Are YouTube Short’s worth it?

I wanted to see what would happen if I uploaded a Short every day for 30 days then pass on what I learned to my audience.

In the video below, I show you the strategy I used, the results I got, and what I learned after 30 days.

My Shorts Strategy

First, I chose a topic that my audience was interested in. In this case I chose the YouTube Algorithm. If I enter YouTube algorithm in the YouTube search bar, I get a bunch of suggestions.

YouTube algorithm 2024,
YouTube algorithm explained.

If I place _ YouTube algorithm, I then get all the other keyword phrases such as
how YouTube algorithm works,
how to reset the YouTube algorithm,
how to beat the YouTube algorithm,
how to get your videos in the YouTube algorithm,
how the YouTube algorithm works in 2024.
These are all keyword phrases people are entering into YouTube search to find out the answers.

My Shorts strategy is that I can target one keyword phrase and provide the answer in the video. I also checked out what people are searching for on Google related to the YouTube algorithm.

If I enter YouTube algorithm in Google search. Under “people also ask“, it says,
What is the algorithm for YouTube,
How to trigger the YouTube algorithm,
How do you ace the YouTube algorithm,
How to control the YouTube algorithm.

If I scroll down to related searches. I get…
YouTube algorithm for views,
YouTube algorithm for shorts,
YouTube algorithm change,
YouTube algorithm for money.

Here are the titles of some of the shorts I created….
How to beat the YouTube algorithm in 2024,
YouTube Shorts Algorithm versus Longform algorithm.
How does the YouTube shorts algorithm work 2024,
What determines which videos show up in YouTube shorts,
Does the YouTube algorithm ever give up on your videos

Primarily I target how-to topics to increase the probability of my shorts videos being discovered in YouTube search and Google search.

The idea of focusing on one topic, the YouTube algorithm, means that I could create a series of videos based upon that topic.

Another idea I had of creating a short series was to test out different video ideas. So even though my main topic was YouTube algorithm, I also created shorts videos related to the YouTube algorithm, such as..
How do you attract views as a small YouTube channel,
How does YouTube choose which videos to promote,
How to find your target audience on YouTube 2024,
How to get YouTube to recommend your shorts,
How does the YouTube recommendation algorithm work,
Why do YouTube Shorts views suddenly drop, YouTube suggested videos algorithm.

My video structure started off with a strong hook, such as asking a question, making a bold statement, then delivering the content and ending with a strong call to action, such as subscribing to the channel. Most of the shorts were between 30 to 60 seconds at length that I filmed and edited myself.

After filming and editing the video, I’d upload it to Kapwing, an online video editor to add captions and create a transcript.

The reason for adding captions on YouTube shorts is that when people are scrolling their phones using the YouTube app, they’ll be able to read the captions on the video. I made sure that the first caption of my shorts video contained the title of my video, such as “How to Reset the YouTube algorithm on the phone.”

By doing this, I can select the first frame as a custom thumbnail when uploading my video using the YouTube app on my phone. The strategy behind doing this is that when the thumbnails appear in YouTube and Google search, viewers immediately would know what the video is about. The thumbnails would also stand out from the competition.

The reason behind creating a transcript of the video content is that I can place that transcript in the description below my video. This improves the chances of my content getting picked up by YouTube and Google and appearing on YouTube and Google search.

My thinking about encouraging viewers to subscribe at the end of the video was that it would increase my subscriber rate for my channel. Now you know what strategy I used for uploading shorts daily for 30 days. Let’s look the results.

My Shorts Results

Here are my shorts results after uploading Shorts videos daily for 30 days. Fortunately, I can study the data in YouTube analytics.

• Log in to YouTube studio and click on analytics.
• Under the content tab, click on shorts.
• Here I’ve got the last 28 days, so let’s change that to 30 days.
• Click the dropdown,
• Click custom. I’m going to select May 1st to May 30th when I stopped.

I received over 30,000 views in 30 days from YouTube shorts on my channel. Some of those views came from existing shorts on my channel. 35,000 were shown in the feed, I got 496 likes and gained 67 subscribers.

Under how viewers found my shorts, 46% was external, 29% from the shorts feed, and 16% from YouTube search.

If I click on external, it shows that 70% of external traffic came from Google search.

Under “how many chose to view”, 45.8% were viewed versus 54.2% swiped away.

Viewed versus swiped away gauges the percentage of times that viewers watch your shorts instead of swiping away from them. You can also see the top shorts that got the most traffic from my channel.

If I click on “See More”, I can see the number of impressions, impressions, clickthrough rate, views, average view duration, and watch time hours.

Let’s select another metric. If I want to add more metrics to the table, just click the plus sign. Under reach, I can select “shown in feed”. This is how many times content was shown in the shorts feed 35,377 times.

Total views accumulated was over 30,000 views.
Watch time hours 241 hours.
Subscribers 67,
Estimated revenue. this is pretty dismal $1.79.
Average view Duration about 30 seconds.
Impressions about 93,000 Impressions
Impressions click through rate around 3.8%.

Let’s select another metric. Click on the plus sign. Click on new viewers. I received over 25,000 new viewers.

Lets select returning viewers. Returning viewers, only 1,352.

So you can see that Shorts mostly attracts new viewers rather than returning viewers.

Let’s look at subscribers gained versus subscribers lost.
I lost 5 subscribers in 30 days and gained 72 new subscribers.

What I Learned After 30 Days after uploading shorts daily for 30 days

I discovered that most shorts did well in the first 24 to 48 hours of Upload and then they flatlined. This is because YouTube exposed your content to a small targeted audience, then if that audience is no longer interested in your content, it won’t spread it to a larger audience.

