YouTube Affiliate Marketing: What You Need To Know
So, you are thinking about taping into YouTube affiliate marketing to start making money online. It is a smart move. 94% of American adults watch YouTube at least once a month. More than 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute to the platform.YouTube has 2 billion users around the world. This goes to show you that this platform is a massive source of traffic.
But is it worth your time to invest in YouTube affiliate marketing? Let’s dive into it.
What is YouTube Affiliate Marketing?
YouTube affiliate marketing is a specific online business where you recommend products or services through YouTube videos.
You review or recommend a product on your videos and place affiliate links in the description.
Simple, right?
This is pretty much how you do affiliate marketing on most platforms.
The difference is that videos are way more powerful.
Why YouTube For Affiliate Marketing?
Why not Facebook, TikTok, or any other platform instead?
Here comes the big reason you probably don’t know…
YouTube is not just a social media platform. It is much more than that.
It is a search engine, and this makes all the difference.
Just like Google, content on YouTube ranks even after a few years.
On platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, your content has a period of distribution.
Then it’s gone, even if it gets viral for a couple of weeks.
With YouTube, you’re leveraging your efforts.
Your videos will still be there years from now… Making money for you on autopilot.
Think about it… You’ve probably watched videos uploaded a decade ago.
This is super powerful because you make the most out of your time.
On Facebook or Instagram, you’ve to create and publish content all the time.
On YouTube, every video is like an employee working for you 24/7 after you upload it.
Affiliate Links on Youtube
First, you need to:
- Find your niche
- The products you want to promote
- Apply for an affiliate program
- Get Your Affiliate Links
For example, let’s imagine that you want to promote Headphones.
You first need to apply for an affiliate program like Amazon Associates.
Then you need to place the links on the description.
You have two options:
- Placing the raw links
- Using a cloaked link (a redirect to make it look better).
They both serve the same purpose…
You can place the links in the description, or you can post them in a pinned comment.
You can do both if you want to make sure people see them.
You can also place affiliate links in your About and Community section.
But there’s no need to overdo it.
What YouTube Videos Should You Create?
Knowing how affiliate marketing works on YouTube is important…
But the actual videos are way more important.
You need to create videos that people want to watch.
That’s why it is essential to choose a niche that you are passionate about.
Being knowledgeable is also important…
If you’re not an expert in the field you want to promote, become one.
If you love tech, reviewing phones might be a good idea.
If you are good with a platform, teach others how to use it.
The most important thing is to help people solve problems…Focus on that, and you’ll succeed.
How To Create A YouTube Video?
Are you comfortable being on camera?
If you are, it’s way easier for you to build and connect with an audience.
If you are not, there are still options…
You can record your screen using software like Camtasia.
You can create animated videos and doodles.
Or you can create videos from premade templates.
There are options.
I recommend practicing being on camera or recording your screen and talking.
The other options are still good.
How to make your video content engaging?
Only a small percentage of people who watch your videos will click on the affiliate links.
If you want to have success with affiliate marketing on YouTube, you need to reach a large audience.
To reach a large audience, you need to create good content.
To create good content, you need quality information and also video production.
It doesn’t matter what video format you choose.
Some tips will help you…
You need a good mic
You need a decent microphone. It doesn’t have to be super expensive
Lightning
It doesn’t matter if you use your phone, a webcam, or a professional camera, lightning will always improve the quality of your video.
Screen Recorder
If you don’t want to show your face, recording your screen is one of the best alternatives. Camtasia, for example, allows you to do just that.
There are many more aspects of making a good quality video, but that’s beyond the scope of this guide.
My point is: do your best with have right now.
Forget about perfection.
You will improve and get better at it if you practice.
Consistency is good for both practice and the YouTube Algorithm.
YouTube videos to promote affiliate offers
Reviews
Online review statistics show that more than half of online shoppers (54.7 percent) read at least four product reviews before purchasing a product. Around 44 percent of them read three or fewer reviews (Bizrate Insights, 2021).
If you have a YouTube channel around a specific niche like electronics, books, or music, create reviews about related products.
Unboxing videos
This is more for influencers, but you can also create videos unboxing products that you want to test.
ONLY if it makes sense for your specific channel. You can always sell them on eBay later if you don’t want to keep them.
How-To/Tutorials
If you have a skill and like to help others, just monetize it.
Let’s say you are good at Design. You can teach it and recommend some tools people need.
Best of
Have you tried different products from the same industry?
Create a ‘best of’ video and rank those products. People love to watch that kind of content.
Comparisons
Put two products or services side by side and list the pros and cons.
Lots of people are searching for the best between two different products.
Vlogs
Vlogs are also a good way of creating good content to promote your affiliate offers.
If you have a lifestyle YouTube channel or are thinking about creating one, this might be an opportunity to promote affiliate offers.
You have probably watched a vlog of an influencer, and suddenly they say they have started using something, and they recommend it to you.
SEO for YouTube Affiliate Marketing
YouTube is just like Google. It’s a search engine.
This means you can optimize your content for specific queries according to keywords.
Tools like TubeBudy or VidIq are helpful in this task.
They help you find keywords and optimize your videos to rank higher.
Tubebudy gives you a score that helps you see what you need to improve.
Some of the things that you need to optimize are:
- Your title
- Your video description
- Related tags
- Name and tags of the video file (most people overlook this)
Remember that your videos can also rank on Google search, not just on YouTube.Try the keyword you are going after on Google first to check if video results show up.
If not, maybe consider other keywords.
Where your videos will appear
- Search results
- Home Page
- Related videos
If your content is good and engaging, YouTube will give it more visibility.
Eye-catching thumbnails
This is by far one of the most important things on YouTube.Your content can be interesting and useful, but if people don’t click on your video…
You need to stand out among other search results.
The key is to grab attention, create curiosity, and answer the user’s query.
Don’t repeat the title on the thumbnail, and don’t just use a screenshot from your video. The default thumbnail is also a big no.
Thumbnails are beyond the scope of this article, but they are something worth learning if you want a successful YouTube Channel.
Conclusion
Should you start doing affiliate marketing on YouTube? YES.
That is the only answer.
Video is only growing and growing.YouTube is getting more competitive every day.
The longer you wait, the more you lose.
Just take some time to really think about what you are passionate about.
Then, think about topics and start creating videos.
Don’t worry that much about monetization in the beginning.
There are affiliate programs for every niche out there.
The most difficult part is to build an audience, so focus 100% on that.
