It doesn't matter what you intend to sell or what your business already sells; YouTube is a good place to bring your offerings. With over 1.8 billion monthly users and 6 billion monthly video hours, the question of whether there is a market on YouTube or not has already been answered.
As the third most popular website in the world (behind Google and Facebook) and the second most popular search engine, YouTube prides itself as one of the biggest marketplaces on the web.
So if you have anything you want to sell, you're free to bring it on YouTube, and you can rest assured that there is a market for you.
The only question is, how will you go about selling on YouTube? And to that end, we have all the answers you may seek in this guide, including how you can cheaply expose your offerings to as many as 1 million+ YouTubers.
So read on and enjoy!
What you need before you can start selling
A video recording set
YouTube is a video platform, and as such, you'll need to create videos for whatever you intend to sell. But don't let the idea of "video creation" scare you because you can create videos on small budgets.
Here is how:
Get a camera: All you need is a digital camera that can shoot a 720p or at best 1080p video, and you're good to go. Usually, you can get these sorts of cameras for as low as $100-$200. In fact, a popular webcam like Logitech C920 will cost you well below $100.
A microphone: For audibility, you will need a Mic. But you don't need the type you find in churches. Something like the Samson Go Mic or Blue Yeti USB Mic should do the trick. Both shouldn't cost you more than $200 at most.
A tripod: Unless you buy a webcam, you'll need something to hold your camera against. And that something is called a tripod. Usually, they don't cost more than $100.
Lighting: A good video is only as good as the lighting source. So don't rely on natural lighting because it often casts overhead shadows. Instead, invest in a good lighting system such as the CowboyStudio set, which costs below $100.
Backdrop: This can be a cloth or fabric. But if you'd like to add a little bit of style to your setup, you can go for a customized backdrop so that it adds beauty and character to your shoot. For each video, you can choose a different backdrop.
Video editing software: To perfect your creation, you will need simple software like Movie Maker (Windows) or iMovie (iMac).
A website
Of course, you'll need a digital location you can call home, just as you probably have a physical store too. To this effect, you'll have to create a simple website. This is where those customers you interact with on YouTube will come to make their purchase.
As it is, you can't sell on YouTube. You can only network, interact, and win prospective customers over. And when you do, you'll need a place to direct them to. Hence a website!
A three-step guide to selling on YouTube
Now that we've established what you must have before you can start selling on YouTube, the next step is to show you what you need to do so that you can make some sales on YouTube.
1) Content creation
The first step in this three-part guide is pretty straightforward - just create content (videos). But don't think for a second that that's a simple task because it isn't. Leaving aside the rather trivial factors like stage fright, nervousness, and the stress of sitting in front of a camera for hours, you'll have to really study your business audience well enough to know the type of videos they love to watch on YouTube.
Although you'll have to do that research yourself, we can give you a clue about the types of videos that are most popular on YouTube, some of which your business audiences are most likely interested in.
Answer questions
At various points in time, your business audiences will want answers to their pain points, so you can create videos that provide these answers. This could be in the form of questions, inquiries, queries, industry mysteries, and so much more.
Just sit down, make a list of the likely things you think the people in your industry are often confused about, find answers to them, and present your answers via your videos.
Show the manufacturing process
You can entice people by showing them the little details that go into the production of that cute little item they see in the market. You can make it look like a behind-the-scene kind of video.
Create topical content
What about facts, things, events, and information that the consumers in your industry don't know about, but which they'll be interested in knowing? Do your research and keep them updated via your videos.
Feature user stories
What about those people who have used and liked your products, why not feature them in your videos so that they can share their testimonies? People tend to believe the authenticity of a product when they see the proof on others. So go the extra mile to invite users and feature them in your videos.
2) Channel traffic
You can't just create videos and leave them be. You need to find a way to bring people to watch them. And the best way is to either buy YouTube views or buy YouTube likes.
If you buy YouTube views, you expose your videos and invariably your products to a wider audience. And if you buy likes, you give your channel the social proof it needs to convince prospective viewers of your channel's reputation.
Remember when we said at the beginning of this post that you'll learn how to expose your products to more than 1M+ YouTubers? Well, this is the tactic we were talking about.
3) Site traffic
After creating videos, you definitely want traffic to the site we mentioned you have to build. To this end, you can use these tips to bring traffic to your site.
- Video annotation
- Video descriptions
- Interactive cards
