Affiliate marketing involves promoting a product or service on your YouTube channel and earning a commission for every sale that is made through your unique affiliate link.
By sharing valuable content and driving traffic to affiliate links, you can generate additional income online through your YouTube channel.
But how do you maximize your affiliate earnings?
What if your viewers don’t click on your affiliate links?
What if your video doesn’t get enough views?
Luckily there are a few killer strategies you can use to grow your YouTube channel, rank your videos on YouTube Search and increase affiliate revenue.
Some YouTubers earn most of their revenue through affiliate sales.
Adsense is just a cherry on top.
A video can get 10,000 views but earn 20,000 in revenue just from affiliate marketing.
Here’s how:
How to Do Affiliate Marketing on YouTube?
If you’re looking to monetize your YouTube channel and earn passive income, affiliate marketing is a great way to do it.
Here are some tips on how to maximize your earnings and do affiliate marketing on YouTube:
1. Find search phrases with purchase intent
In order to make affiliate revenue from YouTube your video has to include some sort of product recommendation that either:
a) helps the viewer solve their specific problem or
b) helps the viewer decide which product they’re choosing is better.
To find viewers looking to buy something you can target specific search phrases with the help of YouTube SEO.
Then make a video that shows the viewer how to solve a problem and include an affiliate product recommendation in the video.
You can use VidIQ to find keywords with purchase intent that people search for every day on YouTube.
VidIQ lets you look up a search phrase and then shows you how many people search for it per month.
Here’s a full list of alternative keyword research tools that you can use.
Visit VidIQ.
2. Make videos for YouTube search
Videos that are made for YouTube Search usually rely heavily on keyword optimization.
A video that ranks on YouTube Search can get consistent traffic throughout the year instead of a short burst of traffic at the beginning.
One of my videos ranks on YouTube search and it consistently brings in hundreds of views every day:
Pros & cons of creating videos for YouTube Search:
- Videos are evergreen – they get views consistently throughout the year.
- Predictable earnings.
- Lower competition.
- Keyword research can determine the video’s success.
- Usually educational or review type.
- Don’t always require fancy editing or scripting.
- Viewers don’t usually convert well into subscribers.
- Videos get discovered through the search bar.
Pros & cons of creating videos for YouTube homepage (browse features):
- Inconsistent views and traffic.
- A chance for going viral.
- Unpredictable earnings.
- High competition.
- Catchy titles, a good thumbnail, and good intros determine video success.
- Most views usually come in the first month.
- Viewers convert well into subscribers.
- Videos get discovered on YouTube’s home page.
- Usually entertainment-type videos.
You can do keyword research to optimize your videos that have affiliate links for SEO.
If a video ranks on YouTube Search and has an affiliate link in the description it will bring in consistent income throughout the year.
Assuming that your viewer actually needs the product that you’re recommending.
That’s why making a video on a keyword that has high purchase intent is so important.
Usually, such keywords include the words top 10, best, review, comparison, and overview.
3. Join affiliate programs and put links in your description
Of course, to make affiliate revenue with your YouTube channel you need to become an affiliate.
There are many affiliate programs out there and here’s a resource that has a list of some of the best recurring affiliate programs.
For example, I made a few Skillshare courses and when someone signs up for Skillshare through my link I get a commission.
4. Use Calls to Action
Most viewers will never look into your description where you put the affiliate links.
That’s why using a call to action within your video is a great way to encourage them.
However, some viewers might think that you’re a sellout if you keep telling them to click on affiliate links in your descriptions.
A good way to combat this is to leave some sort of resource (like a link to another video) in the description and direct the viewers there.
As they view the description searching for the video link they will naturally see all the other links and if they like, know, and trust you – they will check them out.
The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.
Of course, your videos have to be good for viewers to know like, and trust you.
To make affiliate revenue from a YouTube video, make sure your video:
- Goes straight to the point.
- Answers all viewer’s questions.
- Doesn’t promise what it can’t deliver (no clickbait).
- Is as long as it needs to be in order to be helpful to the viewer.
- Helps the viewer decide on which product to purchase and/or gives the recommendation to make their life easier and/or shows the viewer a helpful product or service that he or she is not yet aware of.
- Includes a call to action to let the viewer know how to find your product or service recommendation.
TL;DR
To make consistent affiliate revenue from YouTube videos: 1. Do keyword research to find out what most people search for on YouTube; 2. Optimize your video titles and descriptions for SEO (VidIQ can help with that); 3. Include your affiliate link in the video description; 4. Use calls to action to encourage viewers to click on the link and make a purchase.
P.S. I made this Notion guide about how to start and grow a YouTube channel completely from scratch. I hope you’ll find it useful.
Get a free Notion template with the tutorial for the game of YouTube
🚀 10+ Notion pages about how to play the YouTube game
⚙️ List of tools & gear for YouTubers
🧑⚖️ How to make your first video and get your channel off the ground
💰 Detailed guide about finding your niche & making money
Best YouTube Video Ideas to Make Affiliate Revenue
The best YouTube videos that earn the most affiliate revenue are those that people watch with transactional intent i.e. they are looking to compare or find out about a product that will solve their problem.
