Joeliton

Disclaimer
This e-book has been written for information purposes only. Every effort
has been made to make this eBook as complete and accurate as possible.
However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this ebook provides information only up to the publishing date. Therefore, this
eBook should be used as a guide - not as the ultimate source.
The purpose of this eBook is to educate. The author and the publisher does
not warrant that the information contained in this e-book is fully complete
and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The author and
publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity
with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly
or indirectly by this e-book.
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................4
Why Aren’t More Businesses Using YouTube?........................................6
Chapter 1 - Treat it Like a Business............................................................7
The Power of Volume...............................................................................8
Professional Quality Video .....................................................................10
Chapter 2 – Building a Base .....................................................................19
Make Your Videos ‘Sticky’......................................................................19
Create a Series ......................................................................................21
Build a Community.................................................................................22
Chapter 3 - Methods to Drive Traffic .........................................................23
SEO for YouTube...................................................................................23
Sharing and Linking ...............................................................................24
Chapter 4 - Generating Income.................................................................27
Advertising .............................................................................................27
Selling....................................................................................................28
Affiliate Sales .........................................................................................28
Subscription Content..............................................................................29
Chapter 5 - Networking.............................................................................30
More Ways to Network.......................................................................31
Chapter 6 - Social Media ..........................................................................32
More Exposure for Videos .................................................................33
Making Friends ......................................................................................33
Viral Content ..........................................................................................34
Chapter 7 - Expanding and Dominating ....................................................35
Conclusion................................................................................................38
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Introduction
For all kinds of marketers and businesses, YouTube is one of the most
underrated platforms for reaching a massive audience and gaining more
fans and followers.
Of course everyone knows what YouTube is: it’s the video sharing platform
owned by Google that you can use to upload videos, watch other people’s
videos and comment on videos or subscribe to your favorite creators. What
many people don’t realize though is just how massive YouTube is.
YouTube has over one billion users and nearly a third of all people online
have signed up for it. Every single day, people watch hundreds of millions
of hours of content. Through mobile alone, Youtube manages to reach
more people between 18-49 than any cable tv network in the us.
YouTube is actually the second biggest search engine in the world. This is
huge because it means that you can get almost as much traffic from
YouTube as you can from Google. But unlike Google, YouTube is all about
video which gives you the option to really engage your viewers in a more
powerful way. Video is fantastic for marketing because it grabs attention
and is highly engaging. What’s more, is that video can get a point across
much more quickly and efficiently than an article can.
Have you ever been talking to someone but not really listening because
you can’t stop staring at the television behind them?
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Have you ever stayed up all night watching a TV program that you don’t
really have any interest in?
Have you ever cried during an advert?
These are all examples of the kind of impact video has that written content
just can’t come close to. YouTube provides this and gives you access to a
gigantic audience of web users. What’s more, is that it comes with in-build
social-media-like tools that let people subscribe to your content and that
helps you to spread your media across Google+ and a plethora of other
platforms.
Forget paying through the nose to create an advert on a TV channel. With
YouTube you can have your own channel and it’s completely free!
Finally, it’s also important to understand the impact that a YouTube video
can have on the perception your audience has of your business. People
are naturally impressed with video content because it’s something that they
don’t know how to create themselves. This is especially true if your video
content also happens to be high quality with very high production values.
Ultimately, anyone can make a website or add some content to Facebook.
But NOT anyone can create a stunning business video that looks
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professional, has high definition footage, great music and an excellent
script.
Why Aren’t More Businesses Using YouTube?
So with all this in mind, the question becomes: why aren’t more companies
using YouTube? After all, this is a way to gain access to a huge audience
and to make a very strong impression – all without spending a dime.
The problem is twofold.
A) A lot of people simply don’t know enough about YouTube. They don’t
know how it works and they don’t realize just how big it really is.
B) People assume that creating a video with high production values will
be difficult and/or expensive.
