How to Make Money on YouTube
There are more opportunities for monetization than ever on YouTube. As of August 2024, successful content creators (aka "YouTubers") on YouTube are earning around $120,000 per year (according to Influencer Marketing Hub.) So even at much lower levels, there's still plenty of income to be made on YouTube, using everything from channel memberships and Super Chats to affiliate marketing, sponsorships, custom merch you can sell on YouTube Shopping through sites like Fourthwall, and of course YouTube ad revenue.
But how exactly do you get started making money on YouTube? Let's explore how YouTubers do just that, from YouTube's benefits to how to set up your YouTube channel, monetize it, qualify for the YouTube Partner Program, and build your audience, so that you can earn money on YouTube and keep creating great content!
Why YouTube is So Great for Earning Money Online
YouTube is one of the best platforms for creators to make money due in large part to its massive user base! As of Fall 2024, YouTube has more than 2.7 billion monthly active users (via GlobalMediaInsight), and out of over 5 billion people using social media worldwide, over 50% of them access YouTube.
On top of these impressive stats, YouTube also offers a set of versatile features, so finding videos is easy even for niche content. Viewers can search for any type of video they'd like, compile them into playlists, "Thumbs Up" videos they like, and subscribe to their favorite YouTubers' channels.
On the content creator side, creators have a full dashboard to use called YouTube Studio, which helps YouTubers upload videos, customize your YouTube channel, create titles and subtitles, respond to comments, and dig into your YouTube analytics.
And, of course (the reason we're in this article!), you can make money on YouTube! Content creators can monetize their YouTube content through affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and YouTube channel memberships, where you can offer exclusive content to paying subscribers. You can also unlock Super Chats and Super Stickers, where your fans can tip you to highlight their messages.
And (once you're in the YouTube Partner Program), ad revenue, where you can run ads on your videos as a primary source of your YouTube income. Virtually any content (barring copyright restrictions) can be monetized on YouTube, whether you're a beginning YouTuber or full-fledged YouTube Partner - so let's look at some of the ways you can monetize YouTube:
YouTube Channel Monetization Breakdown!
Ad Revenue
How It Works: Earn money on YouTube by running ads on your videos via YouTube monetization or Google AdSense; these generally include pre-roll, mid-roll, and display ads.
Tip: To maximize AdSense and YouTube ad revenue, create longer videos (over 8 minutes) so they have room for more ads while disrupting the viewer experience a little less.
YouTube Channel Memberships
How It Works: After you've achieved YouTube Partnership, you can set up and monetize channel memberships at different price points (you can create up to six different membership levels), to earn money by offering subscriber-only perks like badges, emojis, and exclusive content.
Tip: Create your Channel Membership level perks carefully, with interesting and fun bonuses, so you're offering content that will really encourage your viewers to become YouTube members.
Super Chats and Super Stickers
How It Works: During YouTuber live streams, viewers can pay to highlight their messages (Super Chats) or send stickers (Super Stickers.) These monetized interactions boost engagement and increase your income, too!
Tip: Acknowledge Super Chat contributors during the stream to encourage more participation - if you get hyped about seeing the highlighted messages and stickers in chat, so will your viewers!
Affiliate Marketing
How It Works: Promote products through affiliate programs, including affiliate links in your video descriptions; you'll make money by earning commissions through sales made through those links.
Tip: Choose products that align with your content to build trust and drive more conversions; your viewers can generally tell whether or not you're being sincere, plus you'll make more money on YouTube if your product choices make sense for your audience.
Sponsorships and Brand Deals
How It Works: Partner with brands to earn money by creating sponsored content. Having a media kit that highlights your channel's metrics and audience demographics can help attract sponsors, as can reaching out to sponsors that you feel will be a great fit with your content.
Tip: Integrate sponsored content in line with your personality and brand to maintain authenticity, and make it interesting; creative and fun sponsored segments can keep viewers watching, even though they're technically ads.
