Wondering how people make money and how much they earn on YouTube? Look no further, as this article provides all the answers you have been asking concerning how to earn money on YouTube, how much you can earn, and eligibility requirements for monetization features.
YouTube is an online video platform established on February 14, 2005, and acquired by Google the following year. It provides several ways to watch videos including the website, mobile apps, and other authorized websites to embed them. Contents such as music videos, video clips, movie trailers, live streams, video blogs, documentary films, etc. are all available on YouTube. Some of these contents are uploaded by media corporations but most are generated by individuals.
Apart from watching and uploading content, YouTube also permits registered users to comment on videos, rate them create playlists, and subscribe to other content creators. Users watch over one billion hours of YouTube videos each day and hundreds of hours of video content are uploaded every minute. YouTube and creators earn advertising revenue from Google’s AdSense program.
Starting a YouTube channel provides multiple ways to generate income, even though it may not be your main reason. All you need is creativity, consistency, and dedication, it will surprise you on how much you can continue to grow your revenue. Content creators now have access to a variety of ways to monetize their content including advertising, fan funding, brand sponsorships, merchandise sales, etc. You will learn more about and how to get started with them in this article.
How Much Money Can You Earn As A YouTuber
YouTube does not pay content creators directly for the videos they upload and content does not generate revenue on default. This is to say that, for you to start making money on YouTube, you have to enable monetization in your YouTube account settings. Then you will see options on how to generate revenue, which will be explained in the next subtopic.
According to Forbes, these are the top-earning YouTube channels:
- Ryan’s World: It is a channel owned by 9-year old Ryan Kaji. He took in an estimated $29.5 million between June 2019 and June 2020 with approximately 42 million subscribers and over 12 billion views. His video contents are of toy reviews and DIY science experiments.
- Jimmy Donaldson: Known as Mr. Beast, has over 48 million subscribers and 3 billion views and makes approximately $24 million. His channel includes videos of Humorous stunts.
- The Dude Perfect: This channel was created by five friends Coby Cotton, Cory Cotton, Gilbert Hilbert, Cody Jones, and Tyler Toney. They make $23 million, and they are known for sports and comedy play on YouTube with over 60 million subscribers.
Moreover, your earning is not exclusively determined by the number of subscribers and views you have, but also by the level of engagement you generate, your niche, and the revenue channels you explore. Creating your own audience will place you in a better position to monetize your content in a variety of ways.
How To Earn Money With YouTube Contents: 5 Effective Ways
There are several ways you can earn money as a YouTuber, but it’s important to know how each of them works and explore your options before starting. We outline five effective to earn money from your YouTube channel;
1. Join The YouTube Partner Program And Earn Money From Google Ads
The first step to making money on YouTube is to join the Partner Program. In May 2007, YouTube launched its Partner Program(YPP), a system based on AdSense which allows the uploader of the video to share the revenue produced by advertising on the site. YouTube takes 45 percent of the advertising revenue from videos in the partner program, and the other 55 goes to the uploader.
Being a partner makes it a lot easier to make money on YouTube. It provides access to special features on the platform through which one can make money.
How to enable monetization on YouTube
- Firstly, set up a YouTube channel
- Optimize your account enough that it meets the criteria for the YouTube Partner Program requirements
- Set up an AdSense account following YouTube’s official guide.
- Set your monetization preferences
How You Earn Money Through Ad Views
YouTubers earn money through Ad views either by CPM (cost per thousand views), where the viewer must watch at least 30 seconds of the ad on a particular short video. Or CPC (cost per click), where a viewer must click on the ad. However, the number of views you get does not count as revenue earned likewise skipped ads. That is to say that if your video gets thousands of views but no one clicks or watches the ad, you won’t receive any payment.
Ways to make money in the Youtube Partner Program
You can make money on Youtube through the following features in the Youtube Partner Program, including its eligibility requirements as each feature has its own:
- Advertising revenue: You can get ad revenue from the display, overlay, and video ads. You must be at least 18 years old or have a legal guardian older than 18 years old who can handle your payments via AdSense. Create content that meets Google advertiser-friendly content guidelines. Advertisers will be more comfortable running ads on your channel when you have less controversial videos.
