Over time, YouTube has become one of the most visited sites on the internet – in fact, it’s second only to Google. It’s a perfect place to showcase your creativity. What you might not know is that it’s also a useful platform for increasing your affiliate profits.

Affiliate marketing on YouTube is a smart way to provide extra value to your audience while earning revenue at the same time. While YouTube offers various built-in ways of monetizing your content, affiliate marketing gives you direct control over what products you promote and enables you to see more of the resulting profits.

This article will focus on how affiliate marketing works on YouTube and why you might want to get involved. We’ll also show you how you can get started.

• How do I Increase my Affiliate Earnings?
• Can I Promote Amazon Affiliate Links on YouTube?
• Does YouTube have an Affiliate Program?
• What are Some YouTube Affiliate Marketing Tips?
• Can I Promote Affiliate Links on YouTube Comments?
• What Kinds of Videos Should I Use for YouTube Affiliate Marketing?

How do I Increase my Affiliate Earnings?

According to Forbes, affiliate marketing is now responsible for more than 15% of e-commerce sales. That puts it in the same league as email marketing and ahead of social commerce and display advertising.

Read Also: How can I Earn from Amazon or Alibaba?

But you are probably wondering how you are going to earn more money with affiliate marketing. Well, we are going to discuss some points below that can help.

1. Choose Affiliate Programs Wisely

Not every affiliate program is created equally, and not every affiliate program will make sense for your customer base (we’ll cover that in more detail in section two). In addition to those factors, there are other considerations you’ll want to make:

• Choosing quality over money. Sure, you can probably make a higher commission if you sell a lower quality product, but people will probably be less likely to buy because most have wised up to cheap products. Plus, promoting junk can seriously damage your credibility.
• Consider promoting digital products. Some of the best affiliate programs to make money are online. These often have high conversion rates because they provide instant access and instant gratification to purchasers.
• Consider promoting products that renew monthly. It’s okay to promote products or services that generate a single commission, but receiving a monthly recurring commission makes your affiliate business more predictable and stable.
• Choose vendors that will negotiate. Find vendors who will renegotiate your commission if you start to consistently generate a lot of affiliate sales for them.
• Choose vendors with a good landing page. Reconsider partnership if landing pages have an outdated design, are full of ads, contain way to much text and spelling and grammatical errors, have too many calls to action, or contain a phone number (you probably won’t get a commission if orders are placed on the phone). Remember, if a page turns you off, it will turn off your visitors too. 
• Look for programs with lifetime payouts. With these affiliate campaigns, you make money if a visitor continues to purchase from the affiliate vendor even if they never come back to your site again!

2. Understand Your Audience

Studies show that people don’t hate ads—they hate bad ads. One aspect of a bad ad is an irrelevance. Let’s say you run a fishing website. It wouldn’t make sense to run affiliate ads for a computer just because almost everyone probably has a computer at home. Your customers aren’t there for this type of content; it will confuse them, annoy them, make them think you’ve run out of content or, worst of all, make them think you’re trying to sell something shoddy to make a quick buck. 

Successful affiliate marketing means promoting only items that match the immediate needs and wants of your audience. The more relevant the product or service, the more likely they are to buy; in addition, educating them on relevant products or services can be considered value-added content, not weird or unexpected advertising. So, always think about why people are coming to your site, joining your email marketing list, or following you on social media.

3. Be Trustworthy

Some people use affiliate marketing only for profit, not to benefit their customers. Some will even mislead their audience with spammy, dishonest affiliate ads and promotions, or they try to hide the fact that it’s an affiliate link. Here’s a tip: most readers can smell them a mile away—and that’s okay, if you’re honest about the intent!

If the product or service you’re promoting is relevant to your audience, they won’t mind the content. However, if they feel you are trying to scam them or take advantage of their readership with too many irrelevant ads, they’re liable to leave and not come back. 

Remember, it is your repeat visitors who are most valuable to you; they are the ones who will give you linkbacks and recommend your site, growing your customer base—not the ones you lured in one time by misleading them. You need to be honest and ethical with your customers, building relationships with genuine content. If all they see is a profit motive—that you don’t ultimately have their best interests at heart—they won’t be back.

Pro Tip: One way to show your trustworthiness is to address any weaknesses of your affiliate product or service. Wait…what? It’s true! If you advertise something as too good to be true, they’ll never believe it.

