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HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Can You Make Money Doing Music Covers on YouTube

Yes, you can make money doing covers on YouTube — but it is more complicated than most creators think.

Cover songs sit in one of the messiest corners of YouTube monetisation because music copyright, publisher claims, Content ID, sync rights, and revenue sharing can all come into play at once.

This guide breaks it down properly: when cover songs can earn, when they get claimed, why the money is often shared or restricted, what legal risks creators ignore, and the smarter ways to use covers as part of a wider music strategy on YouTube.

Why trust this guide?

I am not writing this as an outsider. I am a YouTube Certified Expert. I have coached 500+ clients, built and grown multiple channels, earned six YouTube Silver Play Buttons, built a personal audience of 100k+, and spent years working across YouTube strategy, SEO, retention, metadata, channel systems, and monetisation.

This matters because music channels, cover channels, and artist brands often get trapped between what “seems to work” and what YouTube’s rights and monetisation systems actually allow.

If you want help applying any of this to your own channel, you can book a discovery call.

Quick answer: can you make money doing covers on YouTube?

Yes, sometimes — but cover song monetisation on YouTube usually depends on copyright owners, music publishers, and Content ID policies.

That means a cover video can earn money, but the uploader often does not control all of that revenue and may have to share it or lose it entirely depending on the rights situation.

YouTube has official guidance explaining that creators in the YouTube Partner Programme can sometimes share revenue from eligible cover song videos once music publisher owners claim those videos, and that payout is handled on a pro rata basis.

That is the key word: eligible. Not every cover qualifies, not every rights holder allows monetisation, and not every claimed cover turns into revenue for the uploader.

Why cover songs are complicated on YouTube

A cover song seems simple from the creator side. You perform someone else’s song, upload it, and hope the audience loves it.

From a rights and monetisation point of view, though, there are at least two different copyright layers involved:

  • the composition itself, owned or controlled by the songwriter or publisher
  • the sound recording, which in a cover is your own new recording, not the original master

That is why covers are not the same as uploading the original recording, but they also are not free of copyright issues. YouTube’s broader copyright guidance makes clear that rights holders can use Content ID to block, monetise, or track videos that use copyrighted material, and those actions can differ by territory.

Issue Why it matters for cover songs
Composition rights The underlying song still belongs to the songwriter or publisher
Content ID claims The cover can still be identified and claimed by rights owners
Revenue ownership The uploader may not keep all monetisation
Territory rules A cover may be monetised in one region and blocked in another

Can you monetize cover songs on YouTube?

Yes, but only in the situations YouTube and the rights holders allow.

YouTube explains that some cover videos can be monetised through revenue sharing when the music publisher owners claim the video and opt into that arrangement. It also makes clear that this only applies to eligible cover videos.

Plain English version: you can sometimes earn from a cover, but you should not assume you automatically own or keep all the ad revenue just because you recorded the performance yourself.

What usually happens to monetised covers?

  • the rights holder claims the cover
  • the video may stay live
  • the video may be monetised
  • the uploader may receive only part of the revenue, or in some cases none of it

That is why the old “you can make money from covers” advice needs context. It is directionally true, but operationally messy.

Content ID, copyright claims, and revenue sharing

This is where the real platform mechanics show up.

YouTube says Content ID can let rights holders take one of several actions on matching videos, including:

  • blocking the video
  • monetising the video
  • tracking the video’s viewership stats

Those actions can also be territory-specific, which means a video may be monetised in one country and blocked in another.

Content ID outcome What it means for your cover
Monetise The video stays live and revenue may go to the rights holder or be shared
Track The video stays up, but the rights holder monitors it
Block The video may be unavailable in some regions or removed from viewing

This is why some creators see a copyright claim and still keep the video live, while others get blocked or demonetised. It depends on the rights owner’s chosen policy.

This is the bit many creators either never hear or quietly ignore: a cover song on YouTube is not just a YouTube problem. It is also a rights and licensing problem.

YouTube’s own cover-song monetisation guidance is narrow and conditional. The fact that some covers remain online does not mean every cover upload is fully cleared in a simple, universal way.

Important reality: “I uploaded a cover and it stayed live” is not the same as “I fully control the rights and monetisation”.

That distinction matters if you are trying to build a real business around cover content rather than just post for fun.

How creators actually make money from covers on YouTube

There are a few real-world ways creators still use covers to generate income, even when direct ad revenue is unreliable.

