YouTube Affiliate Marketing: How to Get Started the Right Way
Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online and has helped many people go from rags to riches. With the rise of video sharing sites like YouTube, affiliate marketing is taking on a new form.
This article will explain how YouTube affiliate marketing works and the benefits of using this method for making money online.
We all know that Youtube is the world’s second-largest search engine. With over a billion users, it can be a goldmine for affiliate marketers looking to promote their product or service.
Let’s see how affiliate marketing with Youtube works and what’s in it for you.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
If you don’t know what affiliate marketing is, it is a performance-based marketing model that enables web publishers, bloggers and content creators to promote services and products of other businesses and receive a commission for all the sales they generate.
For example, you can place an affiliate link or banner on your website that links to Apple’s iPod product page and as a result, if someone clicks that link or banner and makes a purchase from Apple within a certain amount of time (the cookie duration), you receive a commission from Apple for that sale.
Affiliate marketing is probably the quickest way to start making money online today, especially with YouTube.
How Does Affiliate Marketing on YouTube Work?
Affiliate marketing on YouTube is quite similar to traditional affiliate marketing done through content sites, blogs, emails etc. except you will be making a video where your affiliate link is included in the description section of the video.
First, you will need to find a product to promote that has an affiliate program. It can be anything that is available on the internet but make sure that it has good commission rates and has a low refund rate.
Also, it is always better to use the product yourself before promoting it on YouTube, so that you know exactly what your audience will get and how they can benefit from it.
There are many different types of affiliate programs you could choose from based on what kind of product or service your audience is interested in – so take some time before committing yourself as there will likely always come up something better than whatever type(s) YOU have already chosen!
ClickBank and Amazon are some of the popular affiliate programs that you can join for free.
When you have found a suitable product, register with the affiliate portal and get approved.
Next, you have to make a YouTube video about your chosen affiliate product.
Remember, it must be in line with your channel’s overall theme and content because this is what Google uses to rank videos on YouTube.
Meaning, if you have a YouTube channel dedicated to dental health, your video can be about teeth whitening with a link to the chosen teeth whitening product in the description section.
You can’t just make a video about hair loss and start promoting a hair loss product on a dental health YouTube channel.
After you have created your video, head back to the Affiliate product page and copy the link under “Link To This Product” or “Affiliate Link”.
Now paste that link into your YouTube video description and add a bit of text before and after it explaining why someone should buy it or why the product will benefit them.
That’s pretty much it.
Your YouTube video will now work passively for you to generate affiliate commissions.
Anytime someone watches your video, clicks the link in the description section and makes a purchase on the vendor’s website you earn a commission.

Recommended YouTube Training
If you’re looking for a way to break into the world of affiliate marketing on YouTube, we have just what you need.
This training program can teach even those without any experience on how to get started with affiliate marketing and give them everything they need in order to start making money from their videos today!
Is Affiliate Marketing on YouTube Worth It?
Yes, it is certainly worth your time.
It is safe to say that YouTube has taken over the world.
In a day and age where people get their information from social media feeds, it’s not surprising how many of them turn towards video platforms for entertainment purposes too!
So if you have been thinking about trying out some affiliate marketing but haven’t quite sure what routes would work best or even know where to start at all then YouTube affiliate marketing is the way to go.
As you know, YouTube has become the one-stop-shop for all of life’s nagging problems.
From finding the best baby product to making sure you’re always up with what’s trending in pop culture, there are affiliate marketers out there that will help fill any need or desire–and they do it without leaving their living room!
There are over a billion users on YouTube, which means there are tons of people looking for information about the products and services you are promoting in your videos.
The bigger your channel becomes in terms of subscribers, views and engagement rate, the more money you can potentially earn through affiliate marketing.
Since YouTube has a very low barrier for entry, anyone can sign up and start making money through it within a short period of time.
YouTube Affiliate Marketing is very rewarding if you do it properly and there are many ways to create videos and promote your affiliate offers.
For example, you can create product review videos or tutorials of products that will benefit your audience and then include the affiliate link in the description.
You can also respond to comments on YouTube about certain products and offer links to those products as an affiliate on your channel.
Advantages and Disadvantages of YouTube Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketers enjoy the ability to make money without having an actual product. And there are many advantages when it comes to doing affiliate marketing with YouTube.
Here are some of them.
PROS:
- Can be done from anywhere in the world, doesn’t require any experience to get started. This means all the cash will be coming in through your screen!
- Google tends to crawl and rank videos faster than the written content. So you can take advantage of this to help get your videos seen by more people.
- Affiliate marketers enjoy the freedom of working from home and setting their own hours.
- Additionally, if someone has their own business like I do then any new equipment we purchase could potentially double as promotional material which would also help us grow faster than ever imagined beforehand!
