YouTube creators are today’s self-made celebrities—people who have earned an audience by producing videos that entertain, educate, inform, or generally remind us how awesome the internet can be.
If you’ve found success on YouTube, there are several options for monetizing your videos and channel. Some methods use YouTube’s built-in features, while others involve directing viewers to an external website.
Try these seven strategies for making money on YouTube, and discover just how much cash successful YouTubers can make.
How to make money on YouTube
- First: Join the YouTube Partner Program
- Turn on ads for your videos
- Let your audience support you with fan funding
- Sell products and merch
- Work with brands as an influencer
- License your content to the media
- Crowdfund your creative projects
- Use affiliate marketing
First: Join the YouTube Partner Program
The YouTube Partner Program lets creators tap into different ways to earn money from their shorts, livestreams, and long-form videos.
Creators who join the program can access:
- Revenue sharing from ads during videos and between shorts
- Revenue sharing from YouTube Premium subscribers watching your content
- Funds from Super Chat, Super Thanks, and channel membership features
- YouTube Shopping to offer products to your audience
The program also gives access to YouTube’s creator support and Copyright Match tool, which helps protect your original content.
Joining the Partner Program isn’t the only way to make money on YouTube, and may not be the most lucrative strategy for your channel. Other options include directing your viewers off-platform to your store or affiliate partners, or creating sponsored videos—all of which are covered below.
However, most YouTube monetization methods are easier, or only possible, as a member of the Partner Program.
YouTube has paid more than $50 billion to program members in the past three years, so consider applying if you meet the eligibility criteria below.
How to join the partner program
To qualify for the YouTube Partner Program and access its monetization features, your channel needs to hit the following milestones:
- 1,000 subscribers
- Either 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days
Some program features can be unlocked with fewer subscribers and views.
Your channel also needs to be in good standing with YouTube and follow all YouTube’s monetization policies. In addition, you must live in an eligible region.
When you’re ready to apply, head to your channel’s YouTube Studio and open the Earn tab.
1. Turn on ads for your videos
Once you’re accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, the easiest way to start earning money on YouTube is to collect ad revenue from display and video ads that run on your channel.
When you make a long-form video and turn on ads, YouTube will show your viewers a combination of pre- and post-roll ads that may or may not be skippable. You can’t control which ads are displayed before or after your videos, but for videos eight minutes or longer, you can choose whether to place ads in the middle. Mid-roll ads can be added automatically or placed manually.
Select the Revenue tab in your YouTube Studio to see ad earnings reports, including your monthly estimated revenue for videos with monetization turned on.
Consider looking beyond ads for revenue
While YouTube ads are a simple, passive way to monetize your videos, you’ll likely need to combine ads with other earning strategies to make significant revenue.
YouTube’s demonetization policy is considered overly cautious by some creators, so there’s a chance some of your content won’t be advertiser-friendly. YouTube also keeps 45% of ad revenue from standard videos and 55% from Shorts.
2. Let your audience support you with fan funding
For creators who are part of the Partner Program, YouTube’s fan funding features provide ways for viewers to directly support your channel with tips and monthly payments.
Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks are colorful messages and alerts your viewers can buy to support your channel during livestreams and video premieres. When purchased, these tip-jar features highlight a fan’s comments in the chat box.
Similarly, YouTube channel memberships offer paying fans a range of exclusive benefits you create. Make up to six member levels with increasing benefits, such as:
- Channel badges and custom emojis, letting members stand out in live chat and comments
- Community posts, shorts, and videos only your members can see
- Exclusive first-viewing rights of your videos
- Members-only live chat and livestreams
- A member recognition shelf featuring member avatars at the top of your channel page
Other ways to fan-fund
You can also source donations for your channel outside the YouTube ecosystem.
Patreon is a well-known fan-funding platform, where creators offer additional content, access, and perks in return for regular donations.
While you may need to invest in additional content to reward donors, these platforms offer a familiar way for your audience to support you on an ongoing basis.
Alternative funding platforms to Patreon include:
- Tipeee, which allows you to seek both one-off and recurring donations
- Buy Me a Coffee, which allows creators and artists to accept donations, often with lower fees than Patreon
- Ko-fi, another low-fee platform for sourcing donations, subscriptions, and crowdfunding
3. Sell products and merch
YouTube Shopping offers easy ways to help fans shop directly from your content. You can use YouTube Shopping to:
- Open a storefront on your channel
- Connect your online store to your channel to display your products around videos
- Tag your products or products from other brands in videos
According to YouTube internal data, more than 160,000 creators use YouTube Shopping to sell on their platform.
