How to Generate Revenue on YouTube without Being Monetized
Introduction
I am not qualified to be monetized on YouTube as I have not hit the required milestones. I have a rather small audience of just about 1000 subscribers, and most of my video barely break 500 views. Despite this, I have been able to make money through YouTube. In this article, I am going to walk you through the steps I took to be able to make money on YouTube without being monetized. At the very end, I will reveal all of the avenues through which this has occurred. Let’s go.
Step 1: Find Your Theme
The first thing I did was to decide on what my channel was going to be about. A channel with a bunch of random videos rarely does well. You want your channel to have a focus. I decided that I wanted my YouTube channel to be professional. My channel was going to be about starting, and operating a private practice as a therapist. Moreover, it was largely going to focus on the practical and actionable steps of doing this. For example, one of my most successful videos is titled “How to Start a Private Practice in 6 Steps”. Check it out for yourself to see what I am talking about.
Step 2: Determine Your Value
I don’t mean value in terms of how much you are worth, but rather what value are you providing to your intended audience. My intended audience was therapists interested in starting a private practice. I had to ask myself: “what value can I provide to them?” Answering this question involves some sub-steps. Most importantly, it involves doing research about this intended audience. You need to discover their pain points, what problems they are having, and what resources are lacking. In my case, I saw that the private practice space lacked access to free, high quality videos, that provided actionable steps. Much of what was out there was broad in scope and often ended with a call to action in the form of purchasing a course. I wanted to step in and provide free, high quality resources that were actionable. This was the value I wanted to try to bring to the space.
Step 3: Brick by Brick
Once I decided on a theme and my value, I began creating videos. I tried my best to make videos as consistently as possible, although at times this is and was extremely difficult. Moreover, I tried to make videos as high quality as I knew how. I have learned over time that it is not so much about the production quality as it is about the content. If your video is filmed on an old iPhone, but solves a major painpoint for your audience, it will do better than a video filmed on the best camera that doesn’t solve any problems.
With each video I made, I tried to get a bit better. I also tried to understand what people wanted to see. For example, my video about how to start a private practice did much better than my video about insurance benefits. I then knew that my audience preferred “how to” videos more than videos about navigating insurance benefits. As a result, I started making more “how to” videos. It was important to use the channel analytics to inform decisions about what video to make next.
I also thought about each of my videos as one brick of a larger building. I want to construct a resource database (”building”) where people come to learn about starting and growing a private practice. Each video contributes to that building. Not only can videos be of value individually, but you want them to be a part of something larger.
Step 4: Don’t Be Shy. Get Involved
Once you start creating videos you must begin to share them with your intended audience. How do you do this? There are many ways. One main way is to begin using your videos to answer questions people are asking. For example, what questions are people asking in the therapist Facebook group? Answer them with one of your videos.
Another way is to simply share generously. Assuming your videos are providing value to your intended audience, don’t be ashamed to share on social media or in various groups. How else are people supposed to know your content exists.
Make videos about the products you use most. For example, what software do you use? Can you make tutorials about it? You would be surprised as to what companies may reach our for a collaboration with you.
In my personal experience this is where the opportunities to earn revenue comes from (See Step 5 for more info).
Step 5: Stay Consistent. Don’t Give Up
If you follow the above steps and your videos are providing value to your intended audience, you will slowly but surely begin to see the results. For example, people may reach out to hire you as a consultant, companies may want you to advertise their product, you may be invited to be an ambassador for a company, etc. Below are all the ways I have earned revenue through YouTube without being monetized. You can do it too!
The Ways I Have Earned Revenue on YouTube without Being Monetized
Consultations: People have contacted me for one on one business coaching after watching my videos. You can build credibility with people through videos that provide genuine value.
Collaborations/Sponsorships: Companies have contacted me for collaborations and sponsorships (I only work with companies I have used myself and believe in. I am happy to turn down these collaborations if the product or service is not of value to my audience).
Speaking Events - I have been asked to speak at colleges about how to start private practice. Most recently I spoke at NYU.
Affiliate Links - Many platforms provide users with an affiliate link. You can add these to the description of your videos. Again, if you are credible and genuinely trying to help your audience they will take your recommendations seriously.
Do You Want to Start A YouTube Channel
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