How to Monetize YouTube Channel: Best Ways

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Do you want to become the next YouTube star? Do you want to use your YouTube channel to make money or as a side hustle? Maybe you upload videos to share with your friends, family, or a huge audience just because they like your content.

Have you ever heard about monetization? Would you happen to know how to monetize YouTube videos?

YouTube monetization is simply a way to earn money from your YouTube videos. However, you must adhere to specific criteria and sign up for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) in order to allow YouTube monetization.

YouTube Monetization Rules and Guidelines

YouTube is very picky when approving partners in the YPP. The following criteria must be met in order to be eligible to apply for the YouTube Partner Program; check out these 6 YouTube monetization requirements:

• 1,000 subscribers: you need at least 1,000 subscribers on your YouTube channel.
• 4,000 watch hours: you must have amassed at least 4,000 hours (240,000 minutes) of watch time within the past 12 months. This means viewers must watch your videos for a total of 4,000 hours in one year.
• A resident of a country where YPP is available: you need to live in a country where the YPP is available.
• Link an AdSense account to your channel: you need to link an AdSense account to your YouTube channel to receive payments from YouTube.
• Interest in following YouTube’s monetization policies: rules that include community guidelines, advertiser-friendly content guidelines, and terms of service
• Comply with the YPP terms and conditions: you must adhere to all of YouTube’s terms, policies, and guidelines at all times. Once you have satisfied these criteria, you can start monetizing your YouTube.

YouTube Partner Program (YPP)

YPP is the most common way of monetizing YouTube. Being a YouTube Partner allows you to place advertisements on your videos. This way, when someone is watching your video and the advertisement shows up, the YouTbe advertising revenue stream will be shared between you and YouTube if the viewer clicks on the ad. The payment process is done using the Google AdSense program.

The best way to get views is to create high-quality content, as viewers nowadays are less gullible and pay attention to detail. As long as our content adds value, they will keep watching. Also, make sure to upload videos regularly. Consistency goes a long way.

11 Ways to Monetize Your YouTube Channel

Apart from the one mentioned above, there are other ways to monetize YouTube videos for your videos. They are explained below for your convenience.

#1 Affiliate Linked AdSense Account

Sign up for an affiliate program and earn money easily. After signing up, you will get a commission if you promote the product through your content.

An affiliate link can direct customers to the specified product or service. You have to promote that product through your videos and put that link in your video description for viewers to access.

Ideas for promoting the product or service in your video may include the following:

• Review of the product or service
• Unboxing the product
• A how-to guide to show the product is used.
• Crowdfunding
• Sponsored Videos
• Live streaming events featuring the brand.
• Paid Ads
• Promotion of a specific product or service
• Demonstration of the features and benefits of the product or service

Remember to put up a disclaimer to let your viewers know you will be paid a commission if they use the link you provided. You will get a commission and make money for each sale made through your link.

You can find products related to your content niche or just add yourself to affiliate networks, like, Click Bank, amazon associates, etc.

#2 Become an Influencer on YouTube

Influencer marketing is when an influencer promotes your product, and people buy it based on their trust in the influencer. The influencers have a set of followers who trust them entirely.

Brands are now using digital marketing like this to reach their target audience. If your content reaches its target audience and you have a large number of followers, it will be easy for you to find partners and make money.

This might be more challenging than it sounds. So, you’ll be able to enlist an influencer marketing agency to bring you the most exposure to find the right businesses.

#3 Channel Memberships

Viewers can buy channel memberships for exclusive benefits, like watching exclusive videos, by paying a monthly fee. You can create five tiers of memberships on YouTube for your viewers. The payment may range from $0.99 to $100 every month.

However, you must be over 18 years of age, and your YouTube channels must have over 1000 subscribers. You also need to be a part of YouTube’s Partner Program.

If you violate any community guidelines or YouTube cancels your account, your members will receive a refund of the last payment made.

#4 Content Licensing

If you have a viral video, you can license your content as the content creator to whoever would like to use that video for video marketing. They would have to pay a fee to use your content.

You can also put your popular videos on specific marketplaces, making it easier for businesses to locate you. If they find your YouTube content suitable, you can easily make money.

#5 YouTube Shorts Monetization

YouTube Shorts are short videos with a maximum length of 60 seconds. You can get the YouTube Shorts Bonus if you can meet the requirements to receive the fund.

YouTube shorts are similar to other social media channels, like Instagram reels.

#6 YouTube Premium Revenue Streams

YouTube Premium subscribers do not get to see the video ads as they pay monthly to watch ad-free content. In such a situation, YouTube shares a percentage of the subscription revenue payments it receives with the content creator. This will help you make money on YouTube.

#7 Selling Online Courses

You can offer your skills to people by creating videos as an online course with a subscription service. If you can provide high-quality videos with real value to your viewers, they will readily invest and buy your system. In return, you can make money on YouTube.

#8 Selling Merchandise

Suppose your YouTube videos perform very well, and you do have a large YouTube audience that is loyal to your YouTube channel. In that case, you can definitely earn money by selling merchandise, like shirts, caps, notebooks, etc. This way, you do not have to wait for users to increase your watch hours. Just upload your design to online platforms like Printify, and your subscribers can get them by mail without you being involved in the whole process. This is a great way to earn visibility both online and offline.

It is easier to earn more this way, but in order to be able to use the merchandising feature, you have to be 18 years old and have 1000 subscribers or an official artist channel.

#9 YouTube Live Streams

You can monetize a live stream with ads just like videos. Additionally, Super Chat or Super Stickers feature is available to you if you are a YouTube Partner.

During live streams, your viewers can send you super chats that are donations or range from $1 to $500. If you have a loyal audience, making money through live streams will be straightforward.

#10 Crowdfund

You can get some funds for your channel using crowdfunding. But some of your subscribers might not be happy about it.

However, if you provide great-quality video content, people will be more than happy to send funding to YouTube creators. Websites like Kickstarter or GoFundMe can help you collect funds.

#11 Driving Traffic to Your Blog Using YouTube Videos

You can set up a blog using the same name and logo as your YouTube channel. YouTube ads cost money, so this method lets you promote your content without paying anything.

YouTube ads or monetized blogs can lure users into knowing more and going further into your niche. The more viewers, the easier it gets for you to make money.

How to Enable Monetization Step-by-Step?

First, sign in to your YouTube account. At the top right corner, click on the profile icon to go to your account. Select YouTube Studio. On the left menu, select Monetization from Other Features.

Read and agree to the terms of the YouTube Partner Program. Create a new Google AdSense account or connect to an existing one.

Finally, set your YouTube monetization preferences. You can set it up for an individual video or multiple videos.

Although YouTube might take a long time to approve your account after checking if you meet their specified requirements, the wait is worth it.

If YouTube does not approve your request, they will give you a detailed description of what changes to make to your content. After making the necessary changes, you might be able to reapply again after 30 days.