Method Why it works How reliable it is
Revenue sharing on eligible claimed covers YouTube allows some cover videos to monetise on a shared basis Moderate to inconsistent
Using covers to grow an audience Popular songs can attract discovery faster than unknown originals High as a growth tactic
Converting fans to original music Covers can introduce viewers to your own songs High if your funnel is strong
Memberships, Patreon, tips, and direct support Fans support you, not just the specific song rights High if audience loyalty is strong
Live bookings, coaching, or music services Your performance ability becomes the product Potentially very strong

That is why the smartest cover-song strategy is usually not “I will live on AdSense from covers alone”. It is “I will use covers as one audience-building layer inside a broader music business.”

Smart move for music creators: use cover songs to attract attention, then use DistroKid to release your original music and eligible cover songs properly across streaming platforms. That way you are not just chasing YouTube ad revenue — you are building a music catalogue and audience that can grow beyond one platform.

A smarter strategy for cover-song creators

If I were advising a musician who wants to use cover songs on YouTube, I would not build the whole plan around hoping the ad revenue works out.

A stronger strategy usually looks like this:

  1. Use covers to attract discovery around familiar songs.
  2. Use descriptions, pinned comments, and channel structure to lead viewers toward your original music.
  3. Collect audience attention into email lists, memberships, socials, or streaming follows.
  4. Treat any cover revenue share as a bonus, not the whole business model.
  5. Build originals, services, merch, licensing, or fan-supported offers around that audience.

This is the same broader lesson I give many creators: the channels that last usually do not rely on one fragile income stream. If you want the bigger monetisation picture, also read What Percentage of YouTubers Make Money?, Do YouTubers Get Paid If You Have YouTube Premium?, and How Much Money Does 1 Million YouTube Views Make?.

If you are serious about turning cover-song traffic into a real music career, you need somewhere to send people next. That is why I like DistroKid. It is not just for your original songs. DistroKid also supports eligible cover-song distribution and cover licensing, which means you can use covers for discovery and then push listeners toward your own releases, artist profiles, and streaming catalogue. In other words, covers can get you found, but your originals are what help you build something you control.

The harder truth is this: if all your momentum lives only on YouTube, then you are still renting your audience from one platform. If you turn that attention into released music on streaming platforms, you start building a catalogue that can keep working for you long after one cover video cools off.

Important: DistroKid can help with eligible cover-song distribution and licensing, but that does not mean every music idea is automatically safe to upload. Covers, samples, remixes, and derivative works all carry different rights issues, so treat cover licensing as a real process, not a loophole.

Fresh official facts worth knowing

This topic gets much stronger when you anchor it to current YouTube documentation instead of recycled myths.

Fact Why it matters What it means in practice
YouTube allows some eligible cover videos in the Partner Programme to share revenue after publisher claims Confirms some cover monetisation is possible Some covers can earn, but only under specific rights-holder conditions
Content ID can block, monetise, or track matching videos, including on a territory-specific basis Explains why covers behave differently across songs and countries The same cover may be fine in one place and restricted in another
YouTube’s copyright systems are built around rightsholder control Reinforces why the uploader does not control everything Uploading a cover does not automatically give you full monetisation rights
DistroKid offers cover-song licensing for eligible covers for an additional yearly fee Shows there is a legitimate distribution route beyond YouTube alone You can use covers for discovery and still build a wider streaming presence
DistroKid says artists keep 100% of royalties on its core distribution model Strengthens the case for using covers as discovery while building an original catalogue you control more directly Original music usually gives you more long-term leverage than relying on cover-video ad revenue alone

Video pick: Think like a creator business, not just a cover uploader

Covers can drive discovery, but the channels that last usually connect audience growth to a stronger business system.

Tools that genuinely help cover creators build something bigger

The old tools section needed a full rebuild. Tools should support a strategy, not pretend to replace one. These are the ones I would actually recommend first because they are relevant, trustworthy, and already supported by useful content on this site.

