In a nutshell:

  • You can monetize your YouTube beauty channel by getting sponsorships and earning from ad revenues and affiliate links.
  • Making use of SEO strategies will help you be on trend with the beauty community.
  • Blogging and creating one’s own beauty products or merchandise can also provide additional income sources.

The beauty industry is one of the most monetized niches on YouTube. Brands pay thousands of dollars to beauty creators to promote their products. However, it’s a very saturated niche, and it can be pretty challenging to get the attention of sponsors.

So, how can you make money with your beauty channel on YouTube? Let’s take a look.

Making money with your YouTube beauty channel

You can monetize your beauty YouTube channel in a few ways. Beauty creators often earn much of their income from sponsorships, affiliates and AdSense.

Sponsorships

Getting sponsorships, especially in a niche that relies on having newly released products, is an effective way to save and make money. There are two types of sponsorships you can get. The first type of sponsorship is a paid sponsorship. With a paid sponsorship, creators earn a commission to promote the brand’s product(s) in their videos and social media. The second type is a product sponsor. Creators don’t earn a commission but receive free products to use and review. In the long run, this saves creators money on products they would have to pay out of pocket for otherwise.

Ad revenue

Making ad-friendly videos is essential to earn ad revenues. As per estimation, YouTube pays between $0.01 to $0.03 per ad view, making that $3 to $5 per 1,000 ad views. However, that’s only an estimate and YouTube beauty creators get more or less depending on a few factors. To get earnings from ads, sign up for YouTube Partner Program and make sure you meet their requirements.

Affiliate links

YouTube creators can earn a small commission from any sales made using an affiliate link. Even though you get a small percentage from the sales, that can add up over time. YouTube beauty creators can join affiliate programs of shopping sites like Amazon. Once in, you can list affiliate links of products you use in your videos. If you’re on another platform like TikTok, reach out to brands to become their partners and use the TikTok Shop.

How to maximize your monetization efforts

Simply uploading more videos isn’t enough. They need to be high-quality and on-trend or sought after by potential viewers. Making different strategies will help you appear more on people’s recommendations page.

Search for top trends and keywords

The more eyes you get on your videos, the more revenue they generate. Making content iterates on popular trends or using highly-searched keywords is essential because it’s what people are currently looking up.

You can do keyword research using tools like TubeBuddy or Ahrefs. For example, in Ahrefs, if you check the keyword “makeup tutorials,” the following appears in the results. Some of the top keywords on the list are “makeup tutorial for beginners,” “mature makeup tutorials” and “halloween makeup tutorials.”

If you compare those three keywords in Google Trends, you will notice that “makeup tutorial for beginners,” generates the most interest over time compared to the other two keywords. Also, it’s worth noting that “halloween makeup tutorials” spiked in September leading into October and tappers off leading into the winter months. This is because the Halloween holiday is in October. This is an example of how Google Trends can help you determine what’s hot right now and what content topics you should prioritize and when.

Make great content for your niche

The world of beauty creators is so huge that sometimes it’s hard to break through. However, there are always new emerging niches in the beauty category. Find a niche that people are interested in, but there isn’t a ton of creators making content for. You can also experiment with a specific niche inside the beauty community. For example, if you like horror, and there’s a demand for it in the makeup community, you can focus specifically on gory makeup or horror special effects makeup. Alternatively, you can go as niche as skincare routines for those living in humid areas.

Making a support blog for your YouTube beauty channel

Blogging is still a thriving industry that can rake in a ton of cash. Beauty creators can benefit from setting up their own blog. First, blogging will expand your reach. The more content you put out there, the more chance people will see something you’ve made. Second, it gives you another place to put affiliate links. Third, it’s another place to promote your own products and merch. And finally, you also earn revenue from the ads on your blog. So, it can be another income source.

Make and market your own beauty products whenever you grow big enough

Once you grow big enough, the possibilities are endless. If you want to make your own line of beauty products, talk with potential brands that may want to make this happen. And don’t forget that merch like shirts or mugs. Merch generates a lot of revenue for creators, so, if you can, create merch for your audience to purchase

It takes time

Success won’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and a bit of luck to break out in the beauty industry. However, keep your head up and make content you’re proud to put your brand on.