Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

It’s not about the money, but being able to monetize your content means you’re able to dedicate your time and resources to your YouTube channel. Monetization is, therefore, a critical step if you want to become a full-time creator.

For many YouTube creators, the goal is to earn enough money from YouTube to allow you to quit your regular nine to five and create full time. This list detailing how to monetize your videos should help you accomplish that.

4 Steps To Putting Ads on YouTube

Being able to earn from ads on your YouTube videos is both an accomplishment and a great income source.

Step 1: Determine If You’re Eligible

To enable ads, you need to be part of the YouTube Partner Program. To be eligible for the YouTube Partner Program you need:

1,000 Subscribers

4,000 valid watch hours over 12 months

To be following all the YouTube monetization policies (this includes following community guidelines, YouTube’s TOS, Copyright Policies, and the Google Ad-sense policies.

If you are eligible, you will be able to click start when you are in YouTube studios. However, if you are not eligible, you can ask YouTube to notify you when you meet the requirements.

Step 2: YouTube Reviews Your Content

Monetization does not begin when you want to earn from your videos. The process starts before that. YouTube analyzes your channel’s metadata before deciding whether or not your channel will be accepted into the Partnership program. Therefore, YouTube will analyze your titles, video length, content, and so forth to determine if you are a good addition to the program. Therefore, creating consistent, quality content – that meets the guidelines set out by YouTube – should be a priority.

Step 3: Enable Ads

If you have been accepted to the YouTube Partner Program, you can enable ads on your videos. To do this, you will need to go to your YouTube studio app, select menu, and then videos. You can then select the editing option and choose to turn ads on or off.

Steps 4: Choose The Type Of Ads That Appear 

The type of ads you choose to display on your YouTube videos will determine the revenue you earn in addition to the experience viewers have when watching your videos.

YouTube has six ad insert options for creators to select. These include display, overlay, skippable, non-skippable, bumper, and sponsored card ads.

Skippable, bumper and non-skippable ads make the most money because they cost advertisers more, and, therefore, the CPM is higher. These are video ads that either play a portion of the ads before viewers can skip, or force viewers to watch an ad in its entirety.

Other Ways To Monetize on YouTube

Although ads are the most straightforward method to monetize your YouTube videos, YouTube has a proclivity to demonetize channels. In these instances, there are other options to ensure you still earn from your content. 

Consider Members-Only Access

You can enhance your content and your viewers’ experiences by creating members-only content. This sort of content allows you to add value to your content while enabling you to create a consistent income stream.

Patreon

Patreon is the most commonly used members only platform because it allows creators to monetize their content through a subscription based service. Additionally, instead of charging creators a monthly fee they charge a percentage of revenue you receive. Depending on the tier you choose, this can be anywhere from 5% to 12% per transaction. 

If you choose the Pro tier you can create tiered options for patrons. These tiers are usually a recurring payment that enables patrons to unlock benefits and content based on their tier. 

YouTube Membership

YouTube also allows you to create a membership within your channel where members also unlock exclusive content. To be able to create a membership, however, you should also be eligible for the Partner Program.

Enable Donations

Donations can help you earn without – or with limited – fees. 

There’s also a greater sense of community as viewers feel they’re helping their favorite creator, which builds camaraderie. In many cases, you can earn more from donations than you will from ads because your take-home percentage is greater than it is on ads. However, on the downside, donations aren’t as predictable as ads, so they shouldn’t be your only source of income. 

Paypal

Paypal allows you to receive donations through Paypal.Me link. But, if you are getting donations through Paypal know that your full name and last name will be visible to any donors, which can have long term consequences to your privacy.

Start Streaming

In-stream donations are a fantastic way to combine content with donations. While streaming on YouTube, you can either accept donations through YouTube or use a service like Streamlabs. Being able to interact with your viewers encourages tipping because you can react to their tips live while on stream.

Even if you think your content is not suitable for streaming, there are plenty of methods to integrate streaming into your content plan that’s both authentic and entertaining.

Venmo/CashApp

If you’re willing to share your Venmo or CashApp username with subscribers, this is an easy way to encourage viewers to tip. Because most of your viewers are probably already using these apps, they are more likely to send a few bucks to you than if you requested they use a service outside of their comfort zone. However, keep in mind that both of these are only available in the US, and there are some privacy concerns when sharing this sort of information with strangers.

Sponsorships

You can find sponsorships to participate in and brands to collaborate with by using platforms designed for small creators. Collaborating with a brand, you have greater control of your video content because you aren’t as reliant on ad revenue, meaning if you wanted to, you could include copyrighted music and video. Keep in mind, for sponsorships to be successful, you should choose the right kind of sponsors because 

A) Any video has the potential to go viral, and if you aren’t negotiating fair pay, you could be exploited.

B) The product or service you’re promoting should be relevant to your audience so that the sponsor sees an advantageous ROI.

Merch

Once you have a dedicated fan base, you can continue monetizing by creating merchandise. You can choose to promote merch you designed yourself – not linked to your online persona – as is the case with Teddy Fresh, a brand by Ethan and Hila Klein of the H3H3 podcast. However, you can also go the more traditional route and create merch with catchphrases or symbols popularized by your content.

Even if your position on the Partner Program isn’t under threat, it’s still a good idea to diversify your income stream. So many content creators have fallen victim to the adpocalypse over the years that having more than one revenue stream means you have additional control over your income and can accurately predict how much you’ll earn from YouTube. In the long term, having these monetization options in place is crucial to your strategy.