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

This post is all about how you can monetize your content on YouTube to start generating revenie. The are four golden rules to making money on YouTube, and they are:

You need to have 1,000 subscribers on your YouTube channel

Your videos have generated 4,000 Watch Time hours over the last 12 months

You comply with all YouTube's policies and guidelines

#1 The YouTube Partner Program Requirements

Commonly known as the YouTube Partner Program, or YPP for short, you'll need to hit all four requirements before your channel will be accepted.

Let's start with the 1,000 subscribers. This one is pretty straightforward, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get to 1,000 subscribers, once you hit that milestone, you've reached that requirement.

As well as 1,000 subscribers, you also need 4,000 hours of Watch Time on your videos over the last 12 months. There is some confusion with this one, so let me try and clarify that. First of all, this is not about how much video content you, the YouTube creator watch. This is all about how much video content is watched on your channel from people all across the world. It’s all those hours of video that people have watched on your channel in the last 12 months (from any given date). You could well have well 4,000 hours of Watch Time over the lifetime of your channel, but it's only the last 12 months that count for YouTube Partner Program requirements.

Another couple of things to tell you about Watch Time. Live streams do count towards that total. Unlisted videos also count towards that total. But if you delete any videos, that Watch Time will be removed from your channel Watch Time hours. And one more final thing, if you are already in the YouTube Partner Program, and if your channel falls below 4,000 hours of Watch Time, YouTube won't automatically remove you from the partner program, but they can do it at their discretion. If you want a much more detailed video on the topic of 4,000 hours specifically, check out this video:

If you want to check the progress of above requirements, you can do so by clicking on your logo in the top right-hand corner of most YouTube pages, and then clicking on YouTube Studio Beta. You can view all of your analytics here, but to quickly check progress on monetization, hover your mouse over "Other features", and then click on "Status and Features". On this screen, you should see a monetization box, and if you click "Learn more", it will tell you exactly where you currently stand with subscribers and Watch Time hours.

But if all of that sounds like too much hard work, then we've got a free tool that will do all of this much quicker and more efficiently. If you 

 on pretty much every YouTube screen, you will see a collection of real-time stats all about your channel. It will show you your channel's views per hour, views over the last 48 hours, and your subscriber count. But the really cool thing is that it will track your progress to 4,000 hours of Watch Time too! Once you hit 4,000 hours, that number will turn green to show you you've reached that monetization requirement.

#2 Following YouTube Rules for Monetization

Next on the list is the rule book. If you want to monetize your content, you need to make sure you stick to it, as YouTube state:

When you apply for the YouTube Partner Program, you'll go through a standard review process to see whether your channel meets YouTube's policy and guidelines. Only channels that meet them will be accepted into the program.

YouTube also constantly check channels in the program to see whether they continue to meet YouTube's policies and guidelines. These policies and guidelines that are very comprehensive, given all of the growing pains YouTube have had of finding the right balance between creators, viewers, and advertisers. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with these 

 if you want to monetize your content in the future.

However, if you are in a TLDR mood, to summarize, apply common sense. If you think a video might be inappropriate, chances are it is, and you make such content at your own risk.

#3 Copyright and Monetization Policies on YouTube

Among YouTube's policies and guidelines is the huge topic of copyrighted material. Essentially, if you use other people's work, then you could be using copyrighted material without their permission, and YouTube does not want you to do that. It will almost certainly get you demonetized or prevent you from entering the YouTube Partner Program. Let's look at this in a little more detail.

For most of you, this is the most important monetization policy. You have to make sure that you're adding value to any third party content you monetize, and that your content has significant original commentary, educational value, or editorialized statement. And let's be clear, that still might not be enough. This does not give you a license to use other people's content in your videos all the time, because if you do, YouTube may use this as an argument not to monetize your content.

YouTube confirms that if all or most of your channel is dedicated to reused content, and you're not transforming the original work by adding your own unique value, 

then your channel is not eligible for the YouTube Partner Program.

 The spirit of this policy is to make sure that YouTube are incentivizing unique and original content into the YouTube Partner Program, and that YouTube are protecting and rewarding the creators who work hard on original content.

