12 month period. This does, of course, mean that you have to be dedicated to hitting these figures, but that said they are totally reachable.

Once you have met the criteria to join the partner program you can then apply.

This will then allow you to place ads on your videos and get paid when your visitors watch your videos. The top YouTubers are earning thousands of dollars a month with the partner program.

Popular YouTubers are becoming celebrities in their own right and even appearing on cult TV programs such as Strictly Come Dancing.

More on making money with YouTube below

Marketing Your YouTube Videos

Once you have everything in place and you have made some great videos you now need to get people to watch them. Here are a few suggestions that will help you get more views.

Read these 5 marketing tips for affiliate marketing on YouTube

Social Sharing

After every video is published make sure to share your video on other platforms that you have an audience on. Even if you are not that active having a presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and Instagram is a must.

By sharing your videos you are also helping it to rank higher in the search engines too so it’s a win-win all round.

Blogging

Embedding your video onto a blog is another way to get more views and again will help your blog and video to get ranked higher in the search engines.

If you have not yet started a blog read this article on starting a blog from scratch

You can also create a blog on sites such as Tumblr and then share your videos there.

Forums

Most forums will allow Youtube videos to be shared and or embedded onto their sites. These are normally good for views as they tend to be very targeted. Reddit and Quora are two forums that allow videos. With any forum just check the Terms and conditions before sharing.

Email Marketing

The somewhat forgotten traffic source is email marketing, yes it does still work and with most email marketing service providers, you can add YouTube videos into your emails very easily indeed.

Also again this is a very highly targeted audience so your views would be a high percentage of your list.

If you are not yet building an email list then read this article to help you get started.

Wrapping Up

So I have covered everything you need to know about making money plus where to share your videos to get even more views which in turn will get you more revenue.

If you are not yet using video then now is the time to start it’s only going to get bigger in the years to come and you definitely do not want to miss out.

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel as I have some great video all about making money, affiliate marketing, and blogging.

start your own business

 

8 thoughts on “Creating YouTube Videos That Earn You Money”

  1. Good to see you share this guide on how to create YouTube videos that earn money. You covered everything that is needed to start a YouTube channel. I personally have a YouTube channel that I run. Although, I have not made money from it, I have been doing pretty well. YouTube can also be one great way to get traffic too.

    Regards!

    Reply
    • Indeed generating traffic from YouTube is simple. Keep working on your channel and the money will come.

      Reply
  2. Hi Martin! Thank you for this amazing post! I am very interested in how to make money through YouTube. And because of your writing, I came across many new ideas that I had never known before. Especially making money as affiliate marketing. I also have a YouTube channel but because of the small number of my subscribers, I can’t make money from it yet.
    Apart from that, I want to ask for your advice.
    Will making a video that contains product promotions as an affiliate marketer give a positive effect for beginners like me?
    Or is it better to make a video to attract subscribers and views before promoting other products?
    Please guide me …
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Hi Kylie, Some great questions there? Doing products reviews is a great way to earn revenue as an affiliate. It will depend on what the products are as to whether you can build a good subscriber base too. I would test and see how you get on you could always add different types of videos later to build an audience. 

      Reply
  3. Martin,

    I did want to confirm I understand correctly.  You can’t benefit from the ads until your are able to join the partner program(need to meet the min. requirements to join) but you are able to insert links for affiliates from the beginning right?

    I haven’t jumped in to YouTube videos yet but it is something I have been thinking about.  This was very useful and well put together.  Thanks.

    Reply
    • Yes Daniel you are correct. Affiliate links can be added from day one but ads and other income streams will need some work first. 

      Reply
  4. This is really a nice post on earning income building YouTube videos. Some people don’t know how powerful videos are to make money and I’m happy that you outlined every step here.

    I have a channel on YouTube but I’ve not reached the mark yet to get accepted. But with the helpful tips and strategies you’ve given, I will get back to working on my channel again.

    I’m an affiliate marketer and videos generally is a great way to make money especially on YouTube which tends to be the most watched video platform on the Internet. And amazingly, YouTube videos on blogs tends to get your website ranked faster on Google.

    Thank you for this informative article.

    Reply
    • Thanks for dropping by Kell, I am glad the article has given you some ideas to grow your channel and income on YouTube

      Reply

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