Shorts videos that received the most views contained questions in the titles such as…
“Why do YouTube Shorts Views Suddenly Drop”
“How does video performance affect the YouTube algorithm”
“Why the YouTube shorts algorithm sucks”
“How to beat the YouTube algorithm. 2024”.

I also discovered that uploading shorts videos didn’t affect my longform videos. In fact, you can link a shorts video to a longform video used related links.

I also discovered that shorts reach a different audience, mostly non-subscribers. This means you can reach an audience that doesn’t normally watch your long form videos.

I also noticed that my current subscribers didn’t receive any notifications when I uploaded a new short probably ’cause they’re not scrolling on their phones with the YouTube app.

Another thing I learned about shorts is that it’s a great way to test new ideas for your channel. In my case, I focused on one major topic, then made a shorts video answering a frequently asked question on that topic.

Shorts videos can also appear in Google search and get a ton of traffic. For example, a majority of views from shorts on my channel come from external source, which is mostly Google search.

For example, this shorts video has gotten over 52,000 views since it was published and still gets 167 views every 48 hours. As you can see, it’s currently ranked at the top of Google search. It’s also ranked at the top of YouTube search under shorts.

Keep in mind, most shorts videos won’t appear in Google search until weeks, months, or even years later. If they remain ranked on YouTube and Google search, you’ll receive evergreen traffic year after year.

Disadvantages Of Shorts

One big disadvantage of uploading shorts is that you don’t make a lot of money. For example, after uploading shorts videos daily for 30 days, I only made a total of $1.69.

Another disadvantage is that you can no longer place live links in the description of your shorts video.

So Are YouTube Shorts Worth It?
Not for generating a lot of revenue, but great for testing out new ideas on your channel. It’s also a great way to educate your audience by giving them quick tips.

The success of your shorts videos will depend on your strategy. If you don’t have a good understanding of what your target audience likes to watch, it’ll be like throwing mud at a wall.

My recommendation is to test out uploading shorts to your channel to see how your audience responds.

Do YouTube shorts get more views than long form videos?
Watch this video right now titled “YouTube Shorts versus YouTube video, which gets more views?”

Affiliate marketing is the fastest and easiest way to start making money on YouTube. For example, I’ve made over $14,000 in lifetime commissions promoting the TubeBuddy affiliate program.

In the video below, you’ll learn the top benefits of promoting affiliate products on YouTube, how to choose relevant products, the types of content to create, where to include your affiliate links, and how to optimize and promote your videos.

Top Benefits Of Promoting Affiliate Products On YouTube

It’s easy and cost nothing to get started.
You don’t have to become a YouTube partner. You don’t have to create a product, and you don’t have to create the marketing materials. All you have to do is sign up for an affiliate program for a product that you wish to promote on YouTube, then you get the affiliate link, which you can promote in the description of your video. 

Saves time.
As I mentioned earlier, you don’t have to spend hours creating your own product or creating the marketing materials to promote the product. The company that is offering their products to promote by affiliates, will often contain marketing materials such as banners, email swipe files, et cetera. For example, TubeBuddy has banners such as this one to help you promote their product.

Earn Passive Income.
The way affiliate marketing works on YouTube is that you first select the product that you wish to promote. You sign up for the affiliate program, and you place the affiliate link in the description below your video. When a viewer purchases the product through your affiliate link, you receive a 50% or higher commission. For example, if your video continually ranks on the first page of YouTube and Google, you receive Evergreen commissions. If you promote multiple affiliate products on YouTube, you’ll increase your earnings and won’t have to rely on AdSense income.

Massive Audience Reach.
YouTube has over 2 billion active users and attracts a wide range of age groups, demographics and interests that allow you to target specific segments effectively. It also allows you to host all your videos for free and you can actively engage with your viewers. Another huge benefit of YouTube is that it’s the second largest search engine after Google. This means if you optimize your videos with relevant keywords to improve visibility, your video can appear in the YouTube and Google search results. If your video continually ranks on the first page of YouTube and Google, you can receive Evergreen revenue for years to come.

How To Find Relevant Products To Promote

The easiest and fastest way to find a relevant product to promote is to choose a product that you already own. For example, I use TubeBuddy’s keyword research tool to discover topics that people are entering into the YouTube search engines. I also use TubeBuddy every day to manage my channel. Therefore, it makes sense to become an affiliate of TubeBuddy.

Other popular affiliate programs include the Amazon Associates program, ClickBank, and individual brand affiliate programs.

For example, I use the GoPro action camera to capture the stunning landscapes while hiking the trails in Mount Cook National Park, South Island of New Zealand. If I go to my Amazon Associates account and type in GoPro, I can get the affiliate link for the GoPro action camera. At the top, it says “Get Link”, so if I click on text, here’s my Amazon affiliate link to promote the GoPro action camera and receive commissions for every sale.

My recommendation is to look for affiliate programs that offer good commissions and have high quality products. Ideally, choose products that align with your niche and that your audience finds interesting and useful. Avoid products that won’t be helpful to your audience.

Types Of Content To Create

Here are the 4 types of content you can use to promote your affiliate product.

Product reviews.
This could be a product you already own or use, or a product that a company wishes for you to review. When reviewing a product, talk about the pros and cons based upon your personal experience. Here’s a clip of a product review video I did for the best wireless microphone for a laptop or phone.

“You can use these 2 microphones to get high quality audio from your DSLR or mirrorless camera, conduct interviews with 2 people, live stream from your laptop computer, or vlog from your phone.” 

Tutorials and how-tos. 
Viewers love it when you can show how the product works. When you’re promoting your affiliate product, show how you’re using the product, its benefits and practical applications.

