Do you want to make money on YouTube? Millions of creators are earning a very good living from the platform by uploading content that drives huge views and engagements. Whether that income is from advertising revenue, merch sales, or brand deals, we keep you updated with best practises and ideas.

How To Make Money on YouTube

Do you know how to do keyword research so you understand what videos people are actually searching for on YouTube? Do you know how to create a custom YouTube thumbnail? Do you know how to create a Playlist on YouTube?

vidIQ has a ton of tips that will help every creator maximise their video content. We publish content every week to keep you up to date with all the best practices.

YouTube Tips & Tricks

YouTube Shorts content is set to explode! 

All the latest tips, tricks, and rock-solid advice you need for this new feature.

YouTube Shorts

Ask any YouTuber and they will tell you that generating significant views and subscribers isn't easy. But with the right strategy and tools, any video creator can build an engaged subscriber base when they understand what those subscribers want to watch.

Appealing to an audience to watch content you are passionate about making is just the first step, you need to know how to reach them and get your videos discovered. Our guides to how to guide more views on YouTube will give you the best tips to succeed on the platform.

How To Get More Views on YouTube

Six months ago, we told creators to experiment with YouTube Shorts. We advised them to film vertical videos under 60 seconds (as the requirements suggest), post them to YouTube, and create a featured section on their channel to house the content.

Why did we suggest this? In just a few weeks, we saw channels getting thousands of views from Shorts. They mostly came from the YouTube Shorts shelf, a display area where different Shorts are featured. By the time a creator’s video left the shelf, it would have hundreds, thousands, or millions of views.

That’s how powerful Shorts are. With them, you can gain more subscribers in two weeks than you’ve had all year. Without them, you’ll miss a valuable opportunity to get discovered on the platform.

How to Create a YouTube Short: The Complete Beginner's Guide

If you want to know exactly why that is, watch our latest video about Shorts and the competition that’s quickly surrounding them.

The best time to post a Short was months ago. But if you hurry, you can still reap the benefits of creating content that gets played millions of times.

Need a push to get started? Here are three undeniable reasons to experiment with Shorts.

Reason 1: Creators Are Still Getting More Views and Subscribers From YouTube Shorts

The first reason is a little obvious but worth repeating. Extra views from Shorts have helped many channels grow, and they’ve got the numbers to prove it.

. In September 2020, he had 40k total channel views. After posting original, 3D-animated Shorts, he now has more than 3M subscribers and almost 2B views.

How This YouTube Creator Got 1.5 Billion Views In Just 80 Days

Jake isn’t the only creator to reap the benefits of Shorts. There’s also MrBeast, a popular creator who grew his 

 to 4.79M subscribers. Professional YouTube channels such as 

 have Shorts with more than 200k views each. Members of the vidIQ community have seen explosive growth, and some TikTok creators have successfully transitioned to Shorts.

You could be next if you act now. Shorts are viewed 3.5B times each day, so there are plenty of people willing to watch your videos.

Reason 2: Pretty Soon, You’ll Have to Compete With Creators From the U.S.

Did you hear the news? Beginning in March, U.S. creators will get a beta version of the in-app Shorts camera.

The announcement came from Neal Mohan, chief product officer at YouTube. On Feb. 17, he shared the news in a 

“Currently, Shorts is available in beta in India. Since the beginning of December, the number of Indian channels using Shorts creation tools has more than tripled... In the coming weeks, we'll begin expanding the beta to the U.S., unlocking our tools to even more creators so they can get started with Shorts.”

To be clear, anyone can post a Short today. As long as a video is vertical and under 60 seconds, YouTube will recognize it as a Short. What Mohan is mentioning above refers to a TikTok-style camera that’s only available in India. With it, creators can record, edit, and post Shorts directly inside the app, adding music and other special effects to their content.

When the U.S. market gets the Shorts camera, things are going to get very competitive. More creators will have tools for creating better Shorts. Plus, thousands of people who never posted a Short will do so just because there’s a new feature encouraging it.

In the coming weeks, it’s going to be harder to do what creators like Jake, MrBeast, and LegalEagle have done. Rather than wait, it's better to experiment with Shorts right now.

Reason 3: If YouTube Monetizes Shorts, You Can Make More Money

Right now, there’s no way to monetize Shorts. The Shorts display area doesn't support ads, and advertisers may not want to appear on a seconds-long video.

