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

YouTube Monetization

How To Make Money on YouTube

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.

YouTube Views

How To Get More Views on YouTube

YouTube Shorts content is set to explode! 

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

YouTube Shorts

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

Watch Time is arguably THE most important metric on YouTube right now, and creators won’t be able to monetize their content without 4000 hours of it. But what is it and how can creators increase the amount of Watch Time their videos attract? We keep you updated on the best practices around Watch Time, and how you can increase how much your video content generates.

YouTube Watch Time

All the tips, tricks, and solid gold advice you need for starting or growing a Gaming channel on YouTube and other platforms

YouTube Gaming

Gaming

Earning 4,000 hours of Watch Time is the dream for most creators, but it isn’t easy. Gaining 100 hours, sure. But thousands? That’ll test your determination to keep going on YouTube. Essentially, you have to post multiple videos and hope people watch them for long enough.

But once you have 4,000 hours, everything gets easier. You’ll be one step closer to applying to the YouTube Partner Program, which lets you monetize your channel with advertisements. Having those valuable hours allows you to focus on other things, too, like 

. That’s the second milestone required for the YPP.

YouTube Partner Program – How to Monetize Your Channel

When you’re collecting Watch Time hours, it’s easy to overlook certain parts of the process. The biggest, most understated thing, is that 

These 5 Videos Aren’t Eligible for YPP Watch Time

Before you start earning Watch Time, know which videos are in your best interest to create. There are five videos that make it hard – in most cases, impossible – to reach 4,000 hours.

Years ago, private and unlisted videos counted toward YPP Watch Time. 

 when YouTube decided that public videos, not partially viewable content, could accumulate watch hours.

prioritize public videos over private or unlisted ones.

 Unlisted videos can only be watched if certain people have the link. This privacy option benefits creators with specific content plans. They may want to send videos to friends and family or create a webinar for a limited audience.

If you’re trying to monetize your channel, unlisted and private videos aren’t very helpful. Make sure videos that need to be public are, in fact, set to public. That’ll help you reach 4,000 hours and apply to the YPP.

How to set private or unlisted videos to public on YouTube

Log in to YouTube on desktop. Click your profile icon and select 

You’ll see a list of all the videos on your channel. Find the videos you want to make public, then go to the 

 column. Click the eyeball symbol to reveal a menu of options: private, unlisted, members only, and public. Choose 

 from your monetizable total. For example, imagine your channel has 2,000 watch hours. If you delete a video that contributed 500 of those hours, you’ll be left with 1,500. Before you delete anything, check to see how many watch hours your content has earned.

Sometimes deleting a video is inevitable. Maybe you’ve grown as a person since it was first published and want to clean up your image. Or perhaps someone appeared in your video without prior consent, and they want you to take it down. Whatever the reason, make sure it’s worth deleting a video and losing precious watch hours.

Have you created video ads for YouTube? If you were hoping these would help you apply to the YPP, unfortunately, they won’t. Watch hours from advertising campaigns don’t count toward YouTube monetization. Even if you’ve earned 10,000 hours, none of it will go toward the 4,000 hours you need.

This seems fair because ads can get millions of views. If YouTube counts them for YPP acceptance, that’ll create a shortcut to monetization.

Short, vertical videos and how they relate to the YPP is a complicated subject. We know that 

; YouTube made that clear a few months ago. The platform also announced that Watch Time from Shorts doesn’t contribute to a creator’s 4,000-hour goal. But will this change in the future? Is there a monetization program just for Shorts in the works?

Only time will tell. For now, know that Shorts won’t help you monetize your channel – not quickly, at least.

There’s a small caveat to this statement, though. If a Short is viewed on the Shorts shelf, a display area for brief, vertical videos, it won’t earn YPP watch hours. But if the same video is viewed on a regular watch page with YouTube ads and a comment section, you can earn eligible Watch Time.

So while Shorts are mostly viewed on the Shorts shelf, they 

 get played in monetizable areas. If you need all the watch hours you can get, take advantage of this loophole. Those seconds, however small, add up.

Live streams are a great way to increase your Watch Time. These videos are usually lengthy, and if people stick around until the end, you can add several hours to your analytics.

According to YouTube, live streams that aren’t converted to video-on-demand content won’t earn YPP watch hours. The information around this is pretty vague, so we'd suggest making sure your live streams are public when they've ended. Don't archive a live stream by setting it to unlisted or private. 

Just to be sure, we asked YouTube if this advice made sense for creators. 

