YouTube is one of the most lucrative ways of increasing your income today, and the platform is likely to become more and more popular as time goes by.
But not everyone is keen on showing their face or even working on videos on a regular basis, especially when considering the potential cost, time, and effort that can go into creating such content.
In today’s guide, we’re looking at a few innovative ways that you can use YouTube to make money, but without the hassle of making videos in a traditional sense.
Animations
Having animation skills can definitely pay off in the long run, whether you make the content for yourself or for other creators.
Some of the best channels that we came across never show their owners’ faces. They are in many different niches, such as education, comedy, cartoons, and more. 4
You do not even have to go out of your way to create a detailed script sometimes.
If you want to focus on kids, for example, you could simply create relaxing cartoons that either show animals or imagined characters (whether they are people or other creatures) interacting with each other.
As for the voices, if you are talented enough, you could use your own for a couple of them or hire people on platforms such as PeoplePerHour or Fiverr to do it, too.
Add some Creative Commons music or sounds to it and you’re all set.
Content aimed at 2 or 3-year-olds, for example, isn’t overly complex simply because they have to learn how to interact with the world around them, but in a safe manner.
If you become successful in this industry, there will be a lot of parents watching your videos time and again all across the world.
Podcasts
Whether you decide to invite people over for a chat in your studio or apartment or decide to go down the less visually appealing path and you simply record the audio of your discussions, podcasts are a neat way of providing entertainment to individuals these days.
Of course, many can be found on podcast streaming platforms such as those owned by Apple or Google, specifically for the devices that run their operating systems.
But you wouldn’t believe the number of YouTube users (especially those who have Premium accounts) who rely on YouTube to listen to content.
Whether you decide to actually shoot videos of the talks and the people you invite or not, the truth is that this type of content is one of the easiest to edit of all.
In other words, you are not going to have to spend a lot of time editing or paying somebody to do the work for you.
Gaming Content
This is yet another convenient type of making videos in a less conventional way.
If you’re a hardcore gamer and you’re already a part of a community, you might probably be aware of the fact that gamers hit it big on YouTube a few years ago.
All you need is a decent computer with no lag whatsoever and a good-quality microphone that allows you to record audio of whatever your comments are as you progress through the game.
You can even create reviews of different games on a regular basis so that people know what to expect before investing their hard-earned cash into them.
The great thing about gaming content is that the likelihood of you being flagged by the game-making company is very slim - it’s just something that people are going to experience anyway when they reach those levels.
Some of the most successful gaming creators on YouTube right now range from DanTDM to H2ODelirious, TheSyndicateProject, and CaptainSparklez.
Daniel Middleton, the one who manages the DanTDM channel, for example, has more than 25 million subscribers at the time we’re writing this.
Pet Videos
There’s a saying according to which the majority of the Internet content out there consists of cat videos, gifs, pictures, and everything else, so that should give you a clue as to how much people love animals.
In most places across the world right now, folks look at their pets as their family members, which means that they’re particularly interested in making sure they make their lives as comfortable as possible.
Whether you want to go down the educational route and create pet videos using content that’s available in the public domain with info that’s actually helpful for pet parents, or you’re more interested in creating compilations of funny pet videos -- you have a pretty good chance of hitting it big just because animals are so cute and there are so many people who love them.
In fact, some of the funniest compilations, even the older ones, get views on a regular basis.
The people who shot the content in the first place don’t usually go through the hassle of flagging it, so that’s one less thing to worry about.
Take this video from All of Vines from 2019 -- it’s been around for more than three years, and during that time, it has amassed more than 60 million views.
Tutorials With Screen Sharing
Internet users look for software reviews on a regular basis, particularly when it comes to potentially expensive options.
The best way of making money with YouTube without actually recording yourself (your face, specifically) is to show people how they can make the most of their computer or mobile device apps.
Sometimes, you don’t even have to go through the hassle of creating a whole in-depth review from the moment you install the application to putting together a breakdown of all of the features it comes with.
You could discover a trick that not a lot of people know about and create a little video on that, particularly if it is a very helpful one.
Of course, you do need to do a little research beforehand just because the competition in this niche can be downright crazy.
But with a little imagination and a lot of creativity, you can definitely make it.
Commentary Videos
The majority of huge content creators on YouTube don’t really care if they cause controversies or not, particularly since that usually leads to them getting more and more views.
Commentary videos became popular a few years ago, with individuals posting gossip and other critique about big influencers.
You wouldn’t believe the number of people that watch this type of content almost on a regular basis -- and it’s extremely effective money-making-wise, too.
While you do not have to show your face in any of these little videos, you can definitely use stock footage or content that other YouTubers have created in the past.
Some opinions can be controversial, and with just some voiceovers, you can express your views on them and ask the audience to interact in the comments, too.
And since comments, likes, and even dislikes are a huge part of the algorithm that keeps YouTube alive, you aren’t going to find it too hard to grow your follower number.
How to Make Money on YouTube Without Content Creation
Work With Influencers
If you’ve developed a brand that sells any type of product, whether it be a digital or a physical one, the best way to market it nowadays, especially if your ideal buyer personas would have to be the younger generation, would be for you to reach out to influencers.
Of course, a lot of these people have achieved success on separate platforms such as Instagram, mainly since it is so visual, but YouTubers work with a lot of brands on a regular basis, too.
The way this money-making method works is you reach out to a number of these people and ask how much it would cost for them to name your product, test it, or even do a review of it on their channels.
Some can charge you a lot, especially if their audience is in the millions.
Those that are just starting out or have just gotten to their 50K follower threshold might be less inclined to ask for a lot of money, especially if you are also willing to provide them with a unique discount link or coupon that their audience can use to test your products.