Many creators choose to promote merch like tote bags, snapbacks, and t-shirts, or recommend products from brands they review or partner with.
Selling branded swag is easier than you think. Use print-on-demand services to design affordable products that are produced and shipped on a per-order basis.
How to set up YouTube Shopping
The easiest way to use YouTube Shopping is by connecting your Shopify Store to your YouTube channel. That way, your product listings are automatically synced, and your customers can check out on YouTube or visit your store for a more in-depth shopping experience.
Don’t have an online store? Start yours with a free trial.
4. Work with brands as an influencer
Brands are increasingly investing in influencer marketing and sponsorships, spending their advertising budgets on influencers who’ve already won the loyalty of their audiences.
This creates an opportunity for you as a creator if you can negotiate the right deal in return for exposing your audience to their products.
Brendan Gahan, a YouTube marketing expert and influencer, recommends establishing your baseline flat fee by looking at the number of views your videos typically get, then multiplying the amount by 5¢ to 15¢ per view.
Depending on your leverage—your target audience, content quality, and how unique and profitable your niche is—you might be able to negotiate a better deal if the brand is a good fit.
The key when partnering on brand-sponsored content is to be transparent, and only endorse products you actually like or believe in.
- Shopify Collabs makes it easy to find brands that match your content and values. Build affiliate relationships, get paid for what you sell, and track everything in one place.
- YouTube also has a built-in feature for connecting with brands, which uses data about your audience to match your channel with brand partners.
5. License your content to the media
If you happen to create a viral video with mass appeal—say, a funny clip featuring your dog—you can license your content in exchange for money.
TV news outlets, morning shows, online news sites, and other creators might reach out about rights to use your videos if they happen to go viral.
You can also list your videos in a marketplace, such as Jukin Licensing, where your content will be easier for the right people to find and purchase.
6. Crowdfund your creative projects
When money is all that stands between an idea and its execution, crowdfunding is a good way to make your next viral video happen.
Whether you need help buying better equipment, hiring actors, or covering other production costs, you can call upon your audience and community to pitch in—if your idea is compelling enough.
Many crowdfunded creative projects draw funding by offering a sneak peek or trailer that gets people excited. So consider shooting a video explaining your project or offering a taste of what it will be like.
Popular crowdfunding sites with a history of being lucrative for YouTubers include:
- Kickstarter. One of the most well-known crowdfunding sites, great for funding cool products and creative projects. Be sure to set an attainable funding goal because you only get the funding if you meet the goal you set.
- Indiegogo. A Kickstarter alternative that offers more flexible funding options.
7. Use affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a content monetization strategy where you earn a commission by promoting products or services from other brands in your videos.
If you’re a YouTube creator, you can become an affiliate marketer by creating marketing content that promotes relevant products to your viewers.
How to become an affiliate
To start affiliate marketing, look for affiliate programs that align with your content and are likely to resonate with your audience. The more relevant the product or brand, the more likely you are to find success.
Once you’re registered, you can add affiliate links to your video descriptions or end cards.
Becoming an affiliate can work well if you review products as part of your YouTube channel. Since there’s no risk involved on the brand’s end (they only pay when they make sales), there’s usually a low bar to getting started. Just be sure to clearly disclose that you are affiliated with the products you’re reviewing.
YouTube simplifies this process with its Shopping affiliate program, allowing you to quickly locate relevant products and view commission percentages. Once you’ve found a product you’d like to promote, it’s easy to tag it directly in your videos.
While any creator can post affiliate videos and links on YouTube, using the official YouTube Shopping affiliate program requires being part of the Partner Program and being based in the US or Korea.
Find affiliates for your products
On the flip side, if you’re a creator with your own product line, consider recruiting affiliates to promote your own products.
Eligible Shopify merchants can quickly add their products to the YouTube Shopping affiliate program for affiliates to find and promote in their videos. Sync your products through the Shopify YouTube app and set commission rates that you’re comfortable with.
Getting paid on YouTube: The numbers
How many views do you need on YouTube to make money?
The average YouTube channel receives around 1.8¢ per view, which equals $18 per 1,000 views, according to data from Influencer Marketing Hub.
The number of views you get doesn’t correlate to revenue earned. If your video gets thousands of views but no one watches or clicks on the ad, you won’t make any money. This is because of YouTube’s criteria for billing advertisers: a viewer must click an ad or watch the video ad in full (10, 15, or 30 seconds) for you to get paid.
How much money do YouTubers make per year?
Top YouTubers like MrBeast can earn tens of millions of dollars each year through their channels. While what they earn is enormous, smaller accounts can still earn a living on YouTube.