Now, some may see YouTube's spirit of a policy as an excuse to demonetize channels they don't want in the monetization program, but let's have a look at it from this point of view. You spent days, hours creating a magnificent piece of content, and it goes viral on YouTube. And then a dozen random video creators steal that content, upload it, generate hundreds of thousands of views, and end up profiting handsomely from it. How would you feel if that happened? That's what YouTube is trying to protect - original content from video creators.

Admittedly, reused, duplicate content, and copyright content is a broad gray area on YouTube, and they don't always get it right. And you may look at some channels on YouTube and see that they're clearly flaunting these rules. Well, you don't know what their individual circumstances are, they may have permission to use that content, or they may get caught in the future, and you don't want to follow the examples of channels that are doing this. It's not a road to success.

Ultimately YouTube is the gatekeeper. They hold all of the keys. You are on rented ground, and if you flaunt these rules, and break them, then don't be surprised when YouTube comes after you.

#4 Linking a Google Adsense Account with a YouTube Channel

If you are going to earn money from your videos, YouTube needs a way to pay you, and at least to begin with, this will be done through an AdSense account. A few things you need to know about this, if you already have an AdSense account, you can use that. You can connect multiple channels to one AdSense account, and if you haven't got an AdSense account, you can set one up during the YouTube Partner Program application process.

#5 Applying to the YouTube Partner Program

Let's remind ourselves of those requirements one more time: You need:

1,000 subscribers on your YouTube channel

4,000 Watch Time hours on your videos over the last 12 months

To comply with all YouTube's policies and guidelines

When you've applied YouTube Partner Program, it may take up to a month for the platform to make a decision. That’s because actual humans will review your channel so it’s a manual process. Some channels have been approved in days, so it could be quicker. However, if it does take longer than a month, then your channel will usually be placed in further review. When this happens, unfortunately, the wait times can get very long. Three, six, possibly even 12 months. In some unfortunate cases, YouTube never seems to come to a decision, leaving the creator in monetization limbo.

We appreciate that this can be a very frustrating position to find yourself in as a video creator, as many of you have commented about this on our videos here at vidIQ. Unfortunately, we ourselves cannot help push the process forward for you, so what we recommend you do is to talk to TeamYouTube on Twitter, make sure that everybody knows that you have an issue with your monetization decision.

YouTube say that this will never speed up the process, but at least having some decision is something you should deserve as a video creator.

#6 Being Rejected from the YouTube Partner Program: Next Steps

Now let's say that you've applied for the YouTube Partner Program, but you've been rejected. What can you do?

When you are rejected from the YouTube Partner Program, YouTube will give you a general reason why. Unfortunately, they won't tell you specifically what video or content is causing the issue, so you may be left blindly adjusting your channel. However, the good news is you can reapply for the program in 30 days' time.

Again, this is where you will have to use your common sense. If you think there are videos that are walking the community guideline and policies tightrope, then they most likely are and you need to adjust them. If there are videos that have copyright content on them then those are probably causing a problem with YouTube as well, so you will need to delete them.

Creators have asked when they apply for the partner program, will having a community guideline strike or a copyright strike against my channel prevent me from getting into the program? The answer is probably no, it definitely won't prevent you, but it is going to have an impact.

There is a dedicated support page with advice on what you should do if you are rejected from the YouTube Partner Program, and 

Once you are in the Partner Program, and you want to take your monetization a step further by earning money from Super Chats, membership, and merchandise, take a look at this video on the subject:

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

 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 

Want to know how to monetize your channel and start making money on YouTube? Take a look at our beginner's guide!

How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel - A Beginner's Guide

YouTube just updated its terms of service, particularly the policies around the 

, channel monetization, and advertising. On November 18, the platform announced it would start placing ads on videos from non-monetized channels.

In the updated terms of service document, YouTube describes this as its ‘right to monetize’. Here’s an excerpt from the platform’s 

“Starting today we’ll begin slowly rolling out ads on a limited number of videos from channels not in the YouTube Partner Program. This means as a creator that’s not in YPP, you may see ads on some of your videos. 

Since you’re not currently in YPP, you won’t receive a share of the revenue from these ads, though you’ll still have the opportunity to apply for YPP as you normally would once you meet the eligibility requirements

. You can always check your progress toward eligibility on the monetization tab in YouTube Studio.”

