How to Monetize a YouTube Channel

With the increasing popularity of short video formats, YouTube is a great social media platform for finding potential fans and customers. This is also the world’s second-largest search engine that offers plenty of possibilities for growing your channel the way you want it. Are you a video content creator and want to learn how to monetize a YouTube channel? You’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we’ll show you how to monetize your YouTube videos, how many subscribers you need to start making money on YouTube, how to make money on YouTube with Google AdSense, and many more.

Without further ado, let’s dive right in!

What Are The Requirements to Monetize YouTube Videos

First things first, to make money from your videos you need to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). While anyone can create a YouTube account, there are certain criteria creators must meet in order to become a member of YPP. However, once you’re accepted, it all comes down to how many views you get on your videos. The more views you have, the more money you make.

According to the video-sharing platform if you want to apply to the YouTube Partner Program, you must have:

• At least 1,000 subscribers on your channel;
• At least 4,000 valid public watch hours over the last 12 months;
• You must live in a place where YPP is available;
• Your AdSense account is already linked to your YouTube channel;
• Your content should not violate the Community Guidelines.

 
It usually takes about a month for YouTube support to review applications before marking a decision. Sometimes it may take longer because all applications need to be manually reviewed by their team.

This is quite a straightforward criterion for joining the YPP, and you can actually achieve these goals by creating awesome content and growing your fan base.

Another thing to keep in mind is that your video content should be in compliance with YouTube’s policies and guidelines. The reviewing team will be carefully auditing your channel to ensure your content is free from issues such as copyright and quality and accuracy.

If you want to successfully join the YouTube Partner Program you need to create unique and valuable videos. Low-quality content is a big no-no.

How to Avoid Monetization Mistakes and Copyright Strikes on YouTube

Obviously, you must follow YouTube’s copyright and monetization policies at all times. Meaning, that you shouldn’t use someone else’s videos without their consent, and restrain from using copyrighted works, or audio tracks.

Failure to comply with the policies may result in the following:

• Removal of ads from your YouTube channel;
• Your channel can get suspended from the YouTube Partner Program;
• YouTube can suspend or terminate your participation in YPP.

 
Fret not, however. Their support team will immediately inform you via email if you violate any of their policies. In addition, they let you know about the options you have to mitigate the consequences.

My Channel was Rejected For Monetisation. What Should I Do?

If you get rejected by the YouTube Partner Program, it means your channel does not meet YouTube community standards. But again, fret not, since you can always re-apply after 30 days. Take your time to improve your channel before reapplying.

So how can you actually make your application stronger? Here’re some tips:

• Review video titles, video descriptions, and thumbnails that violate Community Guidelines;
• Delete or edit specific videos causing issues to align with YouTube’s policies;
• Check your content once again to avoid repeating those mistakes.

YouTube Monetization in a Nutshell

Setting up your YouTube Partnership Program account shouldn’t be a big problem. First, you need to log into Youtube Studio. Then, once you’ve got your first 1000 subscribers, you’ll see the monetization tab and be able to join the YPP.

Once you’ve applied to the program, human reviewers will check your channel and provide a “yes” or “no” answer. If the answer is “yes”, you’re all set to monetize your channel and continue growing your revenue streams.

Make sure to regularly check YouTube Studio and AdSense for your analytical reports that will help evaluate your performance. Those will also give helpful insights about what improvements need to be made.

7 Tips for Monetizing YouTube Videos

Now that you know how to become a YouTube partner, you need to start working towards your goals and making money from YouTube. In other words, never stop posting high-quality videos, work on your SEO, and keep your subscribers engaged. There’s always something to improve.

If you want to become a successful video creator, here are a few tips that can help you improve your YouTube Monetization.

• Only promote products you would buy;
• Posting regularly builds trust with your subscribers;
• Quality content is the key to success;
• Find ways to get to know your audience better;
• Grow traffic by diversifying your social media channels;
• Don’t forget to optimize videos for YouTube search.
• Reward loyal fans and followers.

 
If you’re going to make real money on YouTube, you must be always looking for ways to improve your experience as a content creator. Stay focused and get stuff done.

8 Ways to Monetize YouTube Videos

While some publishers often consider YPP as their primary (and only) revenue stream, there are many other ways to monetize YouTube videos. Depending on the channel’s audience and niche your advertising revenue may vary, but some of the highest-paid YouTube creators earn millions of dollars from their videos.

That said, everybody’s content is different and people use different ways to earn money on YouTube. What are these ways? Let’s take a look at the top 10 ways to monetize YouTube videos:

1. YouTube Ads

Naturally, the first thing YouTubers think of when they start uploading videos is the YouTube Partner Program.

Making money on YouTube through ads is quite easy and you can turn on ad monetization for individual or multiple videos once your channel meets advertiser-friendly content guidelines. YouTube will then start showing ads on your content, and when Partner Program gets paid by advertisers, they share those earnings with you.

You can get paid and track all your analytics via Google AdSense.

There are several YouTube ad formats available, so you can easily choose where to place ads on your videos.

How to Enable YouTube Ads

• Go to your YouTube Studio;
• In the left menu, select Content;
• Select a video or multiple videos;
• Click Monetization in the left sidebar;
• Select the type of ads you want to run;
• Save.

2. YouTube Premium

YouTube Premium is a subscription service that enables users to watch ad-free content, download videos, enable background playback, etc. The service is available to all YPP members who get paid every time a YouTube Premium member watches their content.

Video creators receive payments at the beginning of every month and the process is very similar to ad revenue payments. Of course, the more Premium members watch your videos, the more you get.

