YouTube is a video-making and social media platform own by Google. This platform has become a cultural phenomenon over the past decade, from entertainment, makeup tutorials and Vlogs to music, videos and gaming streams.

YouTube allows every kind of video creator to share their content with the world. The video Platform is popular in Nigeria. With 31.60 millions of user of YouTube in Nigeria turning to the platform every day to watch and engage with YouTube content.

YouTube has created opportunity for individuals and businesses to make money online and also reach a wider audience.  As long as you can monetize your channel and create videos that will drive traffic to your channel, you can become a millionaire as a YouTuber.

But with so much competition on the YouTube platform, it can be hard to make money from YouTube in Nigeria. This is why I’ve created this article to make it easier for every YouTuber in Nigeria to monetize their content and make money.

Whether you are creative, looking to turn your passion into a profession or a business looking to increase brand awareness and drive sales, YouTube is an excellent platform to achieve your goals. In other words, if you’re looking to make money on YouTube in Nigeria, then you’re at the right place. This article will teach you how to do just that!

Steps to Make Money from YouTube in Nigeria

Create Your YouTube Channel

Creating a YouTube is the first step towards making money on YouTube.  To create a YouTube channel is very simple. Go to official Google YouTube website: https://www.youtube.com/  and sign up using your Google email account

Choose a Niche

You have to decide on the type of content you want to create and your target audience. This is what is meant by niche. This is the first step in building a YouTube channel, as your niche will determine every other aspect of your channel (name, logo, banner, content, etc).

Focusing on a particular niche is extremely crucial to be able to earn money on YouTube. It ensures that you will be able to create content that appeals to a specific audience, which will help you attract and retain subscribers.

Choose a Channel Name & Logo

Your channel name and logo are what will attract viewers to your channel, so make sure it is well-crafted and reflects the kind of content you create. Your channel name is the first thing people will see when they come across your content, so make sure it is memorable, easy to pronounce, and reflects the type of content you create.

Your channel logo is also crucial element in building a compelling channel. As such, you need to be thorough when choosing them. Your logo should be simple, recognizable, and easy to read, while your banner should be eye-catching and reflect your brand personality. Your channel name and logo should reflect the niche you have chosen. So make sure to choose a niche first.

Optimize Your Channel for more viewers

Choosing a profitable niche, selecting a memorable channel name, crafting an eye-catching logo and, creating great content will do increase your popularity, but is of no use if no one can see your posts.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your channel to rank higher in YouTube’s search results or SERP, which will help you increase your search visibility and more viewers.  Ensure that you are well conversant with SEO before you post your first video. Ensure that your channel’s metadata, including your title, description and tags is optimized for SEO.

Create Engaging Content

Your channel name, logo and SEO optimization are the foundation of your YouTube channel while your content is the building blocks of your channel. And this to large extent determines whether you end up with a hut or a skyscraper.

After building a strong foundation for your channel, the next step is to create high-quality content that engages your viewers. Though your brand name and logo may attract viewers, if your content does not resonate with your audience, no one will come back. This is why it is very important to create quality content for your channel. Make sure that every video you post adds value to your viewers.

Developing an engaging content requires that you must:

• Understand your target audience
• their interests
• preferences
•  Be able to create content that resonates with them.

Conducting research will help you understand the kind of content your target audience will want to see and how you can deliver it. You can use tools like Google Trends, YouTube Analytics, and social media to identify popular topics and trends in your niche. Based on your research, develop a list of content ideas that align with your niche and audience’s interests.

To make money from your channel, you have to deliver only high-quality videos. Invest in quality equipment, including a camera, microphone, and lighting, and use editing software to create polished videos that engage your audience.

Grow your YouTube Audience

Nowadays, the best platform to do promotion is on social media. If you have sizable followers on your other social media accounts, you can advertise your YouTube channel on your account(s). It works best if your social media posts are similar to your YouTube channel niche.

Alternatively, you can pay for adverts on popular social media if you do not have enough followers. Advertising your channel on social media will go a long way in attracting viewers to your channel.

Some few ways to grow your YouTube channel audience on your social media:

• Include a brief description of the video and the link to your YouTube channel.
• Use Hashtags – Research popular hashtags in your niche and include them in your posts.
• Create Teasers – Create teasers for your YouTube channel and post them on your social media account to pique the interest of your followers. It can be in the form of behind-the-scenes footage, a sneak peek of upcoming videos, or highlights from your previous videos.
• Use Paid Promotion – Paid promotion, such as social media ads or influencer marketing, can help you reach a wider audience and attract new subscribers.

To become successful as a YouTuber, you need a large follower and a loyal fan base. To do this, you need to show your viewers that you care about them and put them into consideration when making your videos.

Some tips on how to build loyal viewers:

• Consistency: Make sure you are always consistent with your post content and schedule. Stick to a consistent posting schedule and a particular niche. Your audience should know what and when you will be posting new content to keep them engaged in your channel. This will help you gain loyal fans that will keep coming back to your channel for more.
• Interact with your audience: As a YouTuber, you shouldn’t remain passive, instead, you should be active in following up with your viewers. Reply to their questions and feedback, listen to their suggestions and post content that they want. This will show that you have their best interests in mind, and will encourage their trust in you.
• Collaborate with other YouTubers: Reach out to other YouTubers in your niche, preferably those that are more popular, and request collaboration. This will help you reach a new audience and build a community of like-minded individuals. Do not be shy to reach out to other YouTubers and ask for collaboration. You will be surprised how many are willing to. Make sure that the people you collaborate with are in your niche, and that you post similar content.