As soon as we heard the news, we filmed a video expressing our thoughts and what this update means for creators. To best prepare for YouTube’s new monetization strategy, give it a watch below:

Despite YouTube’s shocking update, we don't think the platform is going to plaster ads all over the place. Instead, YouTube said it would place ads on a 

 number of videos. If history is any indication of a typical YouTube test, perhaps 5-10% of the platform’s content will be affected.

Nevertheless, YouTube updating its terms of service is significant. If the test goes well, we may see 100% of content monetized on the platform. 

That’s just a guess, though, and a far-reaching one at that. For today, here’s what every creator needs to know about the update.

YouTube’s ecosystem has three major stakeholders - those who create content, those who watch that content, and those who want to sell things to viewers by paying for advertising space on creators' content.

Every time YouTube makes a change to its platform, policies, or service, that balance begins to shift. 

By rolling out ads on non-monetized channels, this latest update shifts more power to YouTube's advertisers. They’ll have a wider selection of channels to choose from when it comes to ad placements - all while annoying users with more ads and infuriating creators who won’t get any of the ad revenue.

Advertisers will make more money, but the stakeholder that stands to earn the most is YouTube. More ads will be shown to viewers, and the platform will likely keep 100% of the revenue.

We aren’t business development experts or economists, so we’re absorbing this news as the average creator would. And to us, it feels like YouTube is making an assertive, legacy-building cash grab.

The Pros and Cons of YouTube’s Monetization Update

YouTube typically shares advertising revenue with its creators, so some of them may be dreading the platform’s new direction. However, there's a silver lining in any challenge, and here are two of the biggest:

There’s a conspiracy theory that monetized videos are more discoverable on YouTube. If you believe in that, then hey - maybe you’ll get more views and reach the YPP requirements faster.

On a serious note, watching YouTube monetize your content is validating. If one of your videos gets selected, maybe you’d have a decent shot at being accepted to YPP in the future.

YouTube gives creators a platform of 2 billion users to grow their channels and make money from their content. That used to happen for free but not anymore. Like it or not, YouTube may use your content to make money at your expense.

For creators who are already monetized, the pitfalls are steep. If advertisers have more options of where to place their ads, they could choose any video - and not yours. For example, if a smaller creator attracts potential customers better, they may receive the ads you’d normally get. But the creator won't earn any revenue, so of course, YouTube wins again.

Beyond the pros and cons, YouTube’s monetization update raises an important question: 

If YouTube decides to place ads on your videos, and you can't monetize them, can you even agree to what type of ads appear on your content?

When a creator enters the YPP, they gain the power to restrict certain ads from their channel - things like alcohol consumption or gambling. Or, they can decide they don’t want ads appearing on their content at all.

For creators who aren’t monetized, we can only imagine they don’t have the same level of control under this new update, and that feels...wrong.

First, we should face the basic facts about YouTube’s new update:

There may be more advertisements on YouTube videos in the future. However, viewers are already accustomed to this and will probably keep watching their favorite creators.

YouTube is going to profit from your content, even if you aren’t allowed to monetize it. 

But consider this: As an unmonetized channel, you weren't going to earn money from those videos anyway.

We have to remember that YouTube is still rented real estate on the Internet. The platform has the right to do whatever it wants, and we can decide whether or not we want to log into the app each day.

The most important thing to remember is this: You still have the potential to start a YouTube channel, upload a video, and reach potentially billions of users. No matter how the ads are distributed, that’s not going to change any time soon.

YouTube has announced it's going to place ads on some unmonetized channels - but it will keep 100% of the revenue share.

YouTube Will Run Ads On Some Unmonetized Channels, But Those Creators Won't Benefit

. The video-segmenting feature, which allows users to click a timestamp and jump to any point in a video, now comes with a scrolling chapter list. This interactive panel is large, highly browseable, and appears on the right side of a YouTube video.

When you activate the feature, it looks something like this:

 and how to add them to the description of your YouTube videos. 

