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

vidIQ was born in San Francisco on 1st July 2011, which makes us 9 years old today and we're in the mood to celebrate 🎉 But first, a little backstory....

YouTube can be an intimidating and confusing place for a beginner - let's face it, it can be frustrating for experienced users too. The Co-founders of vidIQ, Rob Sandie & James Cross wanted to build a suite of tools that would not only integrate seamlessly into the creator's workflow, but would decipher complicated data and analytics into stone cold actionable takeaways.

The dream was to create a powerful tool so creators could have real time stats at their fingertips

, and all the other insights they would need in one place. After 2 years of fiercely hard work, vidIQ launched to the public in 2013 with those goals in mind.

 like keyword research so creators could determine the type of content audiences were looking for, and what keywords creators should use to title their videos. There was also an optimization scorecard so no video would be published without ticking all the boxes YouTube used to identify what your content was all about, plus a way to track your competitors to identify what content was (and perhaps more importantly, wasn't) working for them.

 Now the vidIQ app and tool has over 20 different features geared toward saving the creator time and giving them invaluable insights into how their content is resonating with their target audience.

Now available in 17 languages, the vidIQ Chrome extension has over 1M active users. These are creators that are eager and hungry to grow their YouTube channel and audience are partnering with vidIQ to do it.

vidIQ: Insights for Every YouTube Creator

Rob & James also understood the importance of guiding the creator through the best possible research, video creation, optimization, and upload, and analysis process, so a whole toolbox of guides and informational resources have been built around that aim.

We're thrilled to confirm that, alongside the 

, the following educational resources are available:

 has 617K subscribers & 39M views and is PACKED with tutorials and guides about how to succeed on YouTube

 podcasts features expert guests on every online video topic

 is full of training courses that take a deep dive into subjects like keyword results, how to create the best custom thumbnails, and how to make money on YouTube.

 that has joined us in making vidIQ such a success. We are so invested in your journeys, and take immense pride in your own successes. We are humbled that you've chosen us to be your partner, and excited to bring you even more tools and resources to help you knock your goals out of the park. Here's to you 🎉🎉

If you'd like to know a little more about the vidIQ origin story, please take a look at the video below. It's pretty fascinating:

If you want more insights into YouTube then make sure to download vidIQ. Over 1 million creators use vidIQ to help with keyword and competitor research, channel audits, and so much more. 

And if you’re serious about growing your YouTube views and subscribers, sign up for exclusive access to the 

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

vidIQ is 9 years old TODAY! We'd like to thank each and every YouTube creator that has joined us in making vidIQ such a success 🚀🎉

Happy 9th Anniversary vidIQ!

Do you want to change your YouTube channel from your passion into a real business that generates significant revenue for you?

Today's guest on TubeTalk is Richie Norton

, a hugely successful entrepreneur and business advisor who takes us through the practical steps of turning your YouTube presence into a money-making machine. In this episode of TubeTalk you will learn:

That you shouldn't wait for retirement to do what you want

How YouTube financial freedom is based on systems

Click on the podcast links above to listen

 to Richie's advice, and don't forget to give his social channels a follow!

Listen to this episode which is about the 

5 Critical Mistakes Revealed From Hundreds of YouTube Channel Audits

TubeTalk has been informing video creators and marketers since 2014, and is one of the most respected and listened to podcasts in the online video industry. Don't foprget to 

 on your favorite podcast application so you never miss an episode!

You can also find the complete list of all the 

How do you build a business on YouTube? In this week's episode of TubeTalk, we talk to a creator who will talk us through the right mindset to achieve that goal.

How to Turn Your YouTube Channel into a Successful Business

For weeks, or even possibly months, your YouTube views and subscribers have been growing, and you’ve been happy with your content strategy. But all of a sudden, everything comes to a halt, and even though you may be creating and publishing more videos, you're getting fewer views on average. What is that about?

There may be a number of reasons which we’ll go over in this post. Or you can watch the video here:

#1 Global Lockdown - The Impact on YouTube views

Did your channel experience significant growth over the past few weeks? With global lockdown in place due to 

, many of us have been stuck indoors and glued to Netflix, Hulu, iPlayer, or YouTube because there has been nothing else to do.

But now the world is starting to reopen and which means less time is spent in front of our screens. And, of course, there's a little bit of viewer fatigue, because people can't watch Netflix and YouTube all of the time. Well, not everyone can.

