How to make money with YouTube
His paid program "Tube Mastery and Monetization" teaches specific strategies for generating passive income through YouTube monetization avenues like AdSense revenue, digital products, affiliate marketing, and sponsorships, all while creating a viral feedback loop through strategic metadata usage across your channel [2].
Identifying Profitable Niches
Choosing a Profitable Niche
Identifying a profitable niche is crucial for success when making money on YouTube without uploading videos. The content is ranked by CPM (Cost Per Mille), which is the amount an advertiser pays YouTube for every 1,000 views [3]. The top 15 most profitable YouTube niches by average CPM are:
Niche | Average CPM |
|---|---|
1. Making Money Online | $13.52 |
2. Digital Marketing | High CPM |
3. Personal Finance | Wide range |
4. Educational | $9.89 |
5. Tech, Cars, and Gadgets | Many reviewers earn through product links and discount codes |
6. ASMR and Similar | $3.50 |
7. Lifestyle | - |
8. Fashion and Try-On Hauls | - |
9. Beauty and Makeup | - |
10. Motivational and Spiritual | - |
11. Cooking | - |
12. Travel | - |
13. Fitness and Bodybuilding | - |
14. Gaming | - |
15. Comedy and Humor | Around $1 |
When choosing a niche, consider your existing interests, hobbies, and things you spend time thinking about during the day [4]. Select a niche that you are genuinely passionate about and care about, not just something you think will be profitable [4]. Commit to creating content in this niche for an extended period, such as 1-3 years [4].
- Consider topics that your friends often ask you about or that you are known for in your social circle [4].
- Research other channels in your desired niche to see how they are monetizing their content (e.g., sponsors, affiliate marketing, etc.) [4].
- Try to find a balance between your passion and the monetization potential of the niche [4].
Authenticity and passion are key – your audience can tell if you are truly invested in the content you create [4]. Being known for a specific niche can be advantageous in the long run [4]. Doing thorough research on your niche and potential monetization strategies is important for long-term success [4].
Content Creation Strategies
Leveraging Existing Content
One effective strategy to generate content without recording videos or showing your face is to leverage existing content from various sources. This includes utilizing stock videos, tutorials, slideshows, text-on-screen, whiteboard videos, animated videos, and mind map videos [2]. For instance, the Tech Zone channel creates videos by using other people's videos, making them transformative and adding their own voiceover [7].
Additionally, you can re-publish Creative Commons-licensed YouTube videos and monetize them as your own [9]. However, it's crucial to change the video title before publishing to optimize for your target keyword [9]. Employing 'clickbait' tactics in the video title and thumbnail can grab attention, but it's essential to deliver quality content [9]. Adding your own captions to the video can also increase keyword density, user engagement, and overall views [9].
Creating Shorts
The latest method for making money on YouTube without creating videos is to create and publish Shorts, which are short-form videos up to 60 seconds long [8]. Tips for creating successful Shorts include making them engaging and informative, using catchy titles and thumbnails, using relevant hashtags, and promoting them on social media [8].
Alternative Content Formats
Apart from traditional videos, you can explore alternative content formats to monetize on YouTube without creating videos. These include posting full, original videos from other creators with proper attribution and permission [10], using Creative Commons licensed videos while following the license conditions [10], embedding YouTube videos in your blog posts and earning from the views [10], and posting audio files, album compilations, or slide deck presentations [10].
Outsourcing and Repurposing
To scale up and manage multiple channels, outsourcing content creation to freelancers is recommended [2]. Additionally, repurposing content from other platforms like TikTok can be an effective strategy. For example, some channels download TikTok videos, add their own voiceover and text effects, and publish them on YouTube [6]. Researching popular content on similar channels or TikTok can help identify viral video ideas to recreate [6].
Optimizing for YouTube's Algorithm
Leveraging Metadata for Suggested Video Loops
The 'true secret' to going viral on YouTube quickly is utilizing similar metadata (titles, descriptions, tags) across all videos to create 'suggested video feedback loops' [2]. This strategy leverages the YouTube algorithm by establishing consistency, allowing your videos to be frequently recommended to viewers [1].
Understanding YouTube's Evolving Algorithm
The YouTube algorithm has evolved over time, initially focusing on clicks and views, then shifting to watch time, and more recently prioritizing viewer satisfaction and reducing harmful content [11]. The current algorithm delivers personalized recommendations to each user based on their past viewing history, engagement, and video quality signals [11]. However, the YouTube Shorts algorithm differs, focusing more on showing a variety of short videos to keep viewers engaged, rather than optimizing for long watch time [11].
Tips for Improving Organic Reach
To improve organic reach on YouTube, consider the following tips:
- Conduct keyword research to optimize video metadata [11].
- Create click-worthy thumbnails [11].
- Keep viewers watching your videos and channel [11].
- Attract views from external sources [11].
