Getting monetized on YouTube is a goal every creator wants to reach. It helps them start side hustles, make YouTube their full-time job, or create a business selling products in physical stores. These days, the possibilities are endless!
But with so many options, how do you monetize YouTube videos in a sustainable, long-term way?
There are several ways to do it, from joining the "standard" program that pays advertising revenue to making money through sponsorships. Let’s start with a beginner's guide on the basics of YouTube monetization.
The most common way to monetize your videos is by enrolling in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which provides access to varied revenue streams including ads, fan funding, and sponsorships. Reaching partner status is an upgrade for your channel, as it helps you monetize your community, and, if you reach certain milestones, make money from video advertisements.
YouTube compensates creators via the Google AdSense program; understanding its mechanics is crucial for optimizing your earnings. For now, just know that when a viewer watches/clicks an ad within your video, revenue is generated. That revenue is then split between you and YouTube, where you get 55% of the money, and YouTube takes the other 45%.
Read More: Google AdSense 101
Before you can join the YPP, you need to accomplish a few milestones first.
If you want to make money through fan funding, such as Super Chats, Super Thanks, channel memberships, and more, here are the minimum requirements to join the YPP:
Read more: YouTube Relaxes its Monetization Rules: Only 500 Subscribers Needed!
Image credit: Official YouTube Blog
To earn revenue from video advertisements, you must meet the following requirements:
Image credit: Official YouTube Blog
The good news is that once accepted into the YPP, you can continuously monetize your content without the need for reapplication after meeting new thresholds. Even if you entered the program with 500 subs and 3,000 watch hours, you don't need re-apply after hitting 4,000 hours and 1,000 subs. You'll simply unlock the revenue tools you didn't have before.
Once you’ve met all of YouTube’s requirements, you’re ready to apply to the YPP! You'll do this on the YouTube Studio's "earn' page, which also tracks how much watch time you have and how many subscribers you've gained. Simply apply on this page when YouTube gives you the green light.
If you're unsure how to locate this feature in YouTube Studio, simply head to the 'earn' tab for detailed monetization metrics. This guide will help you out.
If you apply and are rejected for the first time, you’ll have 21 days to appeal the decision. Then you'll have to wait another 30 days before re-applying.
If you’re rejected a second time, you’ll still have 21 days to appeal, but you can only re-apply after 90 days.
While this may seem harsh, it’s a balanced approach because YouTube is prioritizing new applicants over repeat ones. Use the time to fix anything unsavory on your channel, such as multiple copyright claims or videos that violate YouTube’s Community Guidelines.
Once you enter the YPP, turn on monetization for as many videos as possible. You can do this while uploading new content, but it’s safer to wait until after you upload videos (at least a few hours).
By then, YouTube will have processed your content. You’ll know if the system found something that could demonetize the video, such as extreme profanity, adult themes, copyright claims, etc.
Read More: 14 Ways to Avoid YouTube Demonetization
Follow these steps to enable ads on your YouTube videos and boost your revenue:
Keep in mind that even after monetization, not every video will display ads, especially if the content doesn’t meet advertiser-friendly standards. The best way to fully monetize a video (and keep it that way) is to create content in the PG to PG-13 range.
Grasping YouTube monetization metrics is essential for creators looking to optimize their revenue streams. Key performance indicators include CPM (cost per mille) and RPM (revenue per mille), which help determine how much income is generated per 1,000 views. While CPM measures the advertiser's payment rate, RPM offers a clearer picture of what you actually take home after YouTube’s revenue share. Other critical metrics include watch time, audience retention, and the percentage of monetized views.
High engagement not only boosts overall channel performance but also attracts higher-paying advertisers, especially if your audience comes from regions with strong economies. Metrics like click-through rates on ads, viewer demographics, and the time of year can further impact your earnings. Monitoring these numbers in YouTube Analytics allows creators to identify trends and adjust content strategies accordingly. By understanding these metrics, you can pinpoint what types of content perform best, optimize ad placements, and experiment with different video formats to maximize revenue.
Ultimately, a data-driven approach will help you align your creative efforts with monetization goals, ensuring that every view contributes effectively to your income.
YouTube AdSense is beneficial, but it’s not a reliable form of income for creators. Advertisement rates go up and down, so it’s hard to make the same amount of money each year with video ads.
That’s why it pays to understand CPM rates. CPM (cost per mille) refers to the amount of money advertisers pay per 1,000 video views on YouTube. The rates vary depending on your channel’s niche, audience demographics, and more.
Read More: Understand YouTube CPM factors
Want to earn a stable income on YouTube? Here are additional ways to make money from your videos.
With YouTube brand deals, you'll make money by featuring a product or service in your videos. You can work with multiple brands if you want, which leads to more money for your channel and less stress about earning AdSense revenue.
Unlike the YPP, you don’t need 1,000 subscribers and lots of watch time to profit from these deals. Having more subscribers is helpful, of course. But consistent views and an impressive collection of videos are more important. You’re ready to seek out YouTube sponsorships once you have both.