We didn't get a straightforward answer, but creators chimed in with their personal experience. A few of them said they earn Watch Time both during and after a live stream, which includes video-on-demand viewing.

Whether these hours were recorded for YPP Watch Time is another story. That's why, as soon as possible, we'd recommend checking to see if your live stream is public after it ends. If it's unlisted or private, switch it to public.

How to Get 4,000 Hours of YouTube Watch Time

 That means in addition to regular videos, posting lengthy live streams and experimenting with Shorts. The latter isn’t going to bring you quick success. The Watch Time you earn, if you earn any at all, will depend on where people watch the video. Shorts should complement your regular videos and live streams because all the Watch Time accumulates.

be intentional with the videos you upload.

 It’s easier to earn watch hours when you post videos that are relevant all year. Anything about making more money, product reviews, and video games with lasting popularity are good examples. People continue to search for these evergreen topics on YouTube.

 Instead of posting 30 videos in 30 days, aim to create videos that are entertaining, informative, and completely cover a topic. That could be 15 videos that answer every question about a topic, complete with video chapters and detailed instructions. Provide as much value as you can to make people watch longer.

Create a diverse set of content (regular videos, live streams, Shorts).

Post evergreen content that’s always relevant.

Give your video so much value that people can’t click away.

Make Money on YouTube – How to Get 4000 Hours Watch Time

Earning 4,000 hours of YouTube Watch Time is a major undertaking. If you need more clarification on how to do it, watch our explainer video below:

Put these suggestions to action, and you’ll eventually reach 4,000 hours of Watch Time. But don’t stop there. Your next goal should be applying to the YPP, which you can learn how to do 

You need 4,000 hours of Watch Time to monetize your YouTube channel. Unfortunately, the five videos below may slow your progress toward reaching that big, desirable goal.

YouTube Monetization: Which Videos Count Toward 4,000 Hours of Watch Time?

 is no longer a secret. Getting invited to the app is still a challenge, but it’s worth the effort once you’re inside. You can network with experts in almost every industry. There are clubs for real estate agents, digital marketers, musicians, actors, and of course, YouTube creators. Clubhouse is audio-only, so conversations often feel like conferences. There are different rooms, stages, hosts, and moderators. Audience members listen along, sometimes with muted mics.

 created a YouTube club for small creators. They called it Rising YouTuber, and at the time, they were still rising themselves. They both had channels with around 1,000 subscribers.

How to Expand Your YouTube Community Without Burning Out

At first, the goal was to connect with creators and brands. Ghatt, who is a seasoned Pinterest marketer, was seeking community. Lewis was networking to land sponsorships for her beauty channel. Everything changed when creators on Clubhouse asked Lewis for 

. That’s when Ghatt and Lewis started the Rising YouTuber club to help small creators grow.

“When we joined, there were a lot of YouTubers around,” Ghatt says. “We would go into different rooms, and because some creators were larger, they would use terms like KPI (key performance indicator), CPM (cost per mille), and CTR (click-through rate). They would use those acronyms, but they wouldn’t break them down. We said to ourselves, there are smaller creators in this audience that have no idea what they’re talking about."

Solving those problems helped Ghatt and Lewis become Clubhouse experts. They became in-demand moderators and gained YouTube subscribers along the way.

In this episode of TubeTalk, we chat with Lewis and Ghatt about how Clubhouse benefits YouTube creators. They share their experience as Clubhouse moderators and give networking advice to creators.

To network like a pro, do these five things on Clubhouse:

Many Clubhouse rooms operate differently, so observe before speaking. Sometimes listeners can take the stage at any point. In other rooms, audience members speak during a specific time – a Q&A session, for example.

If you’re on stage, let people know you have a channel. 

Say the name of your channel. Spell it out. Lewis used this strategy to gain new subscribers.

Make sure your introduction is an accurate representation of your lifestyle. Don’t say you offer a service or expertise you don’t have. The real experts will call you out!

Lewis found that even large creators follow small creator clubs. People in those rooms dissect everything about YouTube because they’re trying to grow. Some even do channel audits.

 Clubhouse conversations feel like podcast episodes. However, everything is live, so pay attention. Don’t miss your chance to ask questions or introduce yourself.

Clubhouse is popular, especially during the pandemic. But how long will the popularity last? That’s what everyone wants to know as businesses reopen and in-person events resume.

Ghatt says Clubhouse will survive. It’s a way to connect with people without worrying about what you look like; on Zoom, there’s constant pressure to look presentable. Lewis agrees but says Clubhouse will be around for a different reason – one that coincides with the pandemic ending.

