Multi Million Dollar Niche In Plain Sight: How To Make Money on YouTube for Beginners

There is a multi-billion dollar niche hiding in plain sight on YouTube, and most beginners walk right past it every single year. It is not a secret. It is not a saturated market reserved for big channels. It is back to school shopping, and the proof that it works is staring at you the moment you open YouTube and type a single keyword.

Channels with 1,000 subscribers are pulling 1,400 views on a single upload. Channels with 3,000 subscribers are getting 14,000 views on a YouTube Short. Channels with 8,000 subscribers are hitting 189,000 views on a Walmart versus Target comparison. None of these creators needed a massive audience. They picked the right niche, created content that answered a specific question, and let the demand do the work. In this breakdown, I am going to walk you through every part of what Alston Godbolt covered in this video so you can do the same thing.

What You Will Walk Out With

A clear picture of why the back to school niche generates billions of dollars in consumer spending each year
Real channel examples across every size range, from 1,000 subscribers to 4.39 million
The exact ChatGPT prompt Alston uses to generate a keyword list inside of five minutes
A product-level strategy for finding low-competition video ideas directly from retailer websites like Target
Four specific monetization paths you can layer on top of your channel from day one
Digital product ideas you can create for free using Google Sheets or Canva, priced between $7 and $17
Honest answers to the most common questions beginners ask before entering a new niche
A one-click way to find which monetization model fits your specific situation at finder.platformproof.com

Why Back to School Shopping Is a Multi-Billion Dollar YouTube Niche

Ask yourself this question: what is the number one stressor for parents and teenagers that happens about twice a year? If your answer was anything other than back to school shopping, you would be wrong. Every year, families across the country scramble to find the best deals on backpacks, shoes, pencils, pens, laptops, dorm furniture, and everything else that comes along with a new school year. That cycle of spending happens twice: once in the fall for the new school year, and once for college students getting ready for the spring semester.

The demand is not just from parents buying supplies for their kids. It is also from first-generation college students who have never moved into a dorm before and genuinely do not know what they need. Alston shared his own story: when he got to college, he assumed he could plug his home phone jack into the wall in his dorm room to access the internet, the same way he had used dial-up at home. His RA had to explain to him that it was a completely different type of internet connection. That gap in knowledge is exactly the content gap you can fill.

The niche covers kindergarteners heading into their first classroom, middle schoolers building supply lists, high schoolers shopping for their first laptops, and college freshmen furnishing an entire room from scratch. Every one of those segments is a different audience searching for different content, which means there is no ceiling on the number of videos you can create.

Channels of All Sizes Are Already Winning

One of the most common objections beginners raise when they find a popular niche is: “But won’t bigger channels dominate the results?” In the back to school niche, the answer is clearly no. Here is what the actual search results show when you type “back to school shopping sixth grade” into YouTube:

A channel with 4.39 million subscribers has a video titled “Back to School Supplies Shopping with Nine Kids” sitting at 2.1 million views
A channel with only 8,000 subscribers has a “Walmart vs Target Back to School Edition” video at 189,000 views
A channel with 1,000 subscribers uploaded “Back to School Shopping for My Sixth Grader Shopping Haul” five months ago and already has 1,400 views
A channel with 3,000 subscribers posted a YouTube Short titled “School Supply Haul Homeschool Edition” and it pulled 14,000 views
A channel with 31,000 subscribers has a video sitting at 123,000 views
A “Back to School Haul High School Boy” video from a 3,000-subscriber channel has 37,000 views

The pattern is clear. YouTube is surfacing back to school content regardless of channel size because the demand is that consistent. Bigger channels do not lock out smaller ones. If you create content that matches what people are searching for, the algorithm will find your video an audience. The small channels in these results are proof of that.

Step 1: Use ChatGPT to Build Your Keyword List in Minutes

The first step in Alston’s method is not to guess what people are searching for. It is to ask ChatGPT to generate the list for you. Here is the exact prompt he uses:

Prompt: “I am going to start making YouTube videos about back to school shopping. Please list keywords related to this niche. This is really important: please find words that customers would be using and typing into YouTube and Google. Do not use industry terms.”

That last instruction matters. Industry terms sound like something a marketer would say. Customer terms sound like something a parent would type at 10pm while making a grocery list. You want the second kind. When ChatGPT returns the list, you are not done. Each keyword on that list becomes a prompt in the YouTube search bar.

Paste a keyword like “back to school shopping 2024” into YouTube and look at what comes up. You are going to see real channels, real view counts, and real proof that people are searching for exactly that phrase. Every result you see is a potential video idea. Run through the entire list and note which keywords produce the most results from small channels. Those are your first targets.

Step 2: Validate Each Keyword Directly on YouTube

Once you have your keyword list, the validation step is simple. Type each keyword into YouTube and pay attention to two things: the view counts on videos from small channels, and the number of variations the search auto-complete shows you.

