You're Missing Out if You're Not Earning Money on YouTube
In this day and age, you can earn money on almost anything. There are affiliate programs that pay you for pretty much any purchase made through your affiliate link, and there are survey websites that pay you to complete online surveys. But, what about YouTube? Is it possible to make money on YouTube? The answer is yes - and I will show you how!
Get started with a profile
Setting up a channel is free and easy, but you might have some questions about what comes next. Do you start uploading videos immediately? Should you build a website for your channel? When is it appropriate to post non-related videos (e.g., game footage, sketch comedy routines)? How do you get viewers to find your content? What kinds of partnerships are out there for people just starting out? To answer these questions, take a look at our getting started guide here . If you still have questions after reading that, feel free to ask in our comments section below! We’re happy to help!
Whether you decide to build a website or not, always remember that building an audience takes time – just like any other entrepreneurial pursuit. Start by making friends with other creators who share similar interests and who can connect with their audiences. Build relationships with influencers in your niche, collaborate on videos together, comment back and forth when each of you uploads new content – engage with one another so that viewers come to see you as part of an online community where they can go to learn more about their interests.
Create your channel's about page
Create an About page that gives potential subscribers a clear idea of what they can expect to find on your channel. To do so, go to your Youtube dashboard, click About, and then click Edit. Give yourself a little extra time with editing because you will want to be sure everything is well-written and error-free.
Be personal: If you are starting a vlogging channel or even just creating videos for fun, write a few sentences about yourself so that people have an idea of who you are before watching. For example, say something like, Hi I'm John! I like pizza and playing video games or I'm Mary! I love hiking. Or perhaps say something funny about why you started making videos in general.
Introduce yourself! Tell viewers what to expect from your channel: If you are going to make money from your videos (either through ads or by receiving payments), tell viewers how often you plan on posting new content and let them know when new videos will appear.
Say something like, I post every Tuesday at 10am EST (Eastern Standard Time) or my first video ever will be posted next Monday at 9pm EST. Tell viewers how long each video will last: Whether it's 15 minutes or 2 hours, let people know how long each of your videos last so they can decide whether it's worth their time. Also mention if there's any special equipment needed (e.g., headphones) or anything else important they should know before clicking play.
Promote your channel
One of the best ways to earn money from your channel is to promote it across your social channels and website. The more videos you upload, and more views those videos get, means greater exposure for your brand. If you create great content in your niche, there’s no reason why people wouldn’t want to watch your videos.
While creating entertaining videos might be enough for some creators, others are looking to find ways they can monetize their channels. To do that, you need to grow your audience. Promote yourself and what you’re doing on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn so that new viewers can find your work.
It's also a good idea to start a newsletter or email list so that viewers have an easy way to follow along with what you're doing without having to visit multiple websites every day. And don't forget about word-of-mouth marketing! Tell friends and family about what you're doing—you never know who might want to check out your work after hearing about it from someone else. You could even host a live event or workshop that gives fans a chance to meet you and ask questions directly. Make sure you give them lots of reasons to come back again later by keeping your content fresh and relevant.
Use video thumbnails
With content creators posting over 300 hours of video to YouTube every minute, it's hard to get noticed. One way you can stand out from your peers is with a compelling thumbnail. Video thumbnails are what people see before they click play, so don't skimp here!
Treat your thumbnails like billboards or movie posters—think about how you want to come across visually and make that image pop for potential viewers. If you want a little inspiration for creating a winning video thumbnail, check out Google's How-To Videos.
These are simple videos that run through best practices for writing effective thumbnails. They'll give you some helpful tips on using colors and graphics in your video thumbnails, as well as several examples of well-done videos designed around these principles.
The more you know about how to create an eye-catching thumbnail, the better off you'll be when promoting your own videos. It's also worth noting that while there isn't a perfect formula for making great thumbnails, there are definitely mistakes you should avoid. For example, avoid using white text on top of images; instead, opt for black text or dark backgrounds (Google recommends #333333). Also, consider adding a border around your images to draw attention.
