YouTube’s Partner Program allows creators to monetize their content by running Google AdSense advertisements on their videos. However, relying solely on YouTube ads revenue has risks, as any changes to ad rates or policies can severely impact earnings. It has therefore become very important for YouTube creators looking to build sustainable channel-based businesses to diversify their revenue streams beyond just YouTube ads.
This article explores the Easiest Ways to Make Money on Youtube to unlock diverse monetization and earning potential through their YouTube channels. Building multiple income channels provides stability against volatility and hedges against complete dependence on YouTube ad revenue.
YouTube Partner Program:
Did You Know?
Youtube Partner program has over 2 Million Members now
YouTube allows creators to monetize their content and start earning money by joining the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). To qualify for the program, your channel needs to meet the minimum eligibility requirements which are at least 500 subscribers and 4000 public watch hours in the last 12 months.
Once a channel gets thoroughly reviewed and accepted into the program, the creator can turn on monetization settings and enable ads on their videos. This allows them to begin earning a share of revenue from the Google AdSense ads running on their content.
When a viewer watches a complete ad or the minimum required 30 seconds, it triggers a Cost Per Mile (CPM) bid from the advertiser. Out of this bid value, YouTube deducts 45% as their platform fee and the creator gets the remaining 55% of the impressions value as ad revenue.
However, factors like content type, watch time, audience demographics, ad inventory, seasonality etc. impact a creator’s actual RPM earnings on YouTube. For most individuals and smaller creators, earnings from YouTube ads alone average a modest $3-5 per 1000 views.
While the YouTube Partner Program provides an initial avenue to monetize, relying solely on YouTube ads revenue has risks and volatility. This makes exploring additional monetization options beyond just YPP equally important for sustainable income.
Enabling Video Ads:
Did You Know?
Bumper Ads are Limited to Just 6 Seconds on Youtube
One of the main ways to earn money on Youtube is through video ads. When you enable monetization, relevant video ads can appear before, during or around your YouTube videos. You will get a share of the ad revenue depending on factors like watch time, viewer demographics etc. To enable video ads, go to YouTube Studio, select the videos you want to monetize under the content tab and turn on the monetization toggle. Ensure your content meets the advertiser-friendly guidelines.
Earning from YouTube Premium:
You can also earn revenue when viewers subscribed to YouTube Premium watch your content. YouTube Premium subscribers pay a monthly fee for ad-free viewing and other benefits. You don’t need to explicitly turn this on. As long as your content complies with YouTube’s policies, you can earn a share of the revenue generated from Premium members streaming your videos.
Channel Memberships:
Channel memberships allow loyal viewers to pay a monthly fee to get special perks offered by you like custom emojis, badges, exclusive content etc. To enable memberships, your channel needs at least 1000 subscribers. Go to the channel monetization page in YouTube Studio to set up levels and perks. Fans pay to join as members.
Super Chat & Super Stickers:
During live streams, viewers can pay to highlight their chats and comments using Super Chat and Super Stickers. As the creator, you earn revenue from the purchase of Super Chats and Super Stickers during your live streams and premieres. Turn this on in channel monetization if eligible.
Shopping Integration:
You can earn from affiliate commissions by promoting your own or other brands’ products through your YouTube channel using the integrated shopping experience. Shopping lets you connect your product catalogue and you’ll earn a share of sales generated from your channel.
Sell Your Own Merchandise in Your Videos
Offer Value First
Focus on creating great content that provides value to your viewers. Build that trust and audience engagement before pitching products. Your fans will be more receptive to purchase when they feel connected to you and find your content useful.
Integrate YouTube Shopping
Enable the integrated YouTube Shopping feature to seamlessly showcase and promote products on your channel. It lets you import your catalogue and share product info through cards and end screens. YouTube Shopping significantly streamlines the purchase process.
Dedicate Product Videos
Create dedicated videos to showcase or review specific products you want to sell. Give viewers a close look at the product in action and highlight features and benefits. Ensure good lighting and camera work to depict the products well.
Create Limited Offers
Generate excitement by offering limited-time discounts, bundled deals or special giveaways only for your YouTube subscribers. Exclusivity helps drive conversions. Clearly mention the offer details and expiry in your videos and descriptions.