- Channel Memberships: Your members make recurring monthly payments in exchange for special perks you offer. You must be at least 18 years old and have more than 1,000 subscribers.
- Merch Shelf: Your fans can browse and buy official branded merchandise that is showcased on your watch pages. You must be at least 18 years old and have more than 10,000 subscribers.
- Super Chats: Your fans pay to get their messages highlighted in chat during live streams. You must be at least 18 years old and live in a country or region where Super Chat is available.
- YouTube Premium Revenue: You can get part of a YouTube Premium subscriber’s fee when they watch your content. Create Content watched by a viewer who is a YouTube Premium subscriber.
Your channel will be constantly reviewed to make sure your content is in line with the YouTube Partner Program Policies even after getting approval. Click here to view the policies.
2. Service/Merchandise Sales
If you are an entrepreneur and video creator, YouTube is an ideal place to promote your business and affirm your expertise. You can make an online course or offer branded merchandise that can increase your sales, as well as boost brand awareness. For instance, within two years of launching its consumer/product business, the Ryan’s World franchise exceeded $500 million by the end of 2020. Jeffree Starr has also made millions selling lipstick, highlighters, and eye shadow palettes to his fans. While there are plenty of products to sell that can help you make money via YouTube channel, you can make and sell branded t-shirts, bags, sweaters, kids’ clothing, underwear, stickers, swimsuits, etc.
Guide on how to sell your own merchandise
- Design your product to be unique to your audience.
- Source your product by finding a manufacturer or supplier to make deliver your product. You can have the products delivered to you or they can save you the stress by shipping directly themselves.
- You will need a separate page or site to handle your business. However, you can link it directly from your videos by referring to YouTube’s list of approved merchandise sites.
- Enable the YouTube Partner merchandise shelf feature to sell the channel’s merchandise. Click here to see how to enable it.
- Promote your products in your content. You can do this by using them in videos or featuring viewers that are using them.
3. Fan Funding
Fan funding is another effective way to monetize a channel. This strategy for making money on YouTube was replaced earlier in 2017 with another feature known as Super Chat. Which only YouTube Partners has access to it while they live stream. Fans and followers make repetitive monthly payments in exchange for bonus content such as emojis, special videos, live chat, and other content. Ensure to follow these practices below, if you choose fan funding;
- Host live chats where people can make use of Super Chat. Your viewers’ comments can be made more visible when they are highlighted and pinned in the live chat stream for a set amount of time depending on how much they pay.
- Encourage your fans to become members of your channel. Just as mentioned above your viewers can pay to become members of your channel and get custom emoji, badges, special videos, and access to other members-only exclusives.
- Encourage your fans to become YouTube Premium subscribers. You can get part of a Youtube Premium subscriber’s fee when they watch your videos.
4. Brand Sponsorship
Working with brands as an influencer is one lucrative form of advertising on social media platforms. As a content creator, a company can pay you to promote its product or brand in a video. This creates a massive opportunity for you as a content creator if you can negotiate the right deals. Also, it depends on your channel leverage such as—content quality, your audience demographics, and how profitable and unique your niche is. For instance a YouTuber, Michelle Phan drew the attention of cosmetics brand Lancôme with her make-up tutorials.
However, follow these steps if you want to create sponsored content;
- Firstly, find a brand to partner with. You can also sign up with influencer marketing platforms, that helps marketing teams find suitable influencers to work with.
- Make a deal with the brand. YouTubers will be able to charge more money for their videos cause it is a more expensive product than content on other social media platforms.
- Ensure to follow the Google Ads policies as brand sponsorship is one form of advertising.
5. License Your Content To The Media
Licensing most of your successful videos to the media is to make sure you are easily found. As every news outlet now wants to get their hands on a copy of any video that goes viral in order to replay it for their audience. They are aware that they should reach out about the rights to use the videos, which they need to pay for before using them.
Meanwhile, here are guidelines to follow when licensing your contents;
- Always keep your contact details updated on your about page
- sign up to a video rights marketplace
Conclusion
In order to join the YouTube Partner Program and earn money from ads. You will need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. The highest-paid YouTube video creators are earning almost $20 million a year, therefore YouTube is an endless source of income. People who are creative and able to attract massive and loyal followers can make a substantial income on YouTube.