Okay, ad revenue is the most obvious style to brand money on YouTube. Only it's not the just way—or, to be honest, the all-time fashion.

(Spoiler: the best way to brand money on YouTube is all the ways.)

YouTube is half the internet: that's 1.ix billion users logging in every month. Just at the aforementioned time, 500 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute.

So you already know this commodity is not going to exist almost how easy information technology is to buy a Swiss watch with the ad acquirement from your YouTube views. (Though if you have millions of video views, you could probably at to the lowest degree rent one. Wait, don't.)

Read on, and we'll lay out seven means to earn income from your YouTube aqueduct, complete with step-by-step instructions.

Bonus: Download the complimentary 30-day plan to grow your YouTube post-obit fast , a daily workbook of challenges that volition help you lot kickstart your Youtube channel growth and track your success. Become real results after 1 calendar month.

How to make money on YouTube

1. Join the YouTube Partner Program

The YouTube Partner Program is how regular YouTubers get access to special features on the platform.

You don't demand to be a partner to brand coin on YouTube (but setting up an AdSense account and getting views is enough to handle that), but being a Partner makes information technology a lot easier.

YouTube Partners take access to multiple income streams: not simply video ads, but YouTube Premium subscription fees, and features that tap your loyal fans' wallets directly like Super Chat, channel memberships and the merchandise shelf (more on these later.)

Step 1: Get-go a YouTube channel

Don't worry, we have a handy guide for this. It's called 'How to create a YouTube channel.'

Step 2: Make your channel successful enough that it meets the YouTube Partner Plan requirements

To join the plan, you need a minimum of i,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months.

Here are some ideas for how to get more of those precious YouTube views.

Pace three: Set upwards an AdSense business relationship

This is uncomplicated. Just follow YouTube's official guide to AdSense accounts.

Pace 4: Explore your new monetization features

Each monetization channel has different eligibility requirements. For instance:

  • Ad revenue: to earn ad revenue, you must be at to the lowest degree eighteen years old, and you must create content that is advertiser-friendly. Basically, the less controversial your videos, the more YouTube advertisers volition be comfy running ads on them, and the more money yous make.
  • YouTube Premium revenue: if a YouTube Premium member watches your video, you become a portion of their subscription fee. (This i is automated, which is overnice.)
  • Channel memberships: in order to sell channel memberships to your subscribers (i.east., your fans opt in to pay you an extra amount), you demand to be at to the lowest degree xviii and have more than than 30,000 subscribers.
  • Merchandise shelf: in order to sell merch from YouTube's merchandise shelf, you lot must be at least eighteen years former, and have at least 10,000 subscribers.
  • Super Conversation payments: if yous want your fans to take the ability to pay to accept their messages highlighted in your alive chats during your alive streams, you must be at to the lowest degree eighteen (and alive in a country where the feature is offered).

Pace 5: Submit to ongoing reviews

As a YouTube Partner, your channel volition exist held to a higher standard, co-ordinate to YouTube. You lot accept to follow not just the YouTube Partner Program policies, only the Customs Guidelines. Not to mention staying on the right side of copyright constabulary.

2. Sell your own merch

Perhaps you place every bit a content creator first, and entrepreneur second. (Only call up that even Drake sells t-shirts.)

Alternately, you're an entrepreneur kickoff and video creator second, which ways you probably already have a product, and y'all're designing your YouTube marketing strategy to sell it.

Either way, merchandise is a viable way to earn money from YouTube.

Stride i: Imagine and design your production

Merchandise for your channel is meant to both represent and feed your audience's connection with you. That means your merch should be unique.

Hawaiian YouTube star Ryan Higa launched his milk-based energy drink Ninja Melk to leverage the popularity of his viral comedy, Ninja Melk. While he also sells t-shirts and other merch from his online store, Ninja Melk'due south appeal is broad plenty it has its own website.

Pro tip: You might take more than ideas for merch than you tin can peradventure stock. And so start past dipping your toes in the water with one or two items. But make certain yous engage your audience in the decision-making process. Poll them as to what they want. Or build fizz by offering one-off products related to big subscriber-count milestones.

Step 2: Source and/or build your product

In nearly cases, you'll demand a manufacturer, supplier or wholesaler to make and deliver your product. Some suppliers will deliver it to you, and some volition spare you the headaches of inventory, shipping and returns by handling information technology themselves.