Tool Best for Why it earns a place here Best next step
YouTube Studio Monitoring claims, watch time, audience behaviour, and revenue mix This is where you can see how your cover content is actually performing and whether claims affect monetisation Learn how to read the right signals
vidIQ Researching song-driven demand and discoverability Useful when you want to understand which music-related topics and titles attract search or suggestion traffic Try vidIQ or read my vidIQ review
TubeBuddy Workflow and publishing support Helpful when you need a cleaner process around uploads, metadata, testing, and optimisation Try TubeBuddy or read my TubeBuddy review
StreamYard Live performance, fan interaction, and direct support formats Useful if you want to turn music attention into live sessions, chats, Q&As, and stronger viewer relationships Try StreamYard or read my StreamYard review
DistroKid Publishing original music and eligible cover songs to streaming platforms Covers can bring attention, but DistroKid helps you turn that attention into a real catalogue by releasing your original songs and eligible cover songs across major platforms. That makes it easier to build an artist profile, grow monthly listeners, and move beyond relying only on YouTube cover traffic. Try DistroKid

Which tool should you pick first?

  • Start with YouTube Studio if you want to understand how claims and audience behaviour affect your covers.
  • Use vidIQ or TubeBuddy if you need help packaging and discovering opportunity.
  • Use StreamYard if direct fan interaction matters to your model.
  • Use DistroKid if your bigger goal is to convert cover attention into original-music growth.

What I would do if I wanted to build a cover-song channel today

  1. Use covers for discovery, not as the whole business plan.
  2. Expect claims and plan around them.
  3. Build clear bridges to your original music and owned audience.
  4. Diversify beyond ad revenue from covers.
  5. Treat every cover upload as a funnel, not just a one-off performance.

Final thoughts

If you came here for the fast answer, here it is again: yes, you can sometimes make money doing covers on YouTube, but the rights holders, Content ID, and YouTube’s policies often control how that money is shared or restricted.

That means covers can be useful, profitable, and audience-building — but they are rarely the clean, simple monetisation lane many creators imagine.

The smartest move is to use covers strategically, not blindly. Let them bring attention, then turn that attention into something you control more directly.

If you want help building that kind of channel, start with Who Is Alan Spicer?, read how I help creators and brands grow, or book a discovery call.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make money doing covers on YouTube?

Sometimes, yes. YouTube says creators in the Partner Programme can share revenue from eligible cover videos when music publisher owners claim them, but this is conditional and not universal.

Do you own the monetisation on your cover song video?

Not necessarily. Rights holders and publishers can claim the video and may share, track, or take monetisation depending on their policy.

Can cover songs get copyright claims on YouTube?

Yes. Content ID can identify and act on videos containing copyrighted music, including monetising, tracking, or blocking them.

Can a cover song be blocked in some countries but not others?

Yes. YouTube says Content ID actions can be territory-specific.

Are covers a good growth strategy on YouTube?

They can be. Covers can attract discovery around familiar songs, but the strongest long-term strategy usually uses them to lead viewers toward original music or direct support.

Should musicians rely on cover-song ad revenue alone?

Usually not. Covers are better treated as one discovery layer inside a wider artist business model.

What is the smarter business move for cover artists?

Use covers to attract attention, then convert viewers into fans of your originals, memberships, live shows, products, or direct support.

Do rights holders always block cover songs?

No. Some rights holders monetise, some track, and some block, depending on their policy.

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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

What Percentage of YouTubers Make Money?

Most YouTube channels never make meaningful money. That sounds blunt, but it is the truth. The upside is that this number is often misunderstood because YouTube contains millions of abandoned, inactive, experimental, and half-started channels that were never really built as businesses in the first place.

If you are asking what percentage of YouTubers make money, you are really asking a more useful question underneath it: how realistic is it to build a channel that earns anything at all, and what separates the channels that do from the ones that never get there?

This guide answers that properly. We will cover the short version Google can quote, the longer version humans actually need, what counts as “making money”, how YouTube monetisation works now, why so few channels earn meaningful income, which tools are genuinely worth using, and what to do if you want to beat the odds.

Why trust this guide?

I am not writing this as an outsider. I am a YouTube Certified Expert. I have coached 500+ clients, built and grown multiple channels, earned six YouTube Silver Play Buttons, built a personal audience of 100k+, and spent years working across YouTube strategy, SEO, retention, metadata, channel systems, and monetisation.

If you want the wider strategy picture as well, read The Definitive Guide to Growing on YouTube. If you want to think more globally about audience reach and monetisation potential across markets, also read the top languages on YouTube, because language choice can affect discoverability, audience size, advertiser demand, and long-term income ceiling.

If you want help applying any of this to your own channel, you can book a discovery call.

Quick answer: What percentage of YouTubers make money?

A practical rule-of-thumb answer is that around 0.25% of YouTube channels make money through YouTube’s built-in monetisation systems at any meaningful level.

Still, that figure should be treated as an estimate rather than a precise figure for the live platform-wide number.

