HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE – STARTING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL
The great thing about making money online is that you’re only limited by your creativity!
Understanding YouTube
By this point, I’m pretty sure most people understand the general idea behind YouTube. But, to be sure, here it is in a nutshell.
Basically, you create an account and upload videos. Other people can then watch those videos and you can watch other people’s. In fact, you can watch other people’s videos even without an account.
That’s about it as far as YouTube for personal use goes.
For those with a more entrepreneurial mindset, however, there are some other opportunities available via starting a YouTube channel.
Aside from being a place to upload personal videos, YouTube also caters to professional “content creators.” These are people who make videos and other types of media specifically for distribution through YouTube or other online platforms. These individuals often specialize in a particular area or type of video. They produce and release content on a regular basis for profit.
Let’s explore how this can work for you.
Contributing To YouTube
The process of getting started on YouTube is really pretty simple.
First, you need an idea for a topic or type of video you’d like to specialize in. You may choose to do an information-based channel where people can visit for videos covering a particular topic you specialize in or know a lot about. Alternatively, you may decide you’d rather just make compilation videos of the scariest things found on the internet (because there can never be enough of these channels apparently…).
Once you have some idea about what type of content you want to create, you’ll create an account and a channel associated with that account. You’ll want to take some time to think about what you’ll call your channel, because once you start creating videos using one name, it will be hard to make any “brand” changes later on. Get this part right.
From here, you’ll start to create your videos. I’d do some research into good audio equipment. You might get by on recording video using a phone for a while, but generally speaking, people won’t watch a video with poor audio.
Getting Found On YouTube
Now I wish I could tell you that it was as easy as filming and posting, but the truth is that’s far less than half the battle initially. Look up the stats on how much content is uploaded to YouTube every minute. (It’s constantly on the rise, so I won’t bother posting a number here). It’s unbelievable. You’ll have to do some serious optimization to get found.
So, as you create you want to keep your target keywords in mind and say them in the video, put them in the description, put them in the title, etc. YouTube is, at the end of the day, a search engine. You are adding information. You need to load up your content with your target keywords and phrases to cut through the fog and be found.
You’ll also want to make sure that you’re encouraging your viewers to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications. All of these things are going to help you appear in more people’s suggested videos, which means more eyes on your content.
From here, it’s all about maintaining a schedule of releasing quality videos regularly and building an audience.
How You Make Money
Alright, if you’ve stuck with me this far you’re obviously interested in the process. But, what good is a process if there’s no reward. After all, I’ve listed this post under “Extra Income,” not “Art For Art’s Sake.”
There are several ways to make money on YouTube.
First, is through monetization of your channel and videos. YouTube has some requirements in place concerning subscriber count and view time before they’ll allow this. However, once you meet those requirements, you’ll be able to allow those ads (commercials) you see so often on YouTube to be placed on your videos. If you do a little research on this, you’ll find it takes a good while to get to monetization for most people and the payouts aren’t huge once they do (at first).
Another option is to partner with businesses to plug their products or services directly in your video. You’ve probably watched at least a few videos that began with something along the lines of “Today’s video is brought to you by…” That’s a paid promotion included directly in the video for all time.
Similar to the above option, but a little less obvious and “commercially” is the affiliate marketing route. Using this method, you partner with businesses and discuss their products in your videos. Typically, you would reference how the product has benefited you or might benefit your viewers without outright saying “Hey, this is a commercial.” Think of this more as a testimonial you’re paid for.
There are other methods to make a profit on YouTube. These might include crowdfunding, selling your own online content, and even selling your own physical products. The great thing about making money online is that you’re only limited by your creativity!
Is YouTube Right For Me?
And the big question: Should you do this?
The upside to starting a YouTube channel is that the barrier to entry is relatively low. Find a decent microphone, some video editing software (iMovie works fine to get you moving), and you’re off. There is no cost for the channel, and you aren’t necessarily required to advertise your videos.
Starting a YouTube channel is also great for anyone with a creative streak. You get to really get in there and edit and create something you can really be proud of and share it with other people. If you like to work on projects like that, you’ll love this work.
But, it bears mentioning that starting a YouTube channel is NOT a fast path to making loads of money for most people. It will take time to build an audience and meet monetization standards. Even if you apply for affiliate programs early, you won’t get paid unless people make purchases via your links or codes. This means, again, you need an audience and views. This comes only with time and patience.
So, if you are a creative person willing to put in the time to create excellent content AND learn YouTube optimization techniques knowing that it will take some time before you see any real profits for your efforts, this is a solid option for you to explore.
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Regardless of your money goals, you can “Bank on a Budget” to get you from where you are to where you want to be!
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What type of content are you considering for you channel?