In this book, you’ll learn not only how to get seen by millions of people
through YouTube but also how to create stunning, high quality videos that
look like they were made by a professional production studio.
What’s more, is that you’ll see just how easy this can be and how you can
do it without spending any more cash on expensive equipment, software or
anything else.
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Chapter 1 - Treat it Like a Business
The first and most important key to understanding how you can make a lot
of money from YouTube is to recognize that you have to treat YouTube like
a business. This is actually one of the key things to learn in a range of
different areas relating to internet marketing – including blogging.
The problem is that a lot of people think they can just sign up for YouTube,
post a few videos and then enjoy massive success.
It just doesn’t work like that.
A lot of people have managed to make a full time living from YouTube ads
alone and these celebrity ‘vloggers’ enjoy fame and a healthy income as a
reward for all their hard work. But if you listen to any of them talk about
their business, they’ll tell you that it’s hard and that they spend a lot of time
on their videos.
In other words, you definitely shouldn’t become a vlogger if your aim is to
make a lot of money doing very little. This is not a ‘get rich quick scheme’
by any means and it’s also not an easy ride. These people work very hard
and if you want to be successful, then you’ll have to work very hard too.
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If you want to make YouTube your full time job, then you need to treat it like
a full time job. That means you need to work full time hours and you need
to put in effort.
The Power of Volume
One way you’re going to do this, is by posting regularly and sharing just as
much.
If you post one video and it gets 10 views that day, then you might think of
that as a failure. But if you post another video tomorrow and another video
the next day and they all get 10 views for 10 days straight, you’ve now
been seen by 100 people. That’s 100 potential customers and if you’re
selling an ecommerce product from your store, you might well expect to
make one sale.
But more importantly, a good proportion of those 100 viewers might
subscribe. This then means that the second video won’t get 10 views, it will
get 12. And the 10th video will probably get at least 20 – as long as the
video is good.
And eventually, you’re likely to ‘get lucky’. That means someone will
probably share your video somewhere where it can get seen by a lot of
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people, or you will get lucky with your SEO and create a video that goes
straight to the top of the search results.
One bit of luck like that and you can suddenly find yourself getting more like
1,000 views or 3,000 views per video.
But it’s not really luck. You made your own luck here by consistently
posting new content and by not giving up because the first video wasn’t
successful.
And this is a relatively pessimistic view. If you keep putting out content
regularly, if you do it well and if you’re smart about it – then you’re bound to
get exposure.
This all becomes even more effective if you are also being just as smart
about the way you’re posting to social media and promoting yourself. If you
post your videos to Facebook every single time you create one, then you’re
creating more opportunity to get seen. If you do the same on Twitter and if
you show off your videos in online communities (like Reddit) you can gain
more exposure still.
Once again, the more you do this, the more you will accumulate new fans
and the more chance you’ll have of getting a big break.
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In short, it all comes down to the amount of work you’re willing to put in. If
you treat this like your job and if you invest a decent amount of time, money
and effort into it – you will have a high chance of seeing real ROI.
Professional Quality Video
What goes along with treating YouTube like a business, is creating very
high quality videos. It’s not enough to film something on your phone in poor
lighting and with no script and then to think ‘that will do’. If you do this, then
your videos will look low quality and even if you make enough for them to
get seen, they might actually have the precise opposite impact to what you
were intending.
Creating high quality videos isn’t necessarily easy but it is easier than you
might imagine. You don’t need to be Steven Spielberg and you don’t even
necessarily need expensive equipment. Here are some tips that will help
you to make the best quality videos possible without breaking the bank…
The Best Camera
The quality of your footage is one of the most important factors that will
define how professional your videos eventually look. The surprising part
though is that this doesn’t mean you have to spend lots of money.
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As long as your video is 1080p, then it will be high enough for most uses on
YouTube. Today, most cameras that record video will record 1080p so you
don’t need to spend a lot of money.
