Whether you're just starting out or have been uploading content for years, there are some important things about making money from your channels that can often be overlooked. In this article we'll explain everything you need to know if you want to start earning from your YouTube videos today.
Let's first talk about what it takes to become an official YouTube partner so you can start taking advantage of all its features like live streaming, fan engagement tools, social media integration, branded playlists, and other exclusive perks. Then we'll move onto talking about three specific ways you can make money from your videos beyond even being in good standing with YouTube.
First off: You probably already know that creators who use their accounts as part of a business can apply to officially verify themselves by using either Google Sheets or Formulas (formerly known as "G Suite Labs"). The verification process is similar across platforms but varies depending on which platform you choose. Once verified, you will then receive access to additional marketing services such as analytics tracking, audience insights, influencer management, and advanced advertising solutions.
If you'd rather not wait around for Google to approve you, here's our guide explaining how to get started creating ads for yourself. We also have a separate article dedicated specifically to YouTube advertisers looking to promote brands on the platform.
We've compiled below a list of tips to help you prepare should you decide to go ahead with setting up a personal profile on YouTube instead.
Yes! There was once a time when people would upload videos directly to YouTube without any sort of pre-approval, which resulted in them getting slapped with a Community Guidelines strike and/or demonetized. It wasn't until 2014 that YouTube took steps toward protecting itself against these situations by introducing a new system designed to prevent users from uploading unauthorized copyrighted material. This has since changed based on the number of complaints received from viewers.
Now, anyone wanting to stream original footage must submit a request through the Creator Studio before they can begin uploading. If approved, the person behind the camera won't see any strikes or demonetization notices while still retaining ownership over their work. However, there may still be times where you run into issues after someone else uses your footage without permission. For example, if a celebrity decides to post a clip online, chances are it isn't authorized unless they used one of the few options available for requesting approval.
The best way to avoid becoming another victim of this type of situation is to keep tabs on your content throughout the entire editing stage, especially during production phases. Make sure to take screenshots of every frame so you don't accidentally miss anything. Also, consider having multiple backups made of each finished project before posting. That way, if something goes wrong, you can restore deleted scenes and rework unfinished projects later.
Finally, remember that whenever possible, always seek permission from those whose images, voices, music, audio clips, etc., appear in your videos. It never hurts to ask!
This depends on whether you shot the footage yourself or paid others to film it. With professional productions, it's likely that whoever hired the crew owns the rights to whatever content appears in the final product. But most amateur videographers aren't legally required to obtain explicit permissions for each individual scene prior to filming. As long as you follow standard industry practices, it shouldn't pose much risk.
However, there are instances in which producers could face legal trouble for using footage without authorization. These include cases involving minors, private individuals, celebrities, politicians, and more. So, in general, it's better to err on the side of caution by securing proper consent, at least verbally, from everyone appearing in your videos.
As mentioned above regarding unauthorized usage, it's crucial to back up your files regularly. Don't forget to save copies of each edit as well as the raw footage. Additionally, make sure to check your local laws regarding copyrights and trademarks before moving forward. And finally, it doesn't hurt to double-check with your subjects beforehand. After all, they might have forgotten what they agreed upon months ago.
To qualify for YouTube Partner benefits, including the ability to broadcast live streams, create custom playlists, sell merchandise, and perform shoutouts, you'll need to meet certain threshold requirements. To learn more about the criteria necessary to attain official status, please read our full explanation detailing exactly what you need to do to achieve this goal.
For now, let's focus on the basics. First, you'll need to ensure that you meet two main guidelines: 1) Your account needs to contain at least 10 hours of uploaded history within the last 12 months, and 2) Your total watchtime per viewer should equal 100% of your subscribers combined.
Next, find out what kind of content your channel primarily produces — for instance, comedy sketches, tutorials, gaming walkthroughs, vlogs, or makeup looks—and try to figure out why people interested in that particular niche would care enough to subscribe to your channel. From there, you can proceed to building a strong fanbase that keeps coming back week after week for more.
Once you've nailed down your target audience, think about what kinds of products or services you plan to eventually offer via your channel. A great place to start brainstorming ideas is by reviewing popular trends in your category, searching for related subreddits, checking out relevant hashtags, and researching keywords relating to your topic.
In terms of popularity metrics, look no further than subscriber count and average view duration. Keep track of both over time so you can identify patterns and changes that occur alongside growth or decline. You can use data points like these to determine whether your current efforts are working properly.
