In today’s digital age, YouTube offers an unparalleled opportunity for professionals and amateurs alike to turn their passion into a source of income. However, capitalizing on this opportunity can be challenging without the right strategies and vision.
YouTube is the world’s most popular video-sharing platform, with over a billion users and more than 400 hours of video uploaded every minute.
This article explores the areas of monetization on YouTube, including tips, the definition of monetization on YouTube, related policies, and what to do if you’re rejected.
Whether you’re a beginner content creator or a seasoned vlogger looking to increase your earnings, this article will help you learn how to monetize YouTube.
– Understanding YouTube Monetization.
Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, earns up to $700 million a year from his YouTube channel and food brand, Feastables.
While Donaldson is one of the highest-paid YouTubers today, more creators are making a fortune on YouTube.
YouTube monetization is a dynamic process that allows content creators to earn money from videos on the platform.
This financial incentive has made YouTube a lucrative place for both professionals and amateurs, providing a way to earn money while sharing engaging content.
To begin your YouTube monetization journey, it’s essential to understand the YouTube Partner Program definition, eligibility criteria, and basic requirements.
– What is YouTube monetization?
YouTube monetization refers to the ability of content creators to earn money from the videos they post on the platform.
This profit is generated through various channels, primarily advertisements, which are displayed before, during or after the video is played.
In order to participate in YouTube’s monetization program, creators must adhere to specific criteria set by the platform.
– What is a profitable video on YouTube?
A monetized video on YouTube is a video that includes ads from YouTube, and the creator receives a fee for that.
Creators who meet certain criteria can choose to allow YouTube to display ads at the beginning or end of videos.
If the videos are long enough, they may also allow the platform to display ads in the middle of the content.
Creators can choose to monetize their entire YouTube channel or select specific videos on which they want ads to run.
Every time someone views an ad while watching a video, the content creator receives compensation.
– YouTube Partner Program Eligibility Criteria.
The YouTube Partner Program is the gateway to advanced features, such as channel membership, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, YouTube Shopping, ad and Premium revenue, and most importantly, monetization opportunities across the platform.
– To be eligible for the YouTube Partner Program, creators must meet the following criteria:
– Follow YouTube’s monetization policies.
Creators must adhere to YouTube’s guidelines and policies, ensuring that content complies with community standards and is appropriate for advertising.
- Watching hours: Creators must have at least 4,000 video watch hours over the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days. This metric measures the channel’s overall engagement and viewership, indicates that the content is engaging and retains viewers, and is a vital metric for assessing the overall popularity and appeal of a channel.
- Number of subscribers: At least 1,000 subscribers are required. This minimum indicates that the channel has a large and engaged audience, and subscribers receive notifications about new uploads, which contributes to increased viewership.
- Linked AdSense account: Creators must have an AdSense account linked to their YouTube channel. AdSense is Google’s advertising platform, and linking it allows creators to earn revenue from ads displayed on videos.
- Geographical location: Eligibility for the YouTube Partner Program depends on the creator’s geographic location. The program must be available in their region.
- No violations of community guidelines: Channels with a history of violating Community Guidelines and policies may face exclusion from the YouTube Partner Program. Creators should ensure they have a clean record regarding content violations.
- Two-step verification: Adding an extra layer of security to your Google Account linked to your YouTube channel with 2-step verification is a security requirement.
– Benefits of joining the YouTube Partner Program.
The YouTube Partner Program gives creators different ways to monetize their Shorts, Live Streams, and Long Videos.
– Creators who join the program will have access to:
- Share revenue from ads during videos and between short videos.
- Share revenue from YouTube Premium subscribers who watch your content.
- Get paid from channel membership benefits, super chat, super stickers and super thanks.
- Enable YouTube Shopping to showcase products to your audience.
- The program also gives you access to creator support and YouTube’s copyright matching tool, which helps protect your content.
Joining the YouTube Partner Program isn’t the only way to monetize YouTube, and it may not be the most profitable strategy for your channel.
Other options include directing viewers off the platform to your store or affiliate marketing partners, or creating sponsored videos. However, most ways to monetize YouTube are easier, or only possible, as a member of the YouTube Partner Program.
