YouTube still prints money if you show up with a clean system. I keep it simple: talk about what I actually do, twice a week, for 20–30 minutes, filmed on my phone in a room that’s always ready. I batch two videos, clip them into Shorts, and monetize with AdSense, affiliate links, ebooks, and YouTube Shopping. No team. No complicated studio. Just consistent execution.
Stop Chasing “Niches.” Pick an Interest You Can Show Up For
You don’t need a micro-niche.
You need an interest that your audience consistently cares about and you can talk about twice a week. My interest is digital marketing for people 40+ who want to make more money online. That focus makes titles, stories, and offers obvious. If your interest is home and garden, show up twice a week with projects. If it’s travel, teach routes, budgets, and packing. The only rule: same audience, same interest, over time.
Kill Friction or You’ll Quit
Friction is anything that makes hitting “record” feel like a chore. Equipment you have to drag out. Lighting that’s never quite right. Backgrounds you hate. Teardowns, setups, missing cords — all of it. Every tiny obstacle stacks up until you stop filming altogether. So I deleted the friction. All of it.
My studio is my dining room. That’s it. I have a large window that allows for natural light. My $30 phone tripod lives behind the dining chair when not in use. I slide it out, clip in my phone, and hit record. My mic is wireless, plugs in fast, and gives me clean audio without the drama. I shoot in cinematic mode right on my iPhone. No DSLR. No setup list. No excuses.
When I’m done, the tripod slides right back out of sight. There’s no teardown. No reset. My gear is always ready — which means I’m always ready.
The goal isn’t fancy. The goal is done.
The faster I can film, the more likely I am to keep going.
If your friction is gear, simplify it.
If your friction is space, pick a corner and own it.
If your friction is perfection, embrace repeatable.
My links:
Wireless mic I use
I build all my thumbnails in Ideogram
The Format That Converts
My format never changes — and that’s the point. I start with a specific money win, then walk through exactly how I got it. No fluff. No broad theory. No content trends I don’t care about. Just proof, then process.
Example:
“I made $876 this week from affiliate links” → here’s the video, the structure, the CTA, and the tools I used.
Why this works:
This format creates trust instantly. You’re not guessing. You’re showing receipts. And once the proof is clear, the process becomes the offer — and that’s what converts. Viewers see a repeatable system, not a highlight reel.
This works in any niche.
If you’re in lifestyle: “I decorated this room for $300 — here’s what I used and where to get it.”
If you’re in health: “I hit my goal weight — here’s the meal plan, the app, and the supplements I used.”
If you’re in reviews: “I tested 5 Amazon air fryers — here’s what I’d buy again.”
Structure it like this:
- Hook: a relatable problem or bold win
- Proof: show the result (screenshot, stat, before/after, testimonial, revenue)
- Process: step-by-step of how you got there
- Offer: link, ebook, product, download, affiliate tool — whatever fits the moment
This structure keeps content fast to film, easy to edit, and built to sell.
You’re not just “creating content.” You’re showing a pathway. And when people trust your path, they want the map.
How Many YouTube videos Each Week?
Every week, I sit down and record two 20–30 minute horizontal YouTube videos. That’s the core. Long-form builds trust. It converts browsers into buyers. That’s where the actual money comes from — because long videos give you space to teach, show results, drop affiliate links, and sell digital products without rushing.
Then I clip each long-form video into 12–15 short-form videos. Shorts drive discovery. They’re algorithm-friendly, bingeable, and constantly reaching new audiences who’ve never heard of you. I treat my Shorts like little invitations: “Hey, here’s what I do — come check out the full system.”
The workflow is fast because it’s repeatable.
I trim my long video in CapCut, grab a clean thumbnail frame, drop bold text over it in Ideogram, and schedule it. Then I run the full video through Repurpose.io and Opus to automatically extract the highlight clips. Both tools add captions and edits for me, so all I have to do is review and post.
One recording session =
→ Two YouTube videos
→ 12–15 Shorts
→ A week of content across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest
That’s the cadence. It’s simple. It’s consistent. And it scales without burning you out.
Monetization: How I Actually Make Money on YouTube
Let’s cut the fluff. Here’s exactly how I make money on YouTube right now — without relying on brand deals, going viral, or burning out.
Ad Revenue
This is the baseline. Once you hit the minimum subscribers + watch hours requirement, you can earn a cut of YouTube’s ad revenue. Some people make six figures with this alone. I don’t. I treat it like consistent bonus money. The key is to remember: your niche and your audience’s demographics impact how much you earn. A channel teaching luxury travel will get higher RPMs than one reading bedtime stories to kids.
