What To Do To Make Money From YouTube

In the last few years, YouTube has established a solid reputation that cannot be compared to any other video publishing online service. This has enabled many individuals and companies to promote their businesses with high-quality video recording in so many creative ways.

If you want to take advantage of this opportunity but do not know how to make money from YouTube, simply read the tips listed below.

1. Promote Your Site

To successfully promote your site, there are some things that should be in place. The first thing is to know the kind of audience you want to target through your videos. Know their tastes and character in order to create a video that will appeal to them.

The second thing is to know the kind of videos to post. Generally, informative videos and how-tos are good ways of establishing credibility. However, any video, be it a business presentation, an advertisement, a personal video or an historic event can still be used to generate profit as long as it is what your target audience wants. Make sure you fill a relevant niche.  Having made the video, post it and link it to your site. This will help generate traffic.

2. Become A Partner

Submit a YouTube partnership application.  Once you are approved, you only need your video post on the partner network.  You may not make so much money at first but there is no limitation to the amount that can be made once you get lucky. Since you are now part of the partnership program, this is the time for you to create a sensational video that will bring in millions of viewers and keep you smiling to the bank. The negative side to it is the long period of approval. You need to patiently wait to be approved as tons of applications come in every day.

You should also consider selling scrolling text that has been integrated into your video. This can easily be marketed to related businesses if you have a steady number of viewers. Product placement and endorsement, along with the content, can be effectively used to promote the business of any big or small advertiser.

3. Gather Contact Information

Email has always been used to generate leads to potential customers and this is still possible with YouTube. Placing opt-in capture form on YouTube is not permitted. One way to get around it and still make money from YouTube is to place a link in your profile or a watermark on your video that will lead to a squeeze page. The contact information that you will put together will be useful and beneficial to your future earnings.

4. Marketing Affiliate Programs

Affiliate marketing programs remain the safest way for any newbie to earn some online cash. The major requirement to make money from YouTube is to have a video editing tool that will enable you to place a watermark on your videos. Create interesting tips or short informative content and put out an invitation to interested people to learn more by going to your site. However, you must stay away from broadcast material so as not to violate any copyright laws.

6 Top Strategies to Make Money From YouTube

The beauty of a YouTube channel is that you don’t need millions of subscribers to monetize your videos and tap into the platform’s massive reach of 2.5 billion global viewers. In this guide, you’ll discover how to make money on YouTube, learn how much money successful YouTubers make, and find some strategies that can help you start earning even more.

1. Join the YouTube Partner Program

The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) lets creators tap into different ways to earn money from their shorts, livestreams, and long-form videos. YouTube reports it paid more than $70 billion to program members between 2021 and 2023 alone, so consider applying if you meet the eligibility criteria.

Creators who join the YouTube Partner Program can get:

• Revenue sharing from ads during videos and between shorts
• Revenue sharing from more than 100 million YouTube Music and Premium subscribers 
• Funds from Super Chat, Super Thanks, and channel membership features
• YouTube Shopping to offer products to its audience
• Access to YouTube’s creator support and Copyright Match tool, which helps protect original content

Joining the Partner Program isn’t the only way to make money online through YouTube. Depending on your situation, it may not even be the most lucrative strategy for your channel. Other options include directing your viewers off-platform to your online store or affiliate partners, or creating sponsored videos—all of which are covered in the tips below.

That said, most YouTube monetization methods are easier—or only possible—as a member of the Partner Program.

YouTube offers two entry points depending on your goals: a lower threshold for fan funding and shopping features, and a higher threshold for ad revenue. 

Eligibility requirements to join the partner program in 2026

To apply for the YouTube Partner Program, your channel needs to hit the following milestones:

500 subscribers
Three valid uploads in the past 90 days
3,000 watch hours in the past 12 months or three million Shorts views in the past 90 days
This lower subscriber tier unlocks fan funding (Super Chat, Super Thanks, channel memberships), YouTube Shopping, and other features, but not ad revenue.

To unlock ad revenue and monetize your content, you’ll need at least 1,000 subscribers and slightly more views: either 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days. You’ll also need one active Google AdSense account for your YouTube account linked to your channel.

Your channel also needs to be in good standing with YouTube and follow all of YouTube’s monetization policies. In addition, you must live in an eligible region.

When you’re ready to apply, head to your channel’s YouTube Studio and open the Earn tab to get started.

2. Turn on ads for your videos

Once you’re accepted into the YouTube Partner Program and meet the requirements for ad revenue, the simplest way to start earning money is through ads. 

Read Also: Create Templates For Facebook Fan Pages To Make Money

When you make a long-form video and turn on ads, YouTube will show your viewers a combination of pre- and post-roll ads that may or may not be skippable. You can’t control which ads are displayed before or after your videos, but for videos eight minutes or longer, you can choose whether to place ads in the middle. Mid-roll ads can be added automatically or placed manually.

Select the Revenue tab in your YouTube Studio to see ad earnings reports, including your monthly estimated revenue for videos with monetization turned on.

Consider looking beyond ads for revenue

While YouTube ads are a simple, passive way to monetize your videos, you’ll likely need to combine ads with other earning strategies to make significant revenue.

