YouTube stars are today’s self-made celebrities—people who have built a following by making video material aimed at teaching, entertaining, reviewing, and generally being wonderful on the internet.
Making money on YouTube may not be your primary motivation for launching a channel, but the abundance of earning options is a pleasant surprise once you learn how many there are. Fortunately, there are numerous inventive methods to profit from YouTube
Your YouTube channel’s earning potential may be unlocked by your audience, as it is for Instagram influencers or bloggers, but it is the construction of numerous revenue streams, such as side hustles or enterprises, that allows you to make money.
Here’s how to make YouTube monetizable:
- Log in to the YouTube account you wish to make money from.
- In the top right corner, click the account symbol.
- Then select YouTube Studio.
- Select Other Features > Monetization from the left menu.
- Read the YouTuber Partner Program rules and eligibility conditions and agree to them.
- Create a new Google AdSense account for your channel or connect an existing one. (To be paid, you must have an AdSense account.)
- Make your monetization choices.
Return to the dashboard and select the Analytics tab from the left-hand menu. From there, select Revenue from the top-level tabs, then scroll down to the Monthly Estimated Revenue chart to get an estimate of your expected YouTube revenue.
What does YouTube Premium entail?
YouTube Premium is a paid subscription service that allows users to watch and support their favorite video promotion services creators without being interrupted by advertisements. There are few changes for producers, since they will continue to get paid for video consumed by non-members on YouTube as well as content on YouTube Premium.
YouTube Premium creators are compensated based on how many people watch their videos. Consider revenue from YouTube Premium subscribers as a supplement to the money you’re already making from commercials.
While it’s simple to set up, becoming a YouTube Partner and earning money through advertising isn’t the most lucrative way to make money.
Why should you look for money sources other than advertisements?
Due to its desire to be more upfront about advertising on the network and what qualifies as “advertiser friendly” material, YouTube has recently gotten a lot of controversy.
Many YouTube creators were concerned that, because of the nature of their content, they might miss out on ad money that helps to fund their channel.
If your video contains any of the following, YouTube may refuse to pay you for it.
- Content that is sexually provocative, including partial nudity and sexual humour
- Violence, including significant injury displays and events linked to violent extremism
- Harassment, profanity, and obscene words are examples of inappropriate language.
- Drug and controlled substance promotion, including the sale, use, and misuse of such things
- Even if graphic imagery is not portrayed, controversial or sensitive issues and events, such as war, political conflicts, natural disasters, and tragedies
However, YouTube has been demonetizing content that it deems unsuitable for advertising since 2012, using an automatic process that occurs without warning and without the consent of the content provider.
Creators are now notified when their content is flagged, and they can protest any time they believe a video was mistakenly banned from YouTube’s advertising network.
Although advertising is a typical source of passive income for creators, YouTube’s parent corporation, Google, retains about a 45 percent portion of ad revenue.
To summarise, YouTubers should look towards alternative cash streams in order to keep their creative passion afloat. We’ll show you how to make money from YouTube without using AdSense in the sections below.
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Offer products or services for sale
You may generate money with your YouTube channel by selling a variety of things. T-shirts, coffee mugs, tote bags, snapbacks, you name it—selling merchandise provides a value beyond cash.
Merchandise broadens your reach by bringing your online brand and personality into the real world, and it strengthens your bond with your fans by allowing them to “buy” into what you’re doing. Roman Atwood, for example, sells a variety of items under the Smile More brand in his store.
Selling branded merchandise is simpler than it appears. Using freelance services like Fiverr, you can order affordable designs specialised for specific products like t-shirts.
When it comes to managing orders, you may combine your store with services like DSers or one of the many print-on-demand providers that handle shipping, fulfilment, and customer service for you, allowing you to reap the benefits of a print-on-demand business while putting in less effort.
You might also collaborate with an existing creator merchandising network, such as DFTBA (Don’t Forget to Be Awesome). You will, however, be competing with other YouTubers and will have less control over adding products, offering discounts, integrating your content, and all of the other benefits that come with having your own ecommerce site.
You may even take it a step further by creating and selling your own unique items and running your business through your YouTube channel, as Luxy Hair did using hair-related how-to video lessons to sell its hair extensions.
As a YouTuber with an established following, you’ll have two advantages right away that other business owners would envy:
- A content engine that sends visitors to your store on a regular basis
- Your audience’s trust, which you’ve gained by providing them with free content on a regular basis.
