Creating a videos is a great way to connect with your audience, but it can be time consuming to constantly come up with new content. You may be thinking, "Is this worth it? Can vlogs earn me money?" The answer is yes! YouTube Stars can attest - there are plenty of ways to make some cash from your videos. Here are 3 key ways that vlogs can earn you money.
1) Paid Courses
Selling your expertise is nothing new, but with the advent of the internet it is much more accessible. Before you would have to travel to a new city, rent out a conference space, teach people in person, and then do it all over again. Thanks to the success of MasterClass, consumers feel comfortable paying for an online video course. Because you only have to teach the class once and can still reach a wide audience, coaches can offer pre-recorded video courses for a cheaper rate than what an in person seminar would normally cost.
2) Affiliate Marketing
One way to keep your content free for your audience while still making money is affiliate marketing. Let's say that you have a beauty vlog: work with brands you trust to highlight their products in your tutorials. Brands often require a "proof of concept" when it comes to affiliates. You need to be able to show them how many views your videos get before they are willing to fork over some cash. You may also need to reach out to your desired brands, make connections, and pitch your series before they want to partner with you. As you build your audience, keep affiliate marketing in mind.
3) YouTube Ads
Ads are a tried and true way to make money off of your videos. YouTube makes this a very easy process to set up. If your channel meets some basic requirements (have no active community guideline strikes, have more than 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last year, and have more than 1,000 subscribers), you can apply for the YouTube Partner Program. This is a one-time set up, and then you have ads running on all of your videos. Although this may have the lowest bar to entry, it also has low percentages. You could sell a paid video course for $100 to one person, while a single view on your Ad-enabled YouTube video may only make you $0.018. Yes, only about two CENTS. Don't let that discourage you. YouTube Ads are a great "passive" way to make some money off of your video blogs.
Find out more about how to apply for YouTube Partner Program Here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72851?hl=en
Bonus: There are non-measurable ways to make money from videos
The majority of the video content I create is for digital marketing and branding for businesses. In that space, it's hard to translate a single view into a dollar amount. Your Instagram and YouTube videos may be the way audiences have come to know and trust your brand and eventually deciding to buy from you. When possible, ask your customers how they learned about your brand/products. This helps you track what types of marketing have been working.
Do you have a specific video question? Schedule a free video analysis call at bit.ly/callawv