To make things even more interesting, you could offer them a small percentage of every sale purchased through their links (even 5% can sometimes convince people to work with you in that way).
Run Paid Ads on YouTube
Several billion dollars were spent in the past year by a lot of companies -- whether you’re looking to advertise your own channel or the services or products you offer, the truth is that you can definitely make a difference in terms of sales with paid ads.
Of course, you need to set a number of goals, whether that be increasing brand awareness or actually getting people to try your products.
Once you’ve set a campaign objective, you can tailor your target audience specifically per your needs -- including their geographical location, what they’re most interested in, on the whole, the types of devices they use, what age they are, and more.
In the end, you pick your ad format -- whether you want your ad to run at the beginning or over the course of the video, if you want users not to be able to skip your ad, or if you want it to be showcased on the homepage of YouTube.
Do keep in mind that this marketing method is successful, but it’s particularly used by large brands that have the budget for it.
So while it can undoubtedly help with increasing sales or brand awareness, it might not be the best way to go for very small startups that haven’t yet received funding, for instance.
Offer Script Writing Services
Successful YouTubers sometimes do not have enough time to come up with fresh ideas and create their own scripts, which is where you can come in if you have more than decent writing skills and you’re capable of coming up with engaging titles, stories, hooks, and even video descriptions.
Believe it or not, these days, there are even AI tools that can get at least part of the job done for you.
Some examples range from ShortlyAI, Jasper, and Writesonic to ContentBot or TextCortex AI.
These tools can be very handy, but you also need to consider that a lot of content creators might also know about them.
Your creativity can make a lot of difference, so we suggest using it if you’re a seasoned writer and know how to hook a content consumer’s attention.
You can sell your services on a variety of platforms, such as Upwork, Freelancer.com, Fiverr, and more.
Just take into account that it might take some time for you to get your first projects and build your reputation.
Video Editing & Thumbnails
If you have decent editing skills, you can do much of what we have already described in the previous section.
It takes a long time to edit a video, especially for a YouTuber who doesn’t have any experience whatsoever.
So, if you are lucky enough to have worked with various editing software options and know how to edit in a shorter time span, this could be a successful gig for you.
Video editing is usually slightly more expensive compared to script writing, particularly if you know how to use special effects too.
In a nutshell, this can be a very successful way of making money with YouTube without the hassle of owning your channel, marketing it, and doing all the rest of the work.
As for the thumbnails, they’re pretty self-explanatory.
Once again, YouTube has become a little better at giving a hand to creators when it comes to them putting together such graphics on their own, but some might appreciate a little more pizazz, so that’s where your picture editing skills could come in handy.
Voice-Overs
Actors have taken a pretty bad hit in the past few years simply because they weren’t able to do their jobs in theaters and other places where people would gather to see them perform.
But if you are an actor or have a nice voice and you know how to use it for commercials or for playing parts in cartoons or animations, you can definitely make a living by offering your services to various YouTube channels.
Once again, this works for a variety of content types, but languages that are a little less common might be more in demand.
If you are a native English speaker, you can also be quite successful, though, so it all boils down to what you can do.
Sell Merch
If you already have a YouTube channel and you aren’t focused on creating more and more videos other than the ones that your audience needs to continue to be engaged in, selling merch might be a neat way of diversifying your income streams.
Just make sure that your merchandise is in line with your niche and actually provides some amount of value to your followers.
If it is for aesthetic purposes only and it boasts your channel name, people might be less inclined to buy it -- especially if you don’t have millions of fans.
Use Affiliate Marketing to Boost Your Sales
We have already hinted at this in the section about working with influencers, but the fact is that affiliate marketing can really make a difference when it comes to increasing a brand’s number of sales.
If you give the people you collaborate with a share of your sales every time someone uses their affiliate links, you’ll incentivize them to promote the links more and more -- which leads to more people knowing about your company and what it does.
You can use separate affiliate networks to handle all the hassle, whether that be ShareASale, Awin, or CJ Affiliates, or even put together a separate affiliate program of your own -- it all comes down to what you find to be easiest.
Teach People How to Become Successful on YouTube
People are always interested in becoming YouTubers, so if you are a seasoned influencer on the platform and hundreds of thousands of individuals are already following you, you can actually make a decent income by teaching people the works.
There are several ways of doing it with and without content. For example, you could sell consultancy services, so that would mean having calls with groups or one-on-one video sessions where you really go in-depth in terms of your best practices.
Although it’s a little time-consuming, this method can be very lucrative, and it also doesn’t call for any video editing (in case you hate that part of being a YouTuber).
On the other hand, you could set up a series of videos on creating a successful channel to which only your channel members could have access.
You can do the same by becoming a teacher on an e-learning platform like Skillshare, Udemy, or Teachable, for example, and get a percentage of whatever people pay for the subscription every month. At the same time, you could sell your course on your blog or website, too.
So the sky’s the limit when it comes to teaching people how to be successful at YouTube.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make money on YouTube without a video or channel?
Some of the best examples in this sense are video editing, creating thumbnails, voiceovers, or writing scripts for other content creators.
Can you make money on YouTube without monetizing?
Yes. You can work with brands to promote their products on your channel, or you could ask people to use the Join feature at prices starting with $5 or $6 per month, which would give them access to extra content on a weekly or monthly basis.
What can I do on YouTube to make money without showing my face?
Gaming, pet, and education videos, along with animations, are some of the most lucrative forms now available on YouTube.
Even podcasts can help you make a decent income without showing your face, so long as the topic is very interesting and you do the right amount of keyword research.
Bottom Line
As you can see, if you use a bit of your imagination, you can utilize YouTube for a plethora of money-making methods.
Whether it becomes a side hustle or something more serious, you can rely on the platform to increase your income even if you aren’t a content creator.
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