- Crowdfund your next artistic endeavour
When money is the only thing standing between a concept and its realisation, crowdsourcing can help.
If your idea is attractive enough, you can enlist the aid of your own audience and the crowdfunding community to help you acquire better equipment, hire actors, or cover other production costs.
Consider making a video introducing your idea or giving a sample of what it’ll be like, like this popular Kickstarter for Kung Fury, a short film homage to 1980s action blockbusters.
Popular crowdfunding portals with a track record of YouTuber campaigns include:
Kickstarter. One of the most well-known crowdfunding platforms, ideal for backing innovative products and initiatives. Make sure you pick an attainable financial target because you’ll only be able to get it if you achieve it.
Indiegogo. A Kickstarter alternative that provides more financing flexibility.
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Use “fan fundraising” to get your audience to support you
You can set up “fan financing” streams to solicit money from your audience, similar to how you would crowdfund a project.
You’re offering your voice to the internet as a creative without requiring your audience to pay for entrance. If you provide valuable information, your audience may be willing to support you on a regular basis.
Many fan-funding platforms provide creators with a new avenue for people to find their work as well as a chance to engage and reward their most devoted fans.
If you decide to go the crowdfunding route, there are a few basic practises to keep in mind. To begin, establish transparency over how the funds will be spent. This will enthral your audience to your tale or cause, and they will literally believe in the worth of your information.
Second, provide compelling incentives for higher pledges. The more you can make contributors feel like they’re getting something special for being a dedicated supporter, the more donations and promises you’ll get.
Among the most common fan fundraising options are:
Super Chat on YouTube. When making live streaming on YouTube, Super Chat is a function that is employed. It allows you to set up a tip jar for your viewers to donate whenever and however much they want. As mentioned above, you’ll need to set up your YouTube account for advertising.
Memberships in channels. Viewers can support your channel by making monthly contributions in exchange for exclusive benefits for members. To use this function, you must be a member of YouTube’s Partner Program, just like Super Chat.
Patreon. The membership platform that enables creators to be compensated quickly. Fans can obtain unique prizes by subscribing to their favourite creators for as little as a $1 each month.
Tipeee. This platform allows you to receive both one-time and recurring donations.
Purchase a coffee for me. Creators and artists can receive donations and membership fees from their fans with Buy Me A Coffee. With over 300,000 creators, it’s dubbed the “#1 Patreon Alternative.” The distinctions are that Buy Me A Coffee makes it easy to take contributions, there’s a fixed 5% cost for all features (vs up to 12% for Patreon), and rewards are quick.
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Make your content available to the media
You can licence your content in exchange for money if you make a viral video with mass appeal, such as an amusing clip showcasing your dog.
If your videos go viral, TV news outlets, morning shows, internet news sites, and other creators may contact you about using them.
When a video of a lady wearing a Chewbacca mask went viral, a slew of news organisations expressed interest.
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Work as an influencer for brands
Brands are increasingly investing in influencer marketing and sponsorships, allocating substantial advertising budgets to influencers who have previously earned the trust of their audiences.
If you can strike the appropriate deals, this is a huge potential for you as a creator.
Brendan Gahan, a YouTube marketing specialist and influencer, suggests calculating your flat price by multiplying the amount of views your videos regularly receive by $0.05 to $0.15 each view (which is around what many brands are willing to pay for views via YouTube ads).
According to WebFX, the following are the possible rates for influencer marketing on YouTube:
This is a great opportunity for you as a creator if you can strike the right deals.
Brendan Gahan, a YouTube marketing expert and influencer, recommends figuring out your flat rate by multiplying the number of views your videos receive on a regular basis by $0.05 to $0.15 each view (which is around what many brands are willing to pay for views via YouTube ads).
The following are the possible rates for influencer marketing on YouTube, according to WebFX:
Here are a few of the various influencer markets where you may list your channel and be noticed by big and small brands:
Crowdtap. In exchange for money and other benefits, complete minor content development “tasks.” There is no limit to how many followers you can have.
Upfluence. A full-featured influencer platform with over 3 million influencers in its database. Clients can use Upfluence to search for creators using keywords and then contact them to build a collaboration.
Some influencer marketplaces provide you free things, while others have huge businesses willing to pay more. Take advantage of the chances that best suit your needs, but list yourself in as many places as possible to ensure that your channel receives the most exposure.