“”Now I’ve got one mic, the smart mic light clipped to my shirt and the Smart mic plus plugged into my Canon M50 camera. So I can be close to the camera or I can even be far away”.

End your video with a strong call to action telling viewers to check out the link in the description.

Unboxing videos.
You can make unboxing videos to show the product’s packaging, initial impressions and setup process. Here’s a video clip of me demonstrating the switch pod. “I’m excited to bring you the SwitchPod. In my opinion, it’s the best travel tripod for 2020. 

Comparison videos.
When you compare two different products within the same category, it helps your audience make an informed decision. Here’s a video clip of a product view video I made comparing the toner TRC 777 USB microphone with the blue Snowball USB microphone.

“Here’s what the microphone sounds like when I’m really close to it. Here’s how it sounds. If I’m really close to the mic, let me know in the comments below which mic you prefer the to mic or the blue snowball mic?”

How To Add Affiliate Links On YouTube

There are 3 ways to add affiliate links to YouTube videos. Description box.

1. The best place is to include a live affiliate link in the first three lines of your video description. When viewers are watching the video, they’ll easily be able to see the link below the video and be able to click on it to make a purchase. 
   
2. Use onscreen adaptations. 
   During your video or at the end of the video, you can direct viewers to click the link in the description. For example, in this video when I talked about a TubeBuddy keyword research tool, I directed viewers to the link in the video description. 
   
3. Pinned comments.
   YouTube gives you ability to pin a comment to the top of your comments to make your affiliate links more visible to viewers when they scroll through the comments. Just make sure you use the full URL to make a live link so when viewers click on it, they’ll be taken directly to that product page.

“Hey, Herman, does YouTube allow live affiliate links on YouTube Shorts?’ 

Thanks for asking. YouTube no longer allows live links in the video description of YouTube shorts, however, you can add a related link that links to a long form video.“

Watch this video to learn how to link shorts directly to your long form videos using related links. So you could do a short review of your affiliate product using YouTube shorts, then link to the full review using a related link.

Optimize Your Video To Increase Visibility

If you want to increase the visibility of a video on YouTube and Google so you can get more views and make more sales, it makes sense to optimize it. To do this, include the name of your affiliate product in your title, description, tags, so it’ll rank higher in the search engines.

Create eye-catching thumbnails to increase your click-through rates. If your thumbnail stands out from your competitor’s thumbnails when they first see it in the search engines on the YouTube homepage on suggested videos, there’s more likely they’ll click on it and watch your video. Make sure you use contrasting colors, bold text and add a curiosity factor.

How To Promote Your Videos

Engage with the viewers in the comments.
YouTube is a social media platform, so viewers will often leave comments under your video to start a conversation. Sometimes they’ll even ask follow up questions concerning your product so you can continue the conversation.

Track your video performance. 
Use the analytics provided by your affiliate program to track clicks, conversions, and commissions. You can then adjust your strategy based upon the performance data to maximize your earnings. You can also track the performance of your video in YouTube analytics.

For example, if you click on the reach tab in YouTube analytics, you’ll be able to see how viewers find this video, impressions and how they led to watch time, external sites or apps, YouTube search terms and content suggesting this video.

If you click on the engagement tab, you’ll be able to see audience retention such as…
– the key moments for audience retention,
– how many viewers are still watching around the 30 second mark,
– top moments when your viewers watch for longer than usual,
– where spikes occur when more viewers are watching, 
– rewatching or sharing moments of a video.
– You’ll also be able to see the dips, which means viewers are abandoning or skipping certain parts of your video.

When you make tweaks to your next video, based upon the data you studied in your previous video in YouTube analytics, you’ll be able to improve your sales.

Promote Your Videos OFF YouTube

If you want to expose your video to a wider audience than just YouTube, share it on other social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etcetera. You may even generate some extra sales.

If you have a website or blog, embed your video in the blog post to receive additional traffic. For example, here’s a review of TubeBuddy that I posted on my blog. Creating an optimized blog post increases the chances of your video getting discovered in Google search, as well as your blog post.

If you follow all the steps I outlined in this video, you can effectively use affiliate marketing on YouTube to generate a decent income. Just keep in mind that successful affiliate marketing requires constant effort in building a connection with your audience.

Do you want to know my proven strategies to make your bank account grow even while you’re sleeping? Watch this video right now on “how I make money on YouTube while sleeping and earn more with less effort”

This shorts video got 1.5 million views in a couple of days because it was trending on YouTube.
“If you can get your mom anything for Mother’s Day, what would you get her Whoa. Let’s Go Get It”

Finding trending topics on YouTube is a great way to get new content
ideas and make videos that go viral.

In the video below, you’ll learn 7 ways to find trending topics on YouTube
so you can get more views and grow your channel fast.

YouTube Trending Page

The easiest and fastest way to find hot trends on YouTube is to go to YouTube’s trending page. This page shows a wide range of videos that are currently trending in your country and ranked by popularity. It’s updated every 15 minutes, so you’re guaranteed to find the latest trends. You can get there by going to youtube.com and clicking on the trending tab at the left hand column. 

At the top, you’ve got what’s trending now, music, gaming, and movies. You’ve also got the creator on the rise. If you scroll down, you’ll see trending shorts such as this shorts video. “What should I buy your mom for Mother’s Day“, 1.5 million views, and here’s all the other training videos as you scroll down further.

For example, here’s a video from Mr. Beast. Protect the yacht. Keep It, which currently has 52 million views. It’s only a couple of days old. 

