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

So far, there are two undeniable truths about making a YouTube Short. For YouTube to recognize a video as such, it needs to be less than 60 seconds long and in a vertical format.

However, YouTube hasn’t shared much information about the specifics of tall video content. This technical restriction is relatively new, so creators may be curious about the best aspect ratio for making YouTube Shorts.

As YouTube educators, we need that information too. It'll help us answer specific questions, such as, “

 Are we talking about an aspect ratio of 9:16 or a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels?

To find the answer, we did a test using the 

 channel. For more details about how we did that, plus a curious look at what may be the skinniest video ever, press play below:

By testing the bounds of vertical content, we discovered which videos YouTube considers to be Shorts, and thus, which videos make it to the 

. This featured section gets millions of views, so every creator should learn the technical requirements to appear there.

Do This One Thing To Get More Views With YouTube Shorts

Before we dive into our YouTube Shorts test, consider creating a featured section for the Shorts on your own channel. This creates a controlled environment of content where you can easily see all your Shorts. It’s almost impossible to know when a Short will be featured on the discovery shelf, so this is a crucial step in ‘tracking’ your progress.

To quickly create a Shorts featured section, read our guide, “

How to Get More Views with YouTube Shorts.

Once you've added this feature, you’ll see a section that automatically shows all of the YouTube Shorts on your channel. Or more importantly for this experiment, the videos YouTube 

But remember, enabling this section doesn't mean your video will appear on YouTube’s prized discovery shelf. It still has millions of other short videos to compete with. The only thing you’ll know for sure is which videos meet the requirements to be considered a YouTube Short.

Most creators understand the concept of making a video that's less than 60 seconds, but what does vertical format actually mean? We’ve seen several examples of square videos appearing as YouTube Shorts, so we decided to test the bounds of vertical content.

To do that, we created a video with an aspect ratio of 1:1 and 1080x1080 resolution - in other words, a perfect square. When we checked the video’s analytics, 12.6% of views came from the YouTube Shorts traffic source, as shown below:

This confirms what we already knew, especially after seeing the evidence on other YouTube Shorts. You can, in fact, make square videos classified as YouTube Shorts.

Ironically though, there’s both an advantage and disadvantage of doing that:

 YouTube Shorts weren’t designed with square videos in mind. That means the video will have an unsightly black bar at the top and bottom of the frame.

 On the flip side, square videos leave the bottom of the screen empty, and viewers can easily see your channel name, video title, and subscribe button.

YouTube Shorts: Can They Be ‘Wider’ Than Perfect Squares?

For our next YouTube Shorts test, we wanted to see if we could make one wider than a square. So we uploaded a video that was just 10 pixels wider than it was tall, and as we expected, the video didn't appear in our featured Shorts section. So by YouTube’s standard, that video was not considered a Short.

This test confirms a very important benchmark. 

Now we know the widest YouTube Short you can make is a square video. If the video is wider than it is tall, it won't be considered a YouTube Short.

Here’s another rule to follow: Don’t make a video skinnier than what you’d shoot on a smartphone. We created a video with a resolution of 360x1920 pixels, and while it can be viewed on YouTube, it didn’t appear on the Shorts shelf.

There’s no reason to upload a video thinner than what a smartphone produces, but hey - we just wanted to have a little fun. 

Ideally, vertical video is shot on a smartphone, and that's your safe zone. If you go any thinner than that, your video may not be considered a YouTube Short.

Can you make square videos and still get featured on YouTube's highly-viewed Shorts shelf? Let's find out.

YouTube Shorts: What Is a 'Vertical' Video?

When YouTubers typically think of selling something to their audience, they think of Merch. The hoodie, the mug, the T-shirt......

However, there are much bigger opportunities for those creators who have a large audience - selling products at national retail stores.

Today, I chat with Mike Bienstock, CEO of 

 about how creators can get their products into stores.

Find Out How Great Storytelling Can Transform Your YouTube Content

TV shows and movies know how to engage their audience with captivating storytelling. 

On this episode of TubeTalk, learn to do the same with your YouTube content

Catch up on the Latest YouTube News With TubeTalk

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​​​ 

Creators, do you want to see your own products on sale in national retail stores? Find out how to make that happen on this episode of TubeTalk.

How YouTube Creators Can Make Money Selling Products Beyond Merch

A question we receive from creators all the time is, "

 Well, we won’t keep you in suspense. Our answer is roughly two months or approximately 61 days.

How did we get this number? By asking you, of course.