If you're non sure where to start, cheque out Shopify's how-to on the topic of finding a brick-and-mortar company to make your dream a reality.

Stride 3: Create your shop and landing page

You'll need a separate website to handle purchases. If you want to link information technology directly from your videos (and you lot do), refer to YouTube's listing of approved merchandise sites.

Stride four: Enable your YouTube Partner merchandise shelf

YouTube Partners tin can also use the shelf feature to sell their channel's merchandise. If yous're eligible, follow YouTube'due south instructions to enable it.

Bonus: Download the complimentary xxx-day plan to grow your YouTube following fast , a daily workbook of challenges that will help you kickstart your Youtube channel growth and track your success. Get real results after one month.

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Step v: Promote your production in your videos

This is where your charm comes in. Wear or apply your merch in your videos. Feature viewers who have bought and are using information technology. (If we were on another platform, nosotros might call this 'user-generated content,' or maybe 'solid aureate').

And don't forget to add together your store'south link to your video descriptions, and include finish screens and cards with compelling calls to action.

Ryan Higa showing clips of people using his product on YouTube
Source: Ryan Higa


Pro tip: Don't forget to say thanks. Because it's polite. Just as well considering information technology's an excuse to remind people how swell and popular your production is, ane more time.

three. Create sponsored content

You don't accept to be on Instagram to be an influencer. The advantage of the #sponcon strategy is that you don't have to give YouTube a cut of your earnings. You negotiate directly with the make, and they pay you directly. No wonder information technology'due south a popular way for YouTubers to brand money.

If you tin offer brands a big and/or engaged audience—and your content is relevant to their target market—they probably want to hear from yous.

For example, YouTuber Aaron Marino, a.k.a. Blastoff K, is big in the men's lifestyle infinite. How large? So big that even his videos that explain his brand partnerships take brand partners.

Step 1: Find a brand to partner with

Quality is of import, when it comes to the names yous work with. You probably already have a wish list of dream brands. Whether you're aiming for the stars or building yourself upward grassroots-style, make certain you perfect your brand pitch earlier you send information technology.

Also consider signing upwardly with an influencer marketing platform. These are intermediary websites that help marketing teams notice appropriate influencers to work with. FameBit was one of the get-go to focus on YouTubers, for instance.

Step 2: Make a deal

According to this recent study by influencer marketing platform Klear, YouTube videos are, on boilerplate, the nearly expensive blazon of sponsored content brands tin buy from influencers. Basically, YouTube influencers are able to accuse more than for their videos than they would for Instagram Stories or Facebook posts, because video is only more expensive to produce.

While your rate volition vary on your audience'south size, engagement and relevance to your potential partner, know your worth earlier you sign a contract.

Pace iii: Be transparent about your #sponsored #ad

Sponsored content is advertising. That ways y'all need to brand certain you're in step with Google's Ad policies. The FTC (U.S.) and ASA (U.K.) both have guidelines of which you should be aware, likewise, if you lot're American or British.

Transparency is skillful for your legal health, but besides for your relationship with your audience. YouTube has a visible disclosure feature to help you lot brand certain your audience is aware that you're advertizement to them.

Sponsored content disclaimer on video
Source: YouTube

4. Become an affiliate partner

If your YouTube audience is loyal and engaged, but not quite in that location yet headcount-wise, look for companies investing in affiliate marketing.

YouTubers affiliated with businesses encourage their viewers to visit the brand's online store or specific production pages. They then become a percentage of sales fabricated through their — you lot guessed it — affiliate links.

In terms of setup and logistics, chapter partnerships are similar to sponsored content deals, so follow the steps from tip #iii to get started.

5. Become your fans to pay you directly

This strategy for making money on YouTube includes a few different income streams, but they all accept one thing in common: you accept to make it easy for your fans to testify their appreciation with their credit card.

Step 1: Host live chats where people tin can use Super Chat

In early on 2017, YouTube replaced their previous Fan Funding feature with Super Conversation. This is a feature that is only available to YouTube Partners while they alive stream.

Substantially, your viewers can brand their comments more visible—they're highlighted and pinned for a set amount of time depending on how much they pay—in the alive chat stream.