YouTube has paid out over $50 billion to program members in the past three years, so consider applying if you meet the eligibility criteria.
– YouTube Monetization Rules.
If you want to make money on YouTube, start by following these monetization rules.
– Create an AdSense account.
This is an important prerequisite for getting started, so start implementing it first. AdSense is Google’s internal advertising platform used to promote and sell ad space across various channels, including YouTube, so link your AdSense account to your YouTube account.
– Meet YouTube Partner Program requirements.
After linking your AdSense account, join the YouTube Partner Program. Membership provides access to resources, such as merchandise shelves and channel memberships.
– Here are the criteria you must meet before YouTube will consider you for YouTube Partner Program membership:
- Follow YouTube monetization policies.
- Having at least 4,000 hours of content watched in the past 12 months or 10 million views of Shorts in the past 90 days.
- Have at least 1,000 subscribers.
- Having an AdSense account linked to the channel.
- Being located in a country where the YouTube Partner Program is available.
- There are no Community Guidelines violations against your channel.
- Add an extra layer of security with 2-step verification for the Google account associated with your channel.
YouTube is currently expanding its Partner Program to allow more creators to take advantage of fan support and some YouTube Shopping features earlier than before.
The expanded YouTube Partner Program is available to eligible creators in these countries and regions,
– Creators in eligible countries can apply to join the expanded YouTube Partner Program after meeting any of the eligibility requirements below:
- Have at least 500 subscribers with 3 videos uploaded in the last 90 days.
- Achieve 3,000 watch hours in the last 12 months.
- Or have at least 500 subscribers with 3 videos uploaded in the last 90 days.
- Achieving 3 million views on your Shorts in the last 90 days.
– Enable YouTube monetization.
Once your request is approved, open YouTube Studio, select Enable Monetization, and follow the instructions.
– Follow YouTube’s monetization rules.
There are several rules to follow, and YouTube monitors your channel to ensure you comply with them. These policies include:
- AdSense policies.
- Community Guidelines.
- Copyright.
- Profit making policies.
- YouTube Terms of Service.
- Compliance with copyright laws.
Background music for content must be licensed if it exists, as YouTube is very concerned about copyright.
– Track analytics.
You can track your video analytics in YouTube Studio to see how many subscribers you have, how engaged you are, and how many watch hours your channel receives. To track the performance of the ads you run, open an AdSense account to see all your earnings. Tracking analytics helps you identify the best-performing content and the ads your subscribers are most interested in watching. You can use this information to refine your strategy to improve and increase ad revenue.
– Things to avoid.
– If you want to monetize your YouTube content effectively, there are a number of things you should avoid in order to win over potential advertisers:
- Argumentation and misleading or false statements: YouTube allows you freedom of expression, but freedom of expression comes with responsibilities. For example, you could be subject to a violation for deliberately provoking controversy by using misleading or controversial language.
- Excessive foul language: A few swear words won’t get you in trouble, but as with the movie rating system, excessive profanity will get you flagged.
- Misleading thumbnail previews: If the video is about one thing and the thumbnail is about something else, the video may be flagged for misleading content.
- Unnecessarily shocking content: Advertisers are warned against linking to controversial or questionable content, especially if there is no reason to do so.
There has been a recent controversy surrounding a change in how watch hours are counted and that YouTube is not counting watch hours the way it used to.
You can usually see how many hours a video has been viewed after 24 hours or a maximum of 48 hours through YouTube’s monetization option.
YouTube explained a slight change in the way watch hours are calculated, noting that updating data, such as watch hours and subscriber counts, now takes up to a full week.
In this regard, YouTube stated: “We carefully check engagement metrics for each channel before adjusting data. This process may take several days to complete, and data may differ from that shown elsewhere, such as YouTube Analytics.”
This means that YouTube is seeking to verify the validity of data, i.e., the validity of views and numbers, due to the widespread problem of purchasing watch hours and subscribers.
– YouTube Channel Monetization Policies.
