YouTube Affiliate Marketing Review (2023): Is It Still Profitable?

Video content creation is in high demand right now.

Have you ever considered making your own videos and putting them on YouTube to make money?

Yup, that’s possible.

In fact, content creators are quitting their 9-to-5 jobs thanks to YouTube and making a lot of money as Youtube Affiliate Marketers.

Let’s look at Youtube Affiliate Marketing to see if it really is the best way to do Affiliate Marketing.

In this YouTube Affiliate Marketing review, I’m going to dive into the upsides and downsides of the program.

But before I can say Youtube Affiliate Marketing is good, I have to ask a very important question: is affiliate marketing even worth it?

Like other affiliate programs, we get pitched an ultimate dream…

Run an amazingly profitable business where you don’t have to worry about anything – no products, no inventory, no shipping, no customer service.

The only thing you need to worry about is putting this product in front of someone that wants to buy it, and the rest is money in the bank.

The best part?

“You can do it from anywhere in the world!”

Sounds pretty great… but is it?

It’s 100% possible to make money with affiliate marketing – the real question is: is Youtube Affiliate Marketing the best affiliate marketing program out there?

Well, the most difficult (and therefore most valuable) skill in the internet business is driving traffic AKA getting people to visit a website.

Later on, I’ll talk about why it’s so difficult to drive quality traffic.

But for now, let’s just say it isn’t exactly an easy process (unless you have a proven traffic source for the exact product you’re trying to sell).

If you really break it down, is affiliate marketing much different than a 9-5 job? You work for someone else, sell their stuff, and they can fire you at any time.

You don’t really control anything, despite doing the most important part – driving traffic.

To be 100% clear, I’m not saying affiliate marketing won’t work. If you’ve followed my blog for long, you’ll know that I’ve made money myself as an affiliate marketer (selling women’s health products).

I have several friends that make over $20,000/mo as affiliate marketers.

What you don’t hear about is the $200,000 they had to invest UP-FRONT to start making that money.

But let’s suppose that you REALLY want to work that laptop-entrepreneur lifestyle.

What if there was a way you could build a legitimate recurring income stream?

Recurring income that doesn’t require:

• Tens of thousands of dollars and months of time before seeing $1
• Doing the heavy lifting but only getting a small % of the sale
• Living at the whim of another person that could take it all away if they feel like it

Something that could net you anywhere from a few thousand, to over $10,000 every single month, practically on auto-pilot.

A recurring income stream that you could build in a few hours per day, grow as big (or small) as you want, and doesn’t leave you at the mercy of another person?

If that sounds interesting, the Digital Rental Method might be for you. 

It takes the nice parts of affiliate marketing but transfers the control back to YOU.

All that being said, let’s continue to the Youtube Affiliate Marketing review.

What Is A YouTube Affiliate?

Now I’m sure you’re wondering, “What exactly is a Youtube Affiliate, and do I need a Youtube channel to be one?”

Having a Youtube Channel or affiliate marketing blog, for the most part, allows you to include ads on your videos. However, a Youtube Affiliate’s main purpose is to encourage you to buy products they promote in their videos. So, when someone buys a product (let’s say from Amazon) using your affiliate link, you get paid a commission of 2-7%, depending on the product.

Your video doesn’t need to be a huge production. It might be a simple review video, a demo video, or any other type of video that people would be interested in seeing.

It’s actually quite simple to get started. Simply join an affiliate program that interests you, make a video on a product you like, include your YouTube affiliate links in the video description (or in your video call-outs), and you’re good to go.

Affiliate marketing is no longer limited to video production. There are many Amazon Affiliates with websites selling a variety of products.

But here’s the thing…

Nobody will simply click on your affiliate link. You must bring traffic to your videos in order for people to see them. website affiliates are the most time-consuming aspect of affiliate marketing. Making money will be a breeze if you have people watching your content and clicking your links.

How To Use YouTube For Affiliate Marketing

Frankly speaking, setting up a YouTube channel isn’t all that difficult. You can create videos and upload them to YouTube in a couple of hours if you work fast.

