Are you looking for ways to monetize your YouTube channel? Or maybe, you’re already running ads, but you’re looking for a few tips to earn more money from your videos…well this is the article for you.
In today’s advanced digital world, it’s easier than ever to make extra money online. Many Instagram and YouTube influencers are earning more money than the average Doctor’s Salary. With statistics like this, it’s no surprise people are asking the following question… how do you make money from YouTube?
Here is how to make money from your YouTube videos.
The most popular method is through the YouTube Partnership Programmes which allows you to earn ad revenue from Google Adsense.
Other ways include sponsorship, affiliate programmes, and fan funding. How much you make from YouTube will depend on the niche of your channel, how many videos you have and how good your content is.
In this post, I’ll explain everything you need to know about earning a full-time income from making YouTube videos. But, before that, let’s go through a few of the most comment questions I hear…
How Much Money Can You Make on YouTube?
No doubt, there are hundreds of YouTube stars making A LOT of money from YouTube. PewDiePie is one of the highest paid YouTube stars on the planet with a reported income of $15 Million in 2016. With potential earnings like this, it’s no surprise why so many people want to start a YouTube channel.
BUT, before you quit your day job to become a full-time vlogger; consider the following:
Not everyone on YouTube earns a lot of money.
I’m not here to shatter anyone’s dreams, but I will always be open and honest. And while it’s 100% possible to make millions from YouTube, it’s important to point out that not everyone making videos online will see success. In business, 90% of start-ups fail; YouTube is the same.
Do you have what it takes?
Having a backlog of regularly viewed videos is an excellent way to earn money, and an excellent source of passive income; but in the beginning, it will require a lot of time, effort, and patience.
One thing that people may not notice about the successful YouTubers, is their level of dedication. Most success YouTube channels will upload a new video 2-3 times per week (sometimes more). That’s a lot of hours of recording & editing; not to mention the time spent promoting the channel, responding to comments, etc.
I’m not saying you have to run a huge channel to make from YouTube, because you don’t. However, just like most things in life, it requires effort and patience if you want to see results. So, do you have what it takes?
Related Post: Want to make money while you sleep? Click here to discover the best passive income ideas.
How to Earn Money From YouTube Views?
It may seem like common sense to think the more YouTube views you generate, the more money you can make. While this can be true, it’s not always the case. The YouTube videos that produce the most income focus on the following questions:
How targeted are your viewers?
Matching your videos with the right audience can have a significant impact on the amount of money you make. Think of it this way…
Would you rather have 100,000 views from random web traffic or 1,000 highly targeted viewers from people who are specifically interested in the topic of your videos?
Is your audience buyers?
The type of videos you make will attract a specific audience. Creating videos for teenagers may result in a tremendous amount of views, and your channel could become extremely popular. But, there one problem; most teenagers are not buyers. They have no job, no credit card and will most likely have to ask their parents for permission before any purchases can be made.
Therefore it’s wise to consider a niche, with an audience of people who are able to buy. For example; health & fitness is a great niche with a massive audience of potential buyers.
Note: I’m not saying making videos for teenagers is a bad idea, there’s still money to be made from ad revenue. Not to mention that a loyal teenage audience will be adults in a few years. If your patient enough to wait, a teenage audience can turn into a goldmine. This was a huge factor to the success of well-known YouTube stars PewDiePie & Zoella.
How Much Does YouTube Pay You For Your Videos?
To earn ad revenue from YouTube, you must be part of the YouTube Partner Programme. This uses Google’s AdSense platform, which provides content creators with a golden opportunity to monetize their videos by displaying an advertisement at the beginning (and throughout) videos.
Advertisers only pay when someones click an ad; or when anyone watches 30 seconds or more. This is an incentive to encourage more advertisers to use Google’s ad platform. This is actually a positive thing, as the more advertisers on YouTube, the more money content creators can potentially make.
This is why, as we mentioned earlier, views don’t necessarily determine how much you earn. For example; you can have 30 million video views, but if no one clicks or watches an ad, you won’t make any money.
Equally, you could only have 1,000 video views, but 100 people clicked on ads. And that’s how you could potentially be earning more money on fewer views.
Of course, an ideal scenario would be to have 30 million video views and a high click-rate on ads. Nice!
How much you earn per click depends on how competitive your niche and keywords are.
At the beginning of 2018, YouTube made some changes to its Partner Programme. They now require a YouTube channel to have at least 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time (within a 12 month period), before they even consider you to join their programme.