That is the version most people are really looking for. It preserves the core point: only a very small percentage of channels ever reach meaningful earnings.

The more accurate version is this: most YouTube channels make nothing; a minority make some money; and only a small fraction generate high income. YouTube does not publish a live public percentage for “all channels that currently earn meaningful money”, so any exact number is always an estimate built from public thresholds, historic channel-distribution research, and practical market reality.

So yes, keeping around 0.25% near the top makes sense for query match and snippet protection. The upgrade is not to delete it. The upgrade is to frame it more clearly, defend it more effectively, and immediately explain the caveat.

Snippet answer for the exact query

What percentage of YouTubers make money? A sensible estimate is around 0.25% if you mean channels earning meaningful money directly through YouTube monetisation features. However, the true live figure changes over time and is not published by YouTube as a precise public metric.

Question Best short answer Important caveat
What percentage of YouTubers make money? Around 0.25% Useful as a rule-of-thumb, not a perfectly current live count
What percentage makes meaningful money? Very small Most channels never reach monetisation thresholds or useful scale
What percentage makes a full-time income? Smaller still Full-time creator income usually depends on multiple revenue streams

What counts as “making money” on YouTube?

This is where most articles fall over. They count any income at all as proof that a creator “makes money”. Technically, that is true. Practically, it is not very helpful.

If a channel earns enough to buy a sandwich once a month, that is not a business. So it helps to split YouTube earnings into clearer buckets.

Level What it usually means What it feels like in real life
Incidental income Low or irregular earnings A nice surprise, but not dependable
Meaningful side income Regular monthly earnings with clear upside Can fund tools, gear, software, travel, or part of your bills
Part-time creator income Enough to justify workflow and reinvestment Starts acting like a small business
Full-time creator income Diversified revenue with salary-level reliability Usually built on more than ads alone

Key point: when creators talk about “making money on YouTube”, they often mean all revenue connected to the audience that YouTube helps them build, not just AdSense. That can include affiliate links, sponsorships, digital products, memberships, coaching, consulting, email funnels, lead generation, and ecommerce.

This is also why topic, niche, and audience geography matter so much. A channel publishing in a widely used language may have a larger audience ceiling, while a channel in a tighter niche or region may have stronger buying intent. If you are weighing audience size against competition, my guide to the top languages on YouTube adds another useful layer to this conversation.

For direct platform income, also read How Do YouTubers Receive Their Money?, The Top Ways to Monetise Your YouTube Channel, and How to Get Super Chat on YouTube.

How YouTube monetisation works now

YouTube monetisation is no longer a single giant switch you only reach at one milestone. It is now better understood as a tiered system.

Monetisation stage Subscriber threshold Activity threshold What it can unlock
Earlier YPP access 500 subscribers 3 public uploads in 90 days, plus 3,000 watch hours in 12 months, or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days Fan funding and selected shopping features in eligible regions
Full ad revenue access 1,000 subscribers 4,000 watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days Ads, YouTube Premium revenue share, wider direct monetisation options

You can see the current thresholds in YouTube’s official documentation here: expanded YouTube Partner Programme overview and YouTube Partner Programme overview and eligibility.

If you want to understand the earning mechanics behind specific viewer behaviours, I also have related breakdowns on whether YouTubers get paid if you have YouTube Premium, whether YouTubers get paid more if you watch the whole ad, whether creators can control which ads are shown, what happens if viewers use AdBlock, and whether old videos still make money.

If your immediate goal is hitting those thresholds, read How to Get 1,000 Subscribers and 4,000 Hours Watch Time.

How many YouTubers actually make money?

Here is the honest version: no public source gives a perfect live count of all monetised channels earning meaningful money. Older articles often quote total channel numbers and old subscriber brackets, then present the answer as if it is exact. It is not.

What we can say with confidence is this:

  • Most channels never reach even the first serious monetisation threshold.
  • Being eligible for monetisation is not the same thing as earning useful money.
  • The number of channels earning a full-time income is much smaller again.
  • Many channels counted in broad “total channel” figures are inactive, abandoned, or not serious creator businesses.

That is why the old answer worked as a hook but needed to be upgraded into an article. The figure itself is useful, but the page should now do more than shock the reader. It should help them understand why the percentage is low, what the modern thresholds are, and how to move into the fraction that actually earns.

