If you're looking to earn money on YouTube, there's more to it than just relying on the YouTube Partner Program or AdSense. In this article, we'll explore how affiliate programs work, why they're an excellent way to boost your income, and how they can even lead to lucrative brand deals.
Affiliate programs are partnerships between content creators and companies. Here's how they work:
This setup benefits both you and your audience: you help them discover useful products while earning money in the process. Even if you haven't yet met the eligibility criteria for the YouTube Partner Program, you can still make money through affiliate programs.
For a practical example, let’s consider Opus Clip, a tool that uses AI to assist in creating captions, shorts, and more. Opus Clip offers a 25% commission on each sale for the first year. If someone buys a $ 15 subscription through your affiliate link, you earn about $ 3.75 every month for a whole year for each paying user. If 100 people sign up, that could potentially yield $ 375 a month, or over $ 4,500 a year—an invaluable resource for smaller channels on their path to monetization.
Before sharing affiliate links, it's important to understand the legal obligations that come with it. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), you must disclose that a link is an affiliate link, which means you may earn a commission if someone makes a purchase through it at no extra cost to them. You can phrase this disclosure simply, such as: “This is an affiliate link, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through it at no additional cost to you.”
Being transparent not only keeps you compliant with the law, but also builds trust with your audience. Furthermore, by creating content that includes your affiliate links, you can continue to earn income long after your video has been published.
Engaging in affiliate marketing can lead to more significant opportunities. For instance, if you successfully promote an Epidemic Sound affiliate link and drive numerous subscriptions, the company may recognize your value as a partner. This could lead to a formal brand deal where you receive upfront payments in addition to your affiliate commissions. Many brands seek creators who can demonstrate tangible results, and affiliate sales data provides a powerful way to showcase your impact.
YouTube is also stepping into the affiliate space. However, the requirements to be part of YouTube’s affiliate shopping program include being in the YouTube Partner Program and having more than 10,000 subscribers, along with some additional criteria. Hopefully, these requirements will be relaxed in the future. Nevertheless, the affiliate programs listed in our comprehensive guide don’t have such stringent restrictions, making them accessible for many creators.
Whether you're just starting with YouTube or searching for additional revenue streams, affiliate programs offer a fantastic way to monetize your channel without adhering to YouTube's monetization requirements. For a wide array of affiliate programs that you can begin applying to today, check out our extensive list linked in the description.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, consider joining our free Discord community, a perfect place to connect with fellow creators, exchange tips, and get your queries answered. Remember, if I can succeed with affiliate sales, you can too!
Q: What are affiliate programs?
A: Affiliate programs are partnerships between content creators and companies where creators earn commissions for promoting products or services via unique affiliate links.
Q: How can I earn money on YouTube without monetization?
A: You can utilize affiliate programs to generate income by promoting products and earning commissions on sales made through your affiliate links.
Q: Do I need to disclose my affiliate links?
A: Yes, it's legally required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to disclose that your link is an affiliate link and that you may earn a commission from purchases.
Q: How can affiliate marketing lead to brand deals?
A: Successfully driving sales through affiliate marketing can demonstrate your value to brands, potentially leading to formal partnerships and brand deals.
Q: Are there specific requirements for YouTube's affiliate shopping program?
A: Yes, you need to be part of the YouTube Partner Program and have more than 10,000 subscribers, among other criteria. However, many affiliate programs do not have such strict requirements.
In addition to the incredible tools mentioned above, for those looking to elevate their video creation process even further, Topview.ai stands out as a revolutionary online AI video editor.
TopView.ai provides two powerful tools to help you make ads video in one click.
Materials to Video: you can upload your raw footage or pictures, TopView.ai will edit video based on media you uploaded for you.
Link to Video: you can paste an E-Commerce product link, TopView.ai will generate a video for you.