But if you think about YouTube’s history, things are always changing at the company

Just because creators aren’t making money from

Shorts today, that doesn’t mean they won’t in the next five or 10 years.

It's likely YouTube isn’t doing this for free. With content as popular as Shorts, the platform could be searching for ways to monetize it as we type.

Before that happens, put yourself in a position to earn Shorts revenue. If you start posting them now, you can increase your chance of monetizing that content.

Use These Tools to Start Leveraging YouTube Shorts

Even if you decide to post a few Shorts, you’ll need a way to measure their impact on your channel. When you 

, you’ll find two powerful tools within the Chrome extension – one for tracking Shorts views and another for researching popular Shorts on YouTube.

This dashboard is on the top right corner of all YouTube pages. Hover your mouse over the menu to discover how many Shorts views your channel earned in the last 48 hours. For easy access, click the box beside this metric to add it to your dashboard.

This tool lets you research the most-viewed videos on YouTube for any keyword. To access it, go to the YouTube Studio and click 

Type #Shorts into the search bar, then filter the results to show channels with 1,000 or less subscribers. This will show you all of the small channels on YouTube getting tons of views with Shorts. You can use this as motivation to start posting your Shorts or an idea generator for future Shorts.

Shorts are doing well on YouTube. They’re going to be around for a long time, so don’t wait to post your first vertical, less-than-a-minute video. Do it now to reap the benefits before creators in both India and the U.S. can do the same.

Is it too late to capitalize on the viral nature of YouTube Shorts? No, not yet. But in the coming weeks, it may be harder to stand out with short video content.

3 Reasons to Upload YouTube Shorts Before the Competition Gets Tough

If you’ve been following our blogs and videos about 

, you may have noticed they have some distinct benefits and limitations. For weeks now, we’ve marveled at the extra views any creator can get from simply posting a YouTube Short. And at the same time, we’ve bemoaned the lack of analytics for this feature because that’s what helps creators excel on YouTube.

Now that YouTube is going all-in with short-form content, more information is being shared with creators. Now, you can go to the YouTube Studio and access the one thing we’ve wanted to see all along, which are analytics for YouTube Shorts. 

We were so excited to see this, we filmed a brief tutorial on how to get there in the YouTube Studio:

Without these analytics, we can't answer important questions. 

For instance, Shorts are vertical videos of less than 60 seconds, and we’ve always wondered how such a short viewing duration affects a channel’s 

, and if so, what that process looks like. These questions had no conclusive answers for a long time, but now we have some information to share.

To learn everything we know, such as where to access YouTube Shorts analytics, and how monetization works for the new content type, read our guide below.

On YouTube, there are three ways to view Shorts analytics. Two of those methods are for desktop viewing and one is for viewing on mobile. To see analytics on either device, here’s what you need to do.

Method 1: Viewing Individual Video Stats on Desktop

While on desktop, go to the YouTube Studio.

Hover your mouse over any video, and some menu options will appear. You’ll want to click the analytics button, which looks like a tiny bar graph.

On the right side of the page, you’ll find real-time stats for views coming from YouTube Shorts, as shown below:

Method 2: Viewing Channel Stats on Desktop 

Next, you’ll see a section showing views, Watch Time, subscriber count, and estimated revenue for your channel. Scroll directly below this section and click ‘

Go to the filter tabs at the top of the page and click ‘

’. This action divides the views on your channel by all the different ways people can watch your content, which now includes YouTube Shorts. Take a look below:

Open the YouTube Studio app and click ‘

’ tab at the top of the page and you’ll see a list of traffic sources for your views, including those from YouTube Shorts.

YouTube Shorts Views: Can They Be Monetized?

Now that creators can access YouTube Shorts analytics, where these views are coming from is no longer a secret. But having more information leads to more questions, such as, “Is it possible to monetize YouTube Shorts?”

Basically, views that come from the YouTube Shorts traffic source aren’t monetized.

Because of that, these views don't contribute to the 4,000 hours of Watch Time you’d need to 

However, if someone watches a YouTube Short as a regular video on the app - meaning it wasn’t watched on the 

 or another display area - that video can earn some revenue and boost a channel's Watch Time.

For example, let's say you’re watching a video but something interests you on the Stories and Short Videos shelf. If you watch that video, the creator earns one view from the traffic source of ‘YouTube Shorts’. They don't earn any advertising revenue or extra Watch Time.

