Introduction Youtube

With more than 2.6 billion monthly active users, Youtube is the world’s second most visited website, right behind Google, according to research performed earlier in March by SEMrush.

Additionally, Youtube is a free online video-sharing platform where people can either share and find information, inspiration, education, or entertainment content. In fact, Youtube encourages users to be part of the community by letting them share their thoughts and ideas, contribute and comment.

If you type into Youtube search “what to do at home when bored” you will have access to thousands of results. Giving you access to a never ending stream of videos from different categories from crafting ideas, productivity tips, home decor, recipes, healthcare routines, make-up tips, inventions, movies and series reviews, and much more. Best of all, Youtube encourages everybody to ask and answer questions, so that users, creators and artists can all be equally part of the community.

According to a recent study by Think with Google, 68% of YouTube users watched YouTube to help make a purchase decision. In addition, following the statistics by Think with Google, up to 90% of people say that they’ve discovered new products and brands via YouTube.

5 Steps to get started with Youtube Affiliate Marketing

To start with, Youtube affiliate marketing is a great way to promote products and videos through affiliate links in exchange for a commission. Youtube affiliate marketing works to accomplish the main goal of other affiliate strategies: make end users take the desired action, therefore, get paid the commission. 

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced affiliate, below you will find useful steps to get started with Youtube Affiliate Marketing:

1. Choose the right niche 

The first step is to find the most profitable vertical and the products which you are passionate about. It is crucial to pick the niche that you can regularly create content for in order to easily reach and engage with your audience.

Here are 4 tips to help select the best niche for you: 

1. You have passion and a huge interest in the vertical.
2. There is something out there that is missing. Keep hold of that and use it to differentiate yourself.
3. Find out the size of the audience reach. It is best to start with a niche with a larger potential audience. 
4. Be unique and create your own brand. Create your voice through which your audience will recognize you. 

Here are the most profitable niches for Youtube 2023, based on experience:

• Education
• Gaming
• Lifestyle
• Fashion
• Healthy and Beauty
• Fitness
• Technology
• Cooking

2. Create your Youtube channel

At this stage, it is time to create your Youtube channel to promote affiliate links successfully. You can find the instructions to easily create a Youtube channel on Youtube Help. At the same time, while you are creating your channel, you need to bear in mind that visuals are such an important part of your profile. So make sure that you complete the profile properly as well as to upload your logo or images referring to your own brand. I recommend that you use Canva to design creatives and videos. 

3. Find the best affiliate program

At this point of the process, you need to find the best affiliate network that has the most profitable campaigns to promote through Youtube. Even though affiliate networks can work with Youtube traffic, you can find campaigns where Youtube traffic is prohibited. So, when you are looking for an affiliate network, it is important to identify the most profitable campaigns that accept Youtube as a promotion method. 

4. Types of affiliate marketing videos on Youtube

Even though Youtube users use this platform for a variety of reasons, Youtube was designed to let users create and share videos. However, today, brands employ their efforts for marketing purposes in order to increase their sales. As a result, Youtube has evolved into an innovative, responsive, creative and most importantly, user-creator platform. 

For instance, the following are the best converting types of video content:

• Product review videos
• How-to videos
• Unboxing videos
• Best-of videos
• Roundup videos
• Tutorials

5. Drive high-quality traffic to your videos

Last but not least, it is necessary to drive your audience to your videos in order to find what you are offering. Besides the Youtube search engine, it is also important to work with other traffic sources to reach your target audience. In fact, there are several ways to promote your channel and get more views, for example:

1. Produce content on a blog and optimize it with both SEO & SEM.
2. Create social media profiles: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, etc.
3. Build an email marketing list.
4. Join online communities and forums.

3 Top tips to make YouTube videos profitable

1. Use direct links

Link your affiliate link to the advertiser offer. When you get the users’ clicks, do not disturb their experience by sending them to another destination. Focus on the user’s experience and provide them with what they are looking for.

2. Know your target audience

Create relevant and engaging content with the aim of solving problems or giving answers to the needs and desires of your target audience. Either focus on selling or focus on helping them with their research so they can trust you and later, buy your products.  

3. Use a reliable tracking tool

Track and measure your performance by working with a tracking tool. You can easily get control of your results and optimize them accordingly. 

Final thoughts

Youtube has redefined the user shopping experience by giving more power to people in their purchase decisions. Nowadays, users rather than going directly to the store, go to Youtube and search for information related to their needs and interests. According to a study by Google, Youtube is the first stop in the social shopping journey when it comes to social commerce. In fact, the same study says that nearly 80% of shoppers who watched a video related to a planned purchase said they watched it at the beginning of their shopping process.

Similarly, the purchase behavior has evolved to consider that customers can shape the brand’s image as they now can create content and convince other customers to buy the products they recommend. Therefore, It is not surprising that marketers and brands are working towards getting the most out of Youtube’s advertising opportunities.