There are huge numbers of people around the world that are earning money online. Some are offering services for the creation of websites and e-stores, while others may be graphic illustrators or designers. Other people may do affiliate marketing, which is where they promote a specific product or service and earn a commission through each sale. Many affiliate marketers don’t even need their own websites, and run their business purely by pushing traffic to the affiliated company.
The number of people working online has grown immensely over the past decade, and with the Covid-19 pandemic, and more and more being forced to work from home, the opportunity for making good money is still there, waiting to be grabbed.
The power of YouTube
With close to 2 billion users logging into YouTube each month, and hundreds of hours of videos uploaded every single minute, it’s no wonder that YouTube is one of the largest and most visited websites in the world. After Google, YouTube is the second most used search engine, and is a platform that is great for earning an income. People in all countries are making a very good living through YouTube, with some individual’s channels earning millions of dollars each year.
The question is – how can you make money with YouTube? Well, there are a lot of ways you can use the platform to earn money and in this article we will take a look at some of the most popular ways that you could not only start making a few extra dollars each month, but how you can earn a living with YouTube.
Affiliate Marketing with YouTube
As mentioned earlier in the article, one very popular way that people make money online is through affiliate marketing. There are lots of affiliate programs that you can sign up with and start promoting products. Amazon is probably one of the most famous, and there are thousands of affiliates who are earning an income that way.
You can make product review videos, and include your affiliate link in the description along with a little text about the product you are reviewing. You’ll need to make sure that your video review is an insightful one that is going to be worth people's time to watch. If you are simply going to blah blah blah for 5 minutes and offer nothing of note, then the videos aren’t going to get many views or likes.
One angle that many people use with video reviews is to help solve problems that people might be facing. For example, “which food mixer shall I buy?”, or “how do I make my car shine”. By finding products that can help problems that people are facing, you can easily go through the benefits of one product compared to another and explain what you liked about the product you are promoting and what it did for you.
People are usually buying things to fill a need – either then have something that needs replacing, or they have a certain thing to do and are looking for advice as to the best way to do it.
Create content for sponsorship
There are many ways to be an influencer, and it’s not all down to posting flashy photos of yourself on Instagram. Maybe you have a lot of experience in a certain profession or a skill that you’ve learned and are willing to share.
Creating high quality content is what YouTube wants, and there are millions of people all over the world who prefer to watch a video tutorial about something, such as “how to backup your website”, rather than reading through paragraphs of boring text.
Videos are a powerful tool for learning, and if you do a quick search on YouTube for something such as “learn to play guitar”, you’ll find thousands of videos.
If your content is top notch and starts going viral, then you could be in the position where a company or individual offers to sponsor your YouTube channel. Some companies may offer to pay a monthly or yearly fee for sponsorship. Others may offer you a deal where you can earn a commission (similar to affiliate marketing, but with much better rates of commission).
Each niche and industry works differently, so it’s impossible to say what your channel may be worth, but if you have a lot of followers, and your videos are attracting large numbers of viewers, you should start looking for a way to monetize your channel.
Earn from YouTube ads
Following on from the previous point about monetizing your channel, if your videos are well received, then you may be eligible to sign up as a YouTube partner. As a partner, you can earn money from ads that are shown before your videos.
To be able to become a partner, you need to have at least 1000 subscribers to your channel, and over the previous 12 months have amassed at least 4000 watch hours of your videos.
There are other ways to earn with your channel such as through Adsense, which is the Google program that allows publishers the potential to make money through ads on their website, or in this case their YouTube channel.
Offer YouTube SEO services
If you have experience with search engine optimization (SEO), then you could start offering optimization services for YouTube channels.
There are lots of individuals and businesses out there that are producing top quality video content, but due to one reason or another, they are not getting the attention of visitors that they deserve.
YouTube has a number of ranking factors in it’s algorithm, and if you know and can work with them, you can achieve much better exposure of videos, as well as potentially much more income. Some of the most important ranking factors include the number of subscribers that sign up after watching a video, the click-through-rate on the results in YouTube and also the number of genuine comments.
Some final thoughts
Even though YouTube has been with us for a very long time now, it’s still got huge potential for making money. Either through your own content, or optimizing other peoples, there are a number of ways that you could soon start generating a very impressive monthly revenue.
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).