It’s been a long time since I’ve written about YouTube and making money through it. Personally I don’t utilize it in ways some of the most successful businessmen do. I mainly use it enhance this website’s experience and this is perfectly fine for me.
However, the more I look into the business potential behind YouTube, the more I see this is something you should NOT neglect if you are going to start an online business. I see a lot of people through very simple methods create incredible and thriving businesses that would otherwise take them months/years and invest tons of money into before they would even come close to success.
With YouTube, you can get the end results potentially much faster and without investing such outrageous time and money into the “traditional approaches” to business.
How to do it:
I’ve carefully studied many successful YouTube channels, the people who own them and found one very common feature they all had:
Everyone of these people/businesses focused on a specific niche topic and build their entire content through YouTube focusing on just that one topic. It could have been things like:
- Movie reviews.
- Relationship advice.
- Video game play through.
- Video game reviews and narrating.
- Affiliate marketing (this is what I do).
- And so much more…
But regardless, the niche topic was the same. I also found many of these people didn’t exactly possess “expertise” in the videos they were doing. In fact on many occasions, all they did/do is improvise and you know what’s funny? Those are the videos I tend to want to watch the most. In fact looking at the number of likes these people get, it’s fairly obvious they have many fans.
Here’s a perfect example of a man who utilize this approach brilliantly:
There is relationship expert by the name of Corey Wayne who has his own site where he provides coaching advice on this subject, but basically advertises himself through YouTube and gets 1,000’s (and many more) of views to his videos.
In his videos, he talks about common relationship/dating mistakes people make and often answers emails from his subscribers through those very same videos telling them exactly what to do.
One thing I’ve seen him do in a number of his videos is mention how you can get in touch with him via email or even (and this is where he makes money) get a phone consultation with him. I’m not sure how much it costs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a very thriving business going as a result of this.
Through this example, we have a very popular niche topic that Corey covers: Dating advice for men. Because it’s so sough after and he provides a solution to this never easing market, plus he leverages the power of YouTube, he can (and probably already does) make a thriving online business.
I’m sure he has 1,000’s of people flocking his site and as someone who has watched some of his videos, he does offer some very profound information on the subject so naturally people will want to know more or speak to him on a 1 on 1 basis and even pay to do so!
Now this is just 1 example and there are many more more YouTube success stories out there! You’ll find many of them utilize this niche approach.
Be the expert in your niche and the business will come:
I always encourage everyone who gets into online business to find their niche, or basically a subject they are personally interested in. This is very important because regardless of whether you have a site that talks about this niche and/or a YouTube channel, having knowledge in your field gives you authority in the eyes of your viewers.
This authority can translate into massive monetary potential. People listen to those who know what they’re talking about. They naturally gravitate to them.
I personally make videos in which I review internet marketing programs and see if they are legitimate or not. In every video I have, I have very few dislikes because even though I improvise in all my videos, my expertise in the field of online marketing makes it easy for me to relay my thoughts to my visitors and connect with them. My advice is to strive to do the same with your online business.
What about people who aren’t experts, but rather entertainers?
There is a growing trend of people who make YouTube videos on a near full time basis and make a living doing so. A lot of these people don’t exactly have a specific niche they are experts in, but their success comes from their imagination as well as personality.
For example, there are a number of successful people who through YouTube make videos reviewing games. While the game may not necessarily be exciting to look at when someone else is playing it, it is fun when someone who has charisma and humor plays it.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many of these people’s videos I’ve seen just because I wanted to hear their commentary/humor. In many instances, I didn’t even know the game they were playing.
In many ways, the people who succeed on YouTube doing this in a strange way do possess authority because people want to see what they’ll play or do next. It’s a new form of entertainment and with the amount of viewers and subscribers these people get, the trend is not showing any signs of slowing down. Rather the opposite, it’s increasing without any signs of stopping.
What to take from all this:
If nothing else, remember this: Online business through YouTube can lead to remarkable results! My advice is the same as it would be if you were making your own website:
Find your niche, then make a website (a YouTube channel too), then add content related to your niche to your website/channel. It’s not guaranteed to become the next big thing, but by not doing this, you are missing out on a potentially great opportunity.
Now I understand reality and know there’s many people who are shy or aren’t cut out to be entertainers or niche specialists. That’s completely fine. YouTube is only the only route to success online. You can do what I do and create an online business via a website and that can be very profitable, although I’d recommend utilizing proper guidance from places like Wealthy Affiliate before you attempt it.
But even if you choose not to try this, don’t ignore that it exists. When I started doing online business, I never imagined I’d make YouTube videos. Now I have nearly 20. And honestly? I don’t regret making them!
In fact as time goes on and this takes me into other business ventures, I can and will be utilizing the power of YouTube to further expand my business. You should definitely consider doing this too.
Update: How much I’ve made from YouTube ($40,000)
It’s 2021 and I have been using YouTube for quite a number of purposes, mainly affiliate marketing. In the process, I’ve done quite well and I’d like to share some updated posts on the subject:
1) Firstly, here is my YouTube case study showing you how much of my money is made.
2) Here is a guide to doing affiliate marketing on YouTube that I also wrote up on another site.