YouTube is the second-most used social media platform, with $6.9 billion worth of ad revenue generated in the first quarter of 2022, which is a 14% year-over-year increase. At the same time, it offers tremendous monetization opportunities to content creators.
If you create videos on YouTube, you might have already thought about YouTube monetization. Some YouTube channels are millions of pounds, but how are they doing it, and how did they get started?
Read on to find out how to monetize YouTube, from the number of views and subscribers you need, to how you can make money on YouTube in ways other than adverts.
-
8 Ways For YouTube Monetization Other Than Ads
1. Affiliate Marketing
2. Merchandise
3. Paid Sponsorships
4. Memberships
5. Super Features
6. YouTube Premium
7. BrandConnect
8. YouTube Shorts Fund
You can directly jump to a section of your choice or keep scrolling.
Requirements For YouTube Monetization
To monetize YouTube, you are required to fulfill these four conditions:
- Your YouTube channel should have 1000 subscribers.
- You should have a watch time of 4,000 hours in the past 12 months.
- Your YouTube channel should comply with all the YouTube policies and guidelines, such as YouTube Terms of Service, YouTube spam policies, YouTube Partner Program policies, and the Community Guidelines.
- You need to set up an AdSense account.
- To be a part of the YouTuber Partner Program, you need to reside in a country where the program is available.
- Your channel should not receive any Community Guideline strikes.
If you are not complying with any of these conditions yet, you might have to try harder and fulfill all these conditions first. If you do comply with all of them, keep on reading to figure out YouTube monetization for your channel.
Image Source: Freedom
Know more about 20 Smart Ways To Promote Your YouTube Channel For More Views
The YouTube Monetization Process
Here's how to enable YouTube Monetization:
Step 1: Login to your YouTube channel on your desktop.
Step 2: Click on your profile avatar on the top right side & select YouTube Studio from the menu.
Step 3: Select Content from the left-hand menu.
Step 4: Select the video you want to monetize.
Step 5: Select Monetize in the left-hand menu.
Step 6: You will find an option to select the kinds of ads you want to run. Choose the type of ads you wish to run.
Step 7: Click Save.
That's it; now your YouTube channel has been monetized!
Image Source: Influence On YouTube
How To Get Monetized on YouTube Through Ads?
You might have seen ads on YouTube videos as you click on one of your favorite videos. You find yourself looking at a 10-second advert. You look to your right, & you find another ad banner next to the video too.
But how did these ads get here? And why are they a part of the video you want to watch? Well, that is how YouTube monetization through ads works. Playing an ad before your video or placing an advert banner on the same page as your video will help you earn revenue.
You also have the ability and freedom to place ads according to your preference, as YouTube allows you to choose from various ad formats. The platform offers you the ability to either monetize individual videos or multiple videos.
Advertising is one of the most common ways of YouTube Monetization. The YouTube Partner Program allows creators to monetize YouTube channels in a number of ways, but its primary use is for ad revenue.
You will need to become a YouTube partner and create an AdSense account to set up your account for YouTube monetization. You will receive payments from YouTube through an AdSense account. In fact, you can even monetize more than one YouTube channel with the same AdSense account.
Image Source: Snapshot Interactive
Know more about How To Create Engaging Social Media Videos
How to Join the YouTuber Partner Program?
YouTube Partner Program gives access to features that helps creators in YouTube monetization process. Once you have met all of YouTube's requirements, you are ready to apply to the YouTuber Partner Program using these steps:
Step 1: Login to your YouTube channel on your desktop.
Step 2: Click on your profile avatar on the top right side & select YouTube Studio from the menu.
Step 3: Click Monetization in the left navigation bar.
Step 4: If you are eligible to apply, you will see a blue button encouraging that action. Click on it.
Step 5: Review the YouTuber Partner Program terms.
Step 6: Set up a Google AdSense account. Connect it to your channel.
Step 7: YouTube will review your channel and email you with a decision.
YouTube will review your application once you have met the minimum requirements. Once you are accepted into the Program, you will have to turn on ads in your YouTube account to start earning for YouTube monetization.
