How to Make Money with YouTube

YouTube is now so popular that it is hard to imagine life before it existed. There are an estimated 1.9 billion users logging into to use it every month, and these range from kids that spend hours watching skits and shows, to adults watching helpful tutorials that can teach you just about anything, from how to knit to how to change a plug socket, there is pretty much nothing that you can’t find on YouTube if you look hard enough. After all, around 500 hours of video are estimated to be uploaded to the site every minute of the day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, YouTube represents more than just a platform for information, entertaining and more. Used right, it is perfectly possible to make a lucrative income from the content that is shared on it.

Most people and businesses that start a YouTube channel don’t do so with the intention of making money. Videos represent an innovative and successful way for you to engage with your target audience in a personal but non-invasive way. They can watch at a time and in a place that is convenient to them, and they can discover what they want to about your business without feeling any pressure at all. YouTube keeps everything completely on their terms.

Do you want to make money with YouTube? Read on to find out how.

The YouTube Partner Program

One of the first things to be aware of is that you’ll need to apply for and be accepted into the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) in order to earn revenue from your YouTube channel. There are specific requirements that you will need to meet in order to be able to be accepted, and each advertising feature has its own set of eligibility requirements on top of subscriber and view count requirements. The reason for this is to ensure that your content meets both the legal requirements in every area where the feature is available, and because YouTube want to ensure that only good quality content is rewarded.

The minimum eligibility requirements to turn on the monetization features are:

Ways in which you can make money through the YouTube Partner Program

There are a number of different ways in which it’s possible to start making money through the YouTube Partner Program.

Ad Revenue

There are also several types of ad that may appear next to your videos when you’ve turned on video monetization. These include:

Display ads: Videos that typically appear to the right of the feature video and above the video suggestions list.

Overlay ads: Semi-transparent overlay lads that appear on the lower 20% section of your video.

Skippable video ads: Viewers can skip these after just 5 seconds of play if they wish to. They can occur before, during or after your uploaded video.

Non-skippable video ads: These must be watched before your video can be viewed and are typically 15-20 seconds long.

Bumper ads: Shorter ads of up to 6 seconds long, and again, must be watched before your video can be viewed.

Sponsored cards: These display content that may be relevant to your video, for example they may contain products which you feature in your video. The content lasts just a few seconds, but there is also an icon in the top right corner of the video which can be used to obtain more information about it.

Channel Memberships

Channel memberships enable viewers to join your channel through monthly recurring payments. In doing so, they can unlock membership-only perks such as badges, emoji and other goods that you might offer that offer value or benefit to your viewers to make them feel special.

Merchandise Shelf

This valuable feature enables eligible content creators to showcase their official branded merchandise on YouTube. You can display up to 12 products to your viewers. You could use this feature to share ‘fun’ branded merch such as shirts, hoodies, caps, pens, stickers and badges. Or you could sell ‘functional’ products and accessories that you have designed and created. The items you choose to include on your merchandise shelf will be reviewed for compliance before being featured.

Once you know what merch you wish to sell, you can choose a retailer from the approved list who will handle all aspects of the merch sale including warehousing, order fulfillment, refunds, customer service and more.

Super Chat and Super Stickers

Super Chat and Super Stickers are less popular but still effective ways of monetizing your YouTube channel. These features let your viewers purchase chat messages that stand out and, in some cases, pin them to the top of a chat feed. When a viewer makes a purchase, their profile picture can stay on top of the chat feed for a period of time, depending on how much they spend. You will receive revenue from Super Chat and Super Stickers in the same way that you receive ad revenue via AdSense.

YouTube Premium

YouTube premium offer viewers a way to watch the content that they want to uninterrupted. This means that there are no ads. Members can also download videos to watch offline on their mobile devices. Currently, new revenue from YouTube Premium is distributed to video creators based on how much members watch your content. The more engaging your content is – the greater your earning from YouTube Premium could be.  

Other ways in which you can make money through YouTube

In addition to utilizing the YouTube Partner Program, there are also a number of other ways in which you can use YouTube as a revenue stream for your business.

Sell your merchandise directly

You don’t necessarily need to sell your products through the YPP, and merchandise helps to increase your bran exposure by putting your online brand and personality out into the ‘real’ world. Upload videos showcasing your products and direct viewers towards your website or online store where they can make purchases. Selling your stuff is often easier than it might seem, particularly as many online stores can be integrated with point-of-sale systems such as Hike, that can handle virtually every aspect of the sale process on your behalf.

Crowdfund your project

Do you have some outstanding ideas for expanding your business but lack the funds you need to fulfill them? If so, you can use your YouTube channel to crowdfund what you need to make your dream a reality. This is because many successful crowdfunding projects kickstart their campaign with a creative video outlining what will be involved and the rewards that can be offered to those who offer to pitch in.

Popular crowdfunding sites with a proven track record of campaigns from YouTubers include Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Just remember that if you opt to use Kickstarter for your fundraising, you set an attainable funding goal because you will only secure if you actually manage to meet it. Nevertheless, if you keep it realistic, there’s no reason why your YouTube trailer for the project won’t be successful.

Fan funding

Very similar to crowdfunding, fan funding is another increasingly popular way to earn money from YouTube towards projects that your business is working on without being pushy or demanding. Studies show that people are far more likely to financially support those businesses that offer persistently high-level, valuable content. So, if you are doing this, your audience may be more likely to support your business on an ongoing basis. Check out Patreon and tipeee which are both excellent resources.

License your content to the media

Every content creator wants their work to go viral, and videos are no different. When a video goes viral, every news outlet wants to get hold of a copy in order to replay it for their audience. However, for them to do this, they need to pay you for using your content. The content license not only ensures that you will get paid, but it will also specify how your content can be used by the buyer. This is important to make sure that it isn’t used in way that is morally, socially or otherwise reprehensible and could have serious consequences for individuals within it or your business as a whole.

Making money on YouTube is now easier than ever before, and payment processing is now easier than ever, thanks to Hike. To find out more about the capabilities of our remarkable POS service, or for a demo, please get in touch.