For most people, YouTube is a platform where they can spend endless hours watching dog videos, several product reviews, or other people playing video games. For others, it’s a way to make money.
Becoming a professional YouTuber and getting to know how to get paid on YouTube might sound like serious fun, but you’ll have to hustle hard to get started, and there’s still no guarantee it will pay off or if you’ll make a quick buck. However, if you’re already an enthusiastic video creator and are prepared to put in the extra effort, you might be able to make money on YouTube a bit easily.
Here’s how to get paid on YouTube:
How to get paid on YouTube
- Apply for the YouTube Partner Program
To earn directly through YouTube, you must partner with the site. Once you do, there are numerous ways to cash in, but to become a partner you must meet these requirements:
- Your videos must abide by the site’s advertising guidelines and have more than 4,000 valid public watch hours within the last 12 months.
- You must live in an eligible area.
- You need over 1,000 subscribers.
- You need to link a Google AdSense account.
The more videos you have on your channel, the easier it is to reach the viewing-hours threshold and you’ll eventually know how to get paid on YouTube. High-quality, entertaining videos are more likely to get more views, so it pays to put effort into planning and production. Once you meet the requirements, you can apply by clicking into your profile and navigating to the ‘monetization’ section.
As a partner, you can earn money through ads, membership perks, and features like Super Chat, which lets viewers pay to have their messages highlighted during a live stream.
- Pick a Profitable Niche
Profitable niches are where the serious money is made on YouTube. Some examples that work well include video games, unboxing videos, how-to and tutorials, vlogs, product reviews, weight loss, and health-related tips, challenges, shopping videos, and comedy. There’s no shortage of profitable niche markets for you to choose from.
Ideally, you will want to pick a niche that’s not only profitable but one where you’re either an expert or have some interest. Authenticity is generally awarded on YouTube, viewers who think a YouTuber is insincere are not likely to stick around very long and much less click on any ads.
- Connect to Google AdSense
To get approved as a partner, you need to connect your channel to Google AdSense, the company’s advertising system. Advertisers use AdSense to bid for space on videos based on factors such as your audience, video topic, and relevant keywords.
In general, you’ll be paid based on the number of impressions your videos get, that’s when someone clicks on or watches an ad. Ads don’t display every time someone watches a video, though, so views don’t translate directly to money in the bank. Also, YouTube takes a cut of the ad revenue.
You’ll get payments once your balance reaches $100, so if you have a small channel, you might get paid only every few months. You may want to set aside some of that cash for taxes because Google, which issues AdSense payments, might not deduct your full tax obligation.
- Check out YouTube Premium
AdSense isn’t the only answer to how to get paid on YouTube. You can also make videos available on YouTube Premium, which is the site’s ad-free subscription service. You’ll earn a portion of the revenue from membership fees, based on how much members view your videos.
- Use product placement and video sponsorship
Companies interested in your channel’s audience might sponsor your videos or offer you product placement deals in exchange for a shout out. You’ll likely receive payments on a per-sale basis or in commission tiers. Search on affiliate marketing sites such as ShareASale and ClickBank for possible corporate partners, and be sure you’re willing to vouch for the company and products you’re selling before signing up.
If you do have an endorsement or product placement in a video, you must notify YouTube by ticking the ‘video contains paid promotion’ box in the advanced settings tab. If you’re curious to know how much money do youtubers make or how much do you get paid on youtube, it is anywhere between $3-$5 per 1000 views, and up to $5,000 for 1,000,000 views.
- Sell products or services to viewers
If you have merchandise or offer a service that’s relevant to your audience, let them know about it and provide links in your videos and that’s also a popular way of how to get paid on YouTube. For instance, Ryan Kaji, star of the children’s YouTube channel Ryan’s World, sells toys, T-shirts, and other stuff. Selling a physical product might require you to buy materials or find a manufacturer, but you can also sell downloadables such as e-books or art prints. Have a secure payment system in place before you advertise your goods.
- Meet up with fans in the real world
Meetups and similar events let YouTubers connect with viewers and sell merchandise. They’re usually best suited to those with active and engaged subscribers. Those with smaller audiences might want to skip ticketed events and bank on merchandise sales instead. For instance, if your videos teach viewers how to draw, you could set up a free class at a local park and sell your book of drawing techniques afterward.
- Turn to crowdfunding
There are two primary types of crowdfunding: recurring and project-based. Recurring crowdfunding lets contributors pay an amount they specify on a regular schedule. You’d want to maximize this type of funding to turn a channel into a substantial income stream. Incentives such as one-on-one video chats, private classes, or merchandise can attract viewers to sign up.
If you have an idea for a project that requires financial support, a project-based crowdfunding campaign is a way to go. You can get started with sites such as Indiegogo, Kickstarter, or Patreon.
- Brand Sponsorship
One productive form of advertising is brand sponsorship, also known in the digital marketing world as ‘influencer marketing’. A company will pay a content creator to promote a brand or product within a video. For instance, early in her YouTube career, Michelle Phan drew the attention of cosmetics brand Lancome with her popular make-up tutorials.
There are more than 1000 agencies that help match brands with social media influencers on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.
- Fan Funding
Another popular way to monetize a channel and to know how to get money from youtube is through channel memberships. Fans and followers make recurring monthly payments in exchange for bonus content such as badges, emojis, special videos, live chats, and other content. YouTube partners who have reached 30,000 subscribers can enable this monetization feature on their account. Third-party services such as Patreon also help video creators to monetize their fan base via monthly memberships. Top video creators earn as much as $40,000 per month from fan support.
- Merchandise Sales
YouTube partners also can sell up to 12 items of merchandise to their audience by enabling this feature in their account. You would have heard Jeffree Star has made millions selling lipstick, highlighters, and eye shadow palettes to his fans.
- Add New YouTube Videos consistently
Most important, put out new videos on a regular basis if you really want to get started with how to get paid by YouTube. Always provide useful and engaging content, making sure that you follow the same format and stick to your niche. If you become known as the guy or gal who shows people how to do scrapbooking, don’t put out a video about reconstructing race car engines.
Remember to ask people who watch your channel to subscribe. This way they are notified when you put up a new video, which is like getting views virtually automatically.
Also, get involved in the YouTube community. When people comment on your videos or ask questions, respond. Keep the conversation going. Stay consistent here, and you can gain thousands of views in each of your videos and as stated, you should always be adding more videos.
- Getting Big Views
Getting millions of views is difficult but not impossible. You have to go viral. It’s a rare thing, but it’s doable if you can provide very entertaining content that also, usually, imparts a message. You have to be unique. Make it work by pushing it to other social media platforms too. You’ll also need a bit of luck.
If you’re planning to try to make YouTubing your full-time gig, invest time and energy into it like you would with any other job. If you develop a devoted following, you may be able to sell merchandise with your logo or brand name on it.
And keeping the connection to fans is crucial, consider doing live chats or in-person meetups for super fans who will help attract more fans to your YouTube channel.
Make your first video and make it live on YouTube. That experience in uploading your first video will be invaluable, your first step to future success. We hope all your doubts regarding how to get paid on YouTube and how do youtubers make money are cleared, and you enjoyed reading this blog!