Plain English version: use 0.25% as the fast answer, then explain that the practical shape of the market matters more than fake precision. Most channels earn nothing. A smaller group earn a bit. A much smaller group builds a dependable side income. A tiny slice builds serious creator businesses.

Fresh stats and facts worth injecting into this topic

If you want this page to feel current, useful, and stronger for readers and search engines, it helps to add platform context rather than just repeating one old estimate.

Stat or fact Why it matters Source
YouTube says it paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies in the past four years Shows YouTube is a real creator economy, but the money is not evenly distributed YouTube CEO blog, 2026
YouTube says its US ecosystem contributed $55 billion to GDP and supported 490,000+ full-time jobs in 2024 Shows platform impact and business gravity around creators, editors, agencies, and services YouTube CEO blog, 2026
YouTube’s earlier YPP tier starts at 500 subscribers Important because some older articles still present 1,000 subscribers as the only monetisation entry point YouTube Help
Full ad revenue still usually starts at 1,000 subscribers plus watch time or Shorts thresholds Important because being “in YPP” and being fully ad monetised are not identical things YouTube Help
YouTube has 2.58 billion users globally, according to recent industry reporting Shows the platform is massive, but a huge audience does not mean easy money for individual channels Exploding Topics
Over half of creators in one 2025 earnings report earned under $15,000 annually Useful wider creator-economy context showing how hard sustainable creator income can be Influencer Marketing Hub

The reason I like this section is that it adds depth without damaging the main answer. It keeps the old query intent, but makes the page much more useful for adjacent searches like is YouTube still worth it, how many creators actually earn money, how hard is it to make money on YouTube, and how much do small YouTubers earn.

If you want even more earning-specific data points, I also cover how much money 1 million YouTube views make, ways to make money using your computer, and the wider how to make money online category.

Why is the percentage so low?

There are a few big reasons.

1. The barrier to starting is tiny

It is almost free to start a channel. That is great for accessibility, but it also means millions of channels exist with no real strategy, no publishing plan, and no monetisation path.

2. Most creators quit before compounding starts

The first 10 to 30 videos often teach you more than they reward you. A lot of creators stop during the awkward phase where the channel is still finding audience fit and learning what works.

3. People chase views before they build a business model

Views matter, but only if they connect to revenue. Ads, affiliates, leads, digital products, consulting, sponsors, and memberships all need intent and trust behind them.

4. Packaging is usually the first bottleneck

Weak titles and thumbnails kill channels faster than camera quality ever will. This is one of the most common problems I see when auditing channels. Even small presentation tweaks can change how your content is perceived, clicked, and shared. For a tiny but useful example of how formatting can improve engagement and readability in community interactions, see how to bold YouTube comments, use strikethrough, italics, and emojis.

5. Retention decides whether growth compounds

If people click and leave quickly, YouTube gets the signal that the promise was weak, misleading, or poorly delivered. That limits future distribution and long-term earnings.

Problem What it does to the channel Why it hurts money
Weak thumbnails and titles Fewer clicks Lower reach means lower watch time and lower revenue potential
Poor intros and structure Retention drops early Less distribution and weaker monetisation signals
No niche clarity Audience confusion Harder to build trust, repeat viewership, and relevant offers
No monetisation plan Traffic goes nowhere Even decent views produce weak business results
Inconsistency Compounding never starts The channel never reaches monetisation scale

Realistic YouTube income tiers

These are not promises. They are a saner way to think about YouTube earnings than the usual hype.

Channel stage Typical reality Main focus Best revenue bets
Pre-monetised No direct YouTube income yet Audience fit, consistency, watch time, search-friendly topics Email capture, affiliates, lead generation groundwork
Early monetised Some ad revenue, usually small Improve RPM, click-through rate, and retention Ads, affiliates, simple digital offers
Growing authority channel Meaningful but variable income Diversify revenue and build returning viewers Ads, sponsors, affiliates, products, memberships
Business-grade creator More predictable revenue Systemise production, funnels, and monetisation Ads plus strong off-platform monetisation

Subscriber count alone is not enough. A smaller channel with strong buyer intent, better affiliate fit, stronger business offers, or higher-value topics can out-earn a much larger channel in a weaker niche.

This is one reason technical quality is only part of the puzzle. Uploading in 4K, choosing the right bitrate, and understanding performance diagnostics can help the viewing experience, but they do not automatically create revenue. For that side of YouTube, see Should I Upload 4K to YouTube?, The Best Bitrate for YouTube, and YouTube Stats for Nerds Explained.

