Sean Cannell - YouTube Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Following and Making Money as a Video Influencer

YouTube remains the most dominant social media platform. Thats not our opinion; thats a fact. According to new data from Pew Research, some 81 percent of Americans use YouTube compared to 69 percent who use Facebook, and YouTube continues to see significant growth around the wor ld.

When we wrote the first edition of YouTube Secrets , we had already experienced the life - changing power of YouTube in our own lives and observed it in the lives of others. We had a hunch that YouTube would continue to grow and that more opportunities would unfold over the next few years. It seemed to us that YouTube still had plenty of open - door opportunities for everyday creators to build communities, impact people with their content, and make incredible income from home by starting and growing successful chann els.

However, it turns out we werent dreaming even close to big enough. New data that youll read about in the introduction of this second edition reveals that the growth of YouTube has caught a fresh wave of momentum and is poised to reverberate around the world over the next decade. There are more opportunities than e ver.

Of course, were fully aware that new creators face serious challenges. Indeed, you might be wondering, Is it too late to start a channel? Isnt there too much competition? Maybe you started posting videos, but youve become frustrated that youre not getting views, or youve hit a growth plateau. Maybe youre overwhelmed trying to figure out camera tech and video editing. You may lack confidence, and you keep telling yourself, Im not smart enough, experienced enough, or talented enough to succeed on YouT ube.

If you feel discouraged, burnt out, or overwhelmed, we dont blame you. Besides the normal challenges of growing a channel on YouTube, weve just come through a global pandemic, and were now facing an economic recession, ongoing health care challenges, extreme political divisions, inflation, and massive changes in the job mar ket.

While you may have been knocked down, you dont have to stay down because buried in every crisis is a hidden opportunity. More than half of the people on Earth now use social media.

We all know this from experience. Some people who had never shopped online were forced to embrace it during the pandemic. Suddenly, even our parents and grandparents were ordering groceries, clothes, medicine, and other items through websites and apps. This has led to remarkable growth in e - commerce , and theres a lot more room for growth in the years ahead as online shopping becomes even more widespr ead.

The rapidly growing e - commerce industry is already worth $4 trillion, so the financial opportunity is enormous. As we will discuss in depth in Chapter 6, as online shopping increases, YouTube creators have more opportunities to make money. Its called affiliate marketing , and its one of the major ways creators are achieving financial success on YouTube. That means you get a cut of that $4 trillion pie, and since its all online, you can tap into it from anywhere in the wo rld.

Many people already have. Since we wrote the first edition of this book, millions have started YouTube channels and created a part - time and full - time living. In fact, a recent study revealed that being a content creator is now the fastest growing small business ty pe.

Weve received countless emails and direct messages from readers of YouTube Secrets who have used our principles and strategies to overcome fear and start channels of their own. Business owners, leaders, and professional service providers are using the Seven Cs framework from YouTube Secrets to grow their revenue and scale their businesses, and many of them have crossed the 100,000- subscriber mark and received the coveted Silver Play button from YouTube for hitting that milestone. Many are also earning from $1,000 to over $10,000 a month from YouTube revenue alone. Youll hear their stories in this updated version of the b ook.

As you know, we are living in times of rapid change, and YouTube has continued to evolve over the past few years. While the foundational principles of success remain the same, the platform and the overall landscape of the creator economy have shifted. Thats why we decided to put together this massively expanded second edition of YouTube Secr ets.

Weve completely overhauled the book with new data, new case studies, and new chapters that will give you an edge when it comes to whats working right now on YouTube. Weve tweaked some of the tips and completely removed a few outdated strategies so you can feel confident that youre holding a reliable roadmap for achieving your YouTube go als.

We are in a new decade full of new opportunities on YouTube, but like William Arthur Ward said, Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss th em.

So, turn the page and well guide you step - by - step on your journey to YouTube succ ess.

When most people think of YouTube, they still think of cat videos, viral memes, and homemade videos. In reality, there is a secret community of people on YouTube who are turning their creativity into careers, amassing huge followings, and creating lives on their own te rms.

CNBC shared the story of Karina Garcia, known as the internets Slime Queen. In less than three years, the twenty - three - year - old turned her one - time hobby posting do - it - yourself (DIY) slime videos into a full - time career and went from waitressing to making millions. While her story might have seemed crazy a decade ago, its becoming more and more comm on.

Imagine if youd told your family and friends a decade ago that you wanted to make a living as a YouTube creator. Chances are, you would have been asked, Why dont you get a real job? Today, there is no debate. Being a YouTube creator is a real job. After all, YouTube generated $19.7 billion in revenue in 2020, and roughly half of that revenue goes directly into the pockets of everyday people like you who upload their videos to the platfo rm.