YouTube Affiliate Marketing Guide: How to Start in 2023

YouTube is one of the best social media platforms to start as an affiliate marketer. With traffic of 2.6 billion people each month on YouTube globally, a huge market is waiting to be reached with your affiliate marketing skills. YouTube has recently exceeded 3 billion dollars in global consumer spending, so you can tap into a vast potential audience. So, let’s get started with this step-by-step guide on using YouTube affiliate marketing to amplify your earnings.

What is YouTube Affiliate Marketing?

YouTube affiliate marketing is an intelligent approach to give your viewers more value while generating income. Affiliate marketing gives you direct control over your promotion and lets you see more of the resulting income. At the same time, YouTube offers a variety of built-in ways to monetize your content.

YouTube affiliate marketing is simply promoting products or services on YouTube by creating videos around them and earning a commission whenever someone purchases through your affiliate link.

As an affiliate, you can promote anything from books, shoes, shirts, jeans, electronics, medicines, beauty products, baby products, and groceries to financial products.

Pros and Cons of YouTube Affiliate Marketing

How to do Affiliate Marketing on YouTube?

1. Choose a Niche

Select a niche or topic that interests you and has a potential audience. Having expertise or passion for your chosen niche is essential, as it will make your content more authentic and engaging.

List of Top Niches for YouTube Affiliate Marketing.

Gaming	Home or DIY	Music
Music	Travel	Fitness
Cooking	Personal Finance	Comedy
Beauty	ASMR	Fashion
Tech	Lifestyle	Car

2. Create a YouTube Channel

If you don’t already have a YouTube channel, sign in to your Google account and click on the “Create” button on YouTube. Customize your channel name, upload a profile picture, create an appealing channel banner, and add a channel description that briefly explains your niche and what viewers can expect from your content. More on that in the video below.

3. Join Affiliate Programs/ Networks

Sign up for affiliate programs relevant to your niche. Look for products or services that align with your audience’s interests. Popular affiliate programs/networks include

• EarnKaro – EarnKaro is a trusted Indian affiliate marketing platform enabling quick money-making through partnerships with over 300 brands.
• Amazon Associates – Amazon, boasting a wide product range, offers commissions ranging from 1% to 10% on purchases through your affiliate link.
• Flipkart Affiliate – Flipkart, India’s prominent e-commerce site, allows affiliates to promote a diverse range of products with commission rates spanning 1% to 15%, varying by product category.
• ShareASale – ShareASale offers flexibility with regular and digital payout options, empowering you to select your preferred merchants to promote.

4. Research and Select Products

Carefully research the products or services you plan to promote. Choose those that are relevant to your niche and have a positive reputation. Consider factors like product quality, customer reviews, and commission rates.

5. Create Engaging Videos that Generate Affiliate Revenue

The quality of your videos will encourage viewers to visit your channel, trust your advice and eventually purchase a product. According to Shopify, 68% of users have watched a YouTube video before purchasing. For this reason, you must create relevant and engaging content.  

You can create These most popular types of content to generate affiliate revenue:

1. Trending videos

YouTube is the world’s second most used search engine. Due to this reason, it has its segment of trending videos. Find what’s popular and create an affiliate product video around that topic.

Example: Since the release of the iPhone 15 on Date (12-09-2023). It has been a trending topic all over the world. Many big YouTubers are seen publishing content around it, they are publishing content like iPhone 15 reviews, unboxing and First impressions. Here is the screenshot from the trending section of YouTube filled with content related to iPhone 15. These videos get more affiliate sales and traffic because of increased searches.

2. Unboxing videos

Have you ever watched an unboxing video before purchasing a product? You can go to the description and find out that there is a link that will redirect you to an e-commerce platform. This is an affiliate link. As a YouTube affiliate, you can create unboxing videos on mobiles, laptops, headphones, etc.

Example: The unboxing video from a famous YouTube Tech unboxing channel, “Unbox Therapy“. In this, he unboxed the iPhone 14 and showed the available components. In addition, he has added several affiliate links related to this product, which will get him a commission whenever someone clicks on the link and buys the product.

3. Best Of Videos / Round-up videos

You can influence a buyer’s purchasing decision by creating videos encouraging impulse buying. This includes creating videos like ‘top 10 financial products’ or ‘monthly favourites’.

Example: Here is an example of a round-up video (Best Headphones to Buy in 2023) from a famous YouTube channel, “Ali Abdaal“. In this video, he talked about the list of headphones and shared their affiliate links in the description.

4. Product review videos

Almost every customer reads a review before purchasing. You can create reviews of any product, be it fashion, make-up, toys, sneakers, electronics, or lifestyle products.