For a lot of creators, you may be starting to see a slight decrease in your view counts. Want to know how that's impacted the 

We were averaging around about 40,000 views per day at the start of March of 2020. Then, as the lockdown came into effect, a lot of people seized the opportunity to start their own YouTube channels and turned to us for advice. Consequently, we saw a massive upsurge in our view counts, going as high as 

As lockdowns have been loosened in some countries, our view counts are starting to drop by 20%-25%. We’re sure other channels have seen the same fluctuations.

#2 Seasonal Changes Are Influencing Your YouTube Audience

The extraordinary events of the past few months and their impact on YouTube views and subscribers may be obvious for some channels. But for others, they see their view counts falling for unexplained reasons.

If you're doing all of the right things, and you're continuing to improve your content and your storytelling, YouTube will eventually reward you. Don't worry about the short-term hits that may be affecting your channel, because unfortunately, not all channels can be popular all of the time.

You can apply this to all sorts of YouTube channels. Take Food & Drink channels, for example. They can really come into their own around the holiday season, with Halloween, 

, and Christmas to play with. But outside of these tentpole events, their views may drop.

The same applies to tech channels who push all sorts of products and gadgets in the run-up to Christmas. These channels can generate crazy views with unboxing and review content as consumers search for the neatest gift. But come the New Year everybody has spent their money, and they don't want to buy anything.

However, those same consumers may want to lose weight or stick to that New Year's resolution. That’s where educational channels can take advantage of the interest in diets, or work-outs or videos on how to stop smoking or cut down on drinking.

So this is where you as a creator need to think smarter, rather than work harder. That might be an opportunity for you to invest in some new equipment, or learn how to use a new editing software, or practice presenting in front of cameras. So you're doing things behind the scenes to improve so that when that audience picks up an interest again, you're ready to give them even better content.

#3 YouTube Policy Changes Can Change EVERYTHING

Another thing that can have a huge impact on your channel are policy changes from YouTube.

The most recent one of these, of course, was the 

. YouTube were fined hundreds of millions of dollars and told to sort this mess out, and by sorting this mess out, passed on a lot of changes for many creators. For more info take a look at this video which explains everything you need to know about YouTube, COPPA, FTC and your Channel:

Under the new YouTube rules, If you make a video that is for a target audience of under the age of 13, you have to declare it. And when you do, that means people can't comment on that video, notifications don't go out to your subscribers for those videos, and you earn a lot less revenue because you can't use targeted ads on those videos.

YouTube is always tweaking their policies, especially 

. Which, whether you realize this or not, will have an impact on how your videos are shared on YouTube, and how the algorithm treats your content.

So could have been making content in 2016 that was super popular with an audience. But things have changed in the YouTube landscape, which means the exact same content might not be shared as much as it used to be on the platform.

As a creator, you need to keep up to date about YouTube's policies and guidelines. Make sure you subscribe to the 

, and just check in with any guidelines that YouTube is sharing with you on a regular basis.

 are always letting you know, as creators, what's changing in the YouTube landscape.

#4 The Impact of YouTube’s Many, Many, Many Algorithm Changes

YouTube is constantly changing, updating, or tweaking its algorithms to help the viewer find the content they want to watch.

When it comes to these changes, try to remember this: YouTube is not out to get you, the individual creator.

It is trying to create an environment where people stay on YouTube as long as possible, and they do that by serving up more of the content that viewers want to watch. There is no doubt that algorithm changes on YouTube will have a detrimental impact on some channels. But those same algorithm changes will have positive implications for many more YouTube channels.

Take this as an example. YouTube changes the algorithm, and it negatively affects 5% of the creator community. Chances are, especially on social media, you will hear a lot from that 5% that all of a sudden their views have gone down, and the algorithm is to blame.

And that's fair enough. But at the same time, let's say that algorithm change positively impacts 30% of the creator community. Do you think that 30% is going to praise YouTube about the algorithm change?

Do you think they're even going to hold the algorithm responsible for the growth in their channel? Are they going to assume that their content is just getting better, and more people are watching it? I'll let you decide on that one.

Algorithms are mysterious things, and as YouTube gives little to nothing away about their policies, a huge number of myths have grown around them. Find out the 

#5 Channel Fails Because the Creator Doesn’t Change Along with YouTube

Have you ever heard of the phrase doing something over and over again, and expecting something different to happen? Well, this is kind of the same logic.

You may have been doing the same thing over and over again, and being fairly successful. However, everything around you is changing, and you're slowly being left behind.

Maybe you had a channel that was really successful five or six ago but you took a long break from the platform. When you returned, you’re doing the same thing with your content, but the entire landscape has changed.

Let's just imagine your channel is happily going along, getting lots of views, doing really nicely. But then the topic is getting more competitive in your landscape, creators are trying new and different things, and all of a sudden, you're going to find yourself overtaken by everyone else.