, we asked creators how long it took them to gain 100 subscribers on YouTube. More than 13K people responded to our poll, and here are the anecdotal results:

As you can see, 58% of respondents haven’t reached 100 subscribers yet. That left 5.5K creators we could get some kind of data from.

If we only include those respondents, here are the new percentages of how long it took some creators to reach 100 subscribers:

Before we go any further, we need to add a quick disclaimer. The poll results above are purely anecdotal. They aren’t scientific by any means and don’t represent official vidIQ data.

Nonetheless, we did some extra math to see if our results 

 believable. With basic addition, we know that 45% of respondents reached 100 subscribers in less than 50 days. And 55% of respondents accomplished the same goal in less than 365 days. With extra calculating and extrapolations (all speculative, really), we found that it takes 61 days on average to reach 100 YouTube subscribers.

We’re not mathematicians, so that number could be wrong. It just feels right and aligns with what we’ve noticed on YouTube. To see how we arrived at that number, watch the video below:

Also, if you’re way better at math, tweet us your answer at @vidIQ.

We’re answering the 100 subscriber question anecdotally, so here’s a fun theory. If we pretend 61 days is the proper answer, that means you’d need to gain 1.6 subscribers each day to reach 100 subscribers in two months.

We could go a step further and assume that you plan to post two YouTube videos each week. Over the course of 61 days, you would need to post just under nine videos to reach 100 subscribers, which seems very low. But it would also mean that each video needs to generate about 11.5 subscribers.

 is a popular creator we like to mention now and then, so let’s use his 50M subscribers to benchmark some more theories. If you divide MrBeast's 8.5B views by his 50M subscribers, you get a nice round number of 170 views per subscriber.

When we pump all of this back into our anecdotal numbers game, it actually takes more than 61 days to reach 100 subscribers. Plus, you’d need 17K views total (or 278 views per day) to get there. If you wanted to do it in 61 days exactly, you’d need to make 8.7 videos that each generate 1,954 views.

Gaining YouTube Subscribers Is About More Than the Numbers

The data above is what many creators want to see. They want to know how long it takes to get a certain amount of views or subscribers on YouTube.

The only problem with trying to come with a solid answer is that the math doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to calculate on-camera likeability, the quality of your keywords, or how attractive your thumbnails look. But somehow, you need to measure those things because they can help your YouTube channel grow.

Keyword research for dominating YouTube search results

A tool that compares your thumbnails to your competitor’s

A channel audit tool that shows which videos attract the most subscribers

What You Should Actually Focus on As a New Creator

When you start your YouTube journey, it won’t be easy or feasible to follow one specific plan. Most likely, you won’t post two videos each week and earn exactly 100 subscribers in 61 days. You’ll probably try new things to see what works best, which could mean posting five videos one week and three videos the next.

Also, the distribution of views and subscribers doesn’t adhere to a strict formula. Some videos will get less than 10 views and earn you no subscribers; Next week, a video may get hundreds of views and attract 25 subscribers.

When you’re just starting out on YouTube, take care of the basics. Give your channel a distinct niche, create eye-catching thumbnails for your videos, and double down on what works. That will earn you more subscribers than any YouTube posting formula.

The number of days it takes to gain 100 YouTube subscribers depends on many factors. But if you want an exact number, here's our honest guess.

How Long Does It Take to Get 100 Subscribers on YouTube?

Starting a gaming channel on YouTube is no easy feat. Playing video games is an activity millions of people enjoy, so naturally, the competition is stiff. 

 dominating the space with billions of YouTube views, plus hundreds of thousands of smaller channels that focus on every game imaginable.

That makes it difficult for new creators to cut through the noise on YouTube, let alone go viral. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Growing a gaming channel gets much easier when you focus on what matters - your audience, trending opportunities, and the best YouTube tools for earning more views.

In fact, growing a gaming channel requires just 8 essential practices. They’re so monumental that we carefully explained each one in the video below:

Think you’re up for the challenge of playing games, growing an audience, and dominating YouTube? Don’t skip these 8 powerful steps on your way to the top.

1. Focus On One Game to Grow Your YouTube Channel

When you start your YouTube channel, it’ll be tempting to play every game you own. You may upload some 

 videos because of the game’s insane popularity in 2020. Two weeks later, it may seem like a good idea to sprinkle in some 

But heed our warning, creators. If you want to grow your gaming channel, choose just one game to play on YouTube.

