Affiliate Marketing and YouTube

YouTube videos have been proven to be a very effective form of marketing.

By creating YouTube videos you have the ability to show potential buyers how the product looks and help them understand what it really is before they decide to buy it.

Humans are generally attracted to what catches the eye. A captivating, well-created video is something we will want to curiously watch.

Using videos started about a century ago (in the 1920s), but on a wide scale in the 1980s. We can find videos practically everywhere nowadays, and YouTube in some countries is now watched more than TV.

This is why YouTube videos are now widely used in affiliate marketing. It makes sense to capitalize on the modern trend to gain sales, right?

And it only gets more and more popular. We could expect that the use of videos will go on for a very long time.

So the earlier you utilize this knowledge, the quicker you become a profitable affiliate marketer.

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Marketing and YouTube

In 2007, YouTube made an initiative by partnering with video makers. It released YPP (YouTube Partnership Program).

YPP is a structure where a video uploader receives a share of the revenue when advertising on the website.

In this structure, the uploader receives 55% of the revenue while YouTube receives the remaining 45%.

This gained so much popularity that YPP garnered about a million members.

In 2013, YouTube introduced an opportunity for channel owners to have paid subscription, granted that they have around a thousand current subscribers.

4 years later, they ratified the requirement for paid subscriptions to 10,000 lifetime views.

As perks, they award YouTube Play Buttons as recognition for popular channels that gain a hundred thousand to fifty million subscribers.

Clearly, YouTube has been maximized as a platform to monetize videos.

How Can We Make Money on YouTube with Affiliate Marketing?

This could be done by incorporating links to the products that you choose to promote in your videos uploaded to YouTube.

If a potential buyer uses that link as a channel to purchase a product, a commission is earned.

This link is called an affiliate link and is the means by which a seller can monitor sales coming from your end.

Where to Find Products to Sell?

Amazon has a wide array of products that can be sold. Other than them, almost all companies make use of affiliate programs.

This includes Target, Walmart and Best Buy to name a few.

Other than those mentioned above, you can search the internet for other brands that utilize affiliate programs. There are a lot of them.

You have to register and get approved for their service; once that is done, you can start promoting their products.

Is There a Smooth Way to Integrate Affiliate Links into YouTube Videos?

Yes, there is. One easy way to do it, is through product review videos.

When reviewing a specific product, a link could be mentioned in the video itself or added in the description box. In this way, viewers have a direct door to that product so that they can purchase conveniently.

So each time you make reviews of favorite products, throwing in an affiliate link will help viewers know where they can buy that product.

As mentioned earlier, links can be put in the description box.

Care is needed, though, because YouTube wants people to stay on YouTube.

Of course, as a platform that monetizes on its content, YouTube wants people to stay on the website for as long as possible.

They would want viewers to watch as much content and engage on these channels as possible.

This way, viewers would be able to see as many ads as YouTube can throw at them.

Including affiliate links in your video would end the viewing session for a person. They watch your video and then move ahead to the company’s website you are promoting.

If this is the case for all the videos you make, your videos will not help in prolonging a viewer’s time on YouTube, which is their main goal to monetize on content.

Thus, your video could not perform with this goal in mind.

However, if you only choose a number of videos where you include affiliate links, YouTube will be OK with that.

YouTube As a Source of Traffic to Your Websites

Instead of adding affiliate links, it would be better to add links to your website. In this way, you could increase the traffic to your website significantly. If you send people from YouTube to some very related pages on your website, then you can direct people to the related products or services, through the affiliate links on your website.

It’s a better way of using YouTube videos than adding affiliate links to your videos.

It’s always the best idea to have your own online business with a website, than to depend on the websites you don’t have a control of, like YouTube. YouTube should be one of the ways of getting traffic to your website.

Posting affiliate links on your YouTube videos (or in their description) is mostly for people who don’t have a website.

Legal Disclaimers

Is it essential? Not really, but it will do you a lot of good.

It will be a good idea to include some kind of disclaimer in your description. You can mention that you might use affiliate links.

Even if YouTube doesn’t impose mentioning this in your videos, doing it would be a safe thing to do.

Plus, by doing this, trust is built with your viewers. When they know what is going on, you become more reliable in their eyes.

How Can You Earn Money?

As mentioned earlier, you get a portion of the sale of the product you promote.

When a viewer clicks on your affiliate link, a cookie is put on that person’s device so that what they purchase will be tracked.

What is great about these cookies on Amazon, is that when you link to a product, a viewer will not need to purchase that product. Whatever they purchase on Amazon through your affiliate link, you get a commission.

Making the Videos

What could a video be about?

It could be an unboxing or a product review. When you buy something, don’t open it. Record yourself opening the box and the reaction you have while doing this. You can then make a review of the product while you try fidgeting about it. This is a more engaging method that written reviews.
It could be consumer purchasing advice. Focus on a single niche you are truly interested in. Then offer advice on buying items.
It could be tutorials. If you are skilled in something, you can share that with viewers. Whether it is cooking, makeup, construction or anything else, there are tons of people who want to learn that. To make it more convenient for them and to allow you to have more content, you can break the videos down to bite-size chunks.
It could be educational shorts. Ask why. Explain an area in your niche so that viewers will understand what you do better.
It could be humorous. You wouldn’t wonder why this is one of the most popular video content. If you can link your niche to something humorous, you would garner more viewers and promoting products will not feel like a sales pitch.
It could be about lifestyle, self-help or fitness. Since there is a wide array of health-related products, this can also be a great content idea.

YouTube Benefits

Minimal start-up cost. This is one great thing with affiliate marketing, you will not need to have a lot of money to invest. You don’t even need high-end equipment to start with. You can always invest in that after you start making money.
It is popular. Videos are attention grabbers and this will be so for years to come. This makes videos a lasting medium to monetize on and as a source of traffic. It could even be your edge among others.
It brings you credibility. You’re not just someone faceless. People will see that you are a real human, giving this awesome advice and knowledge. Videos will help you to connect with your audience better.

Conclusion

YouTube is a great source of traffic to your website. You should maximize your affiliate marketing efforts through YouTube. There are marketers who use mainly YouTube as the source of their traffic.

But in my opinion, combining the content on your website and YouTube videos, is the best way of making money as an affiliate marketer.

Of course, you must know how to do it right. In my opinion Wealthy Affiliate is the best place to learn affiliate marketing, including learning how to use YouTube videos for marketing.