So this is a warning to all of us: Don't get too comfortable. Always be learning, always be innovating, and testing new things.

#6 No-one is Interested in Your Content Anymore

We've already talked about seasonal changes and how they can impact a channel over the course of a year. But what if those seasonal changes are permanent?

For example, ‘Game of Thrones’ has been a cultural phenomenon over the last decade, and there are many channels on YouTube that have created content around the lore, the characters, and the cast.

But ‘Game of Thrones’ has finished now, and general audience interest in the series is probably beginning to wane. There are always going to be hardcore fans, but the general public is probably moving on to something else now.

So if you continue to create ‘Game of Thrones’ content around the TV series, do you think you're going to continue to sustain your channel? Probably not.

This is a problem that affects many gaming channels too. They get really popular with a certain type of game but they're not sure where to go next. What do they do? That's where you, as a creator, have to prepare for those changes.

You have to tap into an audience's enjoyment of "Game of Thrones" and try to determine what they are going to like next. Don't be afraid to always be thinking about what you can test next. Whether that be the next TV series or game that you want to cover. If you’re a gaming channel that’s struggling, take a look at this video for advice:

#7 You're Not Aligning Yourself With YouTube's Goals

Two billion people watch YouTube every single month. So there's still another six billion people YouTube want to tap into with their platform.

They're not standing still, and they're going to continue to evolve their platform. That means they will test many different things, and they will tweak their algorithms every single day.

We've been hearing more and more about something that seems almost impossible to quantify, 

. This isn't a metric that's available in YouTube's studio (yet) but it’s vital to know about.

As a platform, YouTube wants to serve up the type of content that you, as a viewer, want to watch and to continue watching that content. if a viewer is satisfied with what they're watching every time they come onto YouTube, they'll continue to use the service.

We have to accept that, as video creators, each one of us represents a tiny water droplet in the ocean of this video-watching platform. And when YouTube drops something into that ocean it creates a huge ripple effect, and it's up to us to ride those waves in a positive fashion.

If you want to get more insights into YouTube then make sure to download vidIQ. Over 1 million creators use vidIQ to help with keyword and competitor research, channel audits, and so much more. 

Are you getting fewer views on your YouTube videos than you used to? Surely your channel should ALWAYS be growing, right? Let's investigate!

7 Reasons Why Your YouTube Channel is Losing Views (And How To Fix It)

Admittedly your options are very limited but here’s the steps you need to follow if you’ve downloaded the Creator Studio app on either iOS or Android,

Tap the menu in the top left-hand corner and go to ‘Videos’

Find the video you want to amend and tap into it

Then tap the pencil icon at the top and then swipe over to the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab

Swipe down until you see the comments option, which allows you to toggle on or off comments for this video on your channel

Note that it doesn't delete any existing comments from the video and you will be able to see them once again, if you reenable comments for that video. Watch our tutorial for more details:

YouTube Comment Management From a Mobile Phone

When it comes to disabling comments for your YouTube videos, there are not many options when it comes to using a mobile phone. For instance, if you want to bulk disable comments on videos or do it they upload default so every video you upload in the future has comments disabled you'll have to do all of that from a desktop, but we do have a 

If you don't want to completely disable comments for a video, there are some limited comment management options in the Creator Studio app.

Just tap on the menu in the app and go to comments. Next to each comment tap the three dots, which brings up the option to:

Hide the user so you NEVER see comments from them again

But to really get into the nitty-gritty of comment moderation, you'll need to do it on a computer. If your 

, then you have no choice - comments will be disabled for your videos automatically.

And finally, if you do disable comments, you're effectively killing your ability to directly connect with your audience.

I'm not saying that more comments mean more views, but if you can personally connect with somebody on the other end of the lens, they're going to feel more connected to you as a creator, trust you more, subscribe to you and watch more of your content.

Have you ever needed to disable comments on one of your YouTube videos, but you only had a mobile phone at hand. We show you how.

How to Enable or Disable YouTube Comments on a Mobile Device

Can you whip up a cake from scratch without following a recipe? How about making a delicious ramen, sans the microwave-ready cups they’re packed in at grocery stores?

If you can work such miracles in the kitchen, that means your cooking skills are far above average. It’s possible that you’re either an advanced hobbyist, a certified chef, or somewhere in between!

No matter which category you belong to, one thing's for certain: If you’re willing to share your culinary expertise online, you have the potential to make money - especially if your platform of choice happens to be YouTube.

There are plenty of ways to do this, but the first crucial step is to learn all the secrets of the 

Once you do that, you’ll have the necessary knowledge to 

 and start generating revenue from ads run against your content.

