$700 million. According to Time Magazine, that is the annual earnings generated by prominent YouTuber Mr Beast – aka Jimmy Donaldson – from his YouTube channel and Feastables food line.
While Mr Beast is one of the highest-paid YouTubers today, more producers than ever are generating huge make money on YouTube. There are now even more methods to make money with your own YouTube channel.
Are you ready to join the action? We’ve compiled a list of the top ten methods to make money on YouTube, even if you don’t have a large subscriber base like Mr Beast. You’ve come to the right place if you want to create a YouTube channel or if you already have a large following and are looking to monetize it.
The simplest steps to get started Make Money on YouTube
Chances are you already know how YouTube works; but, before you can begin making money on YouTube, you must first create an account and a YouTube channel.
Your channel is the public-facing area where you’ll post all of your videos. Select a unique name for your channel, post a profile photo, and write a description. You can include links to other websites, such as your blog, online store, and social networking channels. Once you’ve completed those steps, you’ll have everything you need to begin earning money on YouTube.
Whatever point of your content creation journey you are at, we have all the information you need to learn how to generate money on YouTube and establish a thriving business from your content. Let’s get to it.
How Can I Make Money Using the YouTube Partner Program?
Joining the YouTube Partner Program is the key to maximizing your channel’s YouTube-managed revenue.
The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is YouTube’s official platform for producers wishing to earn money on YouTube. It’s how you make money from adverts on the platform while also introducing new income streams like Super Chat and Super Thanks.
The program has tight qualifying standards for creators who want to join, but in June 2023, YouTube decreased the threshold for admittance to the YPP to make it simpler for more YouTubers to earn more money.
To qualify for the YPP, creators in qualified nations such as the US, UK, and Canada must now have:
- 500 subscribers.
- Three videos have been made public in the last 90 days.
- And either 3,000 watch hours in the past 12 months or 3 million YouTube Shorts views in the last 90 days.
If you live outside of nations mentioned by YouTube, you must complete additional admission requirements to join the YouTube Partner Program.
All other creators will require the following:
- 1000 subscribers
- Either 4000 legitimate public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million acceptable shorts on YouTube views in the last 90 days.
To enter the YouTube Partner Program, authors must:
- Have a linked AdSense account.
- Follow all of YouTube’s monetization policies..
- Stay in a country where the program is available.
Also Read: How To Make Money From Screen Recording & Video Editing
Top 5 ways to generate money using the YouTube Partner Program.
1. Advertising Revenue
Ads are the simplest method to generate money with the YouTube Partner Program.
The concept is simple: when people watch your films, you’ll earn money through YouTube-managed commercials. The more people see your films, the more money you will make.
YouTubers typically earn between $2 and $12 every 1000 views. However, the precise amount of ad revenue you’ll make is determined by a variety of criteria, like the amount of time spent seeing the ad, whether or not viewers clicked on it, the number of subscribers you have, and so on.
People may become frustrated, resulting in lesser involvement. Try to strike the ideal balance for your viewers.
The amount of money you may make from YouTube advertising varies greatly based on your subscriber base and engagement rate. For example, Top YouTube channel Ryan’s World earned an estimated $29.5 million USD in 2021, with over 36 million followers and views ranging from 40 million to 500,000.
It takes huge engagement to create such massive revenue on YouTube, but there are many more YouTubers with fewer subscribers that earn a reasonable monthly income from commercials.
Macy Savannah’s YouTube channel has over 50,000 subscribers and each video has between 2,000 and 300,000 views. She reported earning between $1500 to $3500 per month from ad revenue alone in 2021.
Macy also uses YouTube to generate additional revenue through sponsorships and product placements. According to Business Insider, Report Macy’s makes between $1200 and $2400 per month from brand partnerships.
2. Channel Memberships
Another popular approach to earn money on YouTube is to create member-only content.
YouTube allows producers to set up channel subscriptions and charge users a monthly subscription to join. In exchange for their membership, your subscribers gain access to special benefits on your YouTube channel.
To make money from YouTube channel memberships, you’ll need to design and upload at least one perk (and no more than five), such as:
- Members Only Videos.
- Members Only Shorts.
- Members Only Livestreams.
- Members Only Live Conversations.
- Members Only Community Postings
You can also design personalized channel badges and emojis for your members to use in video comments and livestreams.
