It’s no secret that creating and marketing content online can be lucrative. While the internet remains firmly entrenched in humanity’s information era, its ever-evolving landscape yields significant opportunities for content creators.
Thanks to the rise of platforms like YouTube and the pervasiveness of social media, anyone with a compelling story to tell and a platform to tell it on can potentially make a buck or more off their audience.
While this may be the case, generating revenue online can be quite the challenge, specifically if you’re looking for traditional monetization methods.
Monetizing Content Is More Complex Than You’d Think
While it’s relatively easy to “go viral” and gain hundreds of thousands or even millions of views on a video, actually turning that popularity into monetary value requires a bit of ingenuity. YouTube’s monetization program, for example, enables content creators to integrate Google Adsense advertisements into their content; whenever someone watches a 10-second video and clicks on an ad, YouTube earns a small percentage of the sale.
This may not sound like much, but for a creator making $10,000 to $100,000 per year, that’s a whole lot of money. And while YouTube’s ad revenue growth has been phenomenal, there are signs that the video platform may be running into advertising trouble.
Why Should You Care About Monetizing Content Online?
If you’re looking to make money online, you’re in luck because there are many ways to generate a steady stream of revenue. However, if your goal is to become truly independent and leave YouTube behind, understanding how the system works and how to get the best possible value out of your content is essential.
As noted, the value of a video increases along with the platform’s popularity, yet generating revenue from YouTube can be quite the challenge, even for content creators who’ve achieved some level of success on the platform. How successful you’ll be is based on a number of factors, including your engagement with your audience and the size of your audience. In short, having a large audience on any platform makes you a target for monetization, yet size alone doesn’t guarantee success. In fact, the opposite is often true.
How To Make Money Online Without YouTube
If you’re determined to avoid the pettiness of YouTube’s monetization program and are looking to dive headfirst into the lucrative world of content marketing, you may be better off avoiding the platform entirely and pursuing other avenues for monetization. Fortunately, this is something you can easily do.
YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook are the three largest platforms, so it’s safe to assume that your content is already online somewhere. And if it’s not, then it’s time to make it so. Keep in mind that this won’t happen overnight, as you’ll need to put in the work to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Once you’ve established a significant audience, you can use your platform to attract affiliate marketers, who’ll promote products related to your niche.
This is likely how you’ll make the bulk of your income, as you won’t have to worry about generating interest in an ad-worthy product nor will you have to rely on the whimsical opinions of a digital audience to make sales.
The Growth Of Affiliate Marketing
If money is no object to you and you’re confident that you can attract a significant audience via content alone, then you might want to consider pursuing affiliate marketing. With this model, you’ll need to find products that are related to your blog post ideas or social media updates and then promote those products via social media or websites.
This may be a more lucrative option than content monetization. And while you won’t generate revenue right away, the fruits of your labor will be in the form of a recurring income that you can depend on, at least for the time being.
The Dangers Of Forecasting Revenue
If you’re looking to make a living off of your video content or are even contemplating the venture, then you may be tempted to try and time the launch of your content to the latest trends or fads in your industry. Although this may sound like a good idea, it can actually backfire immensely. As much as we love to believe that technology will make our lives easier, the opposite is often true if we’re not careful. Take the case of cryptocurrency mining.
If you decide to dive into this lucrative business, you’ll need to have enough electricity to support your needs, which in return will put a strain on your wallet. The costs of hardware and electricity will eat away at your profits, so it’s important to find a profitable venture that you can set up shop in.
The Different Ways To Monetize Content
While the previous two examples leverage the popularity of already existing platforms, it’s also possible to integrate monetization into your own website or blog. And even if you don’t have a website yet, you can always use a platform like WordPress to get started quickly and easily.
Once you’ve got your own website, consider whether you should take the time to fully monetize it or should you instead use a tool like Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers to find products related to your blog posts and then earn money by promoting those products. The choice is up to you.
And remember, the possibilities for monetization are limited only by your imagination. Whether you choose to go down the YouTube route or establish yourself as an industry leader via a well-curated website, the opportunities for revenue are virtually endless.