It’s not about views — it’s about the right views.
Affiliate Marketing
This is where real money starts. From day one, I use the description box to link to tools, software, and products I actually use. No sponsored fluff — just honest mentions. I use Lasso to manage links, and yes, I include disclosures. These affiliate links generate thousands per month because my audience trusts what I recommend.
You can do the same — think Amazon, YouTube’s own affiliate program, or networks like ShareASale or Impact.
Digital Product Sales (My Favorite)
YouTube drives traffic. My ebooks and PDFs convert that traffic into cash. I host them on Fourthwall (zero upfront cost, small cut of each sale) and link them using YouTube Shopping. Once you hit 10K subs, your products can show up directly below your videos. But even before that, you can put direct links in the description. This alone pulls in $1,500+ per month for me — organically. No ads, no chasing.
Ebooks are the bridge between free content and premium coaching.
YouTube Shopping + Affiliate Program
Once you’re eligible, you can tag products — whether your own or someone else’s. Think beauty, fashion, DIY, even car parts. This is built-in commerce. And YouTube’s pushing it hard. If you review products or share recommendations on camera, you’re leaving money on the table if you’re not tagging them.
Other Options
There’s also channel memberships, merch, and sponsorships — all baked into the YouTube ecosystem. I don’t use them heavily because I drive my audience to my own coaching program (more profit, more control). But if you’re just getting started, memberships are an easy way to validate if people are willing to pay for more.
Bottom Line:
You don’t need millions of views to make money. You need systems. Ad revenue is the slow burn. Affiliate income and digital products are where the real growth happens. Build the trust, insert the right links, and show up consistently.
The money follows the content — if the content is clear on who it’s for and what it leads to.
Audience Fit Matters More Than Views
Views are vanity. Fit is money. If your audience clicks because they thought your video was about one thing but it turns out to be something else — you’ve lost them. YouTube’s algorithm sees that too. My channel is all about monetizing content. So even if I could talk genealogy or home décor, I don’t put it here. Not because those topics aren’t good — but because my audience didn’t subscribe for that.
If they came to learn how to make money online, I stay in that lane. You can absolutely blend topics — but only if your audience would naturally care about both.
Don’t confuse your viewers, or your channel will stall.
My Youtube Filming and Editing Flow (Fast and Repeatable)
I don’t overthink this. I batch two long-form videos in one sitting — usually in the same spot, same setup, same flow. When I’m done filming, I trim the intro and outro in CapCut, export, upload, and schedule them to drop on Tuesdays and Fridays. I use Repurpose.io and Opus to automatically pull 12–15 short clips from each one, complete with captions and punchy edits. These become YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikToks, Idea Pins — everywhere.
I write the description in plain English with direct CTAs, add affiliate links to the exact tools or products I mentioned, and answer comments when they roll in. That’s the whole system. No backlog. No perfection loop.
Just publish and move.
What Not To Do on Youtube
Don’t waste months researching cameras you’ll never use. Don’t spend a week editing your “welcome” video that nobody asked for. Don’t build a funnel before you’ve built momentum. Just start. Use your phone. Use your voice. Use your story. And from day one — sell. Add affiliate links, drop a product, offer something small. Stop waiting to “feel legit.” Y
You become legit by showing up, not by obsessing over optics.
If You Want My Youtube System, Start Here
Don’t overplan it. Just start. Pick one interest you can talk about twice a week. That’s your content pillar. Now set up your gear — phone, mic, ring light — and leave it. Pick one format you can repeat without overthinking. For me, it’s “Here’s what worked, here’s how.” Record two 20–30 minute videos this week. Clip them into Shorts with Repurpose or Opus. Add affiliate links to every tool you mentioned.
Then create one $7–$27 ebook that solves the most common question your audience has — and publish it. That’s your monetization engine. Then show up again next week. Consistency is the secret.
Coaching and Resources
If you want to shortcut the guesswork and use the exact system I run, join my Blueprint coaching program. I teach creators how to build content systems that turn into income — with zero fluff and full access to my tools, templates, and training.
Want to skip straight to the prompts, ebooks, and digital products? They’re here: https://stan.store/loriballen. Every product was built from what I’m actually doing. No theory. Just strategy that works.
That’s the whole system I use to make $20,000/month from YouTube. No burnout. No gimmicks. Just friction-free execution, monetized from day one.