Let’s expand on two important steps in YouTube monetization policies, even though we’ve already touched on some of these concepts.
1 – Apply to the YouTube Partner Program.
– It takes YouTube about a month, maybe longer, to review a membership application and make a decision. YouTube checks these criteria during the application process:
- Main topic.
- Most viewed videos.
- Latest videos.
- Largest percentage of watch time.
- Video metadata (e.g., titles, thumbnails, descriptions).
2 – Avoid copyright errors and monetize YouTube.
As mentioned before, copyright infringement is a major problem on YouTube. Therefore, you should only upload videos you created or have permission to use. Copyright also includes audio and music clips, videos made by others, and other copyrighted works. Policy violations may result in account termination or suspension, and the removal of all ads from videos.
– The best ways to make money from YouTube.
– Here are the best ways to make money from YouTube:
– YouTube ads.
Advertisements are the simplest and most widely accepted way to monetize YouTube. These ads appear before or during a video, and you can control their placement across several YouTube ad formats.
When you create a long video and run ads, YouTube shows viewers a series of ads before and after playback that may or may not be skippable.
You can’t control which ads appear before or after videos, but for videos that are 8 minutes or longer, you can choose to place ads in the middle.
Mid-roll ads can be added automatically or placed manually. YouTube also retains 45% of ad revenue from standard videos and 55% from Shorts.
– Affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is a content monetization strategy where you earn a commission by promoting other brands’ products or services in your videos.
If you’re a YouTube content creator, you can become an affiliate marketer by creating marketing content that promotes relevant products to your viewers while adding affiliate links to your video descriptions.
YouTube simplifies this process with its Affiliate Program, allowing you to quickly locate relevant products and view commission rates. Once you find a product you’d like to promote, it’s easy to tag it directly in your videos. While any creator can post affiliate videos and links to YouTube, using the official YouTube Affiliate Program requires you to be part of the YouTube Partner Program and reside in the United States or Korea.
– YouTube Premium.
YouTube Premium is a subscription service where members can download videos and watch ad-free content. You still earn money for your videos under this service because subscription revenue payments are distributed to video creators like advertising revenue payments. The amount is determined based on the number of times YouTube Premium members watch videos.
– Channel Membership.
Channel membership includes a monthly subscription in exchange for exclusive benefits, such as exclusive videos, one-on-one live chats, and product discounts.
– You can create up to 6 member levels with increasing benefits, such as:
- Channel badges and custom emojis, allowing members to stand out in live chat and comments.
- Community posts, short clips, and videos that only your members can see.
- Exclusive first viewing rights to videos.
- Live chat and live streaming for members only.
- Member recognition shelf displays member avatars at the top of your channel page.
Creators receive 70% of membership revenue after applicable taxes and fees, with YouTube taking the rest. YouTube currently covers all transaction costs, including credit card fees. You must be over 18 years old. To access your channel, members pay a monthly subscription fee ranging from $0.99 to $100.
– Support.
For creators who are part of the YouTube Partner Program, fan support benefits provide a way for viewers to directly support your channel through tips and monthly payments. You can also receive donations for your channel outside of the YouTube ecosystem through third-party platforms, such as Patreon, a popular fan funding platform where creators offer additional content, access, and perks in exchange for regular donations. While you may need to invest in additional content to reward donors, these platforms offer a familiar way for your audience to support you on an ongoing basis.
– goods.
There are dozens of supported merchant platforms available today, ready to help you sell your branded merchandise to your fans. YouTube Shopping provides easy ways to help fans shop directly from your content.
– You can use YouTube Shopping to:
- Open a storefront through your channel.
- Link your online store to your channel to display your products in video descriptions.
- Tagging your products or products from other brands in videos.
According to internal YouTube data, more than 160,000 creators use YouTube Shopping to sell products, and many choose to promote merchandise, such as handbags, hats, and T-shirts, or recommend products from brands they review or collaborate with.
Selling branded souvenirs is easier than you think, and you can use print-on-demand services to design affordable products that are produced and shipped on a per-order basis.
– Paid care.