Lastly, be aware that YouTube provides several different methods for generating income. While most of us aim to build a large following to attract sponsorships, partnerships, and direct sales opportunities, there are actually numerous ways to generate passive revenue from your channel aside from subscriptions.
One method involves leveraging automated systems powered by machine learning algorithms that analyze user interactions and convert them into targeted offers. Another strategy entails promoting sponsored posts featuring links leading back to your website. Yet another option includes launching affiliate campaigns wherein you refer potential buyers to third parties and share commissions on purchases they complete.
Since these offerings require greater upfront investments, it usually makes sense to opt for whichever ones align best with your goals. Whatever route you ultimately decide to go, however, it's essential to stay consistent with your messaging. Otherwise, audiences may grow tired of hearing pitches unrelated to their interests. Remember, people spend countless hours browsing YouTube trying to find entertainment value, so providing them with nothing but promotional fluff can quickly turn away loyal followers.
It really depends on the quality of your content, but generally speaking it requires between 3,000 and 4,000 unique monthly visitors to reach payout thresholds. More specifically, under the Partner program you'll need to accumulate a minimum of 250 minutes watched within a 30 day period and 5,000 completed credit card transactions.
When determining the amount of traffic needed to hit paydirt, be mindful of factors such as seasonality, seasonal trends, holidays, national events, trending topics, special announcements, and more. For example, July 31 marks the date when new episodes of TV series debut on Netflix, thus resulting in increased viewership numbers compared to previous weeks. Conversely, June 26 marked the end of Ramadan fasting, causing people to fast longer than usual during the holy month. Consider incorporating estimates for future dates that fall near this milestone.
Keep in mind that YouTube's algorithm rewards high view counts from viewers who tend to stick around for extended periods of time. Therefore, it's ideal to prioritize producing creative, engaging, entertaining, and educational content over chasing clicks simply for monetary gain. Of course, this rule holds true regardless of whether you're submitting videos for public consumption or exclusively sharing content with friends.
While the exact figures vary slightly depending on your country, YouTube states that partners residing outside of the U.S. only need to accrue 500 minutes viewed and $100 worth of completed credit cards in order to reach payout thresholds. On top of this, international channels need to meet higher viewing and payment volume benchmarks.
If you're an aspiring YouTuber who's wondering what it takes to make money with their content, we've got good news for you. Yes, there are ways that you can start earning money off of your videos on YouTube -- but first things first: How exactly does one go about making money from such content in the first place?
To give you some insight into this process, here’s our beginner’s guide to making money off of your YouTube videos. This article will cover everything you need to know when it comes to joining the YouTube partner program, getting popular channels branded merchandise, or even selling advertising space directly within your videos.
We'll also discuss how to use Google AdSense ads as well. Let’s begin!
YouTube allows creators to feature advertisements throughout their videos. These advertisements appear at certain points during playback (usually around 2 minutes) through the "monetized" tab which is displayed right above the player controls. To access these features, users must have downloaded YouTube Red.
The monetization tools available differ depending on where viewers watch your content. If they download the YouTube app for Android or iOS, then they won't see any ads at all. Instead, if they watch via desktop browser, they may see sponsored posts instead. And finally, if someone watches via YouTube TV, they will be able to view both regular ads and sponsored ones.
Once a user clicks on the advertisement, it opens up a new window displaying information about the product being advertised. The viewer has no way of interacting with this window other than closing out of the app. However, this shouldn't pose too much of a problem since most people tend not to click on those anyway. In fact, according to data from SimilarWeb, only 1 percent of people actually click on them.
In addition to standard text-based ads, YouTube offers audio commercials called Audio Ads, 360 degree immersive VR experiences known as Immersive Stories, and interactive mini games built by game developers like EA Sports, Ubisoft, Capcom, Harmonix, LEGO Group, Supercell, and many others. Creators can choose to display either one of these options at each given point in time.
A creator can set their preferences so that they receive notifications whenever anyone starts playing their video. They can also decide whether or not showing ads should automatically play after every viewing.
When setting up a monetized account, you can select specific countries to target. For example, if you live in France, Germany, or Spain, you could elect to show French language ads targeting Europeans. Or if you run a business, you might want to opt to target businesses located in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, South Africa, India, etc.