And in fact, most phone cameras are capable of recording footage in high
definition. Any Samsung from a Note 4 and higher will even be able to
record in 4K with 60fps. (60fps is a nice bonus but not a requirement.)
The main limitations for camera phones really revolve around the ability to
autofocus and also to record sound. The former issue might just mean you
need to stay in one place, whereas the latter means you’ll need to invest in
a small device such as a lapel mic. These are very cheap but will allow you
to record audio at much closer range and with much higher quality. Audio
quality too often goes overlooked and is actually one of the most important
factors for making a good impression with your content.
Lighting and Set
What’s also important is where you are going to be filming. If you’re filming
somewhere very busy with a lot going on around you, then this can make
your video difficult to hear while at the same time distracting from the
subject of the videos – you.
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Likewise, if you record your videos in your bedroom, then this isn’t going to
look very professional and it doesn’t exactly inspire faith in your audience!
Instead then, try to find somewhere to record your videos that will look
professional and that will provide a good backdrop. Standing in front of a
completely white background is one option and can be accomplished easily
enough by using a bedsheet and a desk lamp (shine this onto the sheet to
remove any shadows). Make sure the bedsheet is pulled taut.
Take a look at the videos by I Am Alpha M and you’ll notice they look very
professional. All he uses is a wall that’s painted entirely dark grey to create
that effect.
Otherwise, an office (even a home office) can work, or you can make your
own set. If you watch the videos of NerdSync, then you’ll notice that they
are recorded in front of some comics hung up against a wall. This is very
simple but it looks great. You can even just print out an A3 image of your
logo and use that!
To make this effect even more impressive, try using ‘macro mode’ on your
camera. This will let you focus on the foreground (which will be you), while
the background is somewhat blurred. Not only does this look very
professional but it also further avoids what’s going on in the background
from distracting from your great presentation skills.
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In fact, using this technique you can actually get away with filming outside
at the beach or at a park, or perhaps in front of a city skyline. Just try to
make sure that wherever you do film, it fits with the tone and intention of
your video and helps to say something about your topic – rather than just
being distracting, out of place or forced.
There are a bunch of other things you can do as well to make your videos
look better. One great example is to use colored lighting, such as the
lighting you can create with the Philips Hue. This can lend an ethereal
quality to your footage and make it stand out among the crowd.
And speaking of lighting – make sure your face is lit well throughout. What
you’re going for here is brightness as dark video will look grainy and will
also appear lower quality. You can invest in professional tools to
accomplish the lighting look you’re going for but actually what’s just as
effective is to use natural lighting. This works best if you stand/sit adjacent
to the light source so that it lights just one side of your face. This is called
‘Rembrandt’ lighting and it’s particularly flattering.
And speaking of that – make sure that what you’re wearing and your
general presentation is also top notch. Don’t just roll out of bed and start
filming with your bed hair!
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Storyboarding, Editing and Scripting
One of the things that is going to impact most on your success is the
storyboarding and the script. You can have the best quality footage in the
world but if what you’re saying isn’t engaging and you don’t edit out the
mistakes, then no one is going to watch it.
Watching other videos can help you to make your own videos a little more
impressive and professional. Watch some of the most popular YouTubers
and see what works for them – you’ll notice that a lot of them use lots of
short cuts, they speak in short blocks and they move around on the screen.
Doing this allows you to memorize short passages of script, read them to
the camera, move and repeat. You can then keep cutting from one clip to
the next and the video will have more energy and dynamism than if you just
sat in one place and read it in one go.
Try to be outgoing and animated as you’re speaking and almost ‘act’ what
you’re saying rather than reading it. Some of your emoting will be lost in
translation, so try to be bigger and louder than you normally would be.
When filming, make sure to leave enough quiet space that you can more
easily edit. At the same time though, keep your editing tight so that there
are no awkward pauses or silences.
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Script-wise, the best approach is going to depend on what you’re trying to
accomplish. But that said, try to engage your audience quickly with a
narrative structure and get your point across quickly and in a way that will
be captivating.
