Introduction
How To Make Money on You Tube Through Sponsorship Deals :YouTube stands as a bustling hub for creators and viewers alike, boasting a staggering 2.3 billion active users as of December 2020¹. Within this bustling digital realm lies a treasure trove of opportunities for creators to transform their content into a source of income.
Among these opportunities, collaborations take center stage. Collaborations entail brands compensating you for featuring their products or services in your videos. It’s a pathway to a profitable venture, potentially surpassing earnings from YouTube ads alone.
Embarking on this journey, especially as a small channel, is an undertaking that demands dedication and strategy. Here, we’ll delve into the art of securing collaborations as a small channel and offer insights into the potential earnings.
The Realm of YouTube Sponsorship Deals
Collaborations on YouTube come in three primary forms:
- Product Collaborations: Brands send you their products to review or showcase in your videos. For instance, if your channel revolves around beauty, you may receive makeup products to test and share your genuine opinions. These can range from small items like clothing to grand experiences like all-expense-paid trips.
- Affiliate Collaborations: In these arrangements, brands provide you with a unique link or code for their product or service, which you can share with your audience. When someone uses your link or code to make a purchase, you earn a commission. For instance, a book-focused channel might have an affiliate collaboration with an online bookstore, earning a percentage from book sales generated through their link.
- Paid Collaborations: Brands directly compensate you for promoting their products or services in your videos. Suppose you run a gaming channel; a game developer could pay you to play and discuss their game’s features. While these tend to be the most lucrative, they also involve the most effort and negotiation.
How To Get Sponsorship Deals as a Small Channel
Securing collaborations as a small channel is a feat within reach, provided you follow these strategic steps:
- Polish Your Channel’s Presentation: First impressions matter immensely. Your channel should exude credibility and trustworthiness. Ensure your channel name is clear and catchy, complemented by high-quality profile and banner images. Your channel description should be informative and engaging. Organize your content into well-structured playlists. Optimize video titles, thumbnails, tags, and descriptions for both user-friendliness and SEO.
- Grow a Targeted Subscriber Base: While a large subscriber count is beneficial, quality trumps quantity. Cultivate a subscriber base genuinely interested in your niche and content. Create valuable, consistent content that addresses their needs, entertains, or educates. Engage with your audience through comments, feedback solicitation, and interactive content like polls or Q&A sessions.
- Connect with Niche-Aligned Brands: Once your channel foundation is strong, reach out to brands aligned with your niche and audience. You can discover potential sponsors by searching related keywords on Google or YouTube, exploring social media platforms like Instagram or Twitter, or utilizing platforms like FameBit or Grapevine, connecting creators with brands. Ensure your outreach pitch highlights your value proposition and why they should collaborate with you. Share relevant channel details, such as your niche, audience demographics, average views per video, engagement rate, and past collaborations, if any. Include a media kit presenting your channel’s statistics attractively.
- Leverage YouTube Collaboration Platforms: YouTube collaboration platforms provide a direct route to collaborations. Notable platforms include FameBit, Grapevine, AspireIQ, and Upfluence. Establish a profile showcasing your channel and content, then browse available collaboration opportunities that align with your criteria. Apply to those that pique your interest and negotiate terms with the brand.
- Extend Your Reach Beyond YouTube: Harness your presence on other platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok to attract sponsors aiming to reach audiences across multiple channels. Complement your YouTube channel with a blog or podcast to provide additional value to both your audience and sponsors. Expanding beyond YouTube enhances your visibility, credibility, and revenue streams.
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Evaluating You Tube Sponsorship Earnings
Determining your collaboration earnings on YouTube involves a multifaceted calculus. Factors like your niche, audience size, engagement rate, video quality, and collaboration type all come into play. While there’s no set formula, some industry standards can serve as reference points.
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, YouTube sponsorship’s average cost per mille (CPM) ranges from $20 to $50². CPM signifies the payment a sponsor makes for every 1,000 views on a sponsored video. For instance, if your video amasses 10,000 views with a CPM of $30, your earnings would amount to $300.
Yet, this represents a general estimate based on industry norms. Your actual CPM rate may vary according to the aforementioned factors. For instance, if you maintain a highly engaged audience in a lucrative niche like finance or technology, you can command a higher CPM. Conversely, a lower engagement rate or a saturated niche like gaming or entertainment might necessitate a lower-than-average CPM.
Moreover, the type of collaboration significantly influences earnings. Product collaborations, offering free products for exposure, tend to be less lucrative. Affiliate collaborations, which provide commissions for sales via your link or code, fall in the middle. Paid collaborations, involving direct compensation for promoting products or services, typically yield the highest earnings but entail more effort and negotiation.
In Conclusion
Collaborations stand as a lucrative avenue for monetizing your YouTube content. While navigating this realm as a small channel poses challenges, it’s a journey worth undertaking. To forge collaborations as a small channel, adhere to these guidelines:
- Polish your channel’s presentation
- Cultivate a targeted subscriber base
- Connect with niche-aligned brands
- Utilize YouTube collaboration platforms
- Extend your reach beyond YouTube
Your earnings from YouTube collaborations are contingent on various factors. Industry averages suggest a CPM range of $20 to $50, but your specific circumstances will dictate the actual figure. Embrace the flexibility to negotiate with potential sponsors and find mutually beneficial terms. In the end, collaborations offer a path to monetize your passion and foster your identity as a creator.