You may need certain equipment for the videos you want to create. If you’re just doing some basic point-and-shoot photography, all you’ll need is your phone to get started. I created the following checklist for you to review:

A YouTube Account:

Creating an account is quite easy, and it’s completely free to join. You’ll be able to submit your videos and fill in all of the details about your video material in the description when you sign up.

An Amazon Associates Account:

There are a lot of affiliate networks you can join, but if you want to make an Amazon account, all you need to do is sign up. It’s free to join, but promoting their products through your videos requires approval (like with other affiliate networks), taking anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. But you don’t have to worry about it; getting your video content ready will take at least a couple of days.

Video Editing Software:

There’s no doubt that you can make your videos with different video editing tools. They might range from zero to a few hundred dollars to as much as $21 each month.

Here’s a quick rundown:

• Windows Photo/Movie Maker – FREE with Windows 10
• Adobe Premiere Pro – $240/yr or $21/mo
• Camtasia (my favorite) – $250

Good Computer:

Most likely, your current PC will work for the videos you’ll be producing. However, you may consider upgrading depending on the length of your videos, the time it will take to generate them, and the type of video editing software you’ll be using. But for now, make a video or two to see if everything is working properly. If it’s running slowly, you may only need to replace some RAM, a reasonably cheap alternative to buying a new computer.

A Good-Sized Hard Drive:

Obviously, you’ll need a place to save your videos in addition to storing them on YouTube. You can save them on your PC or laptop (which will use hard drive space) or purchase a 1-3 TB (Terabyte) external HD for roughly $100. You can save your video clip there without using extra storage on your computer.

WebCam and Microphone:

The more you engage your viewers, the more they will be interested in your content. So, even though a webcam and microphone aren’t required for your videos, it’s a good idea to invest in one.

Digital Video Camera:

You don’t have to buy the most expensive digital camera for your live-action videos, but if you plan on creating higher-end video production, a digital video camera may be a worthwhile investment. But you don’t have to do this because an iPhone can do a lot more than you might think.

Video Capture Software:

This is best used for making game videos. Video capture software is easy to use, requiring little more than plug-and-play, and the free versions available are enough for the content you’ll be uploading to YouTube.

Tips For Making Great YouTube Content

Unless you have extensive experience creating and publishing video content, you can safely assume that your first video will be a flop.

But don’t worry about it… It’s happened to the best of us.

First and foremost, get your content online. It doesn’t have to be perfect; all you need is the idea of how things work. In fact, if your content is interesting enough, the quality of your video won’t actually matter that much. All you need is some practice.

Here are some pointers for creating great content for your Youtube videos:

• Relevancy: You should always keep your video consistent with the products or services you’ll be promoting. Besides, it wouldn’t make sense to try to sell lawnmower parts when your videos are about phone cases. You’ll do well if you keep your videos natural and relevant.
• K.I.S.S.: It’s fine if you don’t have much to talk about in your videos. Simply say what needs to be said. There’s no need to go on and on just to make a longer video. Keep. It. Stupid. Simple.
• Quality Is King: The quality of your movies is becoming increasingly important nowadays. So, at the very least, shoot it in 720 HD. However, 1080p or even 4k would be preferable.
• Sound Quality: Choppy, hard-to-hear, or static-filled video audio screams amateur. Ensure that you have a good microphone, so your audience enjoys listening to you. You don’t want to come across like a dial-up user.
• Stay connected to your audience: The people who watch your video have the potential to be a good source of content for you. Make a point of responding to them whenever they leave you a message. Or, if they send you an email, make sure you respond.
• Free Software: It can be difficult to run a channel on a small budget. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to make a Youtube video with only the most basic and limited software. Make it a point to take advantage of free trials. One of my videos, for example, was created using a free version of Camtasia.
• Be Honest, Not Salesy: We’re all trying to earn money with our videos, but we don’t want to go overboard. When you show your affiliate links, you want to do it in a way that is not too obvious and doesn’t turn people off. You can include the links in your videos. Simply make sure that you come across as natural and not pushy in your video.
• Be Excited: No one likes a dull video, so make your audience is eager to watch your video. How can you expect your audience to buy anything if you don’t speak with enthusiasm?
• Have A Plan For Your Video: Everyone recalls the high school teacher who talked about irrelevant things. Well, you don’t want your viewers to get bored and move on to the next video. Following a script isn’t a bad idea. Also, don’t be hesitant to edit out anything that you consider irrelevant. Like when you’re making unboxing videos of the latest smartphone, no one wants to hear you chatting about what you’re going to have for dinner.
• What Is Your Video About?: Will you teach someone else how to make your favorite cookie? Are you writing a product review for your favorite item? Are you a basketball coach who shows advanced shooting techniques? There are plenty of topics for which you can make videos and publish them on YouTube.
• Be A Product Expert: When making a Youtube video, make sure you understand everything there is to know about the product you’re promoting. Video content that is well-explained and well-covered is the most effective. If you don’t come off as someone who knows what they’re talking about, your bounce rate (the percentage of visitors who leave your video without closing the browser) will rise.