Added Materials
A few added materials can help you to make your videos even more high
quality and at the same time strengthen your brand recognition.
For example, one thing that can work very well to help you get more likes
and views for your videos is to create a ‘video opener’. A video opener is
essentially a very short clip that goes at the beginning of each video. It will
play some music, show off your logo and mark the start of each piece. You
might alternatively decide to have a short introduction at the start of each
video followed by your opener.
Other materials that make a big difference are music, ‘bottom thirds’ (titles
and captions that appear in the bottom third of the screen) and your logo
which should be ever present in one corner. If you can nail all these things,
then your videos will look much more professional and you’ll make them
more memorable at the same time.
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A lot of this stuff you can make yourself or alternatively outsource to a
freelancer through a site like Fiverr (www.fiverr.com), Elance
(www.elance.com) or UpWork (www.upwork.com).
How to Make Videos Without Going in Front of the Camera
A small selection of people reading this right now will be thinking no way.
For some people, the thought of going in front of the camera is absolutely
terrifying. Either that, or they just don’t have the presentation skills they
need in order to make something compelling.
So then, what do you do? As it happens, you can actually create some
great videos for YouTube without needing to set foot in front of the camera
at all!
One example is to make a slideshow. You can do this with Excel and then
simply save as an MPG. You then simply record some narration over the
top and you’re good to go.
Likewise, you can make tutorial videos demonstrating internet marketing,
coding, web design etc. Simply by using some screen capture software. Or
how about filming ‘let’s plays’ of video games – some personalities such as
PewDiePie have been highly successful doing this.
You can also use tools like Explaindio to create videos such as whiteboard
animations and other business-like creations.
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One Final Tip
Doing all this will mean treating your YouTube efforts like a ‘real’ business
and seeing the success that comes from that. You’re investing the time,
resources and effort that you would with any other type of business and this
is how you’re seeing returns.
But another part of treating your YouTube projects like a real business is to
optimize. That means cutting back overheads, creating systems and
generally streamlining the process of video creation and uploading.
For instance, having a spot set up in your home/office especially for filming
can help you a great deal to save time setting up, which will lend itself to
the creation of more videos. Likewise, finding a way to port your footage
across automatically can also help.
Over time, you will develop habits, strategies and tools to help your videos
become more professional with less effort on your part. This might
determine where you place your script and how you read from it without
breaking eye contact and it might mean thinking about things that can help
you with editing subsequently.
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For instance, do you know why Hollywood movies use those clappers that
say ‘Scene 1: Take 3’ on them etc.? It’s because this enables the editor to
see what they’re working with quickly while they’re editing. They don’t have
to search through the footage and keep playing it back because they can
simply cut from the start of the scene they need. This way, you could film in
one go even and make notes of which ‘takes’ were successful.
Clappers also help you to sync sound and video if they have been recorded
separately. That’s because the clapping sound creates a spike in the audio
and that means you can simply line the two spikes up in the editor. This is a
strategy you can adopt, or maybe you’ll work out different tricks to help
yourself get set up more easily.
I use a piece of bluetack against the wall for instance to help ensure the
camera has me in the frame before I begin filming!
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Chapter 2 – Building a Base
Now you’re producing some great quality videos and you’re uploading them
regularly with a streamlined system. This is a very good start and will start
to ensure that you gain the maximum number of subscribers based on the
number of views you receive.
But there are some extra things you can do to help even more of your
viewers sign up for more of your content…
Make Your Videos ‘Sticky’
One important tip is to make your videos as sticky as possible. In other
words, think of your videos like Venus fly traps. Your aim is to ensure that
everyone who lands there gets assimilated to become a long-term
subscriber and to do this, you need to use some of the most common tricks
and strategies that you’ll see a lot of other YouTubers employ.
For example: ask people to become subscribers!
Simply asking your viewers to subscribe is one of the best ways to ensure
they stick around. Likewise, asking them to ‘like’ your videos will help you
to gain more exposure.