Merchandise Sales
How It Works: Design and sell branded merchandise like t-shirts, mugs, and stickers! Use platforms like Fourthwall to easily set up your own customized merchandise store, and promote your Fourthwall products through YouTube Shopping’s merchandise shelf.
Tip: Create merchandise that really shows off your brand and leans into distinctive things about you and your content; if you've got design skills, great! If not, consider hiring pro artists to really make your merch stand out so you can promote your brand and earn money.
YouTube Premium Revenue
How It Works: If a viewer who is subscribed to YouTube Premium watches your content, YouTube pays you, as the creator, a share of the revenue generated (as long as your post meets YouTube community guidelines.) Make sure to accept the monetization modules on YouTube for both your long form videos and YouTube Shorts.
Tip: Focus on creating high-quality content to attract YouTube Premium viewers, as they contribute directly to your earnings.
Sooo When Exactly Can You Start Making Money on YouTube?
Technically speaking, you can start making money on YouTube any time, if you have an external agreement! For instance, if you strike a sponsorship deal with a brand, you can create your own advertising plugs within your stream, and earn money getting paid externally by that brand, regardless of whether or not you're already using Google AdSense or YouTube monetization.
But to officially monetize your YouTube channel to earn YouTube revenue sharing from ads, you'll need to meet the current requirements for the YouTube Partner Program. As of late 2024, those requirements include:
- 1,000 YouTube subscribers plus either
- 4,000 valid public watch hours in the past year, or
- 10M valid public YouTube Shorts views in the past 90 days
- Plus compliance with YouTube's community guidelines and monetization policies
While the timeline varies, these requirements are reachable for many creators within several months of consistent effort. Post regularly to keep your audience engaged, and to attract more viewers and subscribers to your YouTube channel; add in YouTube Shorts to get even more eyes on your content! Also make sure to use relevant keywords in your titles, descriptions, and tags to help make your videos more discoverable. Keeping an eye on trends and popular trending search terms can attract even more viewers, helping you hit your YouTube Partner Program goals sooner.
Set Up Your YouTube Channel for Successful Monetization
Having a well designed YouTube channel helps YouTubers attract more viewers and potential sponsors! Making your channel the best it can be allows you to get the most out of your monetization efforts, and can also help you hit the YouTube Partner Program requirements on your channel much earlier.
Create a Professional Look
Design or commission a high quality banner and profile picture to establish a cohesive brand identity for your YouTube channel. A well designed channel page can draw new viewers in to subscribe and engage with your content! When uploading your videos, create pro looking thumbnails that follow a similar theme, to keep that sense of cohesion going throughout your entire YouTube channel; this helps solidify your brand, and also makes your videos more easily recognizable when they pop up in search results.
Focus on Quality Content
We've said it a million times: content is king! You can have the best-looking YouTube channel on the platform, but you also need great content to back it up. While the answer can vary for different types of YouTuber content, it's generally thought that posting a regular video once a week is optimum. If you want to also add in YouTube Shorts, 3 per week is a great goal to strive for. But always go for quality over quantity - if it takes you longer to create a well-crafted video, that's okay too!
Understand YouTube's Monetization Policies
YouTube has specific guidelines regarding content, copyright, and community standards, so make sure you're up to date on those, as violating them can lead to demonetization. Keep your content clean, original, positive, and advertiser friendly to maintain eligibility for monetization and that YouTube ad revenue; these content traits also help your content and channel look more professional, so it's a win-win!
Set Up AdSense
Start earning ad revenue from AdSense by getting your YouTube account correctly linked with AdSense, which is necessary for YouTube to pay you. The way you do this is to sign in to YouTube Studio, click the "Earn" tab on the left, and then click "Start" on the "Sign Up for AdSense for YouTube" card. You'll need to choose which Google account you'll be using for AdSense for YouTube, and reauthenticate your YouTube account password and contact info. YouTube should let you know via email once your account has been approved for AdSense, which can take a few days.