How to Increase YouTube Video Viewership

Have you heard the term “content is king” before? Good content is responsible for roughly 90% of the work when it comes to your YouTube videos. However, there are a few techniques to get more people to watch your videos.

Social Media Presence

Make it a habit to post your videos across all of your social media platforms once you’ve uploaded them to YouTube (Google, Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, Reddit, etc.). This is an excellent way to increase the number of people who see your work.

Ranking High In YouTube Search Rankings

It’s relatively simple to rank high in the YouTube search rankings. Simply ensure that your videos receive as many views as possible (more views = higher search rankings) and that your description includes a specific keyword for which you want to be found.

Ranking High In Google Search Rankings

You’ll also want to rank your videos high in search engines. The fact that Google owns YouTube is amazing. As a result, the more views your video receives, the higher it will appear in Google’s search results.

Look for products that no one else is recommending. It will be much easier to rank the latest perfume than for the latest digital camera.

Create A Companion Website

Obviously, posting links to your video on your website is one of the best strategies to increase views. But why stop with just one? What if you created many websites with good search engine rankings and high traffic? That means more people will see your video.

Share Your Content On Related Sites

If you want to avoid being labeled a spammer, don’t publish links to your videos all over the internet. However, if you can answer people’s questions, they will be more than happy to watch your video content, and they will most likely enjoy it. Furthermore, the more views your videos receive, the more relevant they are to YouTube, which will boost your ranks, resulting in more traffic, and so on.

Consistently Upload

People subscribe to your channel because they love your videos, and they’re probably waiting on pins and needles for your next one. So make it a habit to post videos regularly to your channel so that your viewers can help you spread them.

Make Sure Your Videos Are Titled Appropriately

Have you ever struggled to find a video on a topic that isn’t widely known? You probably didn’t pay much attention to them because they weren’t given the right titles. So, when you upload a video, make sure it’s about the right thing and that the title says what it’s about.

Eye-Catching Thumbnails

The thumbnail is the most noticeable feature of your videos compared to other videos (apart from the title). A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. Your thumbnail should convey exactly what the viewer is looking for, so they will surely watch your video.

Create Playlists And Annotations

Creating playlists is another great technique to get more traffic to your videos. You can cross-promote from one video to the next when your content revolves around the same general topic. Annotations can also be used to link to other content within the video. Creating a link from one popular video to another is a great promotional technique.

FAQs:

How Much Money Can I Earn As A YouTube Affiliate?

Making money as a Youtube Affiliate isn’t difficult at all. It’s basically just a matter of attracting as many people as possible to your YouTube videos. You will generate more money if you get more traffic.

Now, you can see how much money you can generate from an Affiliate Network.

If you want to join Amazon Affiliates, the commission for each product you sell is usually around 3-5%.   Of course, you should check your conversion rate. The conversion rate refers to the percentage of people who have watched your videos and then bought the product you’re promoting. This rate varies depending on the product.

For example, suppose you’re promoting a $100 product with a 5% commission rate.

Let’s assume your YouTube video receives 70,000 views and a conservative conversion rate is 2%.

2% of 70,000 = 1400.

1400 x $100 = $140,000

$140,000 x 5% = $7,000

You would have made $7,000 from this single video.

Can I Make Money As A Small YouTube Channel?