This method involves getting a company or brand to sponsor your content in exchange for using, showcasing, or discussing their products or services in the video. Brands are increasingly investing in influencer marketing and sponsorships, spending their advertising budgets on influencers who have gained loyal audiences.
This creates an opportunity for you as a creator if you can negotiate the right deal in exchange for showcasing your products to the public. Earnings from promotional videos vary greatly depending on the number of subscribers you have.
– Here’s a rough guide:
- From 1,000 to 10,000 subscribers: Up to $850 per video.
- From 10,000 to 50,000 subscribers: Up to $2,200 per video.
- 50,000 to 500,000 subscribers: Up to $5,800 per video.
- From 500,000 to 1 million subscribers: Up to $16,200 per video.
– Superior Features.
– These premium features come in 3 forms, all of which appear in the chat messages displayed during YouTube Live:
- Super Chat: This feature highlights your chat messages above everyone else’s.
- Super Stickers: This feature is similar to Super Chat, except that fans buy and share attractive stickers to pin to the top of the chat.
- Super Thanks: This feature allows users to support content creators. Users receive a special comment in the chat, as well as an animated GIF, for a small fee.
Note that the maximum dollar value a user can spend via Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks is $2,000 in a single week. This means you can earn $2,000 from one of the above options or a combination of the three.
– YouTube Shorts.
Since February 2023, YouTube partners have been able to monetize ads that appear between videos in the Shorts feed. This new revenue-sharing model replaces the YouTube Shorts Fund. Shorts are an exciting way to attract new viewers to your channel, as shorter videos are easier to get watch time than longer ones, and short videos are easier to create than longer ones.
– YouTube BrandConnect.
This service, currently available in the US, UK, and Canada, connects brands with creators across YouTube for content marketing campaigns by using data about your audience to match your channel with brand partners.
– Live broadcast.
Streaming live on YouTube is an easy way for users to reach their community in real time.
Whether you’re broadcasting an event, teaching a class, or hosting a workshop, YouTube has tools to help you manage your live stream and engage with viewers in real time.
Live streaming is easy to set up and a great way to monetize your content while engaging with your community. However, you need a large number of viewers to earn significant amounts from live streaming. YouTube’s live streaming features aren’t as advanced as Twitch’s, but they do get the job done.
Live streaming content must comply with YouTube’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. If content is broadcast that violates YouTube’s Community Guidelines, the platform may impose age restrictions or remove the live stream. YouTube also reserves the right to restrict a creator’s ability to live stream at its discretion.
– YouTube Partner Program Rejection.
If the platform rejects your initial application to join the YouTube Partner Program, you can request a review of the decision within 21 days, or you can continue uploading content and submit a new application after 30 days.
If your application is rejected more than once, or if you have already reapplied, you can try again after 90 days.
YouTube allows you to correct things by submitting a notification explaining which policies your channel does not comply with.
So, you get feedback on what needs to be changed and when to make the changes and get that coveted YouTube Partner Program membership.
– YouTube Ads Tips.
There are two metrics that help determine how much YouTube creators can earn per thousand views: CPM and RPM.
CPM measures your cost per thousand impressions before YouTube revenue share, while RPM measures your total revenue after YouTube revenue share per thousand views.
Some YouTube content areas have higher CPM and RPM than others, which may improve your ability to monetize on YouTube.
Video revenue depends on the number of views it receives, the target demographic, the age of your audience, the number of ads you run before or during the video, and the topic of the video.
As with most social media platforms, each advertiser must bid a certain amount of money to advertise, and the higher the revenue in a particular niche, the higher the bid, and therefore, the higher the revenue for the content creator who displays ads through videos.
– Here are some examples of the most profitable topics if you want to make money from YouTube ads:
- Business.
- Investment.
- health.
- Online marketing.
- Technical reviews.
- Programming.
- Real estate.
- Car reviews.
As you can see, these topics aren’t the most entertaining, but they’re aimed at people who have more money to spend on solving their problems, so if you’re planning to grow your YouTube channel, think about who you want to watch your videos.
– Tips on selling on YouTube.