- One of the biggest advantages of YouTube affiliate marketing is the amount of money you can earn. There are people earning over $100,000 in affiliate commissions with their YouTube channels.
- YouTube is an incredible platform to reach millions of people organically without spending a dollar on advertising.
CONS:
- You can become a YouTube affiliate marketer pretty much overnight but you will need time and effort before you actually start seeing money coming in.
- Getting YouTube views is hard if you don’t know what you’re doing (but there are ways). Many affiliates get discouraged because they find it hard to get subscribers and earn views.
- You will have to work hard into building your channel which must be of a decent size with good engagement before you can start earning significant money through affiliate marketing.
- There is a lot of competition in mainstream niches. So it can be hard to rank your videos in such niches.

Profitable Niches for YouTube Affiliate Marketing
The biggest advantage of affiliate marketing with YouTube is that it can be done in almost any niche.
There are many people doing it successfully in different niches including fashion, beauty, health and fitness, entertainment and more. Depending on your interest and skill set, you can choose the niche that aligns with your priorities.
For example, if you are a gamer who likes talking about video games then perhaps affiliate marketing in the gaming niche makes sense for you. If on the other hand, you’re into how-to guides then maybe beauty and fashion related videos will do more justice.
Also, if you can provide valuable information about a particular topic, you could make money on YouTube by creating tutorials and videos on that subject and placing your affiliate links in the description section.
And of course, there is always the option of doing product reviews as well. So it’s up to you to decide what topics you want to talk about in your videos and how you will make money through YouTube.
So if you’re just starting out, it’s better to pick a niche where people go for information about particular products or services.
You will also need to consider the time you will be devoting to your YouTube channel. You can’t do affiliate marketing on every single video just because it’s good money.
So it makes sense if you choose a niche that is suitable for your interests, then at least you’ll enjoy making videos and that will help you stay motivated even when things don’t seem to be going your way.
Here are some of the popular niches for YouTube affiliate marketing.
Reviews of Electronics and Technology Products
Technology is a constantly changing space and there is a lot of demand for reviews about new releases by tech companies.
For example, you can do video reviews of new smartphones, wearable devices and more. The idea is to show a potential buyer what a product does and if it would be beneficial for them.
Since video reviews are very popular you have a good chance of making good affiliate income through YouTube.
Fashion and Style
If you’re a fashion guru or just interested in talking about the latest fashions, then YouTube affiliate marketing could be perfect for you. There are many companies that allow you to earn commissions by promoting their products on YouTube. These include ASOS, Amazon and more.
Since people love sharing fashion advice and outfit ideas, it’s a very popular topic. There is always a demand for up-to-date fashion information and trends.
You could even do it by sharing your outfits of the day or doing roundups on new trends every week.
Health Tips Videos
There are many people who make a living from their YouTube channels by talking about health and fitness.
For example, if you have an interest in yoga or meditation, you can do videos on those topics and earn money from them as well.
So let’s say you’re a fan of yoga and you make a video showing people how to do certain poses.
Then, after the video is over, you place your affiliate links in the description box so that people can buy a yoga mat if they decide to practice more often.
YouTubers who post vlogs (videos blogs) are also very popular with this niche.
Travel
If you are the type of person who loves to go on adventures or travel, then doing vlogs about your trips could be a good way for you to earn some extra cash while having fun.
So this niche is perfect if you enjoy talking about yourself and showing people what life is like in different parts of the world. It’s a great way to meet new people and get paid for it.
So you can do vlogs about your travels, taking viewers along with you every step of the way by talking about how much money you spent on certain places or what things are like in that particular region.
You could also do product reviews of travel gadgets so they know the best stuff to bring on vacation.
Makeup, Haircare and Skincare
If you’re into beauty tips then affiliate marketing with YouTube is a great way to make money.
This niche is extremely popular and you will have no problem finding hundreds of brands to promote through your YouTube channel.
If you can produce high-quality videos, promote products you personally use and recommend then there is no doubt that people viewing your videos will buy the products from the affiliate link in the description section.
Gaming videos
Doing YouTube affiliate marketing in the gaming niche can really pay off as well. There are many companies that allow you to do product placements in your videos in return for money.
All you have to do is mention their products or post a link to their site in the description section. This way, brands get exposure and you earn money.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a way to earn online income, YouTube affiliate marketing may be an opportunity worth exploring. As with any other kind of online business venture, there are advantages and disadvantages that come with working in this space.
Before diving into it too deeply though, make sure you have taken the time to research profitable niches where your channel could thrive.
If you’re just getting started with YouTube, these are some things that all affiliate marketers should know.
We hope this article has helped to provide the information necessary to take your business on YouTube from being profitable to wildly successful.
Now get out there and start making money!