Read: How to Make money through Blogging in Nigeria

Monetize Your YouTube Channel

There are several ways YouTubers can monetize their channel. Here are some of the ways to make money from YouTube:

YouTube Partner Program via Adsense

Joining Google YouTube Partner program is one best way to make money from YouTube in Nigeria. To join the YouTube partner program and start monetizing your channel, follow these steps:

• Meet the eligibility requirements: To be eligible for monetization, you must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months.
• Review the monetization policies: Review YouTube’s community guidelines and monetization policies, to make sure your content meets them.
• Enable monetization: Go to YouTube Studio and navigate the monetization tab. Follow the steps to enable monetization for your channel.
• Set up an AdSense account to receive payment for your monetized videos.

Ad revenue

YouTubers can also earn money from YouTube through Ad revenue. The amount of money you can make using this method will depend on several factors including the number of views, engagement and ad format.  So, you need have large, subscriber base, viewers and properly format the ads displaying on your video to be able make money on YouTube through ad revenue.

Sponsorships

YouTubers could also earn money by collaborating with brands and creating sponsored content on their channel. This is one of the best ways to make money from YouTube channel. Most brands and business are can sponsor their products or services if you have large subscribers and views for videos.  Once, you have a large subscribers, reach out businesses you think would be ready to accept sponsorship in Nigeria to get started.

Brand deals

A more creative and tailored approach to sponsorships that can result in higher earnings is brand deals. You can collaborate with brands to create unique content that showcases the brand’s products or services and get paid for it. The only difference between normal sponsorship and brand deals, is that brands usually comes with high a pay.

Sell merchandise

YouTube can also be a platform to sell your merchandise. You can make videos to advertise your products and provide links so customers can buy.  In that case, you will need to create sales page, website or blog you can redirect your customers to make purchases. There no kind of product or service, you can sell but you need to create content around it.

Affiliate marketing

Another way to earn money as a YouTuber is by promoting products and services through affiliate marketing. You can include links in your video description or create dedicated videos reviewing or demonstrating the products, and earn a commission for your services. Read more on Affiliate marketing in Nigeria and how to make money from it.

Crowdfunding

This is a unique way of earning on YouTube and you’d be surprised about the amount of people who do this. You can use crowdfunding platforms such as Patreon, Kickstarter or GoFundMe to raise funds from your viewers to support your channel or specific projects.  Interesting, this is relatively new among Nigeria YouTubers.

#Bonus: Other ways to make money from YouTube

some Other ways to make money from YouTube include:

• Channel Membership – Create a fan club of members paying monthly for access to exclusive perks supers
• Sales Promo – Engage with fans who show support through one-time, interactive purchases shopping

Conclusion

Making money on YouTube in Nigeria requires time, effort and dedication. It doesn’t happen overnight. Always put your audience first and create great content and high-quality videos tailored to what they want. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a YouTube channel that attracts viewers and generates income.

Read also: How to make money on Google in Nigeria

Common Mistakes YouTubers Make You should avoid

There are certain mistakes some YouTubers make when they try to make money from YouTube, and these mistakes could be fatal for their channels. When starting YouTube, it’s best to know these mistakes so you can avoid them. They include:

• Focusing solely on monetization: While earning money on YouTube is important, it shouldn’t be the sole focus of your channel. Creating quality content and garnering loyal viewers should be.In the long run; this will be what will help your channel to keep growing consistently for a long time.
• Not understanding YouTubes’s monetization policy: YouTube has specific monetization policies that creators must follow to earn money on the platform. Make sure you understand these policies like the back of your hand, as failure to comply with them can lead to demonetization or even account termination.
• Ignoring analytics: YouTube’s analytics provides valuable insights into your audience, such as their demographic and what type of content they enjoy. To create content that resonates with your audience, analytics is crucial.
• Not being consistent: Consistency is the key to building trust and loyalty in your viewers. Inconsistency leads to losing subscribers and lower engagement.
• Neglecting SEO: SEO is crucial for getting your videos discovered on YouTube. Without SEO, your videos will get lost in the sea of many other YouTube videos and will not get to see the light of day.
• Not engaging with your audience: You can not build a loyal fan base without interacting with them regularly. Engagement with your viewers like replying to comments, answering questions, listening to suggestions and accepting requests, shows them that you care, and they will in turn trust you more.
• Over-promoting products or services: Sponsorships and brand deals are great ways to earn money on YouTube, but too many of these might be a turn-off to your audience.

How to Avoid These Mistakes

1. Focus on high-quality
2. Take time to read and understand YouTube’s monetization policies, and make sure your content meets the guidelines.
3. Use analytics to track your progress.
4. Maintain a consistent upload schedule.
5. Optimize your videos for search.
6. Engage your audience.

See: How to make money on information marketing in Nigeria

I believe you found this article on how to make money from YouTube very informative.  If you have any question or comment relating to making money on youtube, feel free to use the comment box below to ask your question.