How to Join the YouTube Partner Program and Monetize Your Channel in 2024

If you’re a video creator who wants to make money online, joining the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is one of the best ways to do it. On a basic level, the program lets creators monetize their content with advertisements, and in turn, earn a profit as solid as their work ethic.

YouTube and its creators are part of a revenue-sharing model, and that helps both parties stay in business. For example, when a creator enables ads on their YouTube videos, and viewers watch those ads, the revenue is split between YouTube and the creator. The latter receives 55% while YouTube takes the remaining 45%.

That may seem like a big chunk of money for YouTube, but with hard work and dedication, your 55% share could be millions of dollars — as is the case with creators like MrBeast and Dude Perfect.

On top of that, the monetization model for YouTube Shorts creators is different, with only 45% of the total revenue going to the creators and YouTube taking 55% in this case.

Are you ready to join the YPP and start building a career on YouTube? Here’s a complete guide to bring you one step closer to applying.

YouTube Partner Program: Minimum Requirements to Apply

Before you can apply to 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:

• 500 subscribers
• Three public uploads in the last 90 days
• 3,000 public watch hours in the previous 12 months or 3 million public YouTube Shorts views in the last 90 days.

Read more: YouTube Relaxes its Monetization Rules: Only 500 Subscribers Needed!

Image credit: Official YouTube Blog

If you want to make money with video advertisements, here are the minimum requirements do that:

• 1,000 subscribers
• 4,000 hours of public watch time within a 12-month period or 10 million public YouTube Shorts views within a 90-day period.

Image credit: Official YouTube Blog

The good news is that once you're in the YPP, you're in. 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.

If you need help reaching any of these milestones, we have an excellent guide for earning 1,000 subscribers and a fantastic one for collecting 4,000 watch hours.

And if you're a Shorts creator, learn which video ideas will help you get 10 million views fast!

How to Apply to the YouTube Partner Program

When you’re ready to apply to the YPP, you can complete the application in the YouTube Studio. Just click ‘Earn’ in the studio’s left navigation menu.

That’ll bring you to the YPP application page, which requires four steps:

1. Review and agree to the YPP’s Terms of Service.
2. Set up and connect a Google AdSense account to your channel (This is how you'll get paid).
3. Enable 2-step verification on your channel.
4. Wait for YouTube to review your channel and inform you of its decision.

How Long it Takes to Get Accepted to the YouTube Partner Program

After applying to the YPP, you may be wondering how long YouTube will take to review your application. The official answer from the platform’s support page is about one month. However, plenty of creators have been accepted before then, so keep checking your email.

In our experience, we were able to monetize two of our channels in less than 72 hours. YouTube reviewed both applications over a weekend, which we weren’t expecting. For more information on what that was like, watch the video below:

Admittedly, our smooth experience was probably due to the vidIQ YouTube channel already being monetized. We were trying to get a Russian and Spanish language channel into the YPP, and they’re both branded as vidIQ.

Re-Applying After Rejection

Not getting into the YPP is disappointing, but don't worry. You can always re-apply to the program. The process for re-applying has changed, though, so review the details below carefully!

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.

How the YouTube Partner Program Benefits Creators

The YPP is great for boosting your income, but that’s not the only benefit of joining. The program also gives creators access to a copyright match tool and the platform’s creator support teams. The copyright tool helps you find and flag stolen video content, and the creator support teams help you get more value out of YouTube.

But most creators look forward to the monetization features.

1. Super Chats & Stickers - Monetary donations from viewers that are only sent to creators during live streams.
2. YouTube Super Thanks - Monetary tips of $2, $5, $10, or $50 that viewers send to support individual videos.
3. Channel Memberships - Paid, multi-level memberships where creators offer exclusive content to viewers.
4. YouTube Premium revenue - YouTube Premium is a monthly subscription service offering several perks to loyal viewers. When a Premium subscriber watches your content, you’ll receive part of their subscription fee.
5. Merchandise Shelves - A carousel of branded merchandise creators can display below their videos.

Your level of access to these tools depends on your subscriber count and other factors.

Overall, applying to the YPP doesn’t take much time. But even if you run into a snag or get stuck somewhere in the application, you’ll be glad you started the process. Getting into the YPP is the first step to making money on YouTube, so keep creating valuable content!

But if you just can't wait, here are five ways to monetize your content outside of the YPP.