TubeBuddy Chrome Extension

TubeBuddy is a free Chrome extension that can help you find trending topics on YouTube. After you install the TubeBuddy Chrome extension, you’ll see the TubeBuddy icon at the top right. Click on the icon, then click on Keyword Explorer. Enter your main keyword under your keywords. I’ve entered YouTube algorithm, and immediately you get the suggestions from YouTube Search, YouTube Algorithm 2024, YouTube algorithm Explained, et cetera. Click Explore. It shows the weighted score, which is how good this keyword is to target for your specific channel based upon your search volume, competition, relevancy, and how you compare to others currently ranking in search.  The overall score is poor, but I’ve also got related searches, YouTube algorithm 2024, YouTube Algorithm Explained, et cetera.

So if I click on “YouTube algorithm 2024” the overall score is now very good, which means it’s a great possibility that I can rank for that particular keyword phrase in YouTube search. I’ve also got the search volume, weighted competition, optimization strength videos in search results, monthly search estimate estimate, and a top ranked videos.

If I click on results, I can see the current videos that are ranked at the top of YouTube search. If I click on Google, I can see the related searches in Google search. If I click on topics, I can also see related topics that I can use to title my video.

For example, I could choose “how to make a killer YouTube intro for the 2024 algorithm” Since I know that the keyword phrase YouTube algorithm 24 is a trending topic on YouTube, I can make sure to include that in the title of my video. If I click on tags TubeBuddy gives me all the tags that I can use to put in my video.

For example, here’s a shorts video I made titled “How does the YouTube Shorts Algorithm work in 2024” If you click on analytics, it says, “Great job, views are 4 times higher than your other shorts” It got 409 views in the first 24 hours and since uploaded, it’s got 715 views.

YouTube Comments

Another way to find trending topics on YouTube is to read the comments under your videos or the comments under your  competitors videos. Viewers will often ask questions or suggest related topics for the content created to cover.

For example, here’s a comment from one of my viewers that says, “Hi there, could you make a video on how to use Google Trends trending tab to create videos that get a lot of views and go viral I’m really looking forward to it. Thank you very much” 

That comment was inspiration for making the video that you’re currently watching. When studying the comments on your competitors’ videos, make sure those videos are very popular and getting a ton of views.

Here’s how to find the most popular videos for any competitor’s YouTube channel. Click on the videos tab under the profile picture. Then click on popular. Now, you’ll be able to see the videos that receive the most traffic for that channel.

Google Trends

Google Trends is a fantastic way to find trending topics on the web as well as on YouTube search. To access Google Trends, go to trends.google.com. If you click on Trending now, you’ll see all the topics that are currently trending. Click on explore.

Here you’ll see the current search topics that are currently trending on the web, such as chatGPT software. You’ll also see the current search queries which are trending. If I click on chatGPT software, I can see that the graph is really trending upwards, so that’s a hot topic. I can also see the interest over time. You’ve also got related topics as well as related queries. If I click on the dropdown, select YouTube search, this gives me the trend data on YouTube search and the interest over time. Also I’ve got the interest by subregion, as well as related topics and related queries.

I can also explore a search term. Let’s enter “YouTube algorithm 2024”. Here’s the trend data and here’s the interest over time, so I can see it’s trending upwards. Here are the related topics as well as the related queries such as YouTube algorithm change, which is a breakout. If I click on the three dots, I can explore it, add it to comparison or search it, so click explore.

I can see this keyword phrase is trending upwards and has a high interest over time. If I select YouTube search, I can see that’s also currently trending upwards.

The only downside when using Google Trends is that it doesn’t show the search volume for each query. However, you can still use TubeBuddy to get those search volumes.

YouTube Analytics

If you study the YouTube analytics for your niche, it’ll provide a gold mine of topics that you can make videos for. If a topics currently getting a lot of traffic, make a similar video on that topic, but approach it from a different angle. Here’s how to find the top videos on your channel that are getting the most traffic.

Log into your YouTube channel and click on the overview tab in YouTube analytics. Under your top content, you’ll be able to see the top videos that are currently bringing in the most traffic for each channel. If you click on the audience tab, you’ll see videos that are currently growing your audience, channels your audience watches, what your audience watches, and when your viewers are on YouTube. If you scroll down, you can see the formats your viewers watch on YouTube, such as videos, shorts, and live, your top geographies,watch time from subscribers, age and gender and top languages.

YouTube Research Tab

If you click on the research tab for your YouTube Channel, it’ll show the top searches for your channel as well as the most recent videos for those particular topics. If you scroll down, it’ll show you the content gaps for your shorts. If you click on one of the top searches like how to get your videos on YouTube algorithm, you’ll be able to see what searched on YouTube as well as what is watched on YouTube.

VidIQ Chrome Extension (Daily Ideas & Trend Alerts)

If you have the Chrome extension VidIQ installed, you can click on Daily Ideas.  If you have the free version installed, you’ll get 3 personalized ideas every single day. You can also save your ideas and then click Saved Ideas to see all the ideas that you’ve saved and also the dismissed ideas.

If you click on Trend Alerts, you can create a new trend alert, so you can name your alert, and then you can enter a keyword which you’d like to create an alert for.

You can then select how often you would like to receive email alerts every day, every two days, each week, each month. Here’s live preview of the first 10 results to show what this alert might look like. Here’s an alert I set up for YouTube algorithm. If I click on Most Viewed, I can see the most viewed videos that are currently trending on YouTube.

The beauty of making a video for a trending topic on YouTube is that video can go viral and grow your channel fast.

Another highly effective way to find trending topics on YouTube is to find hidden content gaps.
Watch this video on how to find hidden content gaps in 2024 and beyond.

SECRETS TO INCREASE AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT ON YOUTUBE
Discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content to other channels.
Click here to learn more

Have you ever published a video that only resulted in a few views then wondered why the YouTube algorithm hates your channel? 

In the video below, you’ll learn how the YouTube algorithm works and how to trigger it so you can get a ton of views even weeks, months, or years later.