“Podcasting meets LinkedIn,” Lewis says. “That’s basically Clubhouse. I think it will still work because people can turn their digital events into live events.”

TubeTalk is one of the most popular 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​​​ ​TubeTalk podcast episodes 

Can YouTube creators benefit from Clubhouse? This week, we chat with two experts to learn the app's true value. Plus, keep reading for Clubhouse networking tips!

How to Network on Clubhouse as a YouTube Creator

The YouTube homepage is turning into a social media feed. Open the mobile app, and you’ll see that in addition to videos, there are extra posts from creators you’re subscribed to. These may be:

. They’re not just on the homepage of the app; you can also find them on a channel’s Community tab.

If you’ve passed 1,000 subscribers, you have access to the Community tab and its channel-boosting magic. As often as possible, you should use it to connect with viewers and increase your channel’s exposure.

How to Use The Community tab in YouTube Studio

Consider this, for example. What if you could reach your core audience multiple times a day without posting a video – only polls, GIFs, and text? What if your next poll gets 50,000 votes because YouTube’s algorithm promotes it across the app?

That’s what’s happening right now. Our vidIQ polls receive a jaw-dropping number of votes. The exposure introduces our channel to thousands of viewers we’ve never reached on YouTube.

Can the same thing happen to you? Absolutely.

Reaching a New Audience With YouTube Community Posts

Every Wednesday, we host a live stream on the vidIQ channel. One of our viewers, the 

, asked an important question during the Q&A session: 

Should creators use the Community tab and how does it affect channel growth?

“Yes” was our answer. To prove it, we voted on one of ChessGeek’s polls. Our theory was that, when someone engages with a Community post, they’ll see more posts from that channel.

Guess what happened less than 24 hours later? The morning following that live stream, a Community post from the ChessGeek was on our homepage. It nearly covered the entire screen.

Days later, we saw more Community posts from this creator – and we never watched a single video of theirs.

So we proved our theory. On YouTube, it’s possible to:

Encourage the algorithm to show more posts to that viewer.

Watch our video below for more examples of how the Community tab fuels your growth:

Does the Community Tab Have Its Own Algorithm?

Beating the YouTube algorithm is something we’d never encourage you to do. It’s virtually impossible, and there are better things to focus on. Building an audience is more rewarding than chasing dozens of viral videos.

Still, we’re curious about the algorithm behind YouTube’s Community posts. Is it a separate algorithm or is it the same one that recommends videos to viewers? It feels like there’s an independent algorithm for both.

"At this point, every creator with more than 1,000 subscribers should be posting something on their Community tab." – vidIQ

But if that’s true, it means a user is just as likely to see Community posts as they are videos. And we know which one takes longer to create. You can spend two minutes crafting a Community post. Videos take hours.

We’re not going to say Community posts will get you more views. But we can’t deny that the exposure could lead to more views and subscribers for your channel. At this point, every creator with more than 1,000 subscribers should be posting 

Videos and Community posts are very different, but they both have their place on YouTube. That’s why it’s smart to post each type on your channel. If you’re making videos while never posting on the Community tab, you’ll miss a chance to connect with viewers. In fact, sometimes Community posts get 

For example, we posted a Community poll about whether YouTube should hide dislikes on videos. A whopping 29,000 people voted. There were hundreds of comments and more than 2,000 likes. 

We received all this by posting one question and two emojis.

Engaging with a Community post is simple. It often takes one tap. With a video, viewers have to watch for several minutes before seeing something they can comment on – if they comment at all.

To get the most engagement from your Community posts, be sure to:

Never over-promote your videos; that’s what YouTube recommendations are for.

If you’re doing polls, let one of the answer choices be “Other - Comment Below.” That should help you get more comments.

As with anything on YouTube, provide value.

Connecting with your audience helps you grow your YouTube channel. Before you do that on any other platform, learn 

Have you passed 1,000 YouTube subscribers? You can gain even more by posting on the Community tab. Keep reading to learn how.

YouTube Community Tab: The Underrated Growth Tool You NEED to Use

It’s rare to watch someone repeatedly go viral on YouTube. That kind of success usually takes years to achieve. But maybe this model of gradually chipping away at YouTube success is changing. With 

, it feels like anything is possible. Creators can post vertical videos of less than 60 seconds, have them featured on the Shorts shelf, and quickly gain millions of views.