Take care of copyright
Don’t just post your video to YouTube and leave it there. Take advantage of all of YouTube’s copyright tools to ensure you can make money from it in as many ways as possible. These include adding closed captions, a privacy setting, or other features that allow you to use or share your video. When sharing a video, be sure to check whether it is eligible for monetization (to be eligible, videos must have less than 10 minutes of content).
If so, select an appropriate category and add keywords so people can find it when searching for videos related to that topic. Then follow up with descriptions of each video on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc., with links back to YouTube where they can view more details about it. If a potential viewer clicks through from one of these posts and views only a portion of your video before leaving YouTube (which happens often), then YouTube will count that as an impression for ads running alongside that clip.
Get viewers' emails using TubeBuddy
If you want to be successful on YouTube, one of your primary goals should be to drive as much traffic to your channel page as possible. Getting more viewers will help you increase subscribers and (ultimately) make more money.
If you've ever wondered how to grow a following on YouTube, there are a lot of different strategies that you can use – which means that there's a lot of advice out there. However, one tool that is often overlooked when talking about how to improve video ranking and increase video views is TubeBuddy. If you want more information about how TubeBuddy can help you get more subscribers, check out their website here: www.tubebuddy. com/go/Youtube-subscribers. They have a free trial so you can try it before committing!
Post notifications when you go live
When you go live, it’s a good idea to set up some notifications that will let your fans know about it. If you have a Twitter account, for example, create a new tweet with a link to your latest video and post it immediately after you go live.
(It’s also smart to make sure all of your social media accounts are linked with each other so they all reflect activity from one source.) Some channels have special apps or plug-ins that automatically alert their community when they go live, but just remember: No one likes being spammed.
Be careful not to overdo it. Keep your notifications clean and genuine—and always ask before adding someone to an auto-notification list. The more professional you can be at every stage of building your channel, from going live to handling comments, interacting with subscribers and encouraging donations/subscriptions/patronage/tips, etc., the better off you'll be in both establishing credibility and making connections. We've said it before, but again: Treat others as you'd like them to treat you! :) If everyone were thoughtful in their approach to communicating online...well...the world would be a much nicer place! :)
Playlists
When you create playlists, YouTube also creates metadata that helps people find your videos. And when they do, they’re more likely to click them. Those clicks generate views, which can translate into ad revenue. For example, on a travel channel I manage we have tons of great content like tips for first-time visitors and guides to visiting cities around China. But our most-viewed video is a fun little tai chi dance video (watch it here). It has less than 10,000 views but an incredible 8x ratio of likes to dislikes and nearly 50 comments from viewers asking for more like it! All because we included links in our description box for related content and suggested watching other videos in a playlist.
Host contests
To market yourself, consider holding contests to engage with fans, followers and customers. Contests aren’t just for massive corporations like Coca-Cola. Small businesses can use them effectively to gain recognition for their brand and drive traffic back to their website. They are also a great way to increase your social media following. If you have a small budget, consider offering free products or services as prizes instead of cash or gift cards. This will help you get new customers without spending too much money up front. Make sure that all contest participants follow your company’s policies and guidelines, especially regarding entry requirements and judging criteria. Be careful not to violate any copyright laws by using photos, videos or music in your promotional materials. Also make sure that you have permission from anyone who appears in your promotional material.
Product placement
A form of advertising that embeds products within your video. The best product placements are subtle and natural. When you’re just starting out, choose one or two products you like and create videos with them in mind. For example, if you like drinking wine, talk about how much you enjoy it while recording your experience with it (and remember to tag any brands). Over time, viewers will recognize your affinity for these brands—and may even buy them themselves. If a brand wants to work with you, they might reach out to create a video series together or offer sponsorships or free samples of their products. This is easier than it sounds: After earning 30 million views across my videos last year, I now get offers regularly from top brands such as Tylenol. There's no way I could have done that without building up an audience first.
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