Read More: 11 Companies Matching YouTubers with Amazing Brand Deals
In a small YouTube survey, My Work From Home Money discovered that creators make between $100 and $4,000 per sponsored video. So don’t worry about channel size when looking for sponsors. There are brand deals for small channels, mid-sized channels, and mega influencers who dominate YouTube. Everyone has a chance.
When you’re ready to dive in, read this post about how to get sponsorships for YouTube.
Did you know you can make money advertising product links on YouTube? It’s called affiliate marketing, and it's an easy revenue stream to set up.
Here’s how it works:
Now let's talk about how to do affiliate marketing on YouTube. For beginners, we recommend signing up for the Amazon Associates program. You’ll get access to hundreds of custom links for everyday products, and adding those affiliate links to YouTube videos (in the description section) will help you earn commissions.
Hint: Always add relevant affiliate links to your videos. If you do a tutorial for a GoPro camera (for example), ask viewers to use your affiliate link when purchasing the product.
According to Amazon, affiliate commissions are up to 10% of each product sale. So if you spend some time promoting the links, you’ll make a nice chunk of money.
With 500 subscribers and 3000 hours of watch time, creators can unlock this feature and monetize directly from their audience through three main avenues:
Read this post to learn more about Channel Memberships and how to qualify for them.
Read More: Learn about YouTube Super Chats
You’re in an excellent position to receive Super Chats if:
1. You’re a funny or entertaining person.
2. You host live streams on YouTube regularly.
3. You have hardcore fans who are vocal in the live chat section (where Super Chats are donated).
For example, Travis McPherson, vidIQ’s customer success manager, once earned $200 from a live stream with just a modest audience that only had 150 viewers.
Read More: How to enable Super Thanks on your channel?
Creators across all genres received some fantastic news late last year. As of February 2023, the YouTube Shorts fund is officially gone! Shorts creators can now sign up for YouTube's Partner Program and start making money from ad revenue. All you need is:
1,000 subscribers and 10 million eligible public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
OR
1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours on long-form videos.
Let's go through the revenue-sharing model for YouTube Shorts. First, this new approach splits advertising revenue in three directions: between creators, music publishers, and YouTube itself. Money is pooled, calculated, and distributed as shown:
Overall, Shorts monetization for creators is based on the number of views they got, their location, and the music tracks they used.
If a Short uses two music tracks, 66% of the revenue goes to music publishers and 33% to the creator. For one music track, it's a 50/50 split.
If no music is used, the creator keeps all their revenue. Creators generally retain 45% of their share from the creator pool after accounting for music usage.
Here's a video explaining it all!
Having a monetized YouTube channel is everything when you want to become a serious creator.
But one day, you may want to monetize outside of the platform. Here are seven lucrative ways to make money beyond YouTube.
The most important thing to make sure is that your content follows YouTube's Monetization policies. As long as your videos are not deleted, made private, or ad campaigns on YouTube, you should be eligible for monetization. Live streams that do not become video-on-demand are not eligible for YouTube ads monetization either.
The average RPM on YouTube is about $2. That means creators can make anywhere between $10 and $30.
To get monetized on YouTube, you must join the YouTube Partner Program by meeting the eligibility requirements—namely 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months—while complying with all community and copyright guidelines. Once approved, you can earn revenue through ads, memberships, and other monetization features.
Monetizing YouTube Shorts involves generating high engagement and viewership, as revenue comes through both ad placements and the YouTube Shorts Fund. Ensure your Shorts meet community guidelines and focus on creative, attention-grabbing content to build your audience quickly.
Achieving fast monetization means rapidly meeting the eligibility criteria by consistently producing high-quality, engaging content and optimizing your videos for search. Utilizing trends, promoting your channel on social media, and engaging with your audience can help accelerate growth toward monetization.
Monetization on YouTube is free as long as you adhere to the platform’s guidelines and meet the necessary milestones for the YouTube Partner Program. Focus on creating engaging content and building an authentic, active audience without needing to invest additional funds.
Monetizing your channel in one month is challenging but possible with a strong, engaged audience and viral, high-quality content that quickly accumulates views and subscribers. A strategic focus on trending topics and aggressive promotion can help expedite meeting the monetization thresholds.
Similar to standard videos, monetizing with Shorts relies on producing engaging content that draws in viewers and increases your channel's overall performance. By consistently posting Shorts that comply with guidelines and tapping into current trends, you can build the momentum needed for monetization.
Channels that rely on reused content face stricter scrutiny under YouTube’s policies, so it’s important to add significant original commentary or transformation to the content. By ensuring your reused material is enhanced with original value, you improve your chances of meeting monetization standards.
Although 500 subscribers fall short of YouTube’s current monetization requirement of 1,000 subscribers, you can work to boost your channel’s growth by focusing on high engagement and quality content. Employing targeted promotional strategies and consistently uploading can help you quickly build the necessary subscriber base.
Once you meet the eligibility criteria, apply via the YouTube Studio 'earn' page.
Shorts use a pooled revenue model that splits ad revenue among creators, music publishers, and 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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