Image Source: Snapshot Interactive
8 Ways For YouTube Monetization Other Than Ads
YouTube AdSense is beneficial for YouTube monetization, but advertisement rates go up and down; hence it would be difficult to make the same amount of money each year with ads.
That's why it pays to understand CPM (cost per mille) rates. CPM refers to the amount of money advertisers pay every 1,000 video views on YouTube. The rates vary depending on several factors such as your channel's niche, audience demographics, etc. There are various ways for YouTube monetization other than AdSense! Let's dig into them.
1. Affiliate Marketing
The creation of some YouTube videos involves the use of certain products. Some videos even feature the use of products in them. These could include camera gear, equipment, personal care products, clothing, etc., depending on the type of content you create. You can actually earn decent revenue by helping to sell these products through affiliate marketing for YouTube monetization.
You can sign up for an affiliating marketing program with an e-vendor or website to enable affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing provides you with a unique hyperlink. And when viewers click it, they are taken to a page where they can buy those products.
Image Source: EasyAffiliate
Plenty of websites allow you to sign up for affiliate marketing programs for YouTube monetization. The amount of money you earn through affiliate marketing may vary across websites, but you can still earn a decent amount depending on the quality of your content. You can 100% monetize YouTube with affiliate marketing links. The amount you earn and when you earn depends on which brand's link you are trying to sell. They are not a get-rich-quick strategy.
2. Merchandise
If your YouTube channel has been growing steadily for quite some time and has a decent fanbase, you can make use of this feature for YouTube monetization. There is no limit on the types of merchandise you can create. You will be able to make a decent amount of money through this feature as long as you put effort into designing products and have a good base of subscribers and viewers.
Using this feature, YouTube partners can sell a maximum of 12 items of merchandise to their audience. You have probably noticed a gap in the market for products your audience would love. You can make these a reality with branded products and sell them via a web store.
Image Source: Routenote
You can even sell digital products such as e-books or courses based on your expertise for YouTube monetization. Digital products can offer you a steady long-term passive income, just for a one-time effort. One of the most essential things while selling products is ensuring the value of your offer value to your subscribers. Your viewers should be able to find some value out of your products, then only they will be interested in buying them.
Provide links to your products in your video to make it easy for viewers to purchase your products after watching the video.
3. Paid Sponsorships
Imagine getting the opportunity to collaborate with your favorite brand for no cost while also being paid! That is just an instance of what paid sponsorships looks like for YouTube monetization. Such deals offer you the ability to make money while endorsing the brand and using their products or services.
These types of partnerships are usually a win-win affair, where both the brand as well as the content creator benefit monetarily.
Image Source: YouTube Help
4. Memberships
You can give your fans the opportunity to gain access to exclusive and high-quality content that is tailor-made to them by offering them memberships as a part of YouTube monetization. Channel memberships are a great source of revenue if you maintain high-quality content as you have a ready base of supporters willing to pay for exclusive content. You can also use channel memberships to offer discounts on merchandise and interaction opportunities.
Image Source: Lifewire
5. Super Features
If you spend a good chunk of time live-streaming content on YouTube, you should take a look at Super Features offered by the platform for YouTube monetization. Your channel supporters can show their appreciation for your content monetarily with the help of elements like Super Chat and Super Stickers.
Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks are fun little features for viewers to show their appreciation. You can easily earn some money along the way. If you want to interact with your audience while monetizing YouTube, go Super. Every Super feature gives a 70% cut to the creators, with YouTube pocketing the rest, which is not a bad split!
- Super Chat: Available in YouTube Live videos and premieres, Super Chat gives viewers the chance to donate anything between $1 and $500. This means their comment features prominently in the live chat.
- Super Stickers: They do a similar job to Super Chat. They are fun stickers viewers can buy. They are pinned to the top of the live chat, which means that while streaming, commenters with Super Stickers are more likely to grab the creator's attention.
- Super Thanks: They show gratitude towards creators. When watchers buy Super Thanks, they snag a featured comment in the Livestream chat and a GIF. Super Thanks can even be purchased and used outside of Live videos or any video uploaded on YouTube.