Instead, highlight the strengths, then address a weakness to gain trust (but, always include a work-around to show how you make it work regardless of the weakness, or note that almost all similar products or services share this weakness, etc.).

4. Offer a Bonus

When you disclose an affiliate relationship—and you should, because as we already noted, building trust is a must—consumers will appreciate your honesty and won’t mind contributing to your bottom line by using your link (the opposite can be true; if they feel you’re not being honest about your affiliations, they may go directly to the vendor just to avoid giving you the referral credit!). 

Of course, by disclosing an affiliate, they still have the opportunity to go directly to the vendor (and they’ll know that other sites are probably hosting the affiliate link too). So, consider offering an incentive to use your affiliate link. This is a great way to give your affiliate sales a boost and differentiate yourself from the other competing affiliates out there! 

5. Create a Variety of Ads

Typically, a vendor will provide you with a variety of ads to use on your website, social channels, and through email. If they don’t, you’ll have to do all the work, so keep that in mind. However, even if they provide you with some assets, you’ll still want to create your own ads (if they allow it) so that you can stand apart from the affiliate competition. 

Once you have a good arsenal of ads, you’ll want to change them up frequently and test different versions to see which are most effective with your customers. It may take some time before you figure out the best formula, and you may also find that you need to continually rotate ads to attract more attention.

Pro Tip: Easily rotate your ads with an ad rotator plugin. These plugins will automatically rotate ads and track clicks so you can eliminate those that aren’t earning you money—freeing up space for the ads that are profitable (as well as any new ones you think up).

6. Keep Your Ad Strategy Relevant

Don’t be complacent when it comes to your affiliate ad strategy. Keep up to date on the latest product and service offerings of your affiliate programs and swap out ads as soon as they become available (or create one yourself if you’re allowed). 

Also, stay on top of the current trends and always be willing to explore new opportunities. For example, if those hot weight-loss pills have cooled off, or a particular clothing trend has died out, replace that content with something new and popular to reflect your timeliness. 

Finally, you should always be on the lookout for new products that are useful and relevant to your audience; the more you can promote, the more you can earn.

Can I Promote Amazon Affiliate Links on YouTube?

As with any other links, you can use Amazon affiliate links on YouTube as long as you’re following YouTube’s guidelines and the FTC guidelines. 

If you want to become a YouTube affiliate marketer, you’ll have to sign up for an affiliate program with a brand. Essentially anyone can be an affiliate marketer on YouTube, since most affiliate programs are free to sign up for, and only a few of them will require you to have an established following.

However, to be a good YouTube affiliate marketer, you have to recommend the right products and convince your audience to purchase through your link. 

Here’s how you can start YouTube affiliate marketing: 

1. Read YouTube’s content guidelines to see what you are allowed to promote on your channel. 
2. Follow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines on affiliate marketing. 
3. Make a list of products and services you would like to promote and recommend to followers. 
4. Research and sign up for affiliate marketing programs that offer those products or services. 
5. Add YouTube affiliate links to your video description and in the videos themselves. 
6. Mention in your videos that you have the links for the products in the description, and disclose that they are affiliate links. 

You can also join the YouTube Partner Program, which will help you monetize your YouTube videos and let you include affiliate links in the end cards. 

Does YouTube have an Affiliate Program?

It is no secret that YouTube is the world’s most popular video content platform. But do you know that YouTube can also be a great source of income? Yes, you read that right! To earn bucks from YouTube, you need to know about affiliate marketing on YouTube.

It is the process of promoting products, services, and brands on YouTube by creating videos around them to entice viewers into purchasing or subscribing to them. This is possible because of the YouTube affiliate marketing program which allows YouTubers to promote the other companies products via affiliate links.

It is not too challenging to get into YouTube Affiliate Marketing. After all, you only need a YouTube channel, which is already free to set up and use.

Note: YouTube has some strict content guidelines, limiting what you can and cannot promote on YouTube.Therefore it is advisable to go through YouTube policies and guidelines before beginning your YouTube Affiliate Marketing journey.

Why Choose YouTube Affiliate Marketing?