For example, this video only received 207 views within the first 24 hours, but now it’s got 1.1 million views.

So how does YouTube algorithm work in 2024? 
Keep in mind YouTube tailors videos based upon each viewer’s interests. It does its best to show the right video to the right viewer at the right time across the whole planet. Primarily, YouTube looks at the titles, descriptions, and if viewers are enjoying the video. Therefore, instead of worrying about what the YouTube algorithm likes, focus instead on what your audience likes the most.

Here are 7 ways to trigger the YouTube algorithm in 2024, so you can get more views.

1. Select a topic that your audience is interested in.
   A simple way to do this is to type your main keyword in YouTube search. For example, if I enter YouTube algorithm in YouTube search, it gives me YouTube algorithm 2024, YouTube algorithm explained, et cetera. If I place an underscore, then space before the YouTube algorithm, I get
   – how the YouTube algorithm works, 
   – this video breaks YouTube algorithm, 
   – how does the YouTube algorithm work, et cetera.
   If you have the Chrome extension Keywords Everywhere installed, it’ll even give you the search volume per month.
   
   For example, how  YouTube algorithm works gets a 1000 views/month at a cost per click of 2 cents.

This means you can quickly discover what kind of topics your audience is interested in.

2. Title. 
   Create a Title that includes the keyword or keywords people are using to find that information in the search engines. For example, the main keyword for this video is YouTube algorithm, which I’ve included in the title.
   
   Write a title that motivates viewers to click and watch the video. For example, the title of this video is “How to Trigger the YouTube Algorithm in 2024.” This makes viewers curious about how the algorithm works in 2024 and how they can use it to get more views for their videos.
   
3. Clickable Thumbnail.
   Your thumbnail should compliment the title because it’s what viewers see first in the search engines, and then they read the title. Use bold and contrasting colors and give it a personal touch by including your face. If including text, just use a few words and don’t repeat the title in your thumbnail.
   
4. Video Description.
   Try to summarize your video content in the first three lines of your video description. Viewers will be able to read the first three lines while they’re watching the video. Make sure you also include your main keywords in the video description, so it’ll be picked up by the Google search engine.

5. Use A Strong Hook.
   The first 30 seconds of your video will determine if your viewers will watch your video all the way through. Therefore, use a strong hook such as asking a question, making a bold statement, or tease about what’s coming up later in the video.
   
6. Keep Viewers Engaged.
   One of the biggest ranking factors on YouTube is how long you keep viewers engaged on your video. Therefore, you want to reset their attention every few seconds. You can do this by adding text, graphics, transitions, or even asking a question.

Let me know in the comments below what you do to keep viewers engaged on your video.

When you first publish a video, YouTube exposes it to a small audience on YouTube. If that video receives high engagement like a 1 out of 10, then YouTube will expose it to a wider audience. When this happens, you’ll often see a jump in views. When your audience no longer engages with your video. Your views will flatline, therefore make a similar video so you can capitalize on the views.

7. Create A Playlist Of Related Videos.
   Another huge ranking factor is how long you keep viewers engaged on the YouTube platform. Instead of just watching one of your videos link to a related video in the playlist by using an end screen or end card. This will encourage your viewers to binge watch multiple videos in a row. If you discover that the topic of your video really resonates with your viewers, because it’s getting a ton of views, make a similar video.

As I mentioned earlier, most videos don’t do well within the first 24 hours. However, weeks, months, or even years later, they may take off and get a ton of views. Therefore, don’t delete a video if it’s only getting a few views within the first 24 to 48 hours.

YouTube Shorts algorithm versus the Longform Algorithm: What’s the Difference? 
Most viewers discover YouTube Shorts while scrolling through the feed on their phones. When they see a shorts video that captures their attention, they stop scrolling and tap on it to watch the video. This is a very different format to long form content where viewers choose to watch a video after discovering it in YouTube search, or it’s recommended on the YouTube homepage. They’re more actively searching for information such as “how to tie a tie” or “how to change a light bulb“. If they click on the video, it increases engagement, then if they remain engaged throughout the video or watch more than one video, YouTube will recommend that video to a wider audience.

Long form videos are mostly discovered because of the thumbnail and title, whereas short form videos are mostly discovered through people scrolling the feed on their phones. If they hover over the shorts video, they’ll be able to read the subtitles.

How Does Video Performance Affect The YouTube Algorithm? 
YouTube looks at how the video performs when it’s recommended to viewers. For example, when a video is recommended to a viewer, do they watch it, ignore it, or click “not interested.” YouTube primarily ranks videos based upon average duration and average percentage viewed, which you can see in YouTube analytics.

My recommendation is to ask yourself, which videos does your audience
like the most, then make more of those types of videos.

Let me ask you a question….do you get depressed when you get little or no views on YouTube videos, especially when you spend hours filming and editing them? 

If that’s a yes, watch this video now on “Why is my YouTube video not getting views and how to fix it”

Back in the year 2000, I started a professional web design business and often wasted many hours dealing with picky clients that wanted multiple changes to their website. It often resulted in a lot of stress, and I had little time for travel or leisure because I had to meet deadlines. There was also a limitation about how much money I could make because I was trading time for money.

So what’s changed? 

Now I generate a full-time passive income from YouTube by bundling multiple income streams together and no longer trade time for money.

How do you do that? 

Get My New Shorts Course: Mastering YouTube Shorts: The Complete Guide
Click here for more info

5 Ways I Generate A Passive Income From YouTube

YouTube Ad Revenue

One of the easiest ways to generate a passive income on YouTube is by displaying ads on your videos. When a viewer  clicks on your ad or watches it for 30 seconds, you get paid by YouTube. YouTube gets a 45% cut from what the advertiser pays, and you get the remaining 55%.