On the other hand, if you watch that same video on a channel page so it plays like a regular video, the Short earns one view and can 

 get advertising revenue. And any Watch Time it collects goes toward the 4,000 hours a creator needs for monetization.

YouTube Shorts, their analytics, and how everything gets monetized is kind of confusing right now. If you have a channel dedicated to YouTube Shorts, things get even muddier.

 channel to upload and test the performance of our own YouTube Shorts. We're up to 977 subscribers, and each video is vertical and less than 60 seconds long. Although many views on this channel come from the YouTube Shorts traffic source, more than half come from other traffic sources. And as we mentioned before, views from the YouTube Shorts traffic source aren’t monetized.

That means views from the traffic sources below, and the Watch Time they earn, count toward monetizing the vidIQ Shorts channel:

But here’s the weird part. When you look at the total Watch Time for our Shorts channel (158.5) versus the Watch Time hours that have been recorded for monetization (71), something is obviously wonky. Theoretically, if more views are coming from non-YouTube Shorts traffic sources, we should have than 71 hours of Watch Time recorded for monetization.

Two Metrics Are Still Missing From YouTube Shorts Analytics

Speaking of metrics, we’d like to see more of them for YouTube Shorts, especially on desktop. We still have no idea how often YouTube shares our content on discovery shelves, so we need a metric showing that. It would also help to see how often people tap on a Short. Right now, we don’t know if people are going to our channel after watching a Short or skipping the video altogether.

Basically, we’d like to see impressions and click-through rates. That would help us determine which Shorts contain the blueprint for getting more views, at the very least. 

To compete with TikTok, YouTube will probably keep developing Shorts and all the data that come with them. We just hope future metrics help creators do what they desire 

which is getting more views, subscribers, Watch Time, and revenue on YouTube.

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level and 

 then make sure to download vidIQ for more subscriber insights. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps to success. 

And if you’re really serious about growing your channel, sign up for exclusive access to the 

 and learn how to launch a successful YouTube Channel in just 30 days.

Want to know what percentage of your YouTube traffic comes from YouTube Shorts? Wonder no more. Here's a guide on how to find the analytics you're looking for.

YouTube Shorts Analytics: Why Every Creator Needs This Data

We all want to use the latest commercial music or a track from our favorite artist in our YouTube videos. But we also want to do it the right way, without fear of attracting any copyright strikes.

So how do you do that? Someone who knows everything there is to know about the music industry and YouTube is the Founder and CEO of Lickd, Paul Sampson. 

 is a chart-music licensing platform for video creators and Paul has spent over 15 years creating revenue with music licensing. In this episode of TubeTalk you will learn:


The differences between royalty-free vs copyright claims-free vs production music vs commercial music

How the YouTube copyright system actually works from a brand's point of view

Who gets the money if your video is claimed

Why you should NEVER use Royalty-free music from Soundcloud

How to legally use your favorite artist's track in your next video

 for the very latest news around copyright & music.

Want to Know More About Copyright Issues?

Can you take somebody else's music and use it in the background of your video as long as you credit them in the description? Do you really know your rights when it comes to your content and what you can and cannot do? 

Find out more about the wonderful world of copyright in 

our expert's guide to Fair Use & copyright on YouTube

is one of the most respected and listened to podcasts in the online video industry

. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to TubeTalk on your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode!

You can also find the complete list of all the 

 Hands up who wants to use a track from their favorite artist in their YouTube video but doesn't want a copyright strike? Find out how to use copyrighted music legally in this episode of TubeTalk.

How to Use Copyright Music on YouTube Completely Legally

 hit the Internet on May 17, 2009, so after more than 11 years, you’d think there’d be less demand for the game. But this gaming franchise isn’t going anywhere soon. 

It’s still relevant and picking up steam as gamers discover (and rediscover) it’s awesomeness.

 active players are building 3D worlds in Minecraft’s limitless universe right now.

But given its age and army of mega influencers, should new YouTubers start a Minecraft channel these days? And most importantly, is it even possible to get discovered?

Why It’s Never Too Late to Start a Minecraft YouTube Channel

To all the Minecraft fans out there, we’ve got wonderful news. No matter how many creators are flooding YouTube with Minecraft videos, 

That’s because it’s never too late to cash in on a game with frequent updates and a passionate community. 