From a technical perspective, this is solid advice. YouTube’s algorithm is sophisticated but seems to reward a simple content strategy. If it knows you’re a gaming creator making videos about 

, for instance, it’ll have no problem recommending your videos to like-minded viewers.

To prove that, we asked the vidIQ community about their recent gaming experiences. We were happy to learn that in 2020, several creators grew their channels fast while playing one game. 

Playing one game is about more than satisfying the YouTube algorithm. It's also about having a strong focus and resisting the urge to follow all of your passions at once. You don’t have to stop playing your other games, but you should play just one for the bulk of your content. Then when you feel like unwinding, play a different game during a weekly livestream.

2. Upload at Least One Video to YouTube Each Week

Consistency is important on YouTube. However, there's no need to upload daily gaming content as a new creator. Instead, aim to post at least one video each week to YouTube.

Why this number? Well, YouTube has gotten really good at serving content to the right audience. So whether you post four videos a month or one video each day, YouTube will repeatedly recommend your content to viewers.

When you begin your YouTube journey, don’t burn out by following the posting schedule of veteran creators. Take it slowly. That way you’ll understand how YouTube fits into your life, whether that’s striking a balance between school, work, or family time.

3. Make Your Video Introductions Brief and Entertaining

On YouTube, audience retention is everything because low retention sends a negative signal to YouTube’s algorithm. It’s a key indicator that your video may not be delivering on its promise, and therefore, shouldn't be recommended over someone else's video.

To make sure this never happens, have a strong introduction to each video. Instead of showing your game’s menu screen as you talk, get to the meat of your content. Move your character(s) around the game’s landscape as you explain the point of today’s video.

The goal here is to make it impossible for someone to click away. The title of your video makes a promise to viewers, and you should deliver on that promise early and often.

4. Create Enticing Thumbnails and Titles For Your Videos

Video titles and thumbnails are what truly bring in viewers. They convince people to click on your content, so this powerful pair should be optimized 100% of the time.

On YouTube, a video title isn’t just for display; it can also help you climb YouTube search results. This happens when people search certain keyphrases, see your video on a results page, and decide to click on it. Oftentimes, the phrases they type will become valuable keywords for your video’s title. 

If you can find popular keywords on YouTube that aren’t too competitive, you’ll be one step closer to creating awesome, click-worthy titles.

But reaching the top of YouTube results is half the battle. Once you’ve done that, your video’s thumbnail should carry you to the finish line.

To do your best in this area, keep the graphic simple but eye-catching. It should be easy for viewers to understand in less than one second, like this one:

Before you publish a video, use vidIQ’s thumbnail preview tool to see how eye-catching your graphics and titles look. This tool will instantly help you:

Preview your thumbnail in YouTube search results

Compare your thumbnail to those uploaded by other creators in your gaming niche

See what your thumbnail looks like on various devices, such as mobile, iPad, and desktop

Compare your video title to other videos using similar keywords

5. Before You Press Record, Research Your Video's Topic

Before you try to make a video, brainstorm some prospective titles for it. This may seem a little weird at first because naturally, you can rework a title to fit the final video, right? It’s not a bad assumption at all, but that strategy won’t get your video seen by thousands of viewers. You’re better off brainstorming a title and then doing keyword research to see how well that topic will rank on YouTube.

This forces you to make the best possible video without even knowing it. First, you’ll optimize your content for YouTube’s algorithm by finding valuable keywords. Then you’ll put yourself in your audience’s shoes by running a few dozen searches on YouTube. When you’re done, you should know whether the video is worth making or not.

It’s super disheartening to make a video and then have zero people watch it. But if you work backwards by understanding how your video will perform, you’ll save lots of time.

6. Join an Online Gaming Community to Find Video Ideas

Coming up with fresh video ideas is probably the most challenging part of YouTube. This is why so many gaming channels resort to just picking their favorite game and playing it over the course of several videos. They’ll do a let's play series with episodic video titles, such as “Minecraft Survival Episode 12.”

, but on YouTube, you have to be strategic about them. Most of the time, viewers are searching for specific aspects of a game - not an episode of gameplay.

For better content ideas, join a Discord community. Find one that focuses on the game you’ve chosen to play, then pay close attention to what people are saying. You’ll probably hear about:

Which aspects of the game excite the community

These three points can lead to exciting video ideas, especially the last one. If newcomers have questions about a game, you can answer them on YouTube with several video tutorials.

Also, don't forget about the gaming communities within Reddit and Steam!

