With an average of 2.6 billion active users per month and a watch time of 1 billion hours daily, YouTube is the second most popular social media platform in the world. Its popularity is increasing day by day and this is what makes it a big opportunity for businesses. Whether you are creating a YouTube channel for your brand or you are a content creator planning to sell merchandise, in this article we will explain how you can start selling on YouTube from scratch.
1. Create A YouTube Channel
Setting up a YouTube channel is the first and foremost thing that needs to be done before you start selling on the platform.
- Create an account on Google. If you are using any Google apps whether Maps or Gmail, most likely you will have an account. Hence, you can go to the next step. Your name and email address won’t be made public. You will automatically get a separate personal YouTube account.
- Now, all you have to do is to create a YouTube Brand Account. For this click the ‘Create a Channel’ option and then enter the name.
- You can then customise your profile on YouTube in the channel dashboard. To optimise your YouTube channel for better discovery, do not forget to check three tabs-layout, basic info and branding.
With this last step, you are set. With a YouTube brand account, you also get multiple account admins and YouTube Analytics.
2. Things Required To Sell On YouTube
Before you hop on creating content for your channel, make sure that you have ticked off the following three points:
1. Video Setup
As YouTube is a video platform, make sure you produce high-quality content. If you do not want to invest in expensive professional cameras, then do not worry. Most mobile devices shoot 4K video or at least 1080p nowadays. Besides a device to capture video, you also need to have a few other items in your kit which we have mentioned below.
Tripod: A tripod is a must-have device for those who want to sell on YouTube. It not only gives you steady shots but also makes filming from different angles easier.
Lighting: Lighting is an important factor to consider while creating content for YouTube. Even a simple lighting setup will not only enhance your video quality but also let you shoot at any time of the day. You will get plenty of budget-friendly options in the market.
Microphone: A microphone is a must if there is some conversation involved in your video. You don’t want your high-quality video to end up with poor audio.
Video Editing Software: Plenty of video editing software are available in the market. iMovie is a great option for Mac users in case you are a beginner. Similarly, Windows counterparts can start with Movie Maker.
2. Landing Page
As you want to sell your products on YouTube through your content, there has to be a linked website. You have to create a website or landing page where you want to drive traffic to. The landing page will have all the products listed and complete information about them so that the visitors can make informed decisions. You need to make it attractive, and the theme should be according to the product you sell. These factors will play a vital role in customer conversion and retention.
3. Create a Posting Schedule
You need to post consistently to keep your audience engaged. By creating a posting schedule, you can streamline your workflow. With this, the task of posting content regularly won’t seem daunting to you. Build a marketing calendar to stay on top of your YouTube marketing strategy. Customize your calendar by including your important dates, information and social media platforms.
3. Content Creation
You can’t sell on YouTube without engaging an audience. Videos with an advertisement-like feel should be the last thing on your list. As the audience is already bombarded by ads on YouTube, they won’t be interested in it. You can build an audience that converts with three simple strategies mentioned below:
1. Make Use Of Trends
Identifying trends within your niche or seamlessly integrating trends into your niche is the most effective way to attract the audience. You can use it to decide on ideas that have capabilities to generate interest and to capitalize on breakout ideas with less competition. Trendy videos have huge possibilities to be selected by the YouTube algorithm and shown on users’ homepages as ‘Suggested Videos’. You can find trends by using these three tricks:
a. YouTube Trending Videos
The Trending Page of YouTube has a curated list of viral videos in different categories, for example-music, movies, gaming, etc. The list gets updated every 15 minutes.
b. Study Your Competitors
Go through the YouTube channel of your competitors to check what kind of content they are creating and their performance. This will help you gain an insight into the topics that might interest your audience.
c. Google Trends For YouTube
Google Trends for YouTube is an important keyword research tool by which you can know the popularity of a certain topic. You can get up-to-date statistics, interest over time, related breakout topics and interest by region.
2. Use YouTube’s Resources
To compete with the rising popularity of other social media platforms, YouTube also has tweaked its format to include similar features like YouTube Live and YouTube Shorts.
YouTube Live
As the YouTube algorithm supports live videos, it is the second most popular live-streaming site. You can witness viewers joining the video if it fits into someone’s niche. It not only promises to drive more traffic to your YouTube channel but it is the best way to engage with your audience in real time. You can also use this opportunity to create more interest in your product. This is one of the best ways through which you can sell on YouTube as the audience directly get responses from the creators.