Image Source: Indian Express
6. YouTube Premium
YouTube Premium offers its audience the ability to view videos without ads. You can even download videos and play them without keeping the YouTube app open. YouTube pays creators of the channels who create content for Premium in the same way as they do for ad revenue for YouTube monetization.
As a subscription service, YouTube Premium offers users access to exclusive content and ad-free viewing. YouTube Premium provides a share of creators' revenue from subscriptions, which can give their income a healthy boost.
The YouTube Premium revenue is based on watch time (the total amount of time in aggregate that viewers spend watching videos).
Image Source: PCMag
You don't need to do anything to start earning money from YouTube Premium if you have already turned on ads for your YouTube videos. YouTube automatically transfers the income earned from ad-free views to your AdSense account with your ad earnings. Usually, the income earned for YouTube premium is less than that earned from ads.
It might even take some time for you to earn money by watch time on YouTube. You will start bringing in a significant amount once you have a ton of views on your videos.
Know more about how the YouTube algorithm works.
7. BrandConnect
BrandConnect helps connect content creators with different brands for YouTube monetization. You can collaborate with brands for campaigns. The eligibility of BrandConnect is:
- You should be over 18 years old.
- You should be in the YouTube Partner Program.
- You should be based in the U.S., Canada, or the United Kingdom.
- You should have zero active Community Guidelines strikes.
Image Source: YouTube
8. YouTube Shorts Fund
YouTube Shorts has generated more than 5 trillion views on the platform and has been a massive win for YouTube and its creators as well by becoming a rich source of extra views and engagement.
You can make money from YouTube Shorts via brand deals and via the YouTube Partner Program as well. But the interesting part is YouTube's own Shorts Fund.
The platform rolled out a $100 Million Fund in May 2021 for Shorts creators. It will select eligible creators every month to apply for payment from the Shorts Fund, even if those creators aren't a part of the YPP.
Image Source: tubefilter
If a creator is selected to receive a payment and meets the eligibility criteria set by YouTube, they can expect to make anywhere between $100 to $10,000 a month as a part of YouTube monetization. This is awesome news for those creators who are very good at creating short-form content.
Here are the requirements for monetizing YouTube Shorts:
- You should post an original YouTube Short (for instance, it should not be a TikTok video) at least every 180 days.
- You should be at least 13 years old or the age of maturity in your country.
- You should follow and comply with YouTube's Community Guidelines and monetization policies.
- You should reside in one of the eligible countries.
Several creators have been publishing Shorts content for a while now, which receives millions of views. Such creators are very well-positioned to benefit from this YouTube monetization opportunity.
YouTube has put some steps for creators to be able to qualify. You are in the running to receive a Shorts bonus once you meet those requirements. If you are selected, YouTube will contact you within the first week of the month. You will have time until the 25 of that same month to claim your bonus.
Image Source: The Verge
But remember that it takes a lot of video views to get a bonus. You need to go viral to earn hundreds of dollars from YouTube Shorts, which is slightly disheartening. Still, it's better than getting nothing at all.
Know more about YouTube Shorts: Everything You Need To Know
Conclusion
So there you have it. These are some of the best ways you can enable YouTube monetization. Every method has its own unique way of working. When monetizing your YouTube channel, you may find that some methods work better than others.
In the end, it all depends on the quality of content you create, your channel goals, and how much your audience trusts you. There are really no limits on how you can use this platform to make money these days. Think up some ideas, and ask your audience what they think.
YouTube offers an excellent opportunity for video creators to bank on their creative endeavors and make a fortune. Leveraging the features offered by YouTube for monetization and you will be able to take your channel to heights never met before.
Looking for a social analytics tool to track the performance of your marketing campaign? Try Statusbrew. With several ready-to-use reporting templates and total flexibility to customize these reports, Statusbrew will help you determine whether your social initiatives have led to positive results and where adjustments are needed to strengthen your marketing campaigns - in no time.
Statusbrew is an all in one social media management tool that supports Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, and even Google My Business.
Explore the Statusbrew range of social media tools
Cancel anytime!