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Some new YouTubers feel awkward about asking for ‘help’ this way, but it’s
actually pretty standard for the platform. Sometimes people will watch your
videos and really enjoy them but just not think to sign up for more. Asking
them to do this is a good way to remind them.
And likewise, don’t be afraid to really explain just how much it will help you
if people ‘like’ your video. Point out that it took a lot of time and effort and
that you’d be highly appreciative. It’s a simply strategy but it works well!
Another thing?
Shorter is better.
Of course you should feel free to make long, in-depth videos if the content
demands it – but when you have the choice try to say more in less time.
This works because it means your viewers will be more likely to watch your
content all the way through. In turn, this means they’ll get the chance to see
your request that they like or subscribe. What’s more, is that it will improve
your metrics and result in YouTube showing your videos higher in search
results.
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Create a Series
One way to get more subscribers is to create a series. If you create a video
that’s ‘Part 1’, this will make people more likely to want to stick around for
Part 2. Essentially, you’re ending on a cliff hanger and this ensures people
won’t want to miss what comes next. Often that will be enough to convince
someone to subscribe even if they wouldn’t have otherwise.
Some channels are pretty much entirely made of a single ‘series’. Cinema
Sins for instance is a very popular YouTube channel that is best known for
the ‘Everything Wrong With…’ series. This series simply dissects popular
films and points out the flaws and plot holes. And this encourages
subscriptions because a) people want to know what will be looked at next
and b) people know what they can expect from future videos.
Of course your content may not lend itself naturally to a series format. In
this case, you can simply make sure to talk about what’s ‘upcoming’ at the
end of your videos. Discuss the most exciting content that you have yet to
come and tell your audience why they really should consider signing up.
At the same time, make sure that you are being as consistent as possible
with your content. That means having a consistent quality but also being
consistent in topic and tone. If someone watches one video you’ve made
about fitness but the next one is about computer games, they likely won’t
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want to stay subscribed because a lot of your content won’t be relevant to
them.
Build a Community
Another way you can encourage people to keep coming back to your
content and to subscribe for more, is to build a community around your
videos. This means engaging in discussions and being active in the
comments section.
This is a good strategy because it helps your viewers to feel as though they
know you. If someone asks a question and you take the time to answer
politely, then how much more likely do you think they will be to click ‘like’ or
to subscribe.
Likewise, it gives them a reason to keep coming back (to see if anyone has
responded to their comments). What’s more, is that a lot of comments
posted to YouTube will also be posted to Google+. Google+ is Google’s
own social media site and by getting comments on your videos to show up
here, you help your videos to spread virally through connects people have
with friends, co-workers and strangers online.
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Chapter 3 - Methods to Drive Traffic
With all of that in place, you should now be building momentum for your
channel and seeing your views, subscribers, comments etc. Grow. Keep
putting out more content and keep being active in the comments and this
will only gain more momentum with time.
But you can also inject a little more fuel to the fire by driving traffic in other
ways. Here are some of the top methods used by businesses and
YouTubers:
SEO for YouTube
Remember when we said that YouTube was the second biggest search
engine after Google? This is a fair comparison because in many ways,
YouTube works exactly like a search engine by allowing users to search for
content and find videos that are relevant to them.
For instance, if you want to know how to use PhotoShop, then you’ll
probably head to the search bar and type in ‘beginners’ guide to
PhotoShop’ or something similar. You’ll then look at the thumbnails of the
videos and select the ones that look the most relevant along with the titles.
Again, just like Google!
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Businesses trying to get to the top of Google search results will do so using
something called SEO – Search Engine Optimization. And this is exactly
what you’ll use on YouTube as well, only the methods you use will be
slightly different due to the different platform.
Basically, you’re trying to think of what people are going to search for when
they’re looking for content like yours. From there, you’ll then take that term
and try to use it in your video title as well as the description. Writing lots for
your descriptions is often considered a good idea.