Share Real Reviews
Show authentic user-generated content like customers unboxing or reviewing your products. This social proof builds trust and credibility around the quality of your offerings.
Make Clear Calls to Action
Prompt viewers to purchase by including strong calls to action like “Shop This Look Now” or “Limited Stocks – Buy Today”. Reiterate the CTA verbally and use annotations. Make it easy to find the purchase link.
Track Performance
Analyse metrics like clicks, conversions, and sales for your product videos to see what’s resonating with viewers. Refine your approach based on what titles, products, or styles perform best.
With the right strategy focused on value, content, and seamless shopping experience, creators can unlock a lucrative sales channel through selling products on YouTube.
Create Sponsored Content
YouTube has become a major platform for influencer marketing, with brands leveraging popular creators to promote products. Sponsorships and branded content represent a lucrative money-making opportunity for channels with engaged audiences.
Here are some tips on how to earn through sponsored content on YouTube:
Build a Strong Niche Audience
Focus on growing your subscribers and viewership within a specific niche. Brands look for creators who can reach and resonate with their target demographics. A travel vlogger or gaming channel has very niche, focused viewers.
Display Your Value
Highlight your YouTube channel statistics like views, subscribers and engagement rates in your media kit. Also emphasize your social media reach and influence. Quantify why your audience and content are valuable for sponsors.
Promote Brand Suitability
Review the brands you have worked with and showcase how you deliver on sponsors’ objectives. As a content creator, pick brands relevant to your niche and audience to establish brand suitability and earn money on YouTube.
Offer Custom Integrations
Go beyond simple shoutouts. Offer custom video integration ideas tailored to showcase the brand properly. Suggest ways to organically weave the brand into your content style.
Negotiate Rates
Research industry average YouTube sponsorship rates for channels similar to yours. Negotiate rates based on your views, subscriber count, production quality and audience. Don’t undervalue yourself.
Outline Sponsorship Terms
Have set terms in your media kit detailing your rates, metrics promised, timeline, usage rights etc. State what you can and cannot do for legal compliance. Sign contracts clearly outlining both parties’ expectations.
Disclose Sponsorships Transparently
Use clear call-outs like “Paid Promotion” or “Sponsored by…” to disclose sponsorships. Follow FTC guidelines for any endorsements. Don’t mislead viewers about branded partnerships.
With strong branded content that aligns with your niche, you can build relationships with advertisers and earn revenue through sponsorships on YouTube. Just ensure transparency with audiences.
Earn From Fans Directly
Here are some tips for YouTubers to earn money directly from fans:
Enable Super Chats on live streams – Fans pay to highlight their comments and support the creator.
– Fans pay a monthly fee for exclusive perks like custom emojis, badges, merch discounts etc.
Sell branded merchandise – Design t-shirts, hoodies, mugs with your channel’s logo and graphics. Promote via your videos.
Set up a Patreon – Fans become monthly patrons and get rewards like behind-the-scenes content.
Publish affiliate links – share links to products and services you recommend and earn money on YouTube without relying solely on ad revenue.
Crowdfund projects – Use platforms like Kickstarter to raise funds for special projects or creative work.
Collaborate with fan creators – Earn a share of revenue from fan art/creations based on your content.
Create paid content – Offer special videos, tutorials, downloads exclusively for members or subscribers.
Host fan events – Organize meetups or live shows for fans and sell premium tickets.
Make personalized content – Sell custom video shoutouts, reactions or Q&As for dedicated fans.
The key is creating real value and exclusivity tailored to your loyal viewers. With diverse options, YouTubers can build multiple direct monetization channels beyond just ads.
Affiliate Marketing
Beyond ads, YouTubers can leverage affiliate marketing to earn commissions by promoting relevant brands, products, and services through their videos.
The most common approach is adding affiliate links across your video descriptions, end cards, watermarks, and other metadata.
When viewers click those links and complete specific actions like purchases, sign-ups, app installs, etc., you earn an affiliate commission.
The best practice is to highlight affiliate offerings that provide real value for your audience and organically integrate them into your content style.