You can create custom audiences based upon various criteria including location, gender, age group, device type, time spent watching, and more. By doing so, you can ensure that advertisers reach the exact audience they desire. When choosing your country preference, keep in mind that you cannot change your choice once you've selected it. So choose wisely!
Yes, absolutely! But remember that Apple doesn't allow third parties to serve ads inside apps unless specifically approved by the company itself. That means you'll have to wait until Apple officially approves a service before using it. At present, Apple has yet to approve any services outside of its native Safari web browser.
That said, there are plenty of alternative methods you can try while waiting. One option would be to use iAds. Another would be to incorporate AdColony, an independent network serving over 100 million monthly active subscribers across multiple platforms. Yet another possibility would be to use MoPub, an independent platform owned by Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, PayPal, and several other companies. Lastly, there's Revver. All three of these networks offer similar features and benefits to YouTube partners.
But don't fret. There are still tons of great alternatives you can explore today. Just search for “mobile ad networks” online and read reviews and compare prices. Once you find something that works best for you, contact the team at the network and ask questions about your particular needs and goals. Be sure to provide examples of your work and expertise. Then sit back and relax, because now that you have the knowledge necessary to become a successful YouTuber, all that's left is building up your fanbase.
No, unfortunately. As previously mentioned, YouTube prohibits creators from sharing in the profits generated from individual videos. It gives them 60 days notice before beginning any form of competition between themselves and competitors. After that period elapses, they cannot compete against each other.
However, this rule seems to be applied less strictly when dealing with smaller channels. If the creator makes only five dollars per month from their channel, they aren't required to disclose potential competition prior to launching it. Also, some smaller channels often share affiliate links for products sold on Amazon without disclosing it to viewers.
While this practice isn't technically considered direct competition, it definitely violates YouTube's terms of service. Therefore, if you come across anything like this, please report the issue immediately.
This depends heavily on two factors: Your popularity among viewers and how effective you were at driving traffic to the original video. Many creators end up having success simply because they made their videos easier to discover and clicked on them.
For instance, say you upload a funny prank video featuring yourself dressed up as a cat. Perhaps you did something silly in front of a green screen. Maybe you filmed it outdoors with lots of background noise. Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, this clip likely went viral thanks to your unique sense of humor and general likability. Now imagine that same clip uploaded onto TikTok and viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Suddenly, you have just created a highly profitable side hustle. Don't underestimate the power of luck!
Of course, you can always try reverse engineering your own videos. Simply take a look at the comments section and social media reactions to determine why your videos took off in the first place. From there, you should consider tweaking the format slightly (perhaps adding music, changing camera angles, etc.) to improve engagement and viewership.
As long as you didn't violate copyright laws or break any rules, you can legally claim ownership of your intellectual property rights and profit from it accordingly. Doing so requires legal counsel and advice, however, so proceed with caution.
Being a vlogger can be tough -- especially if you're new or have just started out. You need to produce content consistently in order for people to keep coming back for more, but there's so much competition that getting noticed is difficult. Not only that, but most of us are also trying to make enough money to support ourselves while working full time! It might seem like an impossible task. But with these tips and tricks, you'll soon start making income off those cute cat videos.
YouTube has made vlogging way easier by offering advertisers access to their platform. Now anyone who wants to become a part of this lucrative scheme simply needs to follow some simple steps. So what exactly are they? How easy is it to sign up? And once you've signed up, how quickly will you see results? Read on to find out everything about becoming a paid member of YouTube (and why we think it could change your life).
The first step towards starting any business venture is researching its competitors. In terms of online video advertising, Google AdSense was one of YouTube’s biggest rivals until recently when it joined forces with YouTube. This means all successful vloggers today use both platforms. However, not every creator makes as much money using either method.
For example, someone whose main niche is makeup tutorials may receive higher earnings through ads than another person who uploads cooking shows. While being active on other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can help increase reach and visibility, creating high-quality original content continues to play a big role in whether viewers want to stick around to watch the end credits roll.
There are two ways creators can make money on YouTube: selling sponsored posts and receiving payment per view. The latter option is known as "monetizing" and requires you to hit certain milestones before earning anything significant.
If you choose the former route, you can begin generating revenue within 24 hours after uploading your first clip. Depending on your channel type and following, you should receive between $2-$4 each month. Creators with bigger audiences can expect even better earnings. If you haven't already uploaded many clips yet, consider setting aside 10% of your monthly subscription for future purchases. This should give you plenty of room to grow without feeling too pressured.