Example: Here is an example of a review video from a famous YouTube channel, “Marques Brownlee”. In this video, Marques briefly discussed all the features, performance, pros and cons of the M2 Max Macbook Pro”. He has also shared the affiliate link for the same product in the video’s description.

5. Tutorials / How To Videos:

Those watching a tutorial video are already interested in purchasing a product. Creating a how-to-use product tutorial video can easily convert them into customers. For example, how to decorate a cake, charge an electric car, be a more confident public speaker, and save stuff in the drop box.

Example: Here is an interesting example of a How-to-Video form from the YouTube channel “Chef Ranveer Braroogle“. In this video, he has shown how to make ice cream at home and shared his affiliate links in the video description.

6. Add Affiliate Links to Your videos

‘You can check out the link in the description’ is perhaps the most used line by YouTubers. This is because an affiliate link will redirect you to an eCommerce platform like Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart, etc. When you make a purchase, the YouTuber, an Affiliate Marketer, earns money. As a YouTuber, you too can make money through Affiliate Marketing by adding the affiliate link to your YouTube content.

You can add affiliate links in multiple places in your videos. This also means you can add affiliate links to multiple products. The customer can decide which product they want based on your YouTube video. Like other YouTubers, you can remind the users in the video itself to check out these links. YouTube has a feature called ‘end cards’ that only YouTube Partners can use to incorporate links directly into the last 20 seconds of each video.

Places Where You Put Affiliate Links on YouTube

1. Video Descriptions

In the description section of your YouTube videos, you can put affiliate links. To get visitors to click on these links, be careful to disclose that they are affiliate links and offer a clear call to action.

Example: Here is a great example of adding a valuable affiliate link to the video description by channel “Kelly Wakasa“. We can see how he has added an affiliate link by Quoting: ” My Favorite Electric skate I use:” + He has also provided a coupon code.

2. Video Overlays

Overlay ads can be added to videos on YouTube by creators. These overlays can be used to advertise affiliate goods and services.

3. End Screens

At the end of your videos, end screens are a fantastic method to advertise your affiliate products. To encourage viewers to click on the affiliate links, you might include a call to action.

4. Pinning Comments

Also, you can “pin” comments with your affiliate links to the top of the video’s comment section. Once more, be careful to mention that these are affiliate lin

7. Be Honest and Disclose your Affiliate Links

Honesty is the best policy you can use to gain the trust of your audience. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling; you must tell your viewers you will get a small percentage of the products they buy. You can do this by asking them to support your channel by purchasing the product or stating upfront that you are an affiliate with the company. This way, you will not be duping your audience.

You would only naturally talk more about the affiliate product in your video. If the customer is unaware that you are an affiliate, they cannot make an informed decision. Therefore, you must mention that you have provided affiliate links in your video. Being transparent will only help you to build long-term trust with your viewers.

8. Optimize SEO and Titles

To boost the visibility of your videos on YouTube, follow these top SEO practices:

• Titles and Descriptions: Use target keywords in video titles and descriptions. Tools like Keywordtool.io can aid in finding relevant keywords.
• Keyword Mention in Video: Incorporate target keywords within the video to enhance YouTube’s understanding of the content.
• Categories: Assign suitable video categories to help YouTube identify the right audience.
• Tags: Maximize tags to offer extra context about your content, including as many relevant tags as possible.

9. Post your Content on YouTube

After creating the video, you can add the affiliate link and post the content. However, make sure that you are using eye-catching thumbnails. To generate more sales, you would need more clicks on the video. You can think of thumbnails as the cover page of a book. If it is not good, no one will bother reading it.

For optimal custom thumbnails on YouTube, adhere to these recommendations:

• Dimensions should be 1280×720 pixels, not smaller than 640 pixels wide.
• Utilize image formats such as JPG, GIF, or PNG.
• Maintain file sizes under 2MB for videos and 10MB for podcasts.

Canva and Fotor are good sites that you can use to create your thumbnails yourself.

Finally, you can add video chapters and post your content. Video chapters are needed to help people skip through unnecessary details and move into the session they want to watch. These Video chapters will help customers know about the product you are discussing.
To add video chapters manually, follow these steps:

• Input the video chapters into your video description.
• Ensure you include a minimum of three video chapters.
• Format each video chapter as “00:00 – Chapter Name,” initiating with 00:00 for the initial timestamp.