Take Justine Leconte’s YouTube channel, for example. She has one million subscribers to her channel that helps people dress better and understand fashion. Based on her total video views and just off ad revenue, her estimated annual earnings are around $259,304, earning $979 per video, on average, according to Influencer Marketing Hub’s YouTube Money Calculator.
Based on these estimated numbers, Justine could earn a living off her YouTube channel by posting one or two videos per week. But it’s important to note that these are just estimates. Justine could be earning more or less than the numbers above, depending on the YouTube monetization strategies she uses for her business.
How do YouTubers maximize their revenue?
YouTube channels can be monetized even if they don’t have millions of subscribers. Your earning potential is also determined by the level of engagement you generate, the niche you cater to, and the revenue channels you explore.
This list of top YouTube earners might give you the impression that millions of dollars are earned directly from YouTube. In fact, each of these channels has its own line of merchandise. These channels found and built their audiences first, before launching other revenue streams. If making money on YouTube is in your marketing plan, the first step is the same for everybody: have a clear understanding of your target audience.
Tips for selling on YouTube
Many YouTube monetization strategies involve promoting a product. But you’ll want to make sure your promotions don’t sabotage the integrity of your content.
“Selling out” is a real concern for lots of creators. On the other hand, if you never seek compensation, you’ll likely never receive it.
Follow these tips to place promotional content in your videos without testing your audience’s patience.
Understand your audience on YouTube
Building your own audience puts you in a great position to monetize content in a variety of ways. But you can only make the most of your opportunities if you understand your audience.
For many YouTubers, having a niche channel can help you work with brands targeting specific audiences. You’ll want to pay close attention to:
- The gender of your audience, to see if it skews toward one particular group
- The age range most of your audience falls into
- The geographic location—countries or cities—where your videos are being watched
- Your audience’s overall engagement, or “watch time”
With this demographic information, you’ll understand your audience and work better with brands. All demographic insight can be pulled from your YouTube analytics.
Add info cards to your videos
Whether it’s part of your deal with a brand or you’re promoting your own products, info cards (formerly YouTube Cards) offer an eye-catching way to get the attention of engaged viewers.
Use free video editing software to add pop ups at just the right moment, when they’re most relevant and least distracting, to increase their impact.
Add links in your video descriptions
You can send viewers to your store, Patreon page, Kickstarter campaign, or other revenue sources by adding links to your video descriptions.
Promote your offer on other platforms
Just because your content is hosted on YouTube doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be taking advantage of all the other distribution channels out there.
Spread the word about new campaigns or discounts on X, Facebook, and any other profiles you own.
The more places your message lives, the greater the chance it’ll be seen. So it’s always a good idea to grow your following beyond YouTube with social media marketing.
The rise of the creator
Money is rarely a motivating factor for creators, but with the right monetization strategy, creators can turn their passion into a lifelong career and get rewarded for the hours of hard work and experimentation needed to conquer the YouTube algorithm.
Just look at the career of MrBeast, who began making videos at age 13 and spent years honing his viral content, from Let’s Plays to videos estimating the wealth of other YouTubers.
The hardest task for many businesses is growing an audience and retaining their attention. YouTubers already have this key component figured out.
From first-time sellers to global retailers, Shopify works for everyone. See plans and pricing.
How to make money on YouTube FAQ
How many views do you need on YouTube to make money?
The number of views your YouTube channel receives doesn’t correlate to revenue earned. If your video gets thousands of views but no one engages with ads shown before your videos, you won’t make any money. This is because of YouTube’s criteria for billing advertisers: a viewer must click an ad or watch the video ad in full (10, 15, or 30 seconds) for you to get paid.
How much do you get paid per 1,000 views on YouTube?
The average YouTube channel receives around 1.8¢ per view, which equals $18 per 1,000 views, according to data from Influencer Marketing Hub.
Do you get paid for uploading videos on YouTube?
Content creators aren’t paid by YouTube for the videos they upload. For you to start making money on YouTube, you have to enable monetization in your YouTube account settings. From there, you have options to join the YouTube Partner Program or have your videos listed on YouTube Premium.
How do YouTubers make money on YouTube?
- Join YouTube’s Partner Program
- Sell products or merchandise
- Crowdfunding
- Fan funding
- License content to media
- Work with brands as an influencer
- Become an affiliate marketer
How can you make money on YouTube without making videos?
To make money from YouTube without producing videos, you can partner with popular creators to promote your products to their viewers. Eligible Shopify users can add their products to YouTube’s affiliate marketing program in a few clicks, allowing creators to tag products in their videos so viewers can shop as they watch.
Source: How To Make Money on YouTube in 2024: 7 Simple Strategies – Shopify South Africa