To foster a stronger connection with your community, you may provide members with additional benefits such as Member Milestone Chats, which allow them to send one special message per month in your live chat to commemorate how long they’ve been a member. YouTube also allows you to establish a Member Recognition Shelf, where you may pin your top members’ avatars to your channel page.
Rachana Phadke Ranade is a top earner who uses YouTube subscribers to make cash from exclusive content. According to the YouTube Blog, she earned more than $100,000 in 2020 from YouTube memberships alone for her financial instruction channel.
Rachana’s Pro Investor Members receive special financial guidance, including monthly ‘Stock of the Month’ videos and discounts on her finance-focused online courses.
3. Super Chat & Super Thanks
If you want to engage your audience and make more money on YouTube, use Super Chats and Super Stickers on your livestreams, or Super Thanks on your videos and shorts.
Super Chats, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks are all ways for your biggest fans to show their support in your live chat and comments while also generating cash from your content.
Your visitors can buy Super Chats, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks to engage with you and get your attention.
- Super Chat: A paid message that enhances the color and visual appeal of a fan’s comment during a YouTube livestream.
- Super Sticker: A paid animated image that your viewers may use to make their livestreams stand out.
- Super Thanks: A paid option for viewers to express their appreciation for your YouTube videos with a unique, colorful comment.
A user can spend up to $2000 on Super Chats, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks in one week. That implies you can get $2000 from one of the choices listed above or a combination of the three.
Musician Harry Mack uses YouTube’s Super Chat features to monetize his livestreams by asking viewers to submit terms for him to use in his freestyle raps. According to Business Insider, Harry earns between $4,000 and $8,000 every month from his livestreams.
Harry additionally makes money from his 2.7 million channel subscribers by selling products in his online store and offering membership memberships through Patreon.
4. YouTube Shopping
With YouTube Shopping, creators can now sell things directly through their channel.
Set up YouTube Shopping to add a Store option to your channel and showcase your products prominently on your page. You can sell both your own and other brands’ stuff to fans. YouTube Shopping also allows you to tag specific products in your videos, shorts, and livestreams so that followers may buy directly from your material.
YouTube Shopping allows you to link to your products in the following places:
- In your video descriptions.
- In a merchandise shelf beneath your content.
- With the Shopping button right in your content
- In your channel’s Shop tab
YouTube Shopping makes it easy for your viewers to purchase the things you wear, use, and review.
YouTube’s spring 2024 upgrade also enabled producers to curate a set of products into Shopping Collections. Your Collections will be visible in your product list, Store tab, and video description, allowing you to create personalized, seasonal, and shoppable catalogs for your viewers.
Lucas the Spider has 3.6 million subscribers and uses their channel Store to sell their own branded items such as t-shirts, backpacks, and phone covers. While the actual amount generated by the channel is unknown, Variety reported that Lucas the Spider made more than $1 million in just 18 days by selling a Lucas the Spider plushie. The channel also makes money from YouTube adverts, sponsorships, and business partnerships.
In April 2024, YouTube updated its Shopping functionalities to include a new Affiliate Hub within the YouTube app. The Affiliate Hub is intended to assist established producers in finding affiliate partners for their content; it provides a list of existing Shopping partners, commission rates, promotional coupons, and more.
To use the YouTube Shopping affiliate program right now, you must:
- Be based in the United States
- Be part of the YouTube Partner Program.
- Have over 15,000 subscribers.
- Not be a music or Made for Kids channel.
- No active Community Guideline strikes.
All commission rates are shown in the Affiliate Hub and vary depending on the product. You can see the percentage you’ll earn from each product you sell in the Hub and track your affiliate revenue with YouTube Analytics.
5. YouTube Premium Revenue
If you are a member of the YouTube Partner Program, you can also make money from YouTube Premium memberships.
YouTube Premium is a premium option that allows customers to watch videos without ads. YouTube Premium also includes facilities for downloading videos to watch offline, as well as a background play function that allows viewers to watch videos while using other apps or with their screen closed.
Viewers can now purchase YouTube Premium for $13.99 each month. When Premium members watch your material, you, as the creator, receive a percentage of their membership fees. You can monitor your Premium watch time, views, and revenue in YouTube Analytics.