Generating Income

Now your YouTube channel is growing it’s time to start reaping the rewards for all your hard work! That’s right: it’s time to monetize your channel.

There are several ways you can do this and of course the best option will depend on the nature of your videos and your existing business models.

Here are some suggestions to consider:

Advertising

YouTube allows you to make money from their Partner Programme, details of which you can find here:https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/

72851?hl=en-GB.

This will basically allow your videos to show adverts, which will generate money each time someone clicks on one or watches one all the way through to the end. This is called a ‘PPC’ (Pay Per Click) model and is one of the best ways to easily start making money from your video efforts.

The only issue is that you’ll need thousands of hits and visitors if you’re going to make any real money from your videos. This is how a lot of fulltime vloggers make their living, so it can be done. Just recognize that it will take a lot of time and a lot of content before you make any real money!

Selling

Another option is to sell your own products. You can do this by promoting them in the video and then adding links in the videos or in the description (it is possible to link to your own content within your videos).

The idea here is to use something called ‘content marketing’. Not only is your content (the videos) drawing people to your channel and creating an audience for you to sell to, but it’s also helping you to gain their trust and to demonstrate your knowledge and trust. This means they’re more likely to buy from you.

You can sell any kind of product just as you would in real life but one of the most popular choices is to create a digital product like an ebook or an online course. This is how a lot of fitness YouTubers like AthleanX and SixPackShortcuts make a lot of their money. Likewise, you have the comedy/fitness channel BroScienceLife which makes money from t-shirts and supplements.

Affiliate Sales

Don’t want to create your own products or invest in inventory? Then why not sell an affiliate product. This basically means you’re going to be selling for commission and you can do this again with digital products (through sites like JVZoo.com, CJ.com and ClickBank.com – all of which offer up to 75% commission) or physical products using the Amazon Associates programme (https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/).

Amazon will net you a much smaller percentage of the profits BUT it gives you the ability to sell practically anything and at the same time to sell through a platform that your viewers will recognize and trust.

This method of monetization works especially well if you run a reviews site. Jonathan Morrison is a YouTuber who reviews technology (with video series like The Best Tech Under $50) and then has affiliate links in his description. The footage is absolutely stunning too and makes use of the Hue lighting we recommended earlier!

Subscription Content

YouTube now also offers creators the chance to charge for their content: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3249127?hl=en.

This way, you can create some free videos to attract people to your channel and show off what you’re doing and then convince those viewers to pay for your premium content on top of that. This works best when your video is focused on teaching something with a very clear value – such as a skill that can be useful for a particular career.