For example, a cooking channel can link to affiliate kitchen tools and ingredients used in recipes. A gaming channel can include affiliated gaming gear in their setup and descriptions.
Do your research to find affiliate programs that match your niche so recommendations are relevant. Track conversions over time to refine promotional strategies.
Affiliate marketing done right can become a significant passive income stream, and diversifies earnings beyond just ads.
Sponsorships
As your viewership and subscriber base grows, you can start unlocking brand sponsorship opportunities to monetize your audience reach and influence.
Brands looking to promote products or services related to your niche may offer paid sponsorships in exchange for branded video integrations, shoutouts, etc.
Proactively reach out to brands that are aligned with your channel topic, audience demographics, content style, and sensibilities.
Negotiate sponsorship fees based on your subscriber count, average views per video, overall influence, and production quality.
Ensure sponsored content integrations match your usual content style and viewer interests. Sign clear contracts outlining expectations, metrics, rates, usage rights, etc. for both parties.
Strategically balance limited but valuable sponsorships without overwhelming your audience. Select partners relevant to your viewers for win-win collaborations.
Sponsorships allow monetizing your influence while keeping creative control over your content.
Merchandise Shelf
Once your channel crosses 10,000 subscribers, you become eligible to apply for the YouTube Merchandise Shelf feature.
This allows you to design and sell branded merchandise like T-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, posters etc. featuring your brand name, channel logo, or custom artwork.
You can easily integrate your merch shelf below your videos and promote new product drops. Fans can seamlessly browse and purchase right on YouTube.
Visually showcase your merch in videos and verbally prompt viewers to check them out. Offer limited edition collections to drive excitement and sales.
Merch allows establishing an additional passive income stream beyond just ad revenue, directly from your most loyal viewers.
Channel Memberships
YouTube Channel Memberships allow superfans to pay a monthly fee to get access to exclusive perks offered by you.
These perks can include custom emoji, loyalty badges, members-only posts, sneak previews, discounts, one-on-one time, and more.
You need at least 30,000 subscribers to be eligible for enabling channel memberships.
Strategically structure varied membership tiers at different price points with increasing exclusive rewards.
Promote your memberships through channel art, community posts, videos, stories, etc. Manage members-only content easily through the Studio dashboard.
Special member livestreams, hangouts, playlists, etc. further add value. Offer limited period membership rewards to drive recurring sign-ups.
Memberships provide a predictable way to monetize and earn recurring revenue while deepening connections with your loyal viewers.
External Platforms
While YouTube is great for building audiences, you can further diversify earnings by leveraging external platforms.
Creators are using sites like Patreon to provide exclusive content and experiences for fans who pay monthly memberships or subscriptions.
Offer patrons-only content like bonus videos, downloads, discounts etc. based on membership tiers. Build closer relationships through private discussion channels.
Similarly, monetizing your expertise through paid podcasts on platforms like Buzzsprout opened up new revenue streams. Supplementing your YouTube content with a podcast expands your impact.
Paid platforms allow creators to take more ownership over subscription monetization and community building outside YouTube.
Online Courses & Ebooks
You can monetize your niche skills and knowledge through online courses and ebooks targeting your specific audience.
Platforms like Teachable, Podia, LearnWorlds allow easily creating courses with integrated payment processing.
Build a full curriculum around your expertise niche, breaking down key concepts with pre-recorded videos, slides, quizzes. Promote your course through your channel.
For lower cost of entry, self-publish niche-specific ebooks sold through your site. An ebook rounds up your best tips into a packaged offer.
Courses and books deepen audience engagement. Fans pay for the value you provide by sharing your specialised knowledge or skills.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, etc. allow you to raise funds from your audience to finance special projects or productions.
You can launch a campaign outlining your creative project idea, production costs, timeline, and goals.
Offer varied perks or rewards to attract backers at different contribution levels. Limited edition merch, name credits, virtual hangouts work well.
Market your campaign through videos, posts, email lists, cross promotions with other creators, etc. Strategically plan your timeline and stretch goals.
Successful crowdfunding requires clearly communicating your vision, costs, and value to your community.