3. Get Clicks on Your Affiliate Links

Arguably, one of the easiest ways to monetize a YouTube channel is through affiliate programs. Adding affiliate links to video descriptions has been a favored way for content creators to monetize their videos.

Here at Admitad, we believe that promoting products or services to the right audience could drastically increase your income.

But what is an affiliate link and how does it work?

Briefly, when you join an affiliate program, you choose a product or service and then promote it to a relevant audience.

Once people are ready to buy that product you send them to a brand’s product or landing page via an affiliate link. Every time they purchase something through your unique link, you earn a commission from the sale.

There’s a wide variety of affiliate offers to choose from.

But if you really want to make money with affiliate marketing, you should find products that actually complement your content.

When you add affiliate links to your video descriptions or video content itself, you must remember that quality content always brings value.

In other words, to be successful with affiliate marketing your links should also be relevant and useful for your viewers.

Joining an affiliate program can be a side hustle or it could be a full-time job.

The products you recommend will reflect on you, so make sure you know the ins and outs and make your videos as informative as possible.

4. Channel Memberships

Channel memberships allow your members to pay a membership fee, and get access to exclusive content in return. Publishers set their membership fees, and it’s up to them how to manage them.

At the same time, you should be adding free content to help grow your channel. Keeping the balance between paid and free content is important since you want to hook your viewers and make them want to purchase a subscription.

If you want to monetize a YouTube channel through paid memberships, you should know there are some requirements to unlock this revenue stream. Your channel must have more than 1,000 subscribers.

This is to ensure you’re offering value and quality content. And the more subscribers you have on your channel, the more trust you get from YouTube. Once you have 1,000 subscribers, you can easily enable channel members and start benefiting from this feature.

How to Turn on Channel Memberships:

• Sign in to YouTube Studio;
• Select “Monetization” on the left sidebar;
• Submit your perks;
• Create your intro video;
• Choose your pricing structure;
• Post the “Join” button on your page.

5. Sell Merchandise

If you become popular enough, then chances are your subscribers might want to engage with you by buying merchandise. YouTube channels with more than 10,000 subscribers can benefit from YouTube’s merchandise feature that appears on each video page. Depending on your audience and niche, it could become a substantial income for some content creators.

With over 45 supported merch platforms or retailers worldwide, a good merch shelf is an opportunity to monetize a YouTube channel by selling branded merchandise to your fans.

How to Turn on Merchandise

• Go to YouTube Studio;
• Click “Monetization” on the left-hand menu.
• Click on the “merchandise” tab (it will only be available once you have 1000 subscribers);
• Follow the instructions to link your official merchandise store to your YouTube channel.

6. Go Super

Your viewers can show their appreciation by paying a small amount of money for features like Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks. Those are great for your subscribers cause they are fun, and these are great for your cause they allow you to make extra money on YouTube. Activating any of these features allows you to get a 70% cut, while YouTube takes the other 30%.

Let’s take a closer look at Super features:

Super Chat

When you watch a livestream on YouTube, you can highlight your message in the live chat. This feature is only available if a creator enabled Super Chat on their live videos and premieres. Then viewers can spend anything between $1 and $500 to get their message featured in a livestream chat.

Super Stickers

Stickers work similarly to Super Chat. Basically, these are fun stickers users can buy and pin to the top of the live chat. Attention-grabbing Super Stickers will more likely be noticed by a content creator while streaming.

Super Thanks

This feature can be used on any uploaded video, not just livestreams and Premieres. Super Thanks allow users to show gratitude towards creators by snagging their featured comments to the top of the chat.

7. YouTube BrandConnect

If you live in the U.S., the United Kingdom, or Canada, you can benefit from using BrandConnect monetization service. It seamlessly connects brands with YouTube creators and provides campaign management resources. After joining the service, their team will email you as soon as they find a suitable YouTube BrandConnect opportunity

8. Paid Sponsorships

When brands or businesses pay YouTube creators to use or demonstrate their product in a video, that is what paid sponsorship is. These financial relationships benefit not only the brand and the creator, but also the viewers.

Parties are usually negotiating a price before starting a collaboration. Once it is done they start a campaign. To get sponsorship you’ll need a popular channel with a large following. If you already have one, pitch to relevant brands in your niche to partner for a video. In your message explain how you can bring value to their business and show them your engagement rates and statistics.

Quick Guide to Monetizing a YouTube Channel

Getting a YouTube channel monetized mainly revolves around creating an additional revenue stream. Here’s how to do it.

• Create an Account and get approved for the YouTube Partnership Program;
• Stay consistent with your video blog;
• Find the monetization tab in YouTube Studio. The option will appear when you are eligible;
• Meet YouTube’s Community Guidelines and policies;
• Have at least 1,000 subscribers or 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months;
• Create a Google Ad Account to track ads and payments;
• Choose how to monetize your channel;
• Pick any of the options we mentioned here.

Make Money From Your Videos With YouTube Monetization

If you’re creating and publishing engaging videos on YouTube, then you should benefit from them. The ways above are great to monetize a YouTube channel and make substantial money from it.

However, it is good to remember that growing your YouTube channel is never as easy as it seems. First, you need to meet the minimum eligibility requirements to join YPP. Once it’s done, you will have to stay consistent when creating great content. And then you’ll be able to see the results.

Creating a successful YouTube channel requires a lot of time and effort. But with the different monetization strategies, you can actually earn a healthy income from YouTube.

How do you monetize your YouTube videos? Let us know in the comments below!