It’s definitely doable, but it’s much easier if your channel has many subscribers. You’ll drive yourself insane trying to figure out what’s wrong with your channel if you start thinking about how much money you’re earning (or not making), yet you’re only getting 50-100 views every day.

When you’re initially starting out, the best approach to assess your channel’s progress is to look at how many views it receives daily and whether or not those views are increasing. The more engaging your video content is, the larger your audience will become.

Obviously, the more time you invest in your channel, the more traffic to your videos will begin to flow in. When you initially start making videos, I wouldn’t bother about including affiliate links. At this point, people are more concerned with your content than with your promotions, just as they are with new websites.

How Do Affiliate Marketers Make Money?

Affiliate marketers typically make money by promoting things on their websites in the form of reviews. The idea is that by posting a positive review of a product (along with some SEO recommended practices for your link), people will find it and purchase the product through your link.

In most instances, you’ll get a little commission on the sale.

To become one of these high-earning sites, your site has to look like an authority site. To achieve this, you must be good at generating your own traffic.

What Are The Highest Paying Affiliate Marketers Programs?

Here are a few affiliate marketing programs that have helped a lot of people become financially successful affiliate marketers:

• amoCRM
• Leadpages
• GetResponse
• SEMRush
• Teachable
• Aweber
• PromoRepublic
• ConvertKit

If you want to start making money online with Youtube Affiliate Marketing, it’d be worth looking into…

Just keep in mind that these are high-ticket programs, so you’ll need some high authority sites to compete.

Can You Make A Living Off Affiliate Marketing?

Yes, affiliate marketing can earn you money… However, most affiliate marketers make a significant amount of money by promoting various affiliate programs.

In fact, if you look at the majority of affiliate reviews, you’ll notice that most of them make money by including their link in the video descriptions!

So, what’s the takeaway here?

The majority of affiliate marketers generate their income by marketing other affiliate programs.

How Can I Succeed In Affiliate Marketing?

Yes, you can make money as an affiliate marketer.

You just need to be around the right people and have access to good tools for market research.

Affiliate marketers know that your network is your net worth, and if you spend enough time with the right people, you’ll likely have a head start on the next hot money-making niche before it becomes saturated!

The most important aspect of affiliate marketing is research; you should always strive to be ahead of the curve, if not a trendsetter!

That’s the thing…

People make the mistake of getting into affiliate marketing too late. Before you know it, the market is too saturated for you to get in.

Does Affiliate Marketing Still Work?

This is a tricky question.

Yes, affiliate marketing still works in 2022, and people are still generating money from it.

However, the majority of this occurs in high-ticket venues that most affiliate marketers are unaware of.

And the high-ticket guys prefer it to stay that way.

The problem with affiliate marketing is that it’s quite saturated.

And there is also a low barrier to entry.

Is YouTube Affiliate Marketing A Scam?

So, time for the $1,000,000 question – is YouTube Affiliate Marketing a scam?

No, it’s not a “scam,” technically speaking. They aren’t going to collect your payment and then ride off into the sunset without delivering you a program.

You can make money with this program. My only gripe is that making money with affiliate marketing is NOT NEARLY as easy as YouTube Affiliate Marketing wants you to think it is.

As I’ve said earlier, the most important part of doing affiliate marketing right is driving traffic. That means being good at:

• Writing ads that sell
• Running ads on Google
• Running ads on Facebook
• Writing website blogs
• Ranking websites
• Converting users that land on your site
• Email marketing

And a whole lot more.

If you’re going to spend time learning those skills, why not do it in a way that makes YOU all the money – instead of someone else?

There’s just a lot of work to be done here, and no real guarantee of success (not to mention commissions can be small).

Don’t get me wrong – I’m ALL FOR doing the hard work now, so that you can reap the benefits later.

But if you’re going to hit something super hard for 3-6 months, and your reward is barely enough money for a tank of gas… it’s just not worth it (in my opinion).

Again, I’m not saying it won’t work – I’ve personally made money with it, as have many of my friends.

I’m just saying it’s a situation where the stars need to align for you perfectly.

And you shouldn’t be in the business of leaving your fate up to the stars…

But what if instead of all that, you could work those same 3-6 months, and generate a handful of checks that generated you $500-$2,000 EACH, every single month (almost on autopilot)?