The real money is often beyond AdSense

If you only look at YouTube ads, you miss the more interesting part of the creator business model.

Many of the healthiest creator businesses use YouTube as the top of funnel, not the entire business. One video can earn through multiple layers:

  • Ad revenue
  • Affiliate links
  • Sponsorships
  • Consulting or coaching enquiries
  • Courses and digital products
  • Memberships
  • Live stream income
  • Owned services or ecommerce

Why smaller channels can still win: they do not rely on a single income stream.

That same logic also applies to edge-case formats. For example, music creators asking how to make money doing covers on YouTube face a different revenue puzzle from a software reviewer, livestreamer, or educational creator. The monetisation path always depends on the format, rights, audience intent, and business model behind the videos.

Video pick: How to make money on YouTube without AdSense

This matters here because the strongest YouTube businesses rarely depend on ads alone.

How to beat the odds and actually make money on YouTube

  1. Choose a niche with clear audience intent.
  2. Build around searchable, clickable problems.
  3. Design the title and thumbnail before you film.
  4. Deliver value quickly and hold attention.
  5. Study retention and click-through rate in YouTube Studio.
  6. Add a sensible monetisation path early.
  7. Treat the channel like a system, not a random pile of uploads.

If this is where you need help, here is what a YouTube consultant actually does, and you can also book a discovery call.

One of the bigger levers creators often miss is that reach and revenue often expand when you think beyond a single audience segment. Language strategy, technical execution, monetisation structure, and evergreen content can all work together rather than sitting in separate silos.

Video pick: Why most YouTubers do not make money

This directly supports the core topic and helps reinforce the main argument for both readers and search intent.

Video pick: RPM vs CPM on YouTube

This is useful because two channels with similar views can earn wildly different amounts.

Tools that genuinely help you get started on YouTube

The old tools section needed a full rebuild. Tools should support a strategy, not pretend to replace one. These are the ones I would actually recommend first because they are relevant, trustworthy, and already supported by useful content on this site.

Tool Best for Why it earns a place here Best next step
YouTube Studio Analytics and decision-making Your first and most important growth tool. This is where click-through rate, retention, traffic sources, returning viewers, and monetisation signals live. Learn how to read the right signals
vidIQ Topic research and search-led growth Useful for topic discovery, keyword support, optimisation prompts, and planning decisions when used with judgement. Try vidIQ or read my vidIQ review
TubeBuddy Workflow, bulk updates, publishing support Helpful if you want practical process support and efficient channel management without pretending it will magically grow the channel for you. Try TubeBuddy or read my TubeBuddy review
StreamYard Live streaming, interviews, webinars, browser-based creation Great for creators who want reliable streaming and recording without a technical headache. Try StreamYard or read my StreamYard review
Gyre Pro Evergreen livestream loops and always-on distribution Especially interesting for creators with evergreen libraries, music, ambience, tutorials, podcasts, or archive-led content strategies. Read my Gyre Pro review and Gyre Pro vs OBS guide
Syllaby Content planning, ideation, and scripting support Useful when your bottleneck is staying consistent, structuring ideas, and turning expertise into repeatable content plans. Try Syllaby or read my Syllaby review

If you want to keep digging, start with the YouTube tools hub, the YouTube equipment for beginners guide, the wider YouTube growth pillar, or the top languages on YouTube if you want to think more strategically about audience scale and global discoverability.

Which tool should you pick first?

  • If you are new, start with YouTube Studio and either vidIQ or TubeBuddy.
  • If live content matters, add StreamYard.
  • If you have evergreen content that can work as looping streams, consider Gyre Pro.
  • If your problem is idea generation and consistency, look at Syllaby.
  • If your thumbnails and topics are weak, fix those before buying more gear.

Related reading on YouTube money, ads, quality, and audience growth

People also ask

Do most YouTubers make any money at all?

No. Most YouTube channels either never reach monetisation thresholds or never turn that access into meaningful income.

Can a small YouTube channel make money?

Yes. Small channels can still earn through affiliate links, consulting, lead generation, digital products, memberships, and fan support, especially in high-intent niches.

How many subscribers do you need to make money on YouTube?

Some monetisation features now start at 500 subscribers in eligible regions, but full ad revenue usually still requires 1,000 subscribers plus watch time or Shorts thresholds.

How much do small YouTubers make?

It varies massively. Some earn almost nothing. Others earn meaningful side income from smart affiliates, niche expertise, services, or direct audience demand even before ads become significant.