Some people believe that having thousands of subscribers means you automatically qualify for a partnership deal. Not necessarily true. To actually apply for one, you must meet strict requirements set forth by Google itself. There isn't really a shortcut here, unless your account reaches a specific level of popularity over time.
So where did all that leave us? Well, since signing up to YouTube’s partner program took me less than 15 minutes and resulted in a decent amount of cash deposited into my bank account, I'd say that the process works fairly smoothly overall. All things considered, I'm happy with the choice I made.
In conclusion, don't stress out too much about reaching a certain subscriber count before applying for a YouTube Partnership. Just remember that the whole point of joining the program is to create passive income, which means no direct involvement needed from yourself!
Monetization allows users to watch your content offline via apps or web browsers. Once again, depending on the type of channel you operate, this might mean different things. For instance, vloggers typically offer live action footage shot on smartphones and edited together afterward. Meanwhile, hobbyist graphic designers may rely heavily on Photoshop software. Regardless, there are several methods that allow you to make money from your mobile device.
Using tools designed specifically for mobile viewing is often recommended. These usually consist of short skippable intros preceding longer clips, giving viewers additional information relevant to the subject matter at hand. They tend to provide users with a few options for interacting with them too, including liking/disliking the post, subscribing, sharing, etc. Although these types of tools aren't essential, they can definitely improve engagement rates.
When monetizing on phones, it's important to note that you won't receive payments based solely on views. Instead, these kinds of channels send traffic to external websites that display customized advertisements. Therefore, your content must still remain engaging and valuable regardless of whether it ends up being watched.
Another thing worth mentioning is using native ads instead of pre-rolls. Pre-roll ads appear right after watching a video and include links leading away from the site. Native ads, however, integrate seamlessly into the surrounding environment, meaning they look natural rather than jarring. Since mobile devices have smaller screens, native ads are especially useful because they can fit perfectly onto the screen without requiring clicks or scrolling.
Lastly, although not technically required, building relationships with existing brands can result in increased exposure. Brands pay top dollar for targeted promotions that appeal directly to consumers' interests. By establishing a personal connection with them, you establish trust and loyalty, which helps build stronger ties later on down the road.
As mentioned earlier, YouTube offers two primary forms of digital marketing: banners and promoted posts. Banners, sometimes called "promoted videos", show up above regular videos in search engines, whereas promoted posts appear below them. Both require similar amounts of work and cost roughly the same amount to place. Unless you're extremely popular, though, banner placements might not yield nearly as good of returns as a typical organic video would.
To maximize profits, focus on producing content that appeals to a wide audience. A great tip is identifying a particular theme among the content you plan on posting, then incorporating that element throughout the entire series. Doing so ensures consistency across multiple episodes, helping you achieve your goals faster. Afterward, try to engage with comments left beneath your content. Responding encourages interaction, allowing others to share your videos with friends and family.
Additionally, focusing on growing your subscriber base can also benefit you greatly. As more people subscribe to your channel, the likelihood increases that they'll eventually watch something you're involved in. Subscribers are vital for keeping tabs on upcoming projects, so treat them accordingly. Don't spam them with irrelevant messages, but stay consistent with updates pertaining to the current season of whatever you happen to be filming.
Finally, don't forget to check out our guide detailing how to succeed on YouTube.
Yes, absolutely. Monetizing videos on YouTube is relatively straightforward. Whether you decide to go the solo route or form partnerships with companies, the basic idea remains the same. Simply put, if the product or service offered is deemed worthy, advertisers are willing to shell out extra funds to promote it on your behalf. Of course, there are also exceptions to that rule. Big name companies like Apple refuse to advertise products on YouTube due to copyright issues, and major networks like ESPN and ABC rarely feature sponsorships outside of sports events.
It's possible to overcome this by forming strategic alliances with influencers in related fields. This approach doesn't guarantee success, but it certainly gives you a leg up against other potential partners seeking exposure on the platform.
If you feel that you're ready to tackle this challenge, you can always consult a professional regarding your best bet moving forward. We recommend looking for specialists who specialize in the field you wish to enter. Chances are, they know what it takes to land clients and ensure quality control. One last piece of advice: never spend more money than necessary. Quality counts, but quantity matters too.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.