Here’s the estimated ad revenue I’ve generated since starting my channel.

Keep in mind, if you want to make money from ad revenue, you need to meet the minimum eligibility requirements of 1000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months, or 1000 subscribers and 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.

After you’ve been admitted to the YouTube partner program, you can monetize your ads and generate revenue on autopilot. The more views you get on your videos and the more videos you upload to YouTube, the more revenue you’ll make.

YouTube Channel Memberships

YouTube channel memberships are a great way to generate passive income from YouTube, by offering perks in exchange for a monthly fee from your viewers. Click this join button to become a member of my channel.

You’ll get exclusive members only live streams every month, get your questions answered live, get access to my members only Facebook group, get badges so your name stands out in the comments. You’ll also be supporting my channel, which helps keep it growing.

To become eligible for channel memberships you must have 1000 subscribers, be in the YouTube partner program. Be 18 years old, come from an eligible country and your channel cannot be made for kids.

You can turn on channel memberships by going to the monetization page in YouTube studio, then click on “Memberships”.

Click here If you want to know how to set up and turn on channel memberships

Promote Affiliate Products

The beauty about promoting affiliate products on YouTube is that your channel doesn’t have to be monetized and you don’t have to do much work. You don’t have to create the product or the marketing materials.

All you have to do is promote the affiliate link from a brand or company in the description below your video, and you receive a 50% commission. For example, in this video, I show how to use TubeBuddy’s, keyword Explorer tool to uncover keywords that can rank #1 on YouTube.

I tell viewers to click the link in the description to check out TubeBuddy. Once I’ve set it up, I generate a passive income by TubeBuddy sending me commissions every month.

Here’s a video on “How to shoot cinematic footage used in a GoPro Hero 9“. During the video, I direct viewers to the Amazon affiliate link in the description. I get automatic commissions as an Amazon affiliate.

Here’s a digital product I created on Mastering YouTube Shorts.

Here’s the amount of income earned last week from digital entrepreneurs using Gumroad. It’s a free online platform that includes a flexible page builder and you can host your products there for free. There are no monthly charges and it just takes a 10% flat fee for processing your payments. All you have to do is open an account, add your product, and start selling.

The more digital products you create, the more money you’ll make.

Types of digital products you can sell through your YouTube channel

• eBooks and reports,
• online tutorials,
• templates,
• membership sites,
• coaching services.

Example for why you should STOP trading time for money and what to do instead.

If you make $20/hour building websites, you can make about a $1000/week. That means the maximum you can make in a year is about $52,000. Let’s compare that to selling a digital product.

If you created a course that sold for a $100 and you sold 20 copies per week, you’d make $2,000 per week. If you made $2000 per week for 52 weeks selling a digital product, you’d make $104,000 per year.

If you only took 5 hours a week to market the course, you’d still make $104,000 per year. That means you’re trading value for money, not trading time for money.

If you created 2 courses, how much would you make? 

BIG TAKEAWAY
The big takeaway is stop trading time for money and start trading VALUE for money. When you create and promote your own digital products and courses, the growth of your business is endless.

If you want to know how I stopped trading time for money by ranking my video on the 1st page of YouTube and Google, watch this video on “How I got over 1 million views from YouTube and Google search.”

Get My New Shorts Course: Mastering YouTube Shorts: The Complete Guide
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Is it possible to make some serious cash from your videos, even if you’re a small channel? 

I’ve been on YouTube for the last 17 years and would’ve made a lot more money from my channel if I hadn’t made these serious mistakes.

Today, you’ll learn the monetization mistakes to avoid so you’ll make more money faster.

Discover my top strategies to get your first 1000 subscribers FAST, so you can join the YouTube Partner Program and start generating a passive income from your YouTube Channel
Click here for more info

Mistake #1, Expecting instant success

One of the easiest ways to generate a passive income from YouTube is with advertising revenue. This is where you display ads on your YouTube videos and the revenue is shared between YouTube and the creator. The big problem is you need to become a YouTube partner in order to earn advertising revenue. This means you need to fulfill the eligibility requirements of 1000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months. So you need a lot of patience to achieve that goal before your channel can be monetized.

Alternatively, you can make money with channel memberships, YouTube shopping, super chat, and super stickers and super thanks. These methods of monetization only require 500 subscribers and 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3000 public watch hours on long form videos in the last 365 days, or 3 million public short views in the last 90 days. This means you’ll still need some patience to reach those monetization thresholds. Later on, I’ll talk about alternative ways to make money on YouTube without relying on advertising revenue or becoming a YouTube partner.

Mistake #2, Falling for sub4sub

I often see a comment under my videos that says, “I’ll subscribe to your channel if you subscribe to my channel”. Don’t be fooled. Real growth comes from genuine engaged subscribers. People who ask sub4sub are not really interested in your content, but more interested in gaining subscribers to their own channels.

Even if they did subscribe to your channel, they wouldn’t keep returning to watch more of your content. The best way to grow your channel is to upload quality content that your audience is interested in and engage with them in the comments. If you do that, interested viewers will keep coming back for more of your content and you’ll continually grow your community on YouTube.

Mistake #3, Choosing the wrong topics

If you just upload videos on topics that you like without considering your audience, you’re not going to grow a community on YouTube and you’ll have a hard time monetizing your content. Think about your ideal viewer and the burning questions that keep them up at night. Then, offer solutions in your videos. If a question pops up in your comments, it’s probably the same question that many people have on their minds, but we’re too afraid to ask.