Those are just two reasons to share your love of Minecraft on YouTube, but you’ll find a few more reasons in our latest video tutorial, “


However, among all the reasons to start a Minecraft channel, these three might be the strongest:

The mod community is active and thriving. As long as Minecraft players are allowed to manipulate the game’s files (and reinvent how it operates), there will be new adventures and new content to upload.

Minecraft developer Mojang releases updates year after year. These add tons of content to the game, and of course, more to discuss and showcase via YouTube.

Minecraft is still expanding as a brand. There’s merchandise now, and even spin-off games like Minecraft Dungeons.

With all those benefits, the content possibilities around Minecraft are endless. Your content could include things like Minecraft news, game updates, new mods, how-to-build tutorials, and showcases of popular Minecraft mods, maps, or texture packs.

If you want, you can follow the community and explore trending challenges, such as Minecraft bed wars. And of course, there's always the classic 

, where you and your audience have fun exploring Minecraft.

What Minecraft Videos Should You Make to Stand Out?

In some form, most Minecraft video ideas have been covered by creators. If you want to stand out, try to create high-value content people are always searching for.

The best way to do this is by answering questions any Minecraft gamer would ask. Spend some time creating tutorials and reviews about popular assets, such as maps, mods, and texture packs.

Believe it or not, people are still discovering Minecraft for the first time, and these newcomers will be searching for answers to specific questions. As a Minecraft veteran, you could help them survive their first night in the game, use the best texture pack, or find the best mods.

When you create this kind of content, it's smart to title your videos the same way people will search for them on YouTube. For example, if we were using the content ideas above, we’d go with these titles:

How to survive your first night in Minecraft

Also, thanks to Minecraft updates, you can create newer, updated videos about these topics in the future. New texture packs and mods are always being released, and as those change, so will your ‘best of’ lists.

If you’re worried about standing out as a Minecraft YouTuber, don’t sweat the competition. There are countless ways to break through the noise and snag an audience of your own.

Want To Get More Views as a Gamer on YouTube?

If you want to take your YouTube gaming channel to the next level and 

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Join over 1 million other users (many of them gamers!) and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take the next actionable steps to creator success. 

Is it a good idea to create a new YouTube channel around a game that's over 11 years old? If the game happens to be Minecraft, our answer is always going to be YES.

Is it Too Late to Create a Minecraft Channel on YouTube? [Spoiler: No]

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve reached the two important milestones you need to 

Now that you’ve reached those goals, it’s time to take the next step. 

Keep reading for a comprehensive guide on how to apply to the YouTube Partner Program and start making money online.

#1 How to Apply to the YouTube Partner Program

If you want to earn revenue from ads run against your content you'll need to apply to the 

. Luckily, you can do that via your YouTube Studio; just follow the steps below to start the process:

On the YouTube homepage, click your profile icon and select ‘

Find the left navigation bar and click ‘

If you need real-time guidance, watch our latest video about how to apply to YPP:

The monetization page will track your progress toward reaching 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of 

Once you've met the requirements, you'll see this glorious blue ‘apply now’ button:

Click it, and you'll be asked to complete the following three steps:

Set up and connect a Google AdSense account to your channel.

Wait for YouTube to review your channel and inform you of its decision.

But before you do any of this, you need to take care of one thing...

#2 Check the Location Settings on Your Channel

The first step of applying to YPP is checking your channel’s location settings. Basically, you need to make sure your channel is set to the right country so your application is processed smoothly.

A few weeks ago, we applied to monetize a Russian language channel. We'd previously set the channel’s country to Russia, but of course, this doesn't apply to the monetization aspects of the channel.

If you need to change the country listed on your channel, you can do that via the settings menu in the YouTube Studio, as shown below:

#3 Review YouTube’s Terms and Guidelines

The next step in applying to YPP is carefully reviewing the terms of the program. Essentially, you are entering a business contract where both you and YouTube have responsibilities to make the partnership work.

If you’re under 18, get a parent or legal guardian to go through the application with you. This is extremely important because if you try to do the application alone, you’ll eventually get stuck in later steps (such as creating an AdSense account).

Next up, be aware that the documents YouTube presents you with don’t cover everything you need to know. There’s a collection of YouTube policies and guidelines, and you may agree to them 

To cover your bases, you should definitely watch this overview of YouTube’s community guidelines, and if you can, take the entire video course 

 (the platform you’ll get paid through)

To get paid by YouTube, you have to create a 

. When you connect this account to your channel, YouTube will send earned revenue from your AdSense account to your bank account.