- Engage with comments and other channels [11].
- Avoid clickbait tactics [11].
- Stay on top of trending conversations [11].
- Experiment and evolve your content [11].
- Understand your audience through analytics [11].
- Post at the best times for your audience [11].
- Focus on creating compelling content, not just long videos [11].
- Leverage YouTube Shorts [11].
- Make your videos accessible with captions and alt text [11].
- Monitor your competitors [11].
- Analyze your performance data [11].
Additionally, focusing on high-CPM niches and creating longer videos (over 8 minutes) can maximize ad revenue [2], while optimizing your channel, live streaming, using social media, and leveraging affiliate marketing can drive more views and subscribers [10]. To be successful, it's crucial to make engaging and informative content, use catchy titles and thumbnails, utilize relevant hashtags, and promote your content on social media [8].
Monetization and Scaling
Monetization Strategies
The primary monetization strategies for making money on YouTube without uploading original videos include ad revenue, selling digital products, affiliate marketing, and sponsorships [2]. One successful case study is the 'Tech Zone' channel, which has over 3 million subscribers and generates 22 million views per month [7]. Despite an estimated $3,000 monthly cost for producing content, the channel is conservatively estimated to earn around $130,000 per month from ad revenue alone, with a CPM of $6 [7]. Additionally, the channel likely generates revenue from affiliate marketing by including affiliate links to featured products [7].
To maximize earnings, the channel has expanded to multiple languages, leveraging translated content at a lower cost [7]. Similarly, Matt Parr was able to increase his monthly income from $3,000 to $9,000 by repurposing and monetizing other people's videos [1].
Monetizing YouTube Shorts
To monetize YouTube Shorts, creators must first meet the eligibility criteria for the YouTube Partner Program, which requires at least 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months, and a valid AdSense account [8]. Once eligible, creators can enable monetization for their Shorts and earn money from ads that play before, during, or after their Shorts [8].
The 'fit fix' channel, which only posts short-form content without creating any original videos, demonstrates the potential for rapid growth and monetization. Within just 8 months, the channel grew from 0 to 17 million daily views, averaging over 10 million views per day [6]. At an estimated $100 per 1 million views for short-form content, the channel could be earning around $1,700 per day [6].
Alternative Monetization Methods
Apart from the primary methods, there are several alternative ways to monetize on YouTube without creating original videos:
- Enable monetization on your YouTube channel and set up a Google AdSense account [9].
- Post work from other content creators, such as curating and reposting third-party videos or using Creative Commons content [10].
- Start a blog and embed YouTube videos, post alternative content like audio files or slide decks [10].
- Invest in Google/Alphabet (GOOGL) stock to indirectly profit from YouTube [10].
- Advertise on YouTube using YouTube Ads or Google Ads [10].
- Become a YouTube consultant and offer services to other YouTubers [10].
- Sign up for Nielsen to get paid for sharing your YouTube viewing data [10].
- Work for YouTube as an employee [10].
- Buy an existing successful YouTube channel [10].
- Sell merchandise related to your YouTube content [10].
- Join the YouTube Partner Program to monetize through ads, memberships, and more [10].
- Create and sell stock footage or YouTube channel templates [8].
- Outsource the video creation process and manage multiple niche channels [5].
FAQs
1. Is it possible to earn revenue on YouTube without creating original videos?
Yes, you can earn money on YouTube by using videos created by other people. By aggregating and editing third-party content to make new videos, you can attract viewers who are interested in the shared content, thus saving time and effort in content creation.
2. Can watching videos on YouTube generate income?
Earning money on YouTube generally involves ads, sponsorships, and other monetization strategies. However, be wary of advertisements or claims that suggest you can earn significant income merely by watching videos, as these are often scams or misleading.
3. What is the simplest method to make money on YouTube?
The simplest way to start earning money on YouTube is by joining the YouTube Partner Program. To be eligible, your channel must adhere to YouTube's monetization policies. For more information and tips on monetization, you can follow the YouTube Creators channel.
4. How can I monetize YouTube content without revealing my identity?
You can create and monetize content on YouTube without showing your face by focusing on faceless channel ideas such as DIY tutorials, video game reviews, technology reviews, illustration or animation channels, podcast channels, meditation channels, motivational channels, and music channels.
References
[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBRefWSTRqY
[2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d2xBGsqLmQ
[3] - https://www.tubebuddy.com/blog/profitable-youtube-niches/
[4] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuU48stP9s8
[5] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW4C8riO8o4
[6] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMV4AM_5YBU
[7] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr-8Ixj2WRM
[8] - https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-make-money-on-YouTube-without-making-videos-What-is-the-latest-method
[9] - https://onepagezen.com/make-money-on-youtube/
[10] - https://millennialmoney.com/make-money-on-youtube-without-making-videos/
[11] - https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-the-youtube-algorithm-works/
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