• If you are looking for some source of passive income, YouTube affiliate marketing should be your go-to method. By just putting in little effort, you will be able to generate significant returns.
• You have complete freedom over choosing the product that you want to sell.
• You can create content as you want and at your convenience.
• Nowadays, most phones have great camera qualities; you can vlog or shoot all the videos through them. Therefore it is a very cost-effective method.
• You don’t have to invest a lot of money to start affiliate marketing.

What are Some YouTube Affiliate Marketing Tips?

There are a couple ways to increase your revenue when it comes to using affiliate links on YouTube, and many of them involve bringing more traffic to your videos. If you have more traffic coming to your videos, there are more opportunities for people to click on the affiliate links. 

1. Create Engaging Content

If you want to attract the right audience to your videos, you have to create engaging content. 

Plan and create quality videos that will encourage people to watch and interact with them. If your content interests them, they are more likely to click on your links. 

Start by finding your niche and what’s trending around it. Search for common topics that are trending, types of videos people are watching, and what your audience wants to watch. 

You can do that by searching what’s trending on YouTube, looking at what other content creators are posting, and even asking your current audience for feedback. 

Then start producing quality videos using the right equipment, and recommend relevant products and services that you genuinely love. 

Throughout the video, ask your audience to interact by commenting and liking, and have a call to action at the end to encourage them to subscribe or check out the links in the description. 

2. Optimize Videos With Keywords

Another way to attract more viewers to your videos is by targeting the right keywords. Since a lot of people use YouTube as a search engine to find answers to their questions, focusing on what people are searching for will attract them to your videos.

To find what people are searching around your niche, you can use tools such as Google Trends, Ahrefs, and Keywords Everywhere. 

Then, optimize your videos by using those keywords to inspire your content and add them to your video titles and descriptions. 

This way, when people search for certain keywords, there will be a higher chance that your video will be at the very top of the search.

3. Create Thumbnails That Get Clicks

If you’ve ever clicked on a video before even reading the title, you were probably influenced by the thumbnail. 

Creating eye-catching thumbnails will make more people click on your video, since it will draw their attention. 

Making a good thumbnail will vary by niche. Some will be more colorful, some will have a photo as the focus, and some will have big letters. 

Doing some research will help you uncover the best type of thumbnail to use. But it will usually include some of these features: 

• Strong colors. 
• Descriptive text. 
• Arrows and circles. 
• Branding. 

You can even use free tools, such as Canva, to create your YouTube thumbnails. 

It’s also a good idea to create consistent thumbnails, which means using the same colors, fonts, and style. This way, people will know right away it’s your video when they see it on the page. 

4. Add Chapters to Your Videos

One way to make people more interested in your videos is by using one of YouTube’s most recent features: Chapters. As we mentioned, many people use YouTube as a search engine, which means they want their results fast. 

Some people will likely click through your video just to find the answer they are looking for, so if you make it easy for them to find, they will likely engage with it more and probably click on your affiliate link. 

That’s where Chapters come in. Organize your videos in chapters so people know exactly what you are talking about during each part of the video. 

For example, if you’re doing a roundup of the best cameras for content creators, you can add a chapter for each camera you mention. This way, if someone is looking for a specific camera, they’ll be able to skip to that part. 

If your video does a good job of convincing viewers to buy a product or service you recommend, they’ll go straight to the description to find the link for it. 

You can even add the time stamps for each chapter in the description, and add the respective YouTube affiliate links to each of them.  

5. Organize Playlists

You also want to drive traffic to the other videos on your channel, since the more traffic you have, the higher your chances of earning a commission from your affiliate links on YouTube.

One way to do it is by creating a playlist with similar videos, so when someone is watching one of your videos, it will automatically play a similar one that they might be interested in watching as well. 

This also helps when people are searching for something specific on YouTube, because they can look at your playlist that contains similar videos that will answer their question.

To create a playlist on YouTube, all you have to do is:

1. Make a list of videos that are related and open them. 
2. Click “Save” on each of them. 
3. Select “Create a new playlist” or add to an existing one.

For example, if your channel is focused on reviewing products of all kinds, you can group them into playlists divided by type of product or even brand. 

6. Try Out YouTube Shorts

Short videos are becoming increasingly popular, and you can see them on almost every social media platform today. 

YouTube has jumped on the bandwagon and released YouTube Shorts, which allows content creators to upload short videos or snippets of their own content to their channel. 

Since a lot of people are making money with YouTube Shorts, you can also use it as part of your YouTube affiliate marketing strategy. 