7. Turn Trending Gaming Topics Into YouTube Videos

A trending topic presents a huge opportunity to get more views on YouTube, especially as a new creator. You can take advantage of pop culture, holidays, gaming news or anything that adds something positive (but still focused) to your content strategy.

And once again, we’ve got a tool for that!

, check our most viewed videos tool within the extension. It’s a helpful little gadget that lets you see topics trending in your niche and home in on the best opportunities.

In the vidIQ extension, you can quickly access the tool via the real-time stats bar. Here's what that looks like:

If you click the drop-down menu and select 

When you think you have your next video idea, input some of the keywords you might rank for in this tool. You may discover that no creators have posted about the topic in months. Depending on how many views per hour the topic is getting, you may have an opportunity to compete with older videos on YouTube.

8. Post A Few YouTube Shorts to Get More Views

You’re familiar with YouTube Shorts, right? These vertical, less-than-a-minute videos are earning smaller creators millions of views on YouTube.

If you haven't caught on already, read our 

To quickly summarize though, Shorts are for people watching YouTube on their phones. They appeal to viewers who want a quick laugh or brief explainer of certain topics or issues. In many ways, Shorts are perfect for people who don’t want to watch longer, traditional videos.

They’re also perfect for the gaming community. YouTube Shorts can quickly capture the hilarious moments that occur in gaming - a character falling off a tall ledge, getting obliterated by the competition in mere seconds, unexpected glitches. And even when you don’t have a funny video to share, you can film tutorials for viewers craving short content.

When you’re ready, post a few Shorts to your YouTube channel. We've seen gaming channels grow by posting short videos, and we’re not talking about small spurts here and there. It’s very possible to start with a few hundred subscribers and 

If you want to stand out on YouTube, take all of this advice to heart. Create awesome titles and thumbnails, give your channel a strong focus, and get serious about researching topics before you press record.

That may sound like a lot of work, but it’ll pay off in the end. You’ll skip months of confusion about how to dominate YouTube and head straight to all-star status (a.k.a. more views and subscribers.)

Gaming is a competitive YouTube niche, but there's still room (and time) for new creators to grow successful channels. All it takes is to follow these 8 winning tips.

8 Killer Tips for Creating a YouTube Gaming Channel in 2021

Expanding on its promise to uplift Black creators, YouTube has developed a special 

 grant program. Over several years, the platform will invest the money into more than 500 creators to help them develop content and grow their channels.

This year, 132 creators across the world will receive funding. Of that number, YouTube is announcing its list of 36 U.S. creators first, which includes comedian 

. All 132 creators are being recognized as the #YouTubeBlackVoices Creator Class of 2021.

For a brief introduction to the U.S. grantees, watch the video below:

The #YouTubeBlack Voices grant program is made possible by the larger 

. Announced in 2020, the $100M, multiyear initiative was created to amplify Black voices and perspectives on YouTube. Some of the original programs that have been funded so far, such as the “

 emphasized the urgent need for racial justice. It was a timely response to police violence against people of color, especially after the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black citizens in America.

YouTube Has an Ongoing Mission to Center Black Creatives

These initiatives may seem new, but YouTube has been developing them for years. In 2016, the platform hosted its first #YouTubeBlack Summit, where influential Black creators held insightful discussions with one another. In subsequent years, YouTube kept the momentum going with a slew of events. There were workshops, more summits, and exciting festivals, such as the 

Going forward, YouTube will not only fund individual Black creators but help create/pick up YouTube Originals that highlight racial justice and Black experiences. The #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund will help these projects come to fruition, and we’re excited to see what happens.

From all of us at vidIQ, congratulations to the #YouTubeBlackVoices Creator Class of 2021! Whether you’re a YouTube creator or passionate viewer, drop by these creators’ channels to support their content:

*The list above includes 35 creators. According to YouTube, not all 36 creators choose to participate in the formal list.

Following a year of anti-racism protests, YouTube is making good on its promise to both fund and celebrate Black creators.

YouTube Rolls Out Grant Program for Black Creators

As a YouTube creator, we often tend to get stuck in a cycle: upload a video and watch the analytics. Then upload another video and watch the analytics. Rinse and repeat

But what happens if that process just stops working for us? 

How do you find a way to make that instant connection with your audience so that they want to watch more of your content? How do you make little changes that will have a big impact on your YouTube channel?

,' an awesome book on personal development. Click on the link above and listen as we discuss:

What is a good tip to tell a great story and what do people usually get wrong

Why should you get the audience to "turn up the volume"?

