After years of hard work, nothing comes close to the feeling of monetizing a YouTube channel. It makes the journey a thousand times more meaningful, especially when that labor includes hundreds of videos, thumbnails, and YouTube titles.
If you aren’t monetized yet, can we propose a new year’s resolution? Sharpen your video skills, expedite your path to the YouTube Partner Program, and get paid!
The YPP allows creators to monetize their videos with advertisements and fan funding revenue, such as Super Chats and Stickers, Super Thanks, and Channel Memberships. YouTube doesn’t let everyone into the program, so there are plenty of requirements to meet.
Read more: How to Join the YouTube Partner Program
To get monetized quickly, you need to focus on two things:
These milestones matter because they represent the various paths into the YPP.
If you want to make money through fan funding, here are the minimum requirements to join the YPP:
Image credit: Official YouTube Blog
If you want to make money with video advertisements, here are the minimum requirements do that:
Image credit: Official YouTube Blog
On YouTube, watch time is the cumulative duration that individuals spend watching a video. These hours add up to reflect your channel's overall count, and, consequently, your ability to join the YPP. Here, we’ll explain how to quickly get the 3,000 to 4,000 hours you need.
Did you know that some videos get more watch time than others? It’s not that they're special or amazingly different; they’re simply formatted in a way that supports longer viewing and listening.
Read more: 10 Types of Videos that Attract More YouTube Watch Time
So, if you’re starting a new YouTube channel, try your hand at these watch time collectors:
Before anything else, YouTube is an entertainment platform for billions of people. So, the more interesting and innovative you are, the easier it is to earn watch time. Of course, you’ll have to be more interesting and more innovative than thousands of creators, which is easier said than done.
But it’s possible. You just have to be 90% better than your competition. This typically means creating something people haven’t seen before.
That may come from having a:
In other words, what makes your content special?
For example, we can guarantee you’ve never seen a dog stomping on its hind legs enthusiastically, wobbling from left to right between its owner’s knees. Most people love pet videos, but that’s not something you see every day.
However, the dog is real and represents a YouTube channel (Adventuring With Nala) that’s about to hit 600,000 subscribers! It’s fresh and fascinating, especially in the pet space.
Do you show your face in YouTube videos? If so, one way to delight your audience (and boost watch time) is to be more engaging. Use your voice, personality, and facial expressions to make viewers feel at home when watching your content. This, by far, is an underrated way to keep their attention.
Read more: How to Become a Pro at Speaking on Camera
Start by figuring out how long you need to speak instead of rambling or freestyling. Then, vary your speaking patterns (volume and speed) to create vocal variety and keep viewers engaged. Create warmth in your video by maintaining eye contact, changing your facial expressions, and using welcoming body language.
In 2020, we would have told you to edit your videos so there are no wasted minutes. But four years later, videos are getting longer and less polished as creators prioritize story times and intimate vlogs. And it’s working.
You have creators like Sam Sulek, Dry Creek Wrangler School, and Phil Cofer making videos that feel like “life discussions” between friends.
If we’ve learned anything from the rise of authenticity on YouTube, it’s that viewers want to feel like they’re hanging out with a close friend. And what do friends do? They swap stories!
Try your hand at making video essays, story time content, extended vlogs, or anything viewers will stick around for. Combine that with the right YouTube keywords, and you’re swiftly on your way to building more watch time!
Getting more YouTube subscribers is just as important as boosting your watch time. But while building watch hours is an art, finding your target audience on YouTube is more of a science. Here’s how to make it happen!
On YouTube, your niche is what you’re known for. It’s the specific type of content you make and the topics you discuss on your channel, like home gardening, basketball highlights, or animal rescue. Establishing a niche allows you to attract viewers interested in the same hobby, subject, or lifestyle you’re promoting. And that builds a community!
It’s OK to experiment with different types of content when you first join YouTube. But eventually, you’ll want to be known for something concrete so viewers have a reason to subscribe.
Read more: How to Choose the Best Niche for Your YouTube Channel
The best YouTube channels are built on strong communities. In fact, replace the phrase “YouTube subscribers” with “YouTube community” and you have the right idea in mind.
Think of how most viewers behave as they watch, browse, and interact on YouTube. Few people subscribe to a channel because they saw one good video; they join after witnessing a solid community.
Read more: The Secret Formula for Gaining and Retaining YouTube Subscribers
Building a community isn’t easy, but the actions to get there are simple enough:
Do you share your YouTube videos on other platforms? If not, it’s time to post your content on apps like TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook, and more to promote your channel. This brings more eyeballs to your content and increases your chance of earning more subscribers.
Plus, this way, you aren’t waiting on the YouTube algorithm to notice your videos and recommend them to the right people. You’re taking matters into your own hands to grow your audience faster.
Read more: 6 Popular Apps to Promote Your YouTube Channel
Reminding viewers to subscribe is always helpful, but there are other ways to grow your community in record time.
From a user experience standpoint, you can make it ridiculously easy for people to hit subscribe. All you have to do is put a subscribe link, button, or watermark wherever your viewers are — the video watch page, your website, the comment section, etc.
Read more: 8 Ways to Help Viewers Subscribe to Your YouTube Channel
Always remember to:
Follow the eight steps above, and you’ll shorten the runway between your first day on YouTube and the day you get monetized.
However, there are even more ways to succeed. You can start by following YouTube’s terms and policies, which explain how to keep your channel in good standing. After all, no channel = no money!
Be sure to read and follow YouTube’s:
Following these rules helps you enter the YPP faster, as YouTube does review every channel to make sure it's compliant.
Now that you understand how to make money faster, learn how to boost your future revenue on YouTube.
Lydia Sweatt is a writer who loves balancing her article/blog time indoors with a healthy dose of nature. She bikes, hikes, and identifies edible plants along the way.
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