Is it harder to make money on YouTube now?

It is more competitive, yes, but also more mature. There are more monetisation options, more tools, and better analytics than there used to be. The channels that win tend to be better packaged, more useful, and more systematic.

Can you make money on YouTube without showing your face?

Yes, if the content format works without a face and still holds attention. Tutorials, explainers, ambience, automation-supported evergreen loops, case studies, and certain niche educational formats can all work.

Do YouTube Shorts pay well?

Shorts can contribute to growth and monetisation, but the revenue model differs from that of long-form content. They can help, but they are not an automatic shortcut to a reliable income.

What is better for making money: YouTube or blogging?

Neither is automatically better. The best choice depends on your audience, niche, production style, and business model. In many cases, the smartest move is to use both together.

What I would do if I were starting from zero today

  1. Pick a niche where audience intent is obvious.
  2. Map 20 to 30 videos around beginner questions, pain points, comparisons, myths, and mistakes.
  3. Build titles and thumbnails before filming.
  4. Publish consistently long enough to gather real data.
  5. Use YouTube Studio to study what viewers clicked and where they dropped off.
  6. Add one monetisation path early, such as affiliate links, leads, or a service offer.
  7. Keep refining the system rather than chasing random viral ideas.

Final thoughts

If you came here hoping for a single neat percentage, the best quick answer is still around 0.25%. That is useful, memorable, and still directionally right for meaningful direct YouTube monetisation.

But the better answer is bigger than that. Most YouTube channels make nothing; a minority make some money; only a small fraction generate high income. That is not because success is impossible. It is because most channels never get focused enough, consistent enough, or strategic enough for compounding to kick in.

You do not need millions of subscribers to make YouTube worth it. You need a channel built on demand, trust, strong packaging, decent retention, and a monetisation model that fits the audience.

That is the difference between uploading videos and building a creator business.

If you want help building the second one, start with Who Is Alan Spicer?, read how I help creators and brands grow, or book a discovery call.

How many YouTubers make money stats infographic

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of YouTubers are monetised?

A useful rule-of-thumb answer is around 0.25% if you mean channels earning meaningful money directly through YouTube monetisation, but YouTube does not publish a perfect live count for this.

What percentage of YouTubers make a full-time income?

Smaller still. Full-time creator income is much rarer than basic monetisation because it usually requires more views, a better monetisation fit, and multiple revenue streams.

Can you make money on YouTube before 1,000 subscribers?

Sometimes, yes. Earlier YPP access can start at 500 subscribers in eligible regions, and off-platform income, such as affiliates, leads, or services, can start earlier.

How much money does 1,000 subscribers make on YouTube?

There is no fixed amount. Subscriber count alone does not determine revenue. Niche, audience location, view volume, video length, retention, and monetisation strategy matter far more.

What type of YouTube channel makes the most money?

Higher-value niches such as finance, business, software, education, and buyer-intent content often monetise better on a per-view basis than broad entertainment, but execution still matters.

Is YouTube still worth starting?

Yes, if you are willing to treat it as a long-term asset rather than a quick win. The competition is higher, but the monetisation options and creator infrastructure are stronger than ever.

What is the best first tool for a new YouTuber?

YouTube Studio. After that, add a support tool like vidIQ or TubeBuddy based on whether your bigger bottleneck is research, workflow, or optimisation support.

Is YouTube monetisation only about AdSense?

No. Many of the strongest creator businesses combine ads with affiliates, sponsors, products, memberships, services, and audience-led offers.

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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE

YouTube CPM Examples: A Niche-by-Niche Breakdown

The world of YouTube is an ever-evolving landscape, teeming with content creators and advertisers trying to catch the attention of viewers.

One crucial aspect that plays a significant role in determining the earnings of a YouTuber is the Cost Per Mille (CPM) and Revenue Per Mille (RPM). In this friendly article, we will explore the highs and lows of CPMs on YouTube, with a comprehensive comparison of various niches.

Additionally, we will provide a brief overview of CPM and RPM, as well as examples of how they are calculated.

Understanding CPM and RPM on YouTube

Before diving into the highs and lows, it is important to understand the basic concepts of CPM and RPM. CPM, which stands for Cost Per Mille, is the amount an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions on a video. RPM, on the other hand, stands for Revenue Per Mille and represents the amount a content creator earns for every 1,000 views of their video.