For example, if you search “back to school haul high school” and YouTube auto-completes “back to school haul high school boy,” that variation is telling you there is a specific sub-audience searching for exactly that phrase. Alston found a video matching that variation from a 3,000-subscriber channel with 37,000 views. That is not luck. That is a channel that targeted the right keyword at the right specificity level.

Pay special attention to searches that start with the word “best.” When someone types “best back to school shoes” or “best back to school laptops,” they are not browsing. They are ready to buy. A search with the word “best” in it is high buyer intent, which means the person clicking your video is more likely to click your affiliate link and purchase something. That directly affects your income. Alston specifically flagged “best back to school shoes 2024” as an example, with a 10,000-subscriber channel sitting at 11,000 views on that topic.

You can also break this down by store. Instead of one video about back to school shopping in general, you can make one for Best Buy, one for Target, and one for Walmart. Each version reaches a slightly different audience and creates multiple videos from a single idea.

Step 3: The Product-Level Strategy That Nobody Talks About

This is the part of Alston’s method that most creators miss. Instead of only making broad “back to school haul” videos, you can go one level deeper and create videos about specific products. Here is how the process works.

Go to Target’s website and type “dorm decor” into the search bar. Target maintains an entire curated section for college-bound shoppers with products ranging from floor lamps to storage shelving. Find a specific product, copy its full name, and paste it directly into YouTube. What you will find is that people are already making videos about that exact product, and the view counts on those videos tend to be lower than broad searches. But that is not a problem. It is an advantage.

Lower view counts on a product-specific video mean the audience is highly targeted. Someone searching for a specific floor lamp by name already knows what they want. They just want to make sure it is the right choice before they buy. If your video answers that question, they will click your affiliate link and complete the purchase. Your conversion rate on a product-specific video is going to be significantly higher than on a general haul video.

The video formats that work best for product-level content are unboxings, first impressions, and reviews. You are helping the viewer confirm a decision they are already close to making. That is a completely different job than a broad haul video, and it is a job that small channels can do just as well as large ones. You can repeat this process for every product in the Target dorm section, the Walmart back to school aisle, or the Best Buy student laptop category.

Not sure which monetization model fits the back to school niche for your specific situation?

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Step 4: Four Ways to Monetize This Niche from Day One

This is the part most YouTube tutorials skip or compress into a single vague point. Alston breaks down four real monetization paths, and each one is accessible before you hit 1,000 subscribers or qualify for the YouTube Partner Program.

Monetization Path 1: Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the most direct match for this niche. You apply to join an affiliate program, get approved, and receive a unique link. When someone clicks that link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission on the sale. You never handle shipping, returns, or customer service. Your only job is to create the video that helps someone make a decision.

Alston recommends starting with the four retailers most people already use for back to school shopping: Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. Each of those companies runs its own affiliate program, and each one is free to apply to. There are over 12,000 affiliate programs available across the internet, but for this niche, sticking with the major retailers makes the most sense because that is where your audience is already shopping.

The key is to put your affiliate links in the video description and mention them naturally in the video. If you are reviewing a specific product, link directly to that product on each retailer’s site. If you are doing a haul, link to every item you show. The more links you include, the more chances a viewer has to click and buy.

Monetization Path 2: Digital Products

A digital product is anything you create on your computer and deliver over the internet. You can sell an infinite number of copies. There is no shipping. The customer gets it instantly. And for this niche, the digital products that make the most sense are ones that solve a problem parents and students are already dealing with every back to school season.

Alston identifies three specific digital products that fit the back to school audience well. First, a back to school budget tracker. Families have a set amount of money they can spend on supplies, and they need help staying under that limit. A simple spreadsheet or PDF tracker priced between $7 and $17 gives people a tool they will actually use. You can build that in Google Sheets for free and sell it through Gumroad or your own website.

Second, a back to school planner. This is a broader product that walks families through the full process of preparing for a new school year. You can include a checklist of supplies, a schedule for shopping trips, a section for tracking what has already been purchased, and a notes section for things like school supply lists from teachers. Alston pointed out that he and his wife review their kids’ supplies every single day as back to school approaches to make sure nothing is missing. That is a real problem you can help solve.

Third, homework tracker templates aimed at college students. If your content targets incoming college freshmen, a product that helps them track assignments, deadlines, and study sessions addresses a gap many first-year students are not prepared for. You can create these templates entirely in Canva or Google Sheets without spending any money.

Monetization Path 3: Memberships and Communities

A membership gives your audience ongoing access to you and your content in exchange for a monthly fee. For the back to school niche, this could look like a community for parents who want help planning and preparing for each new school year, parents of kids heading to college for the first time, or homeschool families who need a steady source of curriculum and supply recommendations.

The value inside the membership can include live workshops, live Q&A sessions, additional planners and templates, and a space to ask questions as they come up throughout the year. The advantage of a membership over a one-time sale is that your members pay you every single month as long as they are getting value. You can host a free version of this on Facebook Groups while you are getting started, which means your only cost is the time you put into it.