Many YouTube monetization strategies involve promoting a product. However, you may want to ensure that your promotions don’t compromise the integrity of your content. Selling a product is a real concern for many creators.
– You can follow these tips to place promotional content in your videos without losing your audience:
– Understanding your audience on YouTube.
Building a fan base allows you to monetize in many ways, but you can’t make the most of the opportunities available to you unless you understand your audience.
For many YouTubers, having a niche channel can help them work with brands that target specific audiences,
– But you need to pay attention to:
- The gender of your audience, to see if they gravitate towards a certain group.
- The age group that most of your audience belongs to.
- The geographic location (countries and cities) of your audience.
- Your audience’s overall engagement, or watch time.
Using this demographic information, you can understand your audience and better work with brands. All demographic information can be extracted from YouTube Analytics.
– Add information cards to videos.
Whether it’s part of your deal with a brand or you’re promoting your products, Info Cards (formerly known as YouTube Cards) offer a useful way to grab the attention of engaged viewers.
You can use video editing software to add pop-ups at the right moment, when they’re most relevant and least distracting, to increase their impact.
– Add links in video descriptions.
You can send viewers to your store, Patreon page, or other monetization sources by adding links to your video descriptions.
– Promote your offer across other platforms.
Just because you host your content on YouTube doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of all the other channels out there. You can spread the word about new campaigns or discounts via Facebook, X, and any other social media accounts you have.
The more places your message is posted, the greater the chance it will be seen. So it’s always helpful to grow your following outside of YouTube using social media marketing.
– Frequently asked questions about how to monetize YouTube.
– Is there a way to bypass the 1,000 subscriber requirement?
There’s no way around this requirement, as you need at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of content watched over the past 12 months or 10 million views of Shorts videos in the past 90 days.
– How many times can I apply to join the YouTube Partner Program?
There is no limit, as you can reapply for YouTube Partner Program membership 30 days after the rejection process.
– How do I know if my channel is monetizable?
You will see a green dollar icon next to each video once ads are playing.
– What does the yellow dollar icon mean?
The yellow dollar icon means that while the video is monetizable, it doesn’t meet all advertiser guidelines, so some brands may choose to opt out, which naturally impacts your revenue.
– Can I object to the yellow dollar icon?
Double-check your content against Google’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines. If your content meets these guidelines, you can file a dispute.
– How many views do you need to monetize YouTube?
The average YouTube channel receives about 1.8 cents per view, which equates to $18 per thousand views, according to data from the Influencer Marketing Center.
– Is the number of views related to profit?
The number of views you receive is not related to the revenue you generate. If your video receives thousands of views but no one watches or clicks on your ad, you won’t earn any money. This is due to YouTube’s standards: a viewer must click on an ad or watch the entire video (10, 15, or 30 seconds) for you to earn money.
– How much do YouTubers earn per year?
Prominent YouTubers can earn tens of millions of dollars each year through their channels, while other YouTubers may earn nothing, or they may earn small, medium, or large amounts depending on the YouTube monetization strategies followed.
– How do YouTube content creators increase revenue?
You can make money on YouTube even if you don’t have millions of subscribers. Monetization is determined by the level of engagement your content generates, the niche you offer your services in, and the monetization channels you explore.
– Does YouTube charge for uploading videos?
Creators don’t receive compensation from YouTube for uploading videos. To start earning money from YouTube, you must enable monetization in your YouTube account settings. From there, you have the option to join the YouTube Partner Program or upload videos via YouTube Premium.
– How to make money from YouTube?
You can make money on YouTube by joining the YouTube Partner Program, selling products or merchandise, gathering support from fans, licensing content, working with brands as an influencer, or becoming an affiliate marketer.
– How to make money from YouTube without creating videos?
To make money on YouTube without producing videos, you can partner with popular content creators to promote your products to their viewers.
In conclusion, making money on YouTube is a long journey that requires patience, commitment, and creativity. By focusing on creating valuable content and building a strong audience, you can achieve sustainable profits and turn your channel into a permanent source of income. Remember that consistency and continuous learning by analyzing your channel’s performance are the key to success.