Create short videos in which you recommend a product, or get snippets from your longer videos, and share them on YouTube Shorts with a link to the product. 

7. Share on Different Platforms

To bring even more traffic to your videos, you should cross-promote them on different platforms. 

If you already have a following on other social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, post about your new YouTube video or share small snippets to prompt them to watch it on your channel. 

Just make sure to keep interacting with your followers and posting regular content so they’ll be more likely to watch your videos when you promote them. 

Another way to increase traffic to your YouTube channel and encourage people to click on your YouTube affiliate links is by embedding the videos on your website or blog. 

Add value by writing a blog post on the topic you talk about in the video, and include even more details and links in the blog post. 

8. Always Be Transparent

The last tip we have for YouTube affiliate marketing is very important: You should always be transparent about the affiliate links you share on YouTube. 

When recommending a product, you should let your viewers know what you actually think about it and only recommend something that you would use yourself.  

This way, you will build your audience’s trust so they’ll keep coming back to find other product recommendations. 

You should also make sure your viewers know that you’re going to be making a small commission from the links they click and purchase from. 

Mention in your video that the links in the description are affiliate links, and have a disclaimer in the description that it will help support you and your content. 

This also builds more trust with your audience because they will feel like you care about them instead of “tricking” them into clicking on a link. 

Can I Promote Affiliate Links on YouTube Comments?

YouTube Comment section is profitable for affiliate marketers. Connect with your subscriber’s comments. And also, connect with other YouTube channels related to your product or service that you promote. In this way, you can suggest your product with an affiliate link.

This method works a lot and gives profit to new affiliate marketers. By connecting with other YouTube channels about your field is very beneficial for new YouTubers. In this way, you can find the trends and also cover your drawbacks.

What Kinds of Videos Should I Use for YouTube Affiliate Marketing?

For attracting brands and businesses to your channel, there are certain types of videos you should know about that are preferred the most.

Here are some types of videos that can help you become an affiliate marketer:

1. How-To Videos

How-To videos are tutorial videos where YouTubers generally explain or teach how to do a particular task. Audiences appreciate these videos as they are informative and entertaining at the same time.

In these videos, you can explain something that is challenging to use or understand for your target audience in a meaningful manner. Thus, these ‘How-To’ videos can range from describing how to solve mathematical equations to how to use editing software.

2. Product Review Videos

In product review videos, you have to explain why a particular product is good or bad and whether your audience should buy it or not.

Smartphone review videos are one of the most famous examples of product reviews on YouTube. Many people also review cars, novels, beauty products, video games, movies, etc.

Your review videos can get you an affiliate marketing deal much quicker than any other type of video content.

3. ‘Best Of’ Videos

Sometimes while scrolling down your YouTube homepage, you may come across videos that talk about “Top 10” or “Best of” something. These videos are super easy to create. You just need to make a list of things you have decided to promote and talk about them.

The typical rule in these “list” videos is to start from your least favourite item and go on to your most favourite one.

You can put affiliate links to all the products mentioned in your video in the description.

4. Unboxing Videos

The name says it all. Unboxing is where you unbox a newly bought product in front of the camera and record your first impression of it.

Read Also: What Sells Fast on Alibaba?

While the idea of watching a stranger unbox a product and talk about it may seem strange, there are millions of people who find such content fascinating.

Perhaps it could stem from seeing someone express their joy about getting the desired object and casually talk about it. This is also where people see a product placed out of its strategic marketing campaign for a change.

5. Vlogs

If you are a travel enthusiast or someone who loves recording videos daily, you can create vlogs on YouTube. Although making vlogs is a time-consuming process, the returns that they offer are very high. Good video editing skills are required for creating blogs.

In the description box, you can put the affiliate links of all the equipment you used for vlogging or traveling (if it’s a travel vlog). If you think that you can engage people through vlogs, then take out your phone and start recording.

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing can be a lucrative and rewarding way to monetize your creative content. With its enormous user base and many useful features, YouTube offers the perfect platform to spread your affiliate links, while remaining in control over your content’s quality.

This article has mentioned some important tips for getting started with affiliate marketing on YouTube. Some of them are:

1. Create relevant and engaging content.
2. Add affiliate links to your descriptions and videos.
3. Be honest, and disclose your affiliate links.