Return to YouTube’s monetization page (click your profile icon on the YouTube homepage > YouTube Studio > Monetization).

Navigate to step two of the YPP application, which is setting up a Google AdSense account. Click ‘

For security reasons, you’ll be prompted to log in to your Google account. After you do that, you’ll be asked whether you currently have an AdSense account. If you’re creating a new one, follow all of the on-screen instructions.

If you already have an AdSense account, all you have to do is confirm that to move forward. You'll be asked to sign in to the account and connect your current AdSense account to your YouTube channel by clicking ‘

You may temporarily land on an AdSense page that wants to redirect you back to the monetization page. Go ahead and click ‘

And that’s it! You've successfully applied to the YouTube Partner Program, and now you just need to wait for Youtube’s decision.

#5 Be Prepared for How Long It Takes to Get Accepted for Monetization

So, exactly how long will YouTube take to review your application? According to YouTube’s 

, the official answer is ‘about one month.’ 

Read the platform’s statement below for more details:

Despite this waiting period, most creators get an answer much quicker. That was certainly true in our case when we monetized the 

This Is How Long It Takes To Get Monetized on YouTube

#6 Extra Things to Know About YouTube Monetization

Once you’ve met the requirements for YPP, the application process isn’t too painful. 

However, there are some things to be aware of before and after your channel gets monetized, such as:

If your channel was rejected from YPP, you haven't 'failed' forever. You can reapply in 30 days, which is enough time to fix any problems on your channel.

When it comes to AdSense revenue, you’ll earn 55% of all advertising profits while YouTube takes the other 45%.

 is a 70-30 split. You’ll get 70% while YouTube keeps 30%.

You need to make at least $100 before YouTube sends funds to your bank account, and it takes up to 60 days for that money to arrive.

YouTube doesn’t deduct local taxes from your revenue, but your revenue is most likely taxable. We highly recommend speaking to a tax expert in your region for guidance.

Now you know all the important details about applying to YPP and monetizing your channel. We wish you a speedy application, and as always, more views and subscribers!

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps. 

 and learn how to launch a successful YouTube Channel in just 30 days. 

Are you ready to monetize your YouTube channel? Here's a step-by-step guide on how to apply to the YouTube Partner Program.

Step by Step Guide: How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel

Unlike content creators in other industries, YouTubers in the skincare market face a unique challenge: each and every one of them has a similar purpose. 

Within the skincare industry, virtually everyone is attempting to provide information on what works for the skin and what does not. So, how do you distinguish your channel given this saturation? 

Here are five tips from skincare expert and YouTuber 

 on how to make your channel rise above the crowd. 

The Topic of Skincare is VERY Broad so Find a Niche

Over the past 10 years, Cassandra Bankson’s skincare channel has generated over 1.3 million subscribers. Her videos attract a high level of engagement, and she has consistently been able to monetize her content. How was she able to achieve this? Cassandra told us that:

“The most important thing to understand is choosing what you’re passionate about within the skincare industry. I was a sufferer of cystic acne for a really long time so I wanted to create skincare content that focused on viewers with severe skin complications and even skin disorders. People with severe skin disorders have a lot of questions that don’t really come up in everyday conversations so I decided to make a channel that specifically addresses the concerns of this audience. I wanted my channel to be by an acne sufferer and for an acne sufferer. It needed to be realistic.” 

For example, in 2010, Cassandra posted the video below, 

Foundation Routine For Acne: How To Cover Pimples, Scars, Cystic Acne, Blackheads & Oil.

​This video garnered over 28 million views on YouTube and propelled Cassandra to success as a YouTube skincare influencer. Before even clicking on the content, the viewer can see from the title that the video is tailored to acne sufferers and to any potential questions that they may have about specific problems.

 While every skincare content creator does not necessarily have a challenging skin story, every YouTuber in this market has the ability to decide what they’re passionate about. Find what is important to you. This will help you create unique content.

How to Make Money on YouTube as a Beauty Professional

Standing out on YouTube isn't easy, especially for skincare creators. Here's how Cassandra Bankson, a veteran in this niche, found her way to YouTube success. 

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Step by Step Guide: How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel

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Success as a Skincare YouTuber: 5 Tips From Cassandra Bankson on Standing Out

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