As amazing as that sounds by itself, the money-making opportunities don’t end there. If you’re ready to earn some extra income as a culinary expert, here’s how three YouTubers are making it happen on the platform right now.

Steph and Adam: Earning Cash from Cooking on YouTube

 are a popular YouTube duo that specialize in vegan cooking. On their channel, which currently has 555K subscribers, they upload meal prep videos and share healthy, plant-based recipes.

When the quarantine and lockdowns became a global norm, Steph and Adam responded with timely, relevant content. To start with, they compiled 25 of their previous recipe videos into one, 

Then, to make this resource even more accessible, they uploaded a video that breaks down each recipe, which is titled, “

25 Pantry Meals To Make During Quarantine.

” In that video (below), Steph and Adam share a list of meals that anyone can prepare with common pantry ingredients:

This was a much-needed video at the beginning of the current pandemic as circumstances changed, and people started to cook at home a lot more. There are plenty of reasons for that, and they all stem from challenges surrounding COVID-19: empty shelves at grocery stores, the rising cost of essential items, and the need to practice social distancing.

Current Trends in Food & Drink on YouTube

After a crazy first half to 2020, no one knows what’s going to happen next, so if you’re a culinary whiz, your knowledge and advice could truly make a difference this year.

, and the results show that searches for a lot of cooking-related content increased once an official pandemic was declared.

’ spiked from February to April on YouTube. In particular, the banana bread and sourdough increases reflect 

With a YouTube channel, you could get paid to share your culinary skills and capitalize on the popular, always-in-demand topic of food preparation.

For example, Steph and Adam make money from their cooking videos year-round because they’ve fulfilled the 

Watch Time and subscriber-count requirements

 for monetizing a channel. Therefore, they can collect AdSense revenue on each video, which is what most creators strive for.

But that’s not the only way this duo is earning from YouTube. Steph and Adam have a couple of cookbooks, and they use their channel to promote those and bag more sales.

Want to follow in their footsteps? Create your YouTube channel today, then start sharing your cooking knowledge with the world. Over time, you’ll have the opportunity to earn more cash and visibility for your business.

Tom Dyer Bartender: Cashing in on Quarantini Trends

 is an expert at flair bartending, a performative way of mixing drinks that involves tossing, juggling, and expert pouring. While most people mix drinks the regular way, Tom does it with a ‘flair’ by performing tricks with bar tools and liquor bottles.

On Tom’s channel, which currently has 46.1K subscribers, he uploads cocktail tutorials, bartending tips, and more. However, those skills are part of a much larger business.

Tom also sells bartending tools, hosts a 'Flair' camp, and even co-founded a school for bartenders. Because of all that success, Tom is a great example of how a culinary professional can extend their business to YouTube and make money.

In fact, Tom did just that recently. As meme culture crossed paths with lockdown lifestyles, he capitalized on a funny internet trend: __the quarantini. __

The mixed drink, which consists of Emergen-C and vodka, began as a joke. But as lockdowns continued, any drink was eligible for quarantini status - especially those with a hint of citrus. In the video below, Tom puts his own bartending twist on the quarantini:

If bartending is your speciality and you’ve been unable to practice, bring that passion to YouTube and start making more money.

In Tom’s case, he not only earns money from paid advertising on his videos, but everything else that comes with a tightly integrated brand: merchandise, training camps, and courses.

YouTube is a great platform for promoting entrepreneurial ventures, so start building your channel today.

TabiEats Recipes: Live Cooking Shows Plus Patreon Cash

 uploads cooking tutorials, specifically around Japanese cuisine. On their channel of 11.1K subscribers, viewers can watch how-to cooking videos for dishes like menchi-katsu (ground meat patties) and yakisoba (noodle stir-fry).

About two months ago, TabiEats started live streaming. In those videos, viewers watched cooking tutorials that earned a decent amount of views. For example, in the video below, TabiEats shows over 7,000 viewers how to make a ginger pork sandwich:

Live-streamed videos don’t carry ads, but they still have description sections where you can include links to your culinary products online. In the case of TabiEats, there’s a Patreon link in every video, and that’s where loyal subscribers can pay to view exclusive content.

Furthermore, the strategy of doing a livestream and encouraging donations has been gaining traction for a while.

On Facebook Live, rapper and cooking enthusiast Big Freedia started a 

 series when lockdowns were still in session.

During those live streams, Big Freedia encouraged attendees to join a Patreon of private, pay-to-view recipes.

Do you work miracles in the kitchen? If so, you can earn some extra money by sharing your culinary expertise on YouTube!

Happy 9th Anniversary vidIQ!

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