The Best Types of Content to Make Money on YouTube
Certain types of content can be more effective for monetization than others - let's check out some of the more profitable YouTube content niches and styles to get you making money on YouTube!
How Do I...?
How-to videos and tutorials attract a wide audience searching for solutions to specific problems. Whether you're showing off how to beat a specific level in a game, build something, share a recipe, or style your hair, the broad appeal in this category makes it a great choice for YouTubers to earn money by drawing in high numbers of viewers looking for answers.
The Great Unboxing
Product unboxings and reviews are ideal for affiliate marketing and sponsorships. By reviewing niche products, you can make money earning commissions through affiliate links included in your video descriptions, and provide your viewers with inside looks at products they're interested in.
Join Me!
Personal vlogs (video blogs), GRWM (get ready with me) fashion/beauty videos, lifestyle content, and IRL (in real life) videos help YouTubers connect with their audience on a deeper level. Take your viewers along as you travel, sit down with them for a catch-up chat, or even share the behind the scenes process of how you create your YouTube videos to build loyalty and encourage subscribers to support your channel through memberships.
Get Focused
Niche-specific videos that target specific interests like fitness, tech, or gaming help attract an equally focused audience. This is a great monetizing tactic for securing sponsorships and affiliate marketing deals in distinct niches, as you can precisely show why the bulk of your viewers are watching your videos.
That's Entertainment!
Music, dancing, comedic sketches, short films - all of the above have high potential for going viral, leading to high viewership and loads of buzz around your content. These bigger numbers can easily translate to more ad revenue for YouTubers, as well as extra attention that can help you snag more monetizing opportunities like brand and sponsorship deals, or even in-person gigs.
Let's Play
Gaming content is huge on YouTube - Let's Plays, game reviews, and live gaming streams are all popular niches for YouTubers, and can be monetized through ads, Super Chats and Super Stickers, and channel memberships. Team up with other gamer YouTubers to double or triple your audience draw and make money!
Back to School
YouTubers who create evergreen videos in the education and learning niche can keep attracting viewers indefinitely with those videos for even more membership income. Historical deep dives, pronunciation guides, science experiments, astronomy explainers, nature and geography videos - all of these stay relevant over time, so are great for ad revenue longevity, as well.
Entertain More, Engage More, Get More Revenue!
A loyal audience is key to maximizing your income on YouTube. Whether you're just getting started as a YouTuber or are well on your way to the YouTube Partner Program, here are some pro tips for turning your viewers into fans.
- Engage with Viewers - Respond to comments, host Q&A or AMA sessions, and ask for feedback. Audience feedback both boosts engagement and helps align your content with audience interests!
- Offer Exclusive Content - Once you start offering memberships, make sure you've got plenty of fun members-only perks set up to keep your members happy and attract new ones.
- Collaborate - Partnering with other YouTubers in similar niches to yours to create content helps you both cross-promote your work and bring in new audiences.
- Use CTAs - Make sure to have calls to action in your videos to encourage likes, comments, and shares, to tell people about any events you may have going on, and to remind people to subscribe to your YouTube channel.
YouTube x Fourthwall - A Money Making Combo!
Fourthwall is the perfect business partner for your YouTube channel! As an all in one ecommerce platform, Fourthwall can help you set up your own dedicated website plus a custom merchandise store that you can connect directly to your YouTube channel, so you can sell your merch on YouTube Shopping - create a whole line of customized merchandise that your YouTube fans can wear to rep your brand! Fourthwall also lets you accept a whole host of payment methods, so fans from around the world can buy your merch and you can make money.
There are plenty of other perks on Fourthwall for both YouTubers and their viewers, too, from video thank-you messages and custom themes to socials integrations. You can even sell separate memberships through Fourthwall for your most dedicated subscribers, to get them even more exclusive content. Get started on Fourthwall today!