How to Make Money from Your YouTube Channel

YouTube is the second most used social media platform with over 2.1 billion users. The platform is not just for content creation and viewing video but also for making money. Yes! You can make money on YouTube. And I am not just talking about ad payment or making money from having a million subscribers. Although ads payment is one way to earn from YouTube, there are other ways to make money from your YouTube channel. And that’s what we will be looking at in this article. Without further ado, let’s get to it.  

 

Become a YouTube Partner

If you want to be paid by YouTube, you need to apply for a YouTube Partner Program. There are key things to note if you want to be a paid YouTube partner, such as;

• The conditions for becoming a paid partner
• The various steps to monetize your YouTube channel
• And the various types of monetization.

YouTube has different conditions for subscribers who are interested in becoming their partners. These conditions are:

1. YouTube Partner Program must be available in the country or region you live in.
2. You must have more than 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months.
3. You must have more than 1,000 subscribers.
4. You must agree and comply with all YouTube monetization policies.
5. You must have created and linked your AdSense account to your channel.

Now that we have highlighted the conditions for becoming a YouTube partner, let’s discuss how to become a partner and get paid by YouTube:

1. Firstly, sign up for an Adsense account or sync your existing account with your channel.
2. Next, sign in to the YouTube account you want to monetize.
3. Click the icon for your account in the top right corner.
4. Click on YouTube Studio.
5. On the left menu, select Other Features,
6. Then select Monetization.
7. Read and accept the YouTuber Partner Program terms.
8. Set your monetization preferences

There are different monetization options offered by YouTube. They include;

1. Ads Revenue: The money paid by YouTube to run ads on your channel. If your channel has ad-friendly videos, then YouTube will run ads on it.
2. YouTube Super Chats: This payment is made by viewers who want their comments to be highlighted during your live streams. Users pay for the duration of their highlighted comments.
3. YouTube Premium: This is the revenue generated from subscribers of your channel that use YouTube premium.
4. Channel Membership: This feature is available to users with 30,000 or more subscribers. Users pay to be members of your channel.
5. YouTube Merchandise Shelf: You can earn from products and merchandise you sell on the YouTube merchandise shelf. But you must have at least 10,000 subscribers to earn from this option.

Additionally, note that you have to be at least 18 years old to access the monetization options.

Selling Products and Merchandise

You can use your YouTube channel as a platform to sell your merchandise. If you sell products or offer certain services, you can share them with your audience. There are different ways you can achieve this; display it at the beginning of your video or at the end of it, create a whole video describing the product or service, or you could inform your audience about offers.

If you have an online store or your merch is on an online store, you can leave the link in the video description. Encourage your audience to click the link in your videos by saying it or using banners. You can also post UGCs, which could be pictures or videos of people who have patronized you online.

You can direct your audience to use YouTube merchandise shelf to shop for your product. This feature can be enabled only if you’re a registered partner of YouTube. Directing traffic from your YouTube channel to your store or website is a good way to make money. However, please note that if you impose selling on your audience you could lose them.

 

Sponsored Content

Brands are investing largely in influencer marketing and you can benefit from it. Creating sponsored content for brands is the way to leverage this opportunity. You can create a whole video about the brand or you could mention the brand at the start or the end of your video. you can also isplay the brand’s product or talk about its offers in your videos, or do both. If you’re willing, you can feature a promotion just to increase the number of customers the brands will get. You can also use affiliate links to direct traffic from your channel to the brand’s website/store.

Make sure you develop a fixed rate or package for payments. This way, you can get the most out of every deal with a brand. Also, try to reach out to brands to consider your channel for sponsored contents. The beauty of creating sponsored content is that you do not have to split your revenue with YouTube as you would with ads.

 

Crowdfunding

To better understand crowdfunding, think of it as a fundraiser. With crowdfunding, you are urging your audience to fund a project you’re working on. Your audience would be willing to support you if your goals are feasible and would help you create more content. 

For instance, if you make cooking videos and you need a utensil like a deep fryer. Try asking your audience to support you financially so you can get one. Add the link to a crowdfunding website in your video or in your video description. If you have successfully hit a crowdfunding goal once, use the success story to spearhead another campaign. Your audience would be more convinced to support you since they’ve seen evidence of previous success. 

Fan Funding

YouTube has fan funding options that you can access once you become their partner. Fan Funding is similar to crowdfunding, the difference is you don’t need a special site or project for it. With fan funding, you’re convincing your fans to use the features on YouTube you can monetize.

YouTube’s monetization features like Superchat, YouTube premium, and channel membership can be used for fan funding. Superchat displays and highlights their comment during a live session for as long as they paid for it to last. If your subscribers use YouTube premium, part of their subscription is paid to you.  videos. Channel membership urges your audiences to pay to be a member of your channel. So, you can earn money by encouraging your audience to subscribe to these monetization features. All you have to do is ensure your content is worth their while and they just might be willing to pay.

 

License Your Content to the Media

There have been numerous cases where certain YouTube videos have gone viral. Many media outlets always seek to exploit these situations for their own gain. If the video has been licensed, that media outlet needs to pay to use the viral video. You can make money from your YouTube channel by licensing your content. Simply adding a name or signature tags to your video content can suffice in some cases. This way, media outlets can’t feature the video without reaching out to you first.  

Plus, your video doesn’t have to go viral, it just has to meet the needs of a media outlet. Be it for morning or evening TV shows, a blog, or even footage to be used in an ad. Try searching for online markets to sell your videos and connect with interested buyers.

Let me conclude by saying that the best way to make a lot of money through YouTube is by adopting all the means rather than relying on one. Relying solely on just ads or YouTube paid partnerships wouldn’t generate the highest turnout. YouTubers with the highest pay make their money by combining all the means rather than relying on one means. Also, note that you need to identify the kind of audience you have and want to attract. This way, you can tailor your content in a way that it derives maximum income input.