If you answer that question in a video, it’ll satisfy many viewers. Alternatively, you can enter your main keyword phrase in the YouTube search bar, and YouTube will spit out a bunch of suggestions. For example, if I enter “How to Get Fit” in the YouTube search bar, it suggests

how to get fit at home,
how to get fit in one week,
how to get a fit body at home for men,
how to get a fit body for girl at home,
how to get fit without a gym.

If you use keywords everywhere, it’ll show you the searches per month, as well as the cost per click for each keyword phrase, for example, “How to get Fit at Home”, gets 1600 searches per month and has a cost per click of 30 cents. I highly recommend targeting longer keyword phrases because they’re less competitive and easier to rank for.

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Click Here to Install the Chrome Extension Keywords Everywhere
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If your video ranks on the first page of YouTube, you’ll receive Evergreen traffic and revenue. Videos I uploaded several years ago. still generate evergreen traffic and revenue day after day, week after week, year after year.

Mistake #4, Neglecting thumbnail aesthetics

Which thumbnail would you click on from the above 2 images?

Obviously, the second thumbnail stands out much more than the first one. Your thumbnail is the first thing viewers see when they’re searching for a topic in the YouTube search engine. If they subscribed to your channel, it may also appear on the YouTube homepage along with many other thumbnails. It can also appear in suggested videos, which are the videos appear on the right side of the video that they’re watching. If your thumbnail doesn’t stand out from your competitor’s thumbnails, viewers are not going to click and watch your video. As a result, you’ll have wasted all that time making your video for nothing.

The first thumbnail doesn’t stand out as much because the background color blends in with the color of the background image. It also looks cluttered, and there’s too many words on the thumbnail, which makes it hard to read on a small screen.

Another mistake is that the words inthe title are repeated in the thumbnail.

Let’s look at the second thumbnail and see what’s improved over the first thumbnail. This thumbnail uses contrasting colors and an image that represents the title and one large word that makes people curious to want to click and watch the video. The puzzled look on my face will motivate viewers to want to check out the video to see what it’s all about. Typically, I’ll design my thumbnail and write the title first before filming my videos. I can always adjust  them later based upon inspiration.

Mistake #5, ignoring SEO fundamentals.

If you master the art of SEO commonly referred to as search engine optimization, you’ll increase the visibility of your videos.

For example, this video currently ranks number one on YouTube search and still receives over 530 views every 48 hours. It also currently ranks number one on Google search for how to contact YouTube support in 2023 and shows a large thumbnail at top of the page. As a result, it generates evergreen ad revenue 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you want to generate evergreen traffic and revenue, you need to rank your video on the Ist page of YouTube and or Google. To do this, you need to optimize your video for the search engines as well as your audience.

Previously, I showed you how to enter your main keyword phrase in the YouTube search engine to get a bunch of suggestions for future videos. Instead of choosing a highly competitive phrase like how to get fit,  I highly recommend choosing a less competitive keyword phrase that still has a good search volume.

“How to get Fit” gets 8,000 searches per month, but that’s too competitive to rank on the first page of YouTube. Therefore, I highly recommend going for “how to get fit without a gym“  or “how to get fit after 50, et cetera.” These phrases will be less competitive and easier to rank on the first page of YouTube and Google. They also contain your main keyword phrase, how to get fit in the title.

Always include your main keyword phrase in the title, description, and tags of your video.

Mistake #6, ignoring advertiser friendly guidelines.

4 years ago, I received a community guidelines strike on my channel because I violated one of YouTube’s policies. As a result, YouTube removes the videos so I could no longer receive advertising revenue. I also received a community guidelines warning that has remained on my channel for the last four years, so every time I log into my YouTube channel, I see the warning.

Therefore, I highly recommend reviewing YouTube’s community guidelines so you don’t violate their policies and have your videos removed. They include spam, a set of practices, sensitive content, violent or dangerous content regulated goods and misinformation.

I’ll include links to YouTube’s community guidelines and YouTube’s policies in the description below the video.

Mistake #7, Relying solely on ad revenue.

Many YouTube creators that are just starting a YouTube channel or have a small channel mistakenly believe the only way to make money on YouTube is through advertising revenue. This means they may wait for years to monetize their channel because they haven’t met their eligibility requirements of 1000 subscribers in 4,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months.

Instead, they can make money right away by promoting affiliate products related to the content on their channel. As a result, they’ll receive a commission every time they make a sale. Alternatively, they can create their own digital products and receive a 100% commissions or even offer coaching services.

Another way to generate revenue is to do brand deals or offer sponsorships. For example, if you’re a fitness channel, you can promote fitness products and do brand deals with companies that are aligned with your content.

For example, here’s a video I created two years ago that promotes a wireless microphone, which I still use today. I receive a commission every time someone clicks on the link in the description and purchases the product. So if you’re just getting startled or have a small channel, don’t wait for your channel to be monetized, but diversify your income streams so you can generate revenue right away.

Keep in mind, you don’t need a ton of views or thousands of subs to generate revenue from your YouTube channel. You just need to focus on the right viewers by creating videos on topics that they’re interested in.

Mistake #8, ignoring YouTube analytics.

If you ignore the analytics for your channel and videos, you won’t know what to improve to grow your channel faster and generate more revenue. If I click on the earn tab in YouTube analytics, it shows me how much I’ve earned for last month, and also all the ways that I’m currently earning on YouTube, such as watch page ads, shorts feeds, ads, memberships, supers, shopping, giving, et cetera.

If I click on the revenue tab in YouTube analytics, it shows me how much I’m earning, how I currently make money, and also my top earning content.

If I click on the engagement tab for an individual video in YouTube analytics, I can see the key moments for audience retention. For example, in this video, I can see that 42% of my viewers are still watching around the 32nd mark. I can also see the top moments, 3 spikes and the 3 dips. 