This is a significant change from the old requirements; which allowed creators to start monetizing their videos almost instantly.
It also means for most newbies, you have a bit of work to do before you can earn ad revenue from your videos. Gaining the first 1000 subscribers is always the hardest.
Fortunately, there are other ways you can make money from your YouTube videos.
Alternative Ways to Make Money From YouTube
Earnings from YouTube ads can be unpredictable and low; which is why many content creators have found other creative ways to make money from YouTube. Through these methods, YouTube influencers can make more money consistently.
Here are the few great alternatives:
Sponsorship
Take a look at the top YouTubers. You’ll notice that a lot of them will have sponsors. This is where a company will pay you for product or brand promotion. This usually involves a mention of a product or wearing some sort of clothing.
Influencers and vloggers love this, as they can negotiate their own deals with sponsors. This provides a stable and consistent income; plus they don’t have to give YouTube a cut. Not to mention the free products!
Promote Affiliate Links
If you have a successful YouTube channel, you have something every internet marketer wants…traffic!
You don’t need a blog to make money from affiliate marketing. You can insert affiliate links into the description of your YouTube videos.
You’ll notice that when a YouTube blogger mentions a product in a video, they’ll often link to where you can buy it. This is usually an affiliate link, where they’ll earn a commission when someone purchases through using that specific link.
Amazon Affiliates program is a popular choice for YouTube bloggers. Amazon is the largest eCommerce store, with tons of products & great commissions rates. Plus, your audience will trust an Amazon link and they are more likely to click on it over a random link.
Suggested Read: How to Make Money on Instagram With Clickbank
Fan Funding
If you consistently produce high-quality, valuable videos, your viewers will slowly build into a loyal and appreciative audience. But, did you know you can ask your fans to donate to your channel?
This may seem a bit crazy at first, but I’ve seen this become more and more popular among YouTube creators; I’m sure you have too.
Since reports of YouTube’s declining ad revenue back in 2017, vloggers have become a lot more transparent about this issue.
For a lot of YouTube stars, producing videos is their full-time job. Donations during live streams have become a way for fans to support their favorite YouTubers; so that they can continue to create exceptional content.
Of course, this method will be more effective with large YouTube channels which have a loyal following. If you only have a few videos, this may not be the best option for you.
Patreon: This is a membership platform that makes it super quick and straightforward for content creators, musicians & influencers to get paid. Fans can sign up to follow and support their favorite creators or influencers; from as little as $1 per month. They can receive exclusive rewards and alerts for beginning such loyal fans.
Twitch: This is a streaming platform designed for content creators to have live interaction with their audience. This is heavily dominated by the video-gaming space; however, it’s open to all creators. One neat feature on Twitch is the fact viewers can tip donations throughout the live-stream. Viewers can tip however much they want, whenever they want.
I’ve seen a rise in YouTubers holding streaming events on Twitch, and I only expect this happen a lot more in the future.
Super Chat
As live-streams become increasingly popular, YouTube has introduced something called ‘Super Chat.’ This is a neat feature that allows creators to easily interact with their most loyal and supportive fans.
With Super Chat fans pay for their messages to be highlighted during live-streams. This makes it easier for YouTube stars to respond to messages from their top supporters. It also provides a neat way for creators to monetize their live-streams. A win-win for everyone!
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Final Thoughts
So, how do you make money from YouTube videos? As you can see, there are many ways to monetize a YouTube channel. How much you will earn will be down to choosing the right niche and serving your audience with the best video content; on a consistent basis.
If you’re new to YouTube, my suggestion would be to focus on making the best videos you possibly can; and upload new videos 2-3 times per week.
YouTube’s Partner Programme requirement is a good indication of growth.
Once hit the requires 1000 subscribers, go ahead and set up your Google Adsense account. Try not to focus on monetization before this point.
If you’re more advanced, my suggestion would be to sign up to Amazon’s Affiliates Programs. Go through your existing videos to see if there’s any products or services you mention. You can quickly add relevant affiliate links to your current videos.
For some extra tips, check out this blog post I wrote on Affiliate Marketing.
As your channel grows more substantial, you can start to implement the other methods.
But remember, the key to making money from your YouTube videos is to serve your audience. Continue to produce the best video content you can and be as open, transparent and honest with your viewers as possible.
Do you have a question? Or, is there something you’d like to me add to this post? Comment below and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
