YouTube has certainly come a long way since it was first launched in 2006. It’s no longer merely a video-sharing website, but an extensive platform with the second largest search engine on the internet. There are currently thousands of people that make a living through YouTube alone - as content creators. Anyone can start a YouTube channel, and by using services like YouTubeStorm to buy YouTube views, even complete beginners can grow a successful channel. A great way to increase your income on YouTube is to add affiliate links to your content. Here’s everything you need to know in order to get started with affiliate marketing.

Affiliate Marketing: What Exactly Is It?

In case you’re completely new to online marketing techniques, affiliate marketing is a system whereby product manufacturers provide a program whereby content creators can sign up to be affiliates. The content creators are given unique links known as affiliate links which they can add to their content. If the links are clicked (and the product is sold through the link), then the affiliate earns a percentage of the sale. This system benefits the content creators in providing them a means to earn money and content to create. It benefits the manufacturer (or other companies) by providing marketing, and effectively generating sales.

Initially, affiliate marketing was mostly used in blogs and other similar websites. Lately however social media content creators have begun adding affiliate links to their content, especially on YouTube.

Ways To Add Affiliate Links To Your YouTube Content

By now you might be wondering how exactly these affiliate links can be used to increase income from your YouTube channel. Of course, this depends entirely on the type of content you are providing. These are few examples:

Channels Based Mostly On Reviews

Many channels on YouTube create content that is mainly geared towards providing reviews - of books, gadgets, products, etc. given that consumers nowadays tend to conduct most of their pre-purchase research online, this type of content is extremely popular and can grow quickly. Adding affiliate links of the products you review on your channel can generate traffic toward your affiliate program and generate income for you. Note that, whether the reviews are positive or negative does not make much of a difference.

Tutorial Channels

Another thing that people visit YouTube for - tutorials and how-to videos are extremely popular among all kinds of users. It is very easy to integrate affiliate marketing to tutorial videos. For example, there are millions of make-up tutorial videos on the platform that get thousands of views daily (or more). These YouTubers can take the opportunity to apply to affiliate programs for any of the products they use, whether it is the makeup itself, or equipment such as mirrors and other devices. Because the videos are not promotional - the content is created with the aim of providing a tutorial - the viewer does not mind listening to a few lines on the virtues and benefits of a product and is more likely to click on the affiliate links provided.

Honesty in Affiliate Marketing
The final note that is worth mentioning, is that most affiliate marketers are upfront about their intentions when adding links to the description box of their videos. Some content creators actually go through the trouble of mentioning that they will earn a portion of the sales if the viewer decides to purchase something using their affiliate link.
While this may sound very direct, most social media users will appreciate the honesty. Don’t be afraid of telling your audience that you will earn some money through affiliate marketing because it is also a great way to connect with your audience - it humanizes you and makes them understand that you need to earn a living too.