We also praised their ability to segment multi-layered topics, which helps your audience digest ‘how-to’ content or in-depth reviews. But a lesser-known benefit is how these timestamps can push your video to the top of Google search results. That’s an invaluable resource for growing on YouTube because seriously - who doesn’t want more views from the world’s largest search engine?

Every creator, especially those on YouTube’s competitive platform, deserves a slice of the SEO, video-segmenting pie. To claim yours, just keep reading.

How to Access the YouTube Chapters Upgrade

At first glance, you may overlook the new chapter upgrade because the tool is slightly hidden. To make sure you don’t miss it, follow these steps:

1. Find a YouTube video displaying chapters on its timeline.

 If you can't find one, just watch the video below. It’s our tutorial about how to access the video chapters upgrade, which of course, has several chapters to experiment with:

2. Click play, then navigate to a chapter by clicking any position on the video timeline.

 When you have one selected, the name of the chapter should appear below the video’s progress bar, as shown below.

3. Next to the chapter title, you should see a right-facing arrow.

 Click it to expand a large panel that lets you browse/select all the chapters in a video.

The good thing about this feature is that it’s completely retroactive. If you create timestamps for your existing videos, you'll start to see those upgraded video chapters appear.

On the YouTube mobile app, you get the same functionality. Simply tap on a chapter within the video player, and it will show a list of every chapter associated with the video.

YouTube Video Chapters: Do They Decrease Channel Watch Time?

When we talk about video chapters, we try to emphasize how valuable they are for introducing viewers to your content. Instead of pressing play on a video and wondering what it entails, your audience can essentially view an outline.

However, our viewers - the vidIQ community - always ask the same controversial question about video chapters. They want to know how video chapters affect a channel’s 

. After all, encouraging viewers to skip around to different points in a video cant be good for retention, can it?

Don’t spend too much time worrying about the numbers. 

Overall, video chapters are a small part of your YouTube channel’s success. They won’t make or break the journey, and the feature provides value for your viewers.

As an example, take a look at one of our top-performing tutorials, “

” This video has more than half a million views, and it has several video chapters throughout. To have reached such a high number, we’re not sacrificing as many views or Watch Time as one might think.

And remember, if your video segment gets recommended on Google search, that’s another reason to keep using video chapters. Those Googe displays consume a lot of real estate on a mobile screen, giving your video a better chance of being clicked on.

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

 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 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. 

Are you using timestamps to create video chapters? If not, YouTube just upgraded the feature so you may want to start.

Why You Should be Using YouTube Video Chapters

 are here to stay, so if you’re creating vertical videos of less than 60 seconds, well done! You’re an early adopter of YouTube’s latest content type, which is also wildly popular on TikTok, Instagram, and nearly every corner of the internet.

But now that you’ve started making YouTube Shorts, how do you get more eyeballs on them? Well, it’s a simple fix. All you have to do is add those Shorts as a featured section on your channel, then sit back and let the views roll in.

How to Add YouTube Shorts as a Featured Section

To display Shorts on your channel’s homepage, you’ll have to visit the customization section of the YouTube Studio. Here are the step-by-step instructions:

Select the layout tab at the top of the page, scroll down to the featured section area, and click ‘

'. Select this content type, and the new section will be added to the bottom of your featured section list.

The last thing you need to do is drag the Short videos section to the top of your list. Then click ‘

’ in the top right corner of the page to save your changes, as shown below:

If you'd rather follow along using our real-time tutorial, just watch the video below:

One of the best things about this new feature is that it only appears on the mobile app, where Shorts are highly watched. So you can easily get more views on all your Shorts by simply enabling this display area.

 content appears there. Unlike YouTube's 

 shelf, the new featured section doesn't show random creators’ content. Instead, it plays your videos back to back, like this:

Extra Things to Know About the YouTube Shorts Featured Section

When it comes to content curation, you'll save valuable time creating a featured section for 

 as long as your videos are vertical and under 60 seconds, they'll show up.

The only downside is that you can only use a desktop computer - and not your smartphone - to add 

Despite that small inconvenience, we're happy to see this new section. With a dedicated display area, creators can finally get more views on their shortest, punchiest videos.

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

Getting more views on your YouTube Shorts just got easier. All you need to is enable this one, simple feature...

How to Get More Views with YouTube Shorts

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.

 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 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.

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