More dreams are shattered on YouTube than anywhere else in the world.
I can’t even count how many Survival Start-Ups have opened a YouTube Channel with big dreams that somehow, in some way, the simple act of uploading videos will magically pave the way to success. This single belief is one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to building a business using the internet.
Instead, what most often happens is that someone spends countless hours filming, editing, and building videos to give away FREE content with very little payoff at all. You may be able to relate with this. The core, misunderstood belief is that the YouTube Channel is somehow the BUSINESS. Sure, there are people who’s YouTube Channel IS their business. But, these are few and far between.
The reality is that most people work hard to put up videos and get hardly anything in return, even when they’re getting large numbers of views. The key is to remember that YOUTUBE IS NOT THE BUSINESS—YOUTUBE is the MARKETING ENGINE for YOUR ACTUAL BUSINESS.
If a YouTube Channel doesn’t meet the needs OF THE CREATOR (YOU), then the relationship is broken. If the channel only works for YouTube and THE VIEWER, then the model isn’t sustainable and burnout for the creator is inevitable. The channel has to benefit THE CREATOR more than what it costs them in time and money for any of this to make sense.
Another thing to consider is that YouTube calls the shots. If they decide they don’t like you and your content, they can change their algorithms and you become a virtual ghost, losing your influence and potential income generated from monetizing your channel. You want to be in control of your own destiny when it comes to your business, not at the mercy of a platform. So, it’s important not to put all your eggs in one basket.
My advice is to treat YouTube as a LEAD GENERATION TOOL for your REAL BUSINESS rather than treating YouTube as a primary business.
If you’re at all familiar with my mission here at SURVIVAL CEO, then you know that I believe the MOST IMPORTANT task of any business owner is to build their own email list. A YouTube Subscription IS NOT an EMAIL subscription. You must make every effort in the world to pull people out of YouTube and try to capture their email. Your EMAIL LIST is one of your most valuable business assets.
HAVE YOU READ MY BOOK where I walk you through this STEP-BY-STEP?
HOW TO GET LEADS FROM YOUTUBE?
YouTube is a FREE platform (minus your time) and can be an amazing tool for getting customers on your email list. Building your email list enables you to MONETIZE your YouTube Channel without depending on YouTube paying you per view. I have friends with TENS OF THOUSANDS of YouTube Subscribers who are making only PENNIES from paid YouTube views.
If you get your YouTube viewer’s email, this means you can contact them outside of YouTube and offer them your products and services.
THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I MAKE MONEY FROM YOUTUBE.
One of the easiest ways I make money from YouTube is to use a link in the video description box under the video to entice people over to one of my websites for some kind of a FREE OFFER or DOWNLOAD.
Remember, you’re trying to get them to CLICK AWAY FROM YOUTUBE, so in order to do this, you have to give them a GOOD offer. You are essentially embedding your own LEAD MAGNET into the video description box.
LET’S LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I’M DOING THIS RIGHT NOW
Below is the crappiest YouTube video I EVER filmed. As you can see, I loaded it up back in 2011. It’s actually kind of embarrassing and it’s one of my earliest YouTube videos. BUT, look at the stats. I’ve gotten over 1.4 MILLION views on it! It’s only a couple of minutes long and in it I teach how to put on a Shemagh Scarf as a face-mask.
Now, let’s take the NORMAL YouTube approach. I load the video and cross my fingers that I will somehow make money from it. You’d think that with over 1.4 MILLION views I’d be making some money, right? Yes, I’ve monetized the video through YouTube. Want to know how much I made last month from it? $22. Sure, it’s $22 I didn’t have before, but clearly I’m never going to get ahead at this rate.
NOW - let me show you the video description below it:
Notice what I did? I placed my LEAD MAGNET right on the top line in my video description. I’m offering to give the viewer a FREE FIRE STARTER if they go to my web-site at creekstewart.com. Of course to get this FREE FIRE STARTER they have to sign up for my email list. THEN, I can start the process of building a relationship with that customer and eventually offer them my various products and services that I sell.
Of course, I could also promote my LEAD MAGNET right in the video as well. At the end of the video, I could literally say, “TO GET A FREE FIRE STARTER CLICK ON THE LINK IN MY VIDEO DESCRIPTION BELOW.”
Even though my LEAD MAGNET has nothing to do with using a Shemagh, I have gathered COUNTLESS LEADS from just this one video. When I secure a lead, I build a relationship via email and eventually make them offers. Some of these leads turn into paying customers.
HINT: LEAD MAGNETS that are actually related to your video convert leads MUCH better than ones that are unrelated.
A great example of this is my video below with over 170,000 views. Again, not my proudest YouTube moment, but I can’t tell you how many leads I’ve gotten from this video. My LEAD MAGNET is a Pocket Field Guide for How to Make Survival Tarp Shelters—literally about the EXACT subject of the video they are watching.
When someone opts in to receive that FREE lead magnet, I email them 2 days later with a $14.95 offer to purchase 11 of my other Pocket Field Guides (digitally delivered). My phone dings all day long with $14.95 PayPal payments.
THIS RIGHT HERE is how you make money on YouTube.
I don’t have many YouTube videos because I’ve focused my time and efforts on other marketing strategies. BUT, I have made $1000s of dollars from YouTube using this exact same model. And, these videos are like SURVIVAL SNARES that help to capture leads for me 24/7, even while I sleep!
THE FORMULA IS SIMPLE
Film a video that provides value, solves a problem, answers a question or teaches something. Use a LEAD MAGNET of some kind to get the viewer AWAY from YouTube so that you have a fighting chance of gathering their email. Then, use email to develop the relationship and eventually make offers.
This, of course, means you must have products and services to sell. It means you have to have a real business.
ACTION STEPS
If you haven’t already, PICK UP A COPY MY FREE 152-page book (Only $1 with FREE SHIPPING) where I teach you how to do this or WATCH MY FREE WEBINAR where I show you the 5 PILLARS you need to build a business using the internet.
Develop a valuable LEAD MAGNET that you can give away for FREE. A downloadable EBOOK is a great example. I use this strategy on my blog at http://www.willowhavenoutdoor.com.
Plug that LEAD MAGNET in the video description of your YouTube Videos.
Use email to develop a relationship and make offers.
Yes, there are a few moving parts, but it’s a time-tested formula for generating solid leads (and SALES) from your YouTube Channel.
Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,
Creek
Creek Stewart is a Wilderness Survival Instructor in Central Indiana who not only teach survival skills, but also teaches others how to build a business in the Outdoor Industry. Find out more about Creek at http://www.creekstewart.com.