YouTube’s demonetization policy is considered overly cautious by some creators, so there’s a chance some of your content won’t be advertiser-friendly. There’s a risk of being removed from the program and your earnings tanking overnight if it’s your only source of revenue.

3. Monetize YouTube Shorts

YouTube launched its own short-form video format, known as Shorts, to compete with TikTok and Instagram Reels. Despite clocking in at less than 60 seconds, YouTube Shorts have incredible earning potential for creators. 

With more than 70 billion daily views, Shorts has become a major destination for advertisers. That’s why YouTube extended its creator monetization opportunities to include Shorts, and it’s paying off. More than one quarter of channels in the YouTube Partner Program are now earning through this revenue stream.

How YouTube Shorts monetization works

The ad revenue sharing model for YouTube Shorts is more complex than traditional videos. How much you can earn depends on the music you’ve used in the clip and the number of views you accumulated compared to other creators in your region. 

Here’s a closer look at how the YouTube Shorts monetization model works:

• YouTube collates revenue from ads placed between videos in the Shorts feed. 
• Ad revenue is split into two buckets: the creator pool (where revenue is assigned to creators based on engaged views and music usage across Shorts) and the music fund (to cover the cost of music licensing). This split depends on whether the creator used music in their Short. 
• Creators earn their share of eligible revenue based on how many Shorts views they contributed in their region. For example, if a creator earned 2% of all Shorts views in their country, they’d receive 2% of the revenue in that region’s creator pool.
• YouTube applies its revenue share split and pays out 45% of eligible earnings to the creator.

4. Let your audience support you with fan funding

For creators who are part of the Partner Program, YouTube’s fan funding features provide ways for viewers to directly support your channel with tips and monthly payments.

Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks are colorful messages and alerts your viewers can buy to support your channel during livestreams and video premieres. When purchased, these tip-jar features highlight a fan’s comments in the chat box.

Similarly, YouTube channel memberships offer paying fans a range of exclusive benefits you create. 

You can create up to six member levels with increasing benefits, such as:

Channel badges and custom emojis, letting members stand out in live chat and comments
Community posts, shorts, and videos only your members can see
Exclusive first-viewing rights of your videos
Members-only live chat and livestreams
A member recognition shelf featuring member avatars at the top of your channel page

Other ways to fan-fund

You can also source donations for your channel outside the YouTube ecosystem.

While you may need to invest in additional content to reward donors, these platforms offer a familiar way for your audience to support you on an ongoing basis:

• Patreon is a well-known fan-funding platform where creators offer exclusive content, access, and perks in return for regular donations.
• Tipeee, which allows you to seek both one-off and recurring donations.
• Buy Me a Coffee, which allows creators and artists to accept donations, often with lower fees than Patreon.
• Ko-fi is another low-fee platform for sourcing donations, subscriptions, and crowdfunding.

5. Sell products and merch

YouTube offers more advanced tools to help creatives make money online, including YouTube Shopping. This feature lets fans shop directly from your YouTube content. 

You can use YouTube Shopping to:

• Open a storefront on your channel
• Connect your online store to your channel to display your products around videos
• Tag your products or products from other brands in videos

Many creators choose to sell merch like tote bags, snapbacks, and t-shirts, or recommend products from brands they review or partner with. For example, Cassey Ho, Pilates instructor and founder of the Blogilates YouTube channel, launched a clothing line after fans said they wanted to represent the creator.

“Fans were like, ‘Well, can we have a Blogilates shirt?’ And I was like, ‘Why in the world would you want to wear my screen name?’” says Cassey in a Shopify Masters interview. “But that was also the moment I realized, ‘Oh my God, maybe Blogilates is not just a screen name.’” 

Selling branded swag is easier than you think. Use print-on-demand services to design affordable products that are produced and shipped on a per-order basis.

6. Work with brands as an influencer

Brands are increasingly investing in influencer marketing and sponsorships, spending their advertising budgets on influencers who’ve already won the loyalty of their audiences. This creates an opportunity for you as a creator if you can negotiate the right deal in return for exposing your audience to their products.

• Shopify Collabs makes it easy to find brands that match your content and values. Build affiliate relationships, get paid for what you sell, and track everything in one place.
• YouTube also has a built-in feature called BrandConnect for finding sponsorship deals. It uses data about your audience to match your channel with brand partners.

Brendan Gahan, a YouTube marketing expert and influencer, recommends establishing your baseline flat fee by looking at the number of views your videos typically get, then multiplying the amount by 5¢ to 15¢ per view.

Depending on your leverage—your target audience, content quality, and how unique and profitable your niche is—you might be able to negotiate a better deal if the brand is a good fit.

The key when partnering on brand-sponsored content is to be transparent and only endorse products you actually like or believe in.

Final Thoughts

Content creators can transform their pastime into a lifetime job and receive compensation for the many hours of effort and trial and error required to master the YouTube algorithm with the correct YouTube monetization plan.

For many creators, selecting a long-term, sustainable income strategy is more difficult than growing an audience. It can be dangerous to rely only on YouTube’s monetization alternatives, particularly since it has a reputation for being extremely cautious with its demonetization policy.

You can protect yourself and develop a creator business that is less dependent on YouTube algorithms and more driven by the connections you have with your audience by selling merchandise, making digital products, or becoming an affiliate for your preferred products.