And when picking search terms, try to think not only of what’s popular and
what people are looking for but also what’s not overcrowded. Look for
niches and unmet needs and with a bit of luck, lots of people will start
finding you.
Also good for YouTube SEO is to fill out the details on your channel page,
to link to your website and to link to other related channels.
Sharing and Linking
Obviously you should also try to post links to your videos where possible
and to embed them online.
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We’re going to talk more about posting to social media in a future chapter
but this is one of the easiest ways to get your videos seen by more people.
You can also share to communities like Reddit, as mentioned before.
Reddit (www.reddit.com) has lots of sub-forums where people discuss a
myriad of topics, share links and vote on what should gain the most
visibility. You can post here and if your videos are high quality, it can gain
you a huge amount of exposure. The same is true of Google+ which has
lots of smaller community pages and of course you can also use forums.
All this works best though if you can match the content of your video with
the topic of the group/page. Try to offer something that is directly relevant
to that group but yet they haven’t seen countless times before.
If you have your own website, then another neat trick is simply to embed
your videos there. This way, you’ll get lots of views simply from people
visiting your site.
The WordPress plugin ‘YouTube Channel’ makes this particularly easy and
can allow you to show the most recent video at all times in your sidebar –
or even a random video each time someone reloads your page. The latter
is a great way to get some more exposure from legacy videos!
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And this is a good point in general: posting links to your older videos is a
brilliant way to give them a new lease of life and to help your channel grow.
This way you get more value from all your content and this leads to
improved ROI.
Of course one of the very best things that can happen is for your video to
end up embedded on a hugely popular website and blog. If this happens,
then you can gain thousands – if not millions – of views overnight.
The only problem? It’s a million to one shot. Once again then, the solution
is to make your own luck. Record videos that are news worthy, exciting,
funny and worth sharing and then send them to the editors and the
bloggers that you think might want to show them!
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Chapter 4 - Generating Income
Now your YouTube channel is growing it’s time to start reaping the rewards
for all your hard work! That’s right: it’s time to monetize your channel.
There are several ways you can do this and of course the best option will
depend on the nature of your videos and your existing business models.
Here are some suggestions to consider:
Advertising
YouTube allows you to make money from their Partner Programme, details
of which you can find here:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72851?hl=en-GB.
This will basically allow your videos to show adverts, which will generate
money each time someone clicks on one or watches one all the way
through to the end. This is called a ‘PPC’ (Pay Per Click) model and is one
of the best ways to easily start making money from your video efforts.
The only issue is that you’ll need thousands of hits and visitors if you’re
going to make any real money from your videos. This is how a lot of fulltime vloggers make their living, so it can be done. Just recognize that it will
take a lot of time and a lot of content before you make any real money!
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Selling
Another option is to sell your own products. You can do this by promoting
them in the video and then adding links in the videos or in the description (it
is possible to link to your own content within your videos).
The idea here is to use something called ‘content marketing’. Not only is
your content (the videos) drawing people to your channel and creating an
audience for you to sell to, but it’s also helping you to gain their trust and to
demonstrate your knowledge and trust. This means they’re more likely to
buy from you.
You can sell any kind of product just as you would in real life but one of the
most popular choices is to create a digital product like an ebook or an
online course. This is how a lot of fitness YouTubers like AthleanX and
SixPackShortcuts make a lot of their money. Likewise, you have the
comedy/fitness channel BroScienceLife which makes money from t-shirts
and supplements.
Affiliate Sales
Don’t want to create your own products or invest in inventory? Then why
not sell an affiliate product. This basically means you’re going to be selling
for commission and you can do this again with digital products (through
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sites like JVZoo.com, CJ.com and ClickBank.com – all of which offer up to
75% commission) or physical products using the Amazon Associates
programme (https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/).
Amazon will net you a much smaller percentage of the profits BUT it gives
you the ability to sell practically anything and at the same time to sell
through a platform that your viewers will recognize and trust.
This method of monetization works especially well if you run a reviews site.