. The 3D artist posted animated Among Us Shorts that viewers found irresistible. In just 80 days, he gained 1.5 billion views and became a true animator, using the same software Disney uses to create movies.

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

A few months have passed since his first wave of success. Now Fellman has more than 4 million subscribers to his Shorts channel and almost 3 billion views. The popularity of Among Us helped him get there, but now that's starting to wane. To keep his channel relevant, Fellman is making Shorts that feature other video games, such as Minecraft.

“In January and February, my videos were averaging 20 million views each day,” Fellman says. “And then they started averaging 15. The reality is, it’s going to get more saturated as time goes on. Now I’m just going to make the best content I can with the information I have.”

Will Fellman’s viral moment last forever? No one knows indefinitely. But it’s better to have gone viral than to never, ever, 

In this episode of TubeTalk, Fellman talks about everything that led to his viral success. He shares his advice for leveraging YouTube, and most importantly, knowing when to pivot.

The value of bringing your talents to YouTube.

 Fellman was a 3D artist and used his skills to gain a large audience. Going viral is easier if you’re an expert in your niche.

Why trends are the key to creating viral content.

 Among Us was popular at the height of the pandemic. Fellman used that information to reach a global audience of serious and casual gamers.

 If you want to go viral, entertain everyone. Fellman’s videos were accessible because they had no language barriers. All viewers had to interpret was music and animation.

How short videos can create viral moments.

 It’s not just YouTube. Short videos go viral on TikTok and Instagram. Creators should consider this when seeking more views.

How to identify which videos are working.

 When Fellman’s first batch of Among Us Shorts went viral, he didn’t stop creating them. He analyzed the results and capitalized on what worked.

Why it’s important to plan beyond trending moments.

 Few things in life are popular forever. YouTube creators should look to the future and create content with staying power.

In addition to these tips, Fellman adds one more piece of advice: Just be consistent. The likelihood of going viral increases when you dedicate yourself to that journey.

“My advice is that you have to do something a lot of times, and you have to do it every day,” Fellman says. “The reason I’ve been able to make good content or crack the code repeatedly is because I’ve done it hundreds of times.”

Is it your dream to go viral on YouTube? In this episode of TubeTalk, we chat with a creator who has gained billions of views with YouTube Shorts. Here's what you need to know to do the same.

How to Go Viral on YouTube With Billions of Global Views

YouTube copyright claims are discouraging but necessary. These alerts, which are extremely common, let you know when you’ve used someone else's content in your video. Before the consequences get serious, it’s good to know when you’ve overstepped your bounds as a creator.

The violations that trip up some creators are quite common. Content that includes video clips, images, or audio you haven’t produced yourself will likely spark a copyright claim. Fortunately, you can remove these alerts. All you have to do is substitute copyrighted content for original content you own.

, which means the copyright owner submitted a legal takedown request for the video. Collecting three strikes is serious. At that point, YouTube will terminate your channel and bar you from creating another one.

What's the Difference Between a Copyright Claim and a Copyright Strike?

Copyright claims aren’t as devastating as strikes, but they do feel like a speed bump in the YouTube journey. That’s because...

You can lose monetization for your video.

YouTube may restrict viewing to certain countries. 

Want to reduce the number of copyright claims on your channel? YouTube just gave creators the best gift ever. It’s a feature that warns you, before publishing a video, that a copyright match was found.

How to Check a YouTube Video for Copyright Claims

Uploading a YouTube video requires several steps. Before your content goes live, you'll give it a title, thumbnail, description, keywords, and other elements to help people find and watch the video.

an extra step that happens automatically.

 YouTube will inspect your content to see if it contains copyrighted material. This happens when you reach the 

This is a game-changer. YouTube’s copyright checker tells you how long the process will take, and it reports copyright matches before you hit publish. At that point, you can choose the best course of action. That may be disputing the claim or taking steps to remove it.

On the same upload page, you can view the impact a copyright claim has on your channel. Click 

Here's what you may see after expanding the details

Restrict people from viewing the video in certain countries

Make the video ineligible for monetization

the copyright holder can monetize the video

 for their financial gain. Ads may appear on the video, but the revenue goes to the copyright holder – not us. That's the price of using someone else's content. Still, it’s better than receiving copyright strikes and nearly losing a channel that took years to grow.

Removing or Disputing a YouTube Copyright Claim

If you decide to move forward and upload the video, you can remove or dispute its copyright claim.

Two questions will appear: “Remove claimed content?” or “Do you have rights to this content?” Beneath the first question, you’ll see options for fixing the copyright claim. If your video contains copyrighted music, for example, you can 

If you own the rights to the content, navigate to 

“Do you have rights to this content?”