Spikes appear when more viewers are watching rewatching or sharing moments of your video. So you want more of those. 

Dips mean viewers are abandoning or skipping certain parts of your video, so you want less of those. YouTube says that if  you increase the watch time and the clickthrough rate of your videos, there’s a higher probability that your videos will be suggested on YouTube.

This means that your videos will appear on the right side of the watch page of the video that your viewers are just watching.

If you want to make even more money on YouTube with less effort, watch this video “how I make money on YouTube even while sleeping“.

You’ll be glad you did.

Discover my top strategies to get your first 1000 subscribers FAST, so you can join the YouTube Partner Program and start generating a passive income from your YouTube Channel
Click here for more info

Meet Sarah, a passionate content creator with a dream of turning her love for travel and adventure into a thriving YouTube channel. She’s eager to share her experiences and inspire others to make a living from her creative endeavors, however, she’s currently not making any money from her YouTube channel.

How can she fix this? 

Here are 7 reasons why she’s currently not making any money on YouTube and what to do instead.

Discover my top strategies to get your first 1000 subscribers FAST, so you can join the YouTube Partner Program and start generating a passive income from your YouTube Channel
Click here for more info

Lack of a target audience.

Sarah uploads any type of travel video from her adventures around the world, but they don’t seem to gain any traction. She knows that to stand out, she needs to offer something unique. After some research, she decides to focus on eco-friendly travel, a topic she’s really passionate about.

If you want your channel and videos to stand out from your competitors, you need to offer something unique to your audience to gain views and subscribers.

Creating low quality content.

Sarah has been using a low quality camera to record her eco-friendly travels. She invests on a good camera and updates her video editing skills. She meticulously plans each video by writing a script so she stays on point while recording the video. She also creates clickable titles and thumbnails, so if viewers will be motivated to watch her videos.

YouTube says “you can increase the chance of YouTube suggesting your content by increasing your click-through rate and your video watch time”. So if you increase the number of people, clicking on your video and watching it all the way through and even watching successive videos in a row, it’ll increase the probability of YouTube suggesting your content to more people.

She starts each video with a strong hook so viewers be more inclined to watch a video all the way through. At the end of her video, she includes a strong call to action to motivate viewers to watch the next video in the series,

Inconsistent Upload Schedule.

Currently, Sarah uploads videos whenever she feels like it, but realizes she needs to be more consistent to get more views and subscribers. She sets a realistic upload schedule by uploading a new video once a week on Tuesdays. This kind of consistency helps build anticipation amongst her viewers because now they know when to expect her new content.

Lack of Audience Engagement.

Sarah’s frustrated because she hasn’t been able to grow a community on a channel. She realizes she needs to actively engage with her growing audience by responding to comments, asking for feedback, and incorporating viewers’ suggestions into her content. This helps her create a sense of community around her channel.

Another thing she could do to engage with her audience is to post to her community tab on a regular basis. For example, she can upload travel images, share her latest video, add a poll, or quiz her viewers.

The more you engage with your community, the more they’ll get to know, like, and trust you and keep coming back from more of your content. 

Not taking advantage of monetization opportunities.

After reaching the eligibility requirements of the YouTube partner program of 4,000 public watch hours and 1000 subscribers in the past 12 months, Sarah’s channel becomes eligible for monetization. She links her YouTube account to her AdSense account and enables ads on her videos. As a result, she starts generating AdSense revenue from her channel. If she makes videos that are 8 minutes or longer, she’ll include mid-roll ads, which allows you to put multiple ad breaks throughout your video. This will help her to generate extra ad revenue,

Not diversifying income streams.

Sarah notices that her AdSense income fluctuates throughout the year and wants to generate more income from a YouTube channel. She doesn’t want to solely rely on ad revenue, so she explores other income streams such as affiliate marketing, merchandise, and sponsorships. 

To generate revenue from affiliate marketing, she partners with Eco-friendly brands to promote products in her videos. As a result, she earns commissions on any sales generated from people clicking on the affiliate links in the description of her videos. 

To generate revenue from merchandise, she creates her own line of eco-friendly merchandise. From reusable water bottles to sustainable travel guides.

She generates extra revenue from sponsored content by collaborating with travel and eco-friendly brands. As a result, she earns a fee for promoting their products and services.

Not Measuring Success.

Sarah’s channel has been growing slowly and doesn’t understand why she’s not getting many views and subscribers on her videos.

She begins tracking the performance of her videos in YouTube analytics so she can see which videos are getting the most traction.

Under the content tab, she sees the key moments for audience retention, how viewers find her videos, and her top videos that have generated the most traffic on her channel.

Under the audience tab, she sees which videos are growing her audience and which channels her audience watches. She also notices when most of her viewers are on YouTube, so she knows which day and time is the best to upload.

Under the revenue tab, she can see how much money she’s making each month, which ads are generating the most revenue, and what is her top earning content.

By monitoring the performance of her videos in YouTube analytics, she knows exactly what she needs to improve to make better videos.  

Lack of Patience and Persistence (BONUS TIP)

Previously, Sarah was just uploading videos whenever she felt like it, so she didn’t see a significant growth in her channel. As a result, she lost patience, motivation, and stopped being persistent. As time passes, Sarah’s YouTube channel grows and her income steadily increases.

Her journey proves that with dedication, passion, and a well thought out strategy, it’s possible to turn her dreams into making money on YouTube into a reality.

If you want to know how to make money on YouTube as a small channel without becoming a YouTube partner, watch this video for 10 ways to monetize your YouTube channel without 1000 subscribers.

Discover my top strategies to get your first 1000 subscribers FAST, so you can join the YouTube Partner Program and start generating a passive income from your YouTube Channel
Click here for more info