10. Promote Your Videos

Implement diverse promotional strategies to broaden your YouTube channel’s audience. Consider these cross-promotion suggestions:

• Email: Regularly update your subscribers with notifications of your latest videos, fostering engagement and viewership.
• Social Media Platforms: Share and promote your new YouTube content on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Utilize teasers or snippets to drive traffic to your YouTube channel.
• Blog: Embed your YouTube videos into relevant blog posts. Additionally, create dedicated blog content that transcribes, analyzes, or highlights key insights from your videos.
• Quora: Engage with Quora users by answering their questions and offering brief explanations or advice. Include a link redirecting them to a comprehensive YouTube video covering the topic in detail.

11. Track and Analyze Performance

Monitor the performance of your affiliate links and videos. Use YouTube analytics to track metrics like views, watch time, and audience demographics. Additionally, check your affiliate program’s dashboard for clicks, conversions, and earnings data.

12. Experiment and Adapt

Be open to experimentation. Test different types of content and affiliate products to see what resonates best with your audience. Adapt your strategies based on the results you observe.

Don’t Miss out: Check our latest blog, where we have mentioned some other ways to earn money from YouTube like affiliate marketing. Do have a look.

How to Drive Traffic to Your YouTube Videos?

1. Encourage Engagement

Invite your audience to subscribe to your channel, like your content, and comment. To create a community around your channel, reply to comments and interact with your viewers.

2. Collaborate with Other YouTubers

Partner with other YouTubers or influencers in your niche for collaboration videos or shoutouts. This can introduce your channel to a new audience. Engage with their audience through comments and discussions to build rapport.

3. Participate in Trending Topics

Create content around trending or popular topics within your niche. Capitalize on current events or viral trends to capture a broader audience.

4. Host Giveaways or Contests

Organize giveaways or contests with the condition that participants need to watch and engage with your YouTube videos to enter. This can boost engagement and views.

5. Use YouTube Ads

YouTube ads can be an effective method to promote your affiliate links, but they can be costly. If you have a budget and want to reach a bigger audience, consider using ads.

6. Consistency is Key

Stick to a consistent upload schedule so your audience knows when to expect new content from you. This helps in building anticipation and regular viewership.

Tips for YouTube Affiliate Marketing

Whether or not you should start doing affiliate marketing on YouTube depends on your goals and whether it aligns with your content and audience. Here are some factors to consider:

1. Niche

Affiliate marketing may be a good fit for you if you provide content in a niche where your target audience is interested in certain goods or services. For instance, if you make videos on cosmetics, you could use affiliate links to promote makeup or skincare items.

2. Audience

Affiliate marketing could be a terrific strategy to monetize your content if you have a following of interested readers who trust your recommendations. Affiliate marketing may not be productive for you if your audience is not driven to make purchases or if they do not recognize your recommendations.

3. Content

Affiliate marketing can be a good fit for you if you produce content that is dedicated to promoting goods or services. But you might need to be more deliberate in how you use affiliate links if your content is more educational or informational in nature.

4. Goals

Affiliate marketing might be a smart choice if you want to monetize your YouTube channel and generate passive income. However, you might want to concentrate on different techniques if your main goals are expanding your audience or developing your brand.

Affiliate Marketing On YouTube Shorts

You can also do Affiliate Marketing with YouTube shorts to earn money online. For this, you must make a 60-second video about the product you are promoting. You can talk about the main benefits and features of the product in this time frame. Don’t forget to link the YouTube shorts to the main video internally. Viewers interested in knowing more about the product will watch the main video. If they like the product, they will make the purchase.  

Most Viewed Types of Videos on YouTube

1. Fitness and Health

This area is consistently well-liked, and many affiliate programs sell supplements, exercise equipment, and healthy food items.

2. Beauty and Fashion

This niche has several potential affiliate programs, including skincare, apparel, and makeup brands.

3. Technology and Gadgets

Tech-related channels frequently have high levels of engagement and a wide selection of affiliate programs, including those for electronics, software, and online courses.

4. DIY and Home Improvement

This industry is ideal for affiliate marketing since consumers are constantly looking for goods and services to enhance their homes and way of life.

5. Travel

Travel channels may have an audience that is very engaged and can feature affiliate products like luggage, travel insurance, and tour operators.

6. Gaming

Gaming is another area with a devoted and enthusiastic following, and many affiliate programs sell goods like gaming hardware, software, and services.

Also, do not miss out on our gui

Conclusion

Overall, affiliate marketing can be a lucrative way to monetize your YouTube channel, but it’s important to make sure that it aligns with your goals and your audience’s interests. If done correctly, it can be a win-win situation for both you and your viewers.

Do you know that you can do affiliate marketing on Facebook as well? Don’t worry. We will guide you with every step needed to start. do check our blog covering affiliate marketing on Facebook.

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