Need extra guidance? Watch the video below for detailed steps:

You have some flexibility with copyrighted music, but copyrighted video footage has to be removed. Simply delete that part of your video and re-upload the new version from scratch.

Ready to Publish Your Video? Here’s Why You Should Wait.

Imagine this. You’ve brainstormed a video idea, done some keyword research, and spent hours filming. You’ve edited everything for maximum clarity. Viewers have been asking for the video, so you know it's going to do well. That makes you excited – elated, even – to upload the video and 

On the upload page, you add everything the video needs – a title, thumbnail, description, and keywords – to reach full optimization. You even pass the copyright check without a hitch. Your next instinct is to publish the video because well, why not?

We know what you may be thinking. Didn’t YouTube “finish” processing the video within minutes? That’s what YouTube reports, but it's not the full story. Things are happening in the background, which means you should 

wait two hours before publishing a video.

 so YouTube has time to report accurate information about your video.

Assuming you haven’t already, you can save most of your optimizing for this waiting period. You can:

Optimize your video’s title and thumbnail.

And on YouTube’s end, there will be extra time to:

Continue checking the video for copyright claims.

Identify things that violate advertising guidelines (so you can make money).

Process your video so it plays at the highest quality.

Keeping your channel in good standing is rule number one for successful creators. In addition to avoiding copyright claims, never make these 

Are you tired of getting YouTube copyright claims? With this simple guide, you can remove or even prevent them from appearing on your channel.

Building multiple streams of income is a buzzy-worthy topic online. Everyone’s talking about it. From small entrepreneurship blogs to large websites like CNN, there seems to be a consensus that depending on one job is a thing of the past.

Desiree Martinez agrees with that sentiment. She’s a YouTube creator who runs a social media agency and has partnerships with several brands. Martinez makes money through all those ventures to support her lifestyle.

‘Women of YouTube’ Q&A: Building Careers, Passive Income, and More

“While I love and support YouTube, I have a business to run,” Martinez says. “My business is not going to be YouTube dependent. I think everybody – whether you’re a gaming channel, a resource channel, a fashion channel – you need to have a way to get people on a list. And it can’t just be, ‘Join my email list.’ Give them the incentive to do it.”

In this episode of TubeTalk, we asked Martinez how to build income streams as a YouTube creator. She talks about networking with creators in your industry and how to leverage social media to grow a business.

Figure out what you can talk about at length on YouTube.

 It should be a topic you can cover in several ways and easily brainstorm ideas for.

Within your niche, think of the pain points your viewers experience every day. How can you help?

Understand how your content will be discovered.

 Which channels cover your niche and how is your content suggested to viewers? 

Understand which milestones are important in your industry.

 For sponsorships, gaming and beauty channels need lots of views and high reach. Other niches, such as social media marketing, don’t require as many subscribers.

If you use a product often, and it’s within your niche, seek a brand sponsorship.

 Make tutorials about the product and try to leverage your video’s engagement.

Build long-term relationships with sponsors.

 A one-and-done deal isn’t enough to grow an income stream.

Build a long-term relationship with viewers.

 You may think videos are enough, but you can go a step further. Memberships, affiliate marketing, coaching, and email lists are profitable ways to nurture a digital audience. Be a service to viewers. Give them a reason to connect with you.

 podcast and knows how other creators, especially women, are making money. YouTube is just one part of the plan.

We love revenue from AdSense, Super Chats, and other YouTube opportunities, but there's always more to earn. In this episode of TubeTalk, Desiree Martinez shows us how to build multiple income streams on YouTube.

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YouTube Community Tab: The Underrated Growth Tool You NEED to Use

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How to Go Viral on YouTube With Billions of Global Views

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How to Remove YouTube Copyright Claims From Your Videos [2021 Update]

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7 Steps to Build Multiple Income Streams on YouTube

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YouTube Is Expanding Monetization for These 3 Video Types

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4 Tips to Grow Your Channel With YouTube Shorts

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Should You Live Stream on YouTube or Twitch to Make More Money?

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How to See Your Real-Time YouTube Subscriber Count

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These 5 YouTube Shorts Upgrades Will Help You Make Better Content

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Non-U.S. Creators: Do This to Avoid a 24% Tax on YouTube Revenue

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8 Legal Mistakes to Avoid as a YouTube Creator

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YouTube Cheat Code Unlocked: How to Track Returning Viewers on Your Channel

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