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Go into affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is the practise of earning a commission by advertising another company’s product or service. You can work as a brand’s affiliate marketer and include product placements, endorsements, and other sorts of content in your work. However, you must tell your audience about the relationships in your films.
This is especially useful if you use your YouTube channel to review products. Because there is no risk on the brand’s end (they only pay when they make sales), getting started is usually simple.
ClickBank (1 percent to 75 percent fee, depending on the vendor) and Amazon’s Affiliate network are two popular affiliate schemes ( up to 10 percent per sale). You can also contact brands in your field that have their own affiliate programmes, which is rather prevalent in the ecommerce industry.
How many YouTube views do you need to get money?
According to data from Influencer Marketing Hub, the average YouTube channel may earn roughly $18 per 1,000 ad views, or around $3 to $5 each video view.
The number of views you receive has no bearing on the amount of money you make. You won’t get any money if your video receives thousands of views but no one sees or clicks on the ad. This is due to YouTube’s billing criteria: to be paid, a viewer must click on an ad or watch the video ad in its entirety (10, 15, or 30 seconds).
How to Make Money on YouTube
- Place advertisements on your channel.
- Subscription channels are available.
- Channel memberships are available.
- Join an affiliate marketing programme.
You must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 view hours in the previous year to start making money directly through YouTube. You can then apply to join YouTube’s Partner Program and start monetizing your channel.
Affiliate marketing is one area where you can make money as a novice with a small number of subscribers. Food reviews, product launches, and top [X] lists are all popular YouTube themes. Rather than an ad click or a video view, you can earn money when customers buy affiliate products from your video.
What is the annual income of YouTubers?
As of January 2021, the top 5 YouTubers each have tens of millions of followers. MrBeast, Jake Paul, Markiplier, Rhett and Link, and Unspeakable are among the accounts. These YouTubers make more than $28.5 million a year from their channels. Smaller accounts can still make a livelihood on YouTube, despite their massive earnings.
According to these estimates, Justine might make a living by posting one or two videos per week on her YouTube account. It’s worth noting that these are only estimations. Depending on the YouTube monetization tactics Justine employs for her business, she may earn more or less than the figures above.
How are YouTubers compensated?
According to Forbes, the top YouTube earners get 50% of their annual income from advertisements. Once you’ve created a YouTube channel, you can set up an AdSense account and enable advertising. You only get paid once your AdSense account reaches $100.
Even if a YouTube channel does not have millions of subscribers, it can be monetized. The level of engagement you produce, the niche you cater to, and the revenue avenues you investigate are all factors that influence your earning potential. That’s not to imply that having a large number of subscribers isn’t important; check out our YouTube subscriber tips.
Second, this list of the top ten earners may lead you to believe that the millions of dollars earned are all due to YouTube. Each of these channels, in fact, has its own goods line. Before launching their own merchandise, these networks first found and grew their fans. If you want to make money on YouTube, the first step is to create a marketing strategy.
Selling on YouTube: Tips
Many of the monetization tactics listed above entail marketing items or campaigns (e.g., crowdfunding a video series). However, you must ensure that your promotions do not jeopardise the integrity of your high-quality content.
Many artists are concerned about “selling out.” However, if you never ask, you will never receive. You can choose from a variety of “placements” to promote your items or campaigns.
Understand your YouTube audience
Building your own audience allows you to monetize your material in a variety of ways. However, you’ll only be able to make the most of your opportunities if you know who your target audience is.
The more narrow your channel is, the better position you’ll be in to work with marketers trying to target certain demographics, according to several YouTubers looking to monetise (more on that later).
You should pay special attention to:
- Check your audience’s gender to discover if it’s skewed toward one group.
- The age group in which the majority of your audience belongs
- The geographical location of your films’ viewers (countries or localities).
Overall audience involvement, or “view time,”
You’ll have a better grasp of your own audience and be able to deal with companies better if you have this demographic data. Your YouTube analytics can provide all demographic information, but use a service like Social Blade to compare your channel to others.
In your videos, include a call to action.
“If you enjoyed this video, please like it and subscribe.”
To increase their viewership, many YouTubers include a call to action along those lines at the end of their videos. Your audience is more likely to take the required action if you recommend it to them.
You can use this strategy to draw attention to a revenue-generating opportunity in front of your audience.