Here are 10 video ideas to earn affiliate revenue:
- “The 10 best products for (insert niche) in (insert year)”
- “The ultimate guide to (insert topic) – top products, tips, and tricks”
- “Our top picks for the best (insert product type) of the year”
- “The benefits of using (insert product type) in your daily routine”
- “A comprehensive review of the top (insert product type) on the market”
- “How to choose the right (insert product type) for your needs”
- “The top (insert number) must-have tools for (insert niche)”
- “How to use (insert product) for beginners: a complete guide”
- “Top 5 best (insert product type) for (insert specific use case)”
- “Top 5 (insert product type) on Amazon”
Comparison videos
Comparison videos on YouTube are videos that compare two or more products or services.
These types of videos can be very helpful for viewers who are trying to make a decision about which product to purchase.
In a comparison video, the creator will typically outline the features and benefits of each product, and then offer their personal opinion about which one is the best choice.
Then the creator will include an affiliate link to that product in the description of their video.
There are a few different formats that comparison videos can take.
Some creators will do a side-by-side comparison, where they show the products next to each other and discuss the differences and similarities while others will look at promotional footage without even having the product.
Tutorial videos
Tutorial videos on YouTube are videos that provide step-by-step instructions for how to do something.
These types of videos can cover a wide range of topics, from cooking and DIY projects to computer programming and graphic design.
Tutorial videos are great for including affiliate links because they usually get consistent traffic throughout the year.
For instance, if you make a tutorial about how to use some software or how to apply makeup, you can include the software’s or product’s affiliate links in the description.
Review videos
Review videos on YouTube are videos that provide a critical assessment of a product or service.
These types of videos are usually created by people who have firsthand experience with the product or service in question and are looking to share their thoughts and opinions with their audience.
Reviewers usually focus on a single product, and provide a detailed analysis of its features, performance, and overall value.
Review videos can be very helpful for viewers who are considering purchasing a product or service and that’s where the potential to earn affiliate revenue comes in.
If you make a video review of a product make sure to add an affiliate link to your video’s description to maximize your earning potential.
Top 10 videos
The top 10 videos on YouTube are videos that countdown and rank the top 10 items in a particular category or theme.
These types of videos can cover a wide range of topics, from programs, computers, and music to video games and tech gadgets.
Top 10 videos are easier to make than a comprehensive review because you don’t have to know and talk about each individual item too in depth.
If you link all of the items in the top 10 list in your video’s description there’s a high chance your viewers will check them out and earn you an affiliate commission.
Recommendations within videos
Even if your videos aren’t tutorials or reviews you can still recommend products within your other videos.
Think about which program or tool could help the viewer watching the video even though the video isn’t only about that product.
When you’re making a recommendation you can say something like: “Oh by the way I use (insert product name) for (insert purpose). It can help you (insert solution to viewer’s problem). I’ll link it in the description if you’re interested in checking it out”.
TL;DR
The best types of videos to make affiliate revenue are comparisons, tutorials, reviews, and top 10 videos. Giving product recommendations that help the viewer solve their problem in other videos is also a great way to make affiliate revenue on YouTube.
How Much Can You Make With Affiliate Marketing on YouTube?
The amount of money you can make with affiliate revenue depends on the views and conversion rate.
The higher the views and the higher the conversion rate the more money you can earn.
Conversion rate is the ratio of how many viewers turn into paying customers, usually expressed as a percentage.
Here’s how you can calculate your affiliate revenue:
Affiliate revenue = views * conversion rate
Is Affiliate Marketing With YouTube Worth It?
The potential for earning money through affiliate marketing on YouTube is massive.
Although the money that you make through affiliate product sales might be small in the beginning, it usually snowballs into massive revenue growth.
It’s also a great strategy for beginner YouTubers who are looking to start earning money before getting monetized.
If you find out what your audience struggles with and solve their problem with a product you can earn ridiculous amounts of affiliate commissions.
It’s important to promote products that align with your channel’s content and audience.
People buy things from people they know like and trust.
Never recommend affiliate products with high commissions that you don’t believe in or that you know will harm your audience.
In the long run, if you recommend the products that you genuinely believe will solve your audience’s problems, you’ll be successful.
Another great way of making money on YouTube is creating a course.
Because you can earn double the revenue: for promoting the course platform and for people taking your course.
Learn more about how to make an online course for free here.
How to Make YouTube Videos That People Want to Watch?
At the end of the day if the videos that you’re making are bad, then no one will watch them and you will not earn affiliate revenue.
That’s why the first step to making money from YouTube, whether it’d be through Adsense or affiliate sales, is creating content that people want to watch.
Here are a few resources to help you make the best YouTube videos possible:
How To Make A Killer YouTube Thumbnail
Read More17+ Best YouTuber Tools To Start Earning Money Faster
Read MoreHow To Grow A YouTube Channel Fast (Blue Ocean Strategy)
Read MoreGet a free Notion template with the tutorial for the game of YouTube
🚀 10+ Notion pages about how to play the YouTube game
⚙️ List of tools & gear for YouTubers
🧑⚖️ How to make your first video and get your channel off the ground
💰 Detailed guide about finding your niche & making money