Jonathan Morrison is a YouTuber who reviews technology (with video
series like The Best Tech Under $50) and then has affiliate links in his
description. The footage is absolutely stunning too and makes use of the
Hue lighting we recommended earlier!
Subscription Content
YouTube now also offers creators the chance to charge for their content:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3249127?hl=en.
This way, you can create some free videos to attract people to your
channel and show off what you’re doing and then convince those viewers
to pay for your premium content on top of that. This works best when your
video is focused on teaching something with a very clear value – such as a
skill that can be useful for a particular career.
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Chapter 5 - Networking
One of the most important tools that anyone can use on YouTube in order
to promote themselves and reach a wider audience is to network.
Find someone who is in the same niche as you and then do a video
together. This way, you can build a lot more viewers for both your channels
and ‘share’ your viewers.
It’s a mistake to think of other YouTubers as being competition or as people
you are working against. In reality, you should see them as co-workers and
collaborators – as though you all worked in the same office together!
This can even just mean shouting out to another YouTuber and
recommending their videos. If they notice people mentioning you in their
comments, then might return the favor.
The secret to making this work though, is not to aim for the biggest
YouTuber right from the word go. Instead, try to find people who are a
similar size to you – or even people who are smaller! Find ways you can
work together that will be mutually beneficial and take advantage of what
each of you can bring to the table in order to ensure you both come across
as well as possible.
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More Ways to Network
Of course the same is also true when it comes to finding bloggers who
might be interested in sharing your content. Once again, try not to go
straight for the biggest blogger you know but instead to look for up-andcoming talent and people at a similar level to you. This way, you can slowly
climb the ladder together.
If you are having difficulty breaking into the community, there are a few
things you can do that will help. One is to try and actually meet those
people in person. In person you are much harder to ignore than in email
and you can make much more of a lasting impression. This is why it’s a
good idea to go to networking events and seminars and generally to take
every opportunity to meet other business owners.
Another tip is to use LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com). LinkedIn is a social
networking platform that’s all about finding business partners.
Consider hiring people as well. If you hire someone in your niche, then
they’ll be obligated to respond to you. At that point, you can begin working
the charm!
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Chapter 6 - Social Media
One of the most important ways to promote your YouTube channel is
through social media. As you build your social media channel, you will be
able to build your subscribers and you’ll find the two have a synergistic
effect.
It’s important to make sure that you’re vocal on social media then and that
you are regularly updating with content that is relevant to your niche and
that is filled with useful tips and advice, offers, or entertainment that people
will want to read. See this as an extension of your YouTube channel and
make sure you’re delivering the same quality of content in the same niche,
to the same audience.
Now you will regularly post your YouTube videos to your social media
page, hopefully bringing them more exposure and at the same time, you’ll
talk about your social media on YouTube. This way, people who watch your
videos will be more likely to add you on Twitter and Facebook and when
they do, they’ll be more likely to bring you more videos by sharing your
content with their networks. As you can see, it’s once again a selfsustaining cycle that can be highly effective.
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Note that YouTube actually makes it very easy to share your content. Just
hit the ‘Share’ button under any single video and you’ll be able to ‘Embed’,
share with pretty much any social media site or send the video as an email.
You can also add your social media to your channel page, which will give
people even more ways to connect with you and follow you.
More Exposure for Videos
You can also upload your videos directly to social media and there are a
couple of platforms that lend themselves to this well. Vine (www.vine.co) for
instance lets you share very short videos to YouTube and is perfect for
gaining new followers and showing off the high quality content you’re
putting out. And you can also post videos to Instagram!
Making Friends
Whether you’re posting into communities as mentioned in the previous
chapters or just building your own following, a useful tip is to think of your
followers and your subscribers as friends. This might sound a little trite but
this is actually a great way to get them behind you and helping you.
If you post regularly to a Reddit community for instance and get to the point
where people recognize you and look forward to your posts, then they’re
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much more likely to read what you share when you post it there. Better yet
though, they might share your content themselves because they like and
respect you.