Monetization Path 4: YouTube Ad Revenue

Once you reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months, you become eligible for the YouTube Partner Program and can earn money from ads placed on your videos. In the back to school niche, advertiser rates tend to be higher than average because the audience is actively spending money on products. Retailers are willing to pay more to reach people who are already in a shopping mindset.

Ad revenue is worth building toward, but Alston’s core philosophy is that you do not need to wait for it. The first three paths, affiliate links, digital products, and memberships, can all generate income before you hit a single milestone in the Partner Program. Build the audience first. The ad revenue follows.

Honest Drawbacks to Consider Before You Start

The back to school niche is real and the opportunity is documented, but there are a few things you should understand going in so you are not caught off guard.

First, the niche is seasonal. The highest traffic periods are late summer and early fall, with a smaller spike around January for spring semester. That means your views and affiliate income will spike during those windows and slow down during other months. The way to manage this is to treat the off-season as your production window. Create and schedule content in advance so that your library is ready when search volume rises again.

Second, affiliate commissions in retail niches are often lower than in software or financial niches. Amazon’s affiliate commission rates for general merchandise typically fall between 1% and 10% depending on the product category. That means you need volume to make a meaningful income from affiliate links alone. Pairing affiliate marketing with digital products helps because your margin on a $17 digital product is 100%, compared to a few percentage points on a physical product recommendation.

Third, if you want to do product reviews, you need access to the products. Some creators buy the products themselves, which cuts into earnings early on. Others reach out to brands directly for review units once they have a small but engaged audience. Starting with products you already own or that are already in your home is a practical way to get started without a large upfront investment.

Find Your Path

The back to school niche gives you multiple ways to generate income, from affiliate links to digital products to a monthly membership. But knowing which path to start with depends on your specific situation, how much time you have, what skills you already possess, and what kind of audience you are best positioned to serve.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to show my face to make back to school shopping content?

No. Alston specifically mentions that this niche works for faceless channels. You can create screen recordings of yourself browsing retailer websites, use voiceover on product images, or create text-based YouTube Shorts. Showing your face will help you build a personal connection with your audience faster, but it is not a requirement for the niche to work.

Which affiliate programs should I apply to first?

Start with Amazon Associates, Walmart Affiliates, and the Target Affiliates program. Best Buy also runs an affiliate program through a third-party network. These four retailers cover the vast majority of where back to school shoppers are already spending money, so your affiliate links are going to match the purchasing behavior of your audience directly.

How many videos do I need to make before I start seeing income?

There is no guaranteed number, but channels in this video were generating views with as few as one or two uploads. Income depends on how well your videos match what people are searching for, not just how many videos you have published. One product-specific video that ranks for the right keyword and includes affiliate links can generate commissions before you have ten uploads total.

Can I create back to school content year-round or only in late summer?

You can create content year-round, but you should expect peak traffic in July, August, and September, with a smaller window in December and January for spring semester content. Use the off-season to build up your video library so it is ready when search volume rises. Evergreen content like “how to set up a college dorm room on a budget” performs steadily outside of peak season because people search for it whenever they are personally getting ready for school.

What is the best video format for this niche?

It depends on the type of content. For broad haul and shopping trip videos, a standard long-form format of eight to fifteen minutes tends to work well because you have room to show multiple products and include enough context to keep people watching. For product-specific reviews, a shorter format of three to seven minutes is typically sufficient. YouTube Shorts work well for quick comparisons or single-product callouts, as the 3,000-subscriber channel with 14,000 views on a Short demonstrates.

How should I price my digital products for this niche?

Alston mentions pricing a back to school budget tracker between $7 and $17. That range is intentional. It is low enough that most parents will not hesitate to buy it, but high enough that you earn a meaningful amount on each sale. A planner that is more comprehensive could reasonably be priced at $17 to $27. Start on the lower end, gather feedback, and raise the price as you add more value to the product over time.

What tools do I need to create the digital products Alston mentions?

You do not need to buy anything to create your first digital products. Google Sheets covers budget trackers and homework planners. Canva’s free plan handles any design work you need for a PDF planner or printable checklist. Facebook Groups is free to use if you want to host a membership community while you are getting started. Alston specifically points out that the tools required for these products are available at no cost.

Is this niche too saturated to enter in 2025?

The evidence in the video says no. Channels with 1,000 subscribers were uploaded five months prior to recording and still pulling over 1,000 views on a single video. The back to school market renews itself every year because families change. Kids age into new grade levels, new students enter kindergarten, and new freshmen head to college every single fall. The audience replenishes itself annually, which means demand does not go away just because some channels already cover the niche.

Sources

Alston Godbolt, “Multi Million Dollar Niche In Plain Sight | How To Make Money On YouTube For Beginners,” YouTube, https://youtu.be/1RNR5PhZg1w
YouTube search results for “back to school shopping sixth grade,” “back to school haul high school,” “best back to school shoes 2024,” and related queries as shown in the video
Target dorm decor product catalog referenced during the product-level strategy walkthrough
Amazon Associates, Walmart Affiliates, Target Affiliates, and Best Buy affiliate programs mentioned as recommended starting points