You can also invite them on for building trust. Live stay up on the YouTube channel even after its initial broadcast. This is what makes Live streams evergreen content as it can be re-watched or viewers who couldn’t join for some reason can watch it later.
YouTube Shorts
YouTube lately introduced YouTube Shorts, which are 60 seconds or less vertical format videos. You can film on your smartphone and directly upload it on YouTube. YouTube Shorts effectively converts viewers into subscribers of your channel. It is a must-try if you are looking to increase your subscribers. For example: Shopify merchant, Simji shows the behind-the-scenes process of rug making via Shorts.
3. Popular Video Ideas
If you are still confused as to what kind of videos you should create, then consider the ideas below as starting points.
How-to Videos
By creating how-to videos, you can answer some common questions. In today’s digital era, we all have at some point, or other gone to search engines to get our queries answered. The great aspect of such videos is that they are evergreen content, hence they continue to be relevant.
Industry-focused Videos
Brand-specific videos and Q&A have smaller audience potential. Hence, you should think about creating industry-focused videos. If done right, you can reach to a much larger audience. Through the videos, you can offer solutions to common issues in your niche, share insights as an expert or provide interesting facts.
4. YouTube E-commerce
As you are now familiar with YouTube and have worked on content and production strategies, let’s talk about boosting sales by leveraging the selling potential of YouTube.
YouTube Partner Program
The YouTube Partner Program enables content creators to monetize their videos. In order to become a partner, your channel needs to fulfill certain eligibility requirements which are as follows:
- Your channel must have a minimum of 1000 subscribers
- Your channel should have 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months
- No active Community Guidelines strikes on your YouTube channel
- Live in a country where YouTube Partner Program is active
- Should have a linked AdSense account
As soon as your channel meets all these criteria, you will make revenues out of advertisements and deal with advertisers.
How To Sell Merch On YouTube
Irrespective of whether you have a small or large number of subscribers, selling merch on YouTube can turn out to be a lucrative business. As you are the sole owner and creator of your store, you have complete control over your brand, values and products. There is no contract binding your creativity or control. It is also a good way to engage with your fans. Two popular types of merch that you can sell on YouTube are:
Physical Merchandise: Physical merch comprises fan merchandise such as your slogan/brand on mugs, t-shirts, hats, etc, handmade items, or art print.
Digital Merchandise: Digital merch has gained popularity over the last few years. It includes smartphone icons, a digital guide for a craft or recipe, and filter presets. Such type of merch is customisable and is delivered instantly.
It is important to include product links so that viewers can buy them instantly. You can put links to the products mentioned in the video in the description box.
Integrate Your Shopify Store
Store integration is a step ahead and takes more time as firstly, you should have a Shopify store and secondly, your channel should be eligible for monetization under YouTube Partner Program. However, it is far more beneficial than including product links. The advantages of store integration are updated product imagery and price, out-of-stock products are unlinked automatically, products are shown at the correct time during the videos and orders are attributed to YouTube in admin among others. Through YouTube Shopping integration you can sell directly via channel page and videos.
5. Streamline Marketing Strategy
A streamlined marketing strategy will help you in running your business smoothly. You can follow the tips below to gain more traction on your YouTube channel:
Collaboration: You can collab with other channels or content creators. This will allow you to promote your products and introduce your channel to new audiences. Usually, collaboration videos are published on both parties’ channels. You can also partner with influencers to sell your products.
The audience relies more on people than advertisements while making purchasing decisions. Hence, you should consider influencers with following that align with your target audience to market your products.
Call To Action
Including multiple calls to action in your video is a good way to persuade people to trust you. If a viewer is curious enough to watch your video, it won’t be tough for your to convert them into your follower. You can ask viewers to like, subscribe or click a link. It won’t result in viewers turning into your customers. Rather, it is meant to keep them engaged enough, grow a relationship with them and make them trust your products.
SEO Optimisation
SEO has numerous benefits including driving more traffic, generating sales leads and increasing video ranking. Below are the ways with the help of which you can make use of SEO for higher ranking in search.
Transcripts
YouTube algorithm favours subtitles. When you include subtitles, the algorithm has more information to under your video content and helps it perform better. Transcribing content is good for accessibility as well.
Interesting Video Titles And Description
Video titles and descriptions are the first things that come to the notice of viewers; hence it is important to optimise them for maximum engagement. You also need to make titles and descriptions relevant to search queries by including keywords and keeping them crisp.