If you read the book 1,000 True Fans, then you’ll get an idea of how this
can work. If you can gain just that many true supporters for your work then
the results will be exponential.
Viral Content
Finally, if you want to make the very most from social media, then think
about what will get shared a lot. This way, you will stand a chance of
getting a video to ‘go viral’ and that can lead to millions of views overnight.
Unfortunately, this is not an exact science. All that is important is that your
video be relatively short and that it be funny, surprisingly, shocking or
unique enough that people have to share it. Ask yourself: what content
have you shared with friends in the past? What was it about those videos
that made you hit the share button in the first place?
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Chapter 7 - Expanding and Dominating
Now you know the basics of how to build and grow your YouTube channel.
What’s left is to keep posting and keep gaining new followers.
At the same time though, you should also keep honing your craft, keep
building on what’s working and keep watching to see what the other top
YouTubers are doing that is working. Here are some tips that will help you
to keep growing your audience and to keep gaining new viewers:
Use Tags
Use tags to help with your SEO. These should be words that relate to your
videos and to what people are likely to be searching for. This will also help
your to videos to show up in the ‘to watch next’ list and the ‘related videos’
column.
Try YouTube Advertising
YouTube Advertising isn’t just a way for you to monetize your videos – it’s
also a great way to get more exposure for your own channel. A lot of
YouTubers like Tai Lopez have managed to gain thousands of followers by
putting their videos at the start of other YouTube content and this can be a
very powerful tool for getting seen by more people.
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Watch Your Stats
YouTube provides a lot of metrics and statistics through its analytics page.
Make sure you keep an eye on this and on what’s working for each of your
videos. This way, you can grow your channel by doing more of what’s
working well and less of what isn’t. Without feedback, you’re essentially
flying blind.
Creating a Showcase Video
You can create a showcase video that will live on your Channel and tell
new visitors what you’re all about. This is like an advert for all the content
you create and it can be an excellent way to grab attention, to stand out
and to gain new subscribers.
The Best Titles
With any content marketing, your titles matter massively. Take a look at a
channel like Elliot Hulse and you’ll see that his titles often talk about things
like becoming more manly, being the ‘king of everything’, or being an alpha
male. These are clickbait titles that cause an emotional reaction and as
such, he gains a lot more viewers than he would if he only tackled regular
content.
In fact, being different and being interesting is one of the most important
things you can do in general.
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VSauce is a channel that does this incredibly well. VSauce videos talk
about everything from philosophy, to math to physiques but they do so in a
way that everyone can relate to and that is constantly engaging and
surprising. This content is so well researched, so unique and so fascinating
that it was always going to be shared.
Thumbnails
Finally, make sure that you are using a high quality of thumbnail. This is
one of the few means you have to separate yourself from the competition
and to stand out so it must look high quality and relevant to the topic of
your video.
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Conclusion
And there you have it: everything you need to know to get started with
YouTube.
Of course there’s much more to learn, but a lot of it you are going to
discover ‘on the job’. The most important thing is to start uploading videos
and to putting out content. As you do, you’ll refine your process, you’ll see
what works and your video quality will improve.
It can take a little time to find your rhythm, so make sure that you are
making videos on a subject that you enjoy. From there, you can then go
about perfecting your technique and gaining a massive, loyal set of
viewers.
To start with, focus on:
 Creating high quality videos
 Uploading as regularly as possible
 Taking a systematic approach
 Doing basic SEO
 Sharing to social media
 Building a community
 Coming up with interesting topics and titles
 Networking and forming partnerships
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What you’ll find as you do all this as well, is that it can be highly rewarding
in its own right. As soon as you add a well-made video to your homepage,
your entire business will look more serious and professional and you’ll feel
much more capable. The same is true for creating a vlog and becoming a
minor celebrity in your niche.
The payoff here is incredible, so make sure to dive in and give it a go