YouTube Super Chat

Stride two: Encourage your fans to become aqueduct members

Join button on a YouTube Channel
Source: YouTube

YouTube offers the ability to let your viewers pay you to go members of your channel. In exchange, they get custom emoji, badges, and access to members-simply exclusives like Live Chats with yous.

For instance, Wintergatan is a Swedish band that also makes elaborate marble machines and posts videos about it to their YouTube aqueduct. They regularly thank their aqueduct members in their videos. They besides go far clear what the money from memberships supports:

Wingarten Join this channel page description
Source: YouTube

You'll need to build out a promotion strategy to convince people to become members, which may or may not include several tiers of membership. Like Super Conversation, this feature is only available to YouTube Partners.

Step iii: Encourage your fans to become YouTube Premium subscribers

This step is the terminal on our list for this strategy because it benefits your channel only indirectly. That said, when YouTube Premium members spotter your channel, you become a cut of their subscription fee. (So does every other channel they watch.)

half-dozen. Use crowdfunding

Soliciting donations online is at present commonplace. Whether you're looking to build ongoing acquirement from a puddle of pocket-size monthly donations, or looking to fund a personal, channel-related projection, crowdfunding is how many YouTubers brand money.

Step one: Ready a crowdfunding account

YouTube has a list of approved crowdfunding sites to cull from.

For recurring funding Patreon is a pinnacle choice. Meanwhile, sites like GoFundMe or Kickstarter are all-time for one-off campaigns to go a new mic, or new laptop, or new … spleen.

Fifty-fifty household names like Walk Off the Earth or Veronica Mars (ok, she's a fictional character) have used Patreon to fund their projects, be they music videos or feature-length films.

walk off the earth crowdfunding page
Source: Walk Off the Earth

Pace 2: Promote your campaign in your videos

Particular your specific goals so that people know exactly what they tin wait when you've succeeded.

Likewise, offer enticing perks that stack every bit your fans choose how much they want to donate.

For more information and inspiration, check out this detailed guide to crowdfunding strategies.

Step 3: Go beyond YouTube

A successful entrada is a multi-platform matter. Nosotros have some advice on how to promote your YouTube channel (and past extension, your crowdfunding campaign) everywhere else.

7. License your content to the media

When a video goes viral, every news outlet wants to become their hands on a copy in society to replay information technology for their audience. Fortunately, established media companies are well aware that they demand to pay for what they utilize. And voila, you've got yourself another way to make money on YouTube.

Every bit a content creator, licensing your most successful work to the media tin can be as simple as making sure you lot're easy to find.

Step 1: Keep your contact details updated on your About page

Yous never know when lightning will strike. Fifty-fifty if you don't accept a business manager, set up a generic e-mail account that you can point to for business inquiries.

Lilly Singh About page
Source: Lilly Singh

Step 2: Sign up to a video rights market

Jukin Media is a great place to start. Even if y'all don't take a viral video like the Chewbacca mask lady (see below), media outlets often demand timely footage to round out their reporting.

For instance, Jukin has an entire catalogue of 'newsworthy' videos that you can contribute to, if you happen to take exclusive footage of a major natural disaster, airplane crash, or plague of locusts.

Jukin Media video package
Source: Jukin Media

How much money can you make on YouTube?

Sadly, this age-onetime question has one infuriating answer: information technology depends.

The heaven is the limit, as nine-year old YouTuber and multi-millionaire Ryan Kaji's story proves. Merely getting into seven-digit territory takes a lot of time, consequent piece of work and luck.

YouTube revenue relies heavily on AdSense. In elementary terms, YouTubers go paid for each ad view on their aqueduct. But rates vary beyond geographies, demographics, and fifty-fifty industries (software ads may have a college CPM than, for instance, clothing ads).

On boilerplate, YouTubers brand between $iii and $5 per i,000 video views through AdSense. If your channel is reaching a lot of people, this can stack up to a pretty paycheck. Information technology's not uncommon for big creators to cash out upwards of $200,000 each month from AdSense solitary.

But even if your aqueduct is trending and AdSense revenue is filling up your banking company account, remember that YouTube fame depends on many factors, some (or nigh) of which are out of your command — the YouTube algorithm can change, as tin your audition's tastes and needs.

To make sure that the coin y'all make on YouTube turns into a healthy and consequent income, follow our 7 tips and branch out. Merch, branded deals and crowdfunding can make you money even if, for any reason, your AdSense paychecks go downwardly.

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