And what if you learned it from someone who has already mastered the ability to drive traffic profitably?

Better yet, what if you could see your first payment in one week, not 3 months?

And what if you could double or triple that income within the next month or two?

That’s my experience with being a Digital Landlord.

All you really need is a laptop and some internet.

Some of my friends are Digital Rental Method that run their 6-figure businesses from:

• Camping trips at national parks
• Beachfront in Hawaii
• On the road in a camper van (with a pet pig!)

They focus on living an enjoyable life first, and focus on income second. All thanks to this program. 

They can take weeks or months off, and money keeps rolling in.

Living happily is the top priority.

If the thought of living perpetually at your dream vacation spot interests you, using the Digital Rental Method might be for you!

What Is My Top Recommendation For Making Money Online In 2022?

I’ve personally tried all of the major online business models:

• I’ve sold women’s health supplements via Clickbank affiliate marketing
• I’ve sold fidget spinners through Amazon FBA
• I’ve dropshipped a toilet bowl putting green on Shopify

And I made money with all of them, so trust me when I say: there is no “perfect” business model.

That being said, my #1 recommendation for making real money online is, hands-down: being a Digital Landlord

Whether you’re a complete newbie or you’ve been around the block before but have never had that “big win” to propel you forward, using the Digital Rental Method is for you.

Why?

1)Time commitment: You can do this if you have an hour or two per day. Even if you want to drop everything and commit fully, that works too.

You don’t have to be constantly working to make money. The income you generate is recurring.

Imagine taking off for a month to places like Hawaii, Paris, National Parks, & other spots people only dream about – all while collecting dozens of little $500-$2,000 checks. It’s like a dream come true.

But it’s only possible to do it when you’ve separated your income from your time.
2)You Own & Control EVERYTHING: With affiliate marketing, you don’t really own a single thing – not even the customers you worked so hard to “acquire.”

Don’t believe me? Read the terms of service for any major affiliate program – they can fire you or change your compensation at the drop of a dime.

With the Digital Rental Method, you own everything, so you have ultimate control.

3)It’s Effectively Copy-Paste: Here’s my favorite part: once you have your first Digital Rental Property up, you can literally copy-paste another version of it and find another willing “renter” in a few days. DOUBLING your income doesn’t get much easier than that…

If you wanted to double your income as an affiliate, you would need to sell twice as much inventory, or double your profit margins. And I can guarantee you (from my days selling women’s health products as an affiliate), that’s a lot harder than a few clicks & a phone call.

4)Great Margins: Margins on affiliate products can be pretty low, unless you’re selling high-ticket products. When you sell high-ticket stuff, you typically have a lot of competition, and so driving traffic is expensive.

using the Digital Rental Method, your profit margin is nearly 100%. Watch here to learn how.

Just a reminder: these Digital Rental Properties are worth (at a minimum) $500/mo in semi-passive income. And each time you create another one, your income increases, and the effort put into creating the next property decreases.

Best-case scenario, you have properties bringing in over $3,000+/mo on auto-pilot.

5)You’re Helping REAL People: My biggest gripe with affiliate marketing is that you’re selling products that will bring you the biggest commission, not the products that will help people the most.

It’s cool in the short term to make a quick buck, but it eats away at your soul in the long term.

But With the Digital Rental Method, you’re helping solve REAL problems that people are ASKING for help with:

Small local businesses around the world need one thing: customers. Without them, their business would fall apart. If you can provide those customers, they’re going to be really happy – and they’re going to pay you for it.

You’re helping a struggling mother or father put food on the table for their families, put their kids through college, or simply live life a little bit more comfortably.

Having this type of impact on the world is what will help you sleep soundly at night.

So, the rest is up to you. You could keep looking at other affiliate programs like Youtube Affiliate Marketing, which might make you money 12 months from now.

You could keep researching and researching for the next few months (or few years), never making a concrete decision.

OR, you can look deep inside, think about those dreams, hopes, & desires, and make the decision to ACTUALLY make it happen, just like it has for thousands of other students before you.

Making a fortune while actually helping real people that need it.

If this sounds like you, click here to see how it all works.