What is 30 days hindsight and what does that mean?

We really hope you enjoy this fascinating episode, and please follow Antonio here

5 Top Tips for a Killer YouTube Custom Thumbnail?

What are the winning elements for a custom thumbnail that attracts viewers to click through to your video? Luckily, you can find out the formula by 

You can also find the complete list of all the​​

The best movies and TV shows captivate their audience with engaging storytelling. On this episode of TubeTalk, learn to do the same with your YouTube content.

How Mastering the Art of Storytelling Can Transform Your YouTube Content

 from advertisements alone. Part of that revenue is used to pay video creators, so every YouTuber should learn about the service that makes it all possible: 

This invaluable tool helps creators monetize their content with ads. It’s one of the first steps to building a YouTube career, which requires several steps:

Creators join YouTube with two goals in mind: attracting 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of channel Watch Time. When that happens, creators can apply for the 

As part of the YPP application, creators must set up a Google AdSense account to collect ad revenue.

Google AdSense serves ads on creators’ videos. To increase the likelihood of viewers watching those ads, Google AdSense uses 

 to match relevant ads with viewers' interests.

YouTube’s hardworking creators get paid.

Google AdSense and the YouTube journey are complex, so of course, there are fine-print details to understand. The most important aspect is how revenue is calculated. When you join the YPP, you won't earn all of the money that comes from ads; creators earn 55% of the revenue while YouTube takes the remaining 45%.

That’s the high-level summary. But to learn more about how Google AdSense works on YouTube, just keep reading.

What Kind of Ads Are Shown on YouTube Videos?

There are several ad formats on YouTube. When you monetize a video, you may see any of the following 

Desktop ads that appear to the right of a video, directly above YouTube’s video suggestions.

Semi-transparent desktop ads that appear near the bottom of a video.

Desktop, mobile, and TV ads (including gaming consoles) that can be skipped after 5 seconds. These appear at any point in a video.

Desktop and mobile ads that can’t be skipped.

Non-skippable desktop and mobile ads of up to six seconds.

Desktop and mobile ads that show content related to the video’s topic (products, courses, etc.).

How Much Money Can You Make From Google AdSense Revenue?

In July 2020, YouTube announced a new revenue metric called 

 (revenue per mille). It helps creators understand their earnings by showing the total revenue earned per 1,000 video views.

When you want to track your monthly income, this is the number to pay attention to. It includes the ad revenue you’ve earned 

 YouTube takes its 45% cut, which is helpful information. RPM also includes the money you’ve made from YouTube’s extra monetization features, such as 

To view your RPM, go to the YouTube Studio and click the revenue tab on your channel analytics page. If you need a tutorial on how to do that, we’ve got one for you right here:

Because RPM is a new metric, there isn’t much data on the average RPM for creators. CPM, however, is not new. This term stands for cost per millie and represents the cost of every 1,000 ad impressions on YouTube. Viewing this number tells you what YouTube is charging advertisers before the platform takes it’s 45% cut.

CPM focuses on advertising prices alone, so use this metric for a broad view of Google AdSense earnings. According to 

, the average CPM is between $6 and $8 in the U.S. Under this range, advertisers would pay $6 to $8 per 1,000 ad impressions.

Creators don't receive the entire CPM, though. After YouTube takes it’s 45% cut, you can expect to make $3 to $4 per 1,000 video views (on average).

Which Content Is Considered Advertiser Friendly?

Not all content is suitable for advertisers. If you want to make decent money on YouTube, consider making videos that are 

. That means creating content free of strong profanity and inappropriate themes.

To stay in the clear, refrain from including these 10 things in your content:

The best way to create advertiser-friendly content is to follow 

 shares valuable tips on that subject, so be sure to check it out.

Remember, many advertisers prefer to place ads on positive videos. Therefore, Google AdSense won’t serve ads on content that doesn’t support advertisers’ mission.

If you take the time to understand how Google AdSense works, you'll be one step closer to making more money on YouTube. Start today by reading this helpful, in-depth guide.

How YouTube Creators Can Make Money Selling Products Beyond Merch

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How Long Does It Take to Get 100 Subscribers on YouTube?

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8 Killer Tips for Creating a YouTube Gaming Channel in 2021

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YouTube Rolls Out Grant Program for Black Creators

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How Mastering the Art of Storytelling Can Transform Your YouTube Content

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Google AdSense 101: How to Benefit from Ad Revenue on YouTube

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How To Get a Custom URL For Your YouTube Channel [2021 Update]

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