Content Licensing
While revenue shares on YouTube are limited, your content may have more monetization potential through content licensing.
Agencies like Jukin Media licence and redistribute viral user-generated content to major media companies for broadcasts, ads, etc.
If you have any videos with viral potential, you can submit to Jukin to be considered for representation. Your videos will get wider distribution if accepted.
When your licensed videos get used on YouTube, you start earning money. Understand the terms before licensing your content ownership.
Licensing expands reach while earning higher rates in a very passive way. Short viral clips can provide another income avenue.
Monetize Your YouTube Shorts Fund
The YouTube Shorts Fund provides cash bonuses to creators for top-performing short-form videos that drive significant engagement.
To qualify, you need at least 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. Only original Shorts are eligible.
Earnings are based on your share of total daily global Shorts views and your overall contribution to the Shorts ecosystem.
YouTube determines bonus amounts and payout cadence. More views and consistently posting quality Shorts will maximize your potential payouts.
The Shorts Fund serves as additional “icing on the cake” for eligible creators. Focus on providing entertainment value through viral short videos.
How Much Money Can You Make on Youtube?
It depends on the following factors.
Views – In general, the more views your videos get, the more money you’ll make. However, keep in mind that not all views are monetized, so view count alone doesn’t equal revenue.
RPM – This stands for Revenue Per Thousand views. It’s the amount you earn per 1,000 video views after YouTube’s cut. RPM varies based on content type, audience demographics, seasonality and more. Average RPM is around $3-5.
Ad rates – Advertiser demand impacts the ad CPM rates you earn. Competitive categories like gaming, finance and entertainment tend to have higher ad rates.
Watch time – If viewers are engaged and watch most or all of your videos, you maximise ad impressions and revenue. Higher watch time means more ads shown.
Top YouTubers can make anywhere from a few thousand to over a million dollars per month depending on the above factors. But most channels take time to build an audience and unlock monetization features. Consistency and perseverance are key. A passion for creating, not just money, will keep you motivated.
Easiest Ways to Make Money on Youtube – Start Today
Building a successful and sustainable channel business on YouTube requires creators to leverage diverse income streams beyond just in-platform advertising.
Relying solely on YouTube Partner Program ad revenue carries risk, as policy changes and fluctuations can severely impact income stability.
By exploring alternative options like affiliate marketing, sponsorships, paid memberships, merchandise, premium
courses, crowdfunding, content licensing and more, YouTubers can unlock multiple earning avenues.
Each income source taps into monetizing a different aspect of your channel – from influence to expertise to creativity to loyalty. Combine options that best fit your content.
Here are some final tips for you if you want to make money and diversify your YouTube monetization strategy:
- Focus on value first. Provide viewers content they love before monetizing. Build authority and trust.
- Ensure paid offerings align with your channel niche, audience interests, and content style.
- Be upfront about sponsorships or affiliated products. Disclose according to FTC guidelines.
- Give fans fair value in exchange for any fees. Structure pricing strategically.
- Promote paid offerings subtly and organically by highlighting value. Avoid being pushy.
- Track analytics for each monetization avenue to optimize and improve performance.
- Maintain creative control and content quality regardless of financial incentives.
- Continue engaging all audience members, not just those who pay. Offer some free value to all.
With the right mix of monetization building blocks tailored to your distinctive strengths and audience, you can turn your passion into a full-time career on YouTube.
Diversifying income avenues takes your channel from a hobby to a business. You gain income stability while relying less on any single platform.
Monetization allows sustainable growth. Reinvest earnings back into better equipment, production value, and content quality.
Most importantly, keep focusing on your YouTube community. Enable monetization to support creating more value for your viewers, not just maximising profit.
The creative freedom and connection with audiences that drew you to YouTube require nurturing. With that balance, you can build a channel business that rewards both you and your loyal viewers for many years to come.
Related:
How to Make Money on Facebook as a Digital Creator
Proven ways to Earn Money from Instagram
While earning on Youtube is one of the best ways to generate passive income, there are also several other business ideas to earn passive income on the side. Make sure you explore these business ideas with low investment to create a complete business model for you to create sustainable income.
