Intro
Hi, today I’m writing about a business model that is becoming very common on YouTube. I refer to it as the YouTube business model. That’s not the official name, but I call it that way because it is built on YouTube.
I have been doing YouTube for a few years now, and as I discover and do things on that platform and others, I’ll share them in posts here as part of my online experiences I spoke about on the About page.
The YouTube business model is one of the things I discovered, and so here is my experience.
YouTube As We Know It!
Everyone is aware of YouTube; many people are on YouTube; and an increasing number of YouTubers have started applying the business model I’m going to talk about.
What everyone knows is: start a YouTube channel, upload videos, get at least 1,000 viewers of your channel to subscribe; and have them to watch your videos for at least 4,000 hours in a 365-day period, and your channel will become eligible for monetization. It would have succeeded in meeting the conditions to be a part of the YouTube Partnership Program and begin to receive ad revenue (i.e. income from ads).
Most people regard this as a YouTube business. But from my experience, it is not. It is more a job than a business. Here, you’re actually working for YouTube.
The YouTube Business
Parellel to monetizing your channel as a YouTuber, you could also create a business of your own on YouTube! And that is what I refer to as the YouTube business model.
How to create it?
Three simple steps:
0: Have a functioning YouTube channel
I’ve made this “Step 0” because in order for you to create this business model, you first have to have a YouTube channel and are producing videos on it for a given audience.
1. Build an audience
Yeah, build up your audience! Develop your channel to the point of having a good number of followers – people who watch your videos regularly because they are interested in your content. They don’t have to be so many; but they should just be interested in what you are offering / presenting to them in your videos – for one reason or the other. Here, quality is placed over quantity!
2. Create Relevant Product(s) or Service(s)
With an established audience, try to imagine what extra you could offer that your audience needs and will be ready to pay for.
Example
Let us say on your YouTube channel, you talk about how to make money on the internet. With a dedicated audience, you could propose coaching, training or a special course in that area – for those who are interested in having more than your usual content – at a price.
In that way, you could focus more time, more effort, and provide more information to such persons, and get paid for it.
3. Choose a Platform to Conduct Business
Once you’ve identified relevant services or products to sell to your audience, you will need a ‘place’ to do so. There are several means you could use to conduct your YouTube business. Some use YouTube membership. Others use membership-based platforms like Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee. I – for one – created a website for mine, using the GetResponse platform. That is where clients from my wider YouTube audience show up to purchase the extra I have to offer. This the the real YouTube business model.
As of the time I’m writing this post, I have been involved in this business model for three months, having built an audience on my YouTubechannel for the past couple of years, and while being a member of the YouTube Partnership Program.
So that’s an extra income stream!
The Importance
This business model provides quite a support to what I would refer to as “low-earning” YouTube channels – channels that have become monetized, but whose income from YouTube is still relatively low. Generally, when channels become monetize on YouTube, their initial income is quite low. It takes time for it to increase. Before that happens, the YouTube business model could serve as a much needed source of income to solve existing financial needs.
Someone who is new to YouTube may think that income from the YouTube Partnership Program is much – until they discover and apply this business model.
Conclusion
So that is what I recently discovered: the YouTube Business Model. In this model, creating videos on YouTube is not the business. YouTube is the market place – the place where you get clients from for your own product(s) or service(s). The selling of those products and or services – to interested followers from YouTube – is what is actually your business.
Do you have a YouTube channel? Are you applying the YouTube business model? What do you think of it? Let me know your thoughts in the comment area below. Thanks for taking out the time to read this post!