The primary difference between the two lies in who they apply to: CPM concerns advertisers, while RPM concerns content creators. Moreover, CPM only accounts for ad impressions, whereas RPM considers all revenue sources, including ads, channel memberships, Super Chat, and YouTube Premium revenue.

Calculating CPM and RPM

To illustrate how CPM and RPM are calculated, let’s take the example of a YouTube video with the following statistics:

  • Total ad impressions: 10,000
  • Total ad revenue: $50
  • Total views: 15,000
  • Other revenue (e.g., memberships, Super Chat, etc.): $20

To calculate the CPM, you would divide the total ad revenue by the total ad impressions, then multiply by 1,000:

CPM = ($50 / 10,000) * 1,000 = $5

To calculate the RPM, you would add the ad revenue to other revenue sources and divide the total by the number of views, then multiply by 1,000:

RPM = (($50 + $20) / 15,000) * 1,000 = $4.67

Comparing CPMs and RPMs Across Niches

Now that we have a basic understanding of CPM and RPM, let’s explore the highs and lows of these metrics across various niches on YouTube. The table below provides a comparison of average CPMs and RPMs for different niches:

Niche CPM RPM
Animals/Pets $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
Art $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
Beauty $2.00 – $10.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Career $3.00 – $12.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Education (K-12) $2.50 – $12.00 $2.50 – $8.00
Family/Parenting $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
Fitness/Dance $2.00 – $10.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Gardening $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
Home Improvement $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
How-To $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
Language Learning $2.50 – $12.00 $2.50 – $8.00
Lifestyle $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
Marketing $3.00 – $12.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Mental Health $2.00 – $10.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Motivation $2.50 – $12.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Outdoors $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
Personal Finance $3.00 – $12.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Science Fiction/Fantasy $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00
Self-Improvement $2.50 – $12.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Social Media $2.50 – $12.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Spirituality $2.00 – $10.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Technology Reviews $2.00 – $12.00 $2.50 – $6.00
True Crime $2.50 – $12.00 $2.50 – $7.00
Vlogging $1.50 – $8.00 $1.50 – $5.00

As you can see, the CPMs and RPMs vary widely by niche. Finance and technology tend to have higher CPMs, while gaming and food tend to have lower ones. However, it’s important to note that these numbers can change over time and may not be representative of every creator in a particular niche.

It’s important to note that RPM can be impacted by a variety of factors beyond just the CPM, such as the type of ads shown and the location of the audience.

For example, if a creator has a lot of viewers in a country where advertisers are willing to pay more for ads, their RPM may be higher than someone with the same number of views but a different audience location.

Fun Facts About YouTube Income

  1. The highest earners on YouTube are not always in the highest CPM niches. Popular YouTubers with massive subscriber bases and consistent views can earn more in niches with lower CPMs due to their larger audiences.
  2. YouTube’s Partner Program allows content creators to earn money, but they must meet certain eligibility criteria, such as having at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months.
  3. Advertisers are willing to pay more for certain niches, like personal finance and education, because their target audience is typically more engaged and has a higher conversion rate.
  4. YouTubers can increase their earnings by offering exclusive content to channel members or using platforms like Patreon to gain additional support from their audience.

Strategies to Boost Overall RPM Rates on YouTube

  1. Optimize video metadata: Make sure your video titles, descriptions, and tags include relevant keywords to help your content rank better in search results and attract more views.
  2. Create engaging thumbnails: A visually appealing and engaging thumbnail can entice viewers to click on your video, ultimately increasing your views and RPM.
  3. Diversify revenue streams: In addition to ad revenue, consider incorporating channel memberships, Super Chat, merchandise sales, and affiliate marketing to increase your overall RPM.
  4. Improve audience retention: Create high-quality content that keeps viewers engaged for longer periods. The longer a viewer watches your video, the more likely they are to be served ads, thereby increasing your ad revenue and RPM. Pay attention to audience retention analytics in your YouTube Studio to identify areas where viewers drop off and work on improving those aspects of your videos.
  5. Collaborate with other YouTubers: By collaborating with other content creators, you can tap into new audiences, increasing your views and overall RPM. Ensure that the collaboration is mutually beneficial and the content is relevant to both creators’ audiences.
  6. Be consistent with your content: Uploading videos on a regular schedule can help build and maintain an engaged audience, which in turn can improve your RPM over time.
  7. Focus on content quality: High-quality videos with better production values and engaging storylines can attract more viewers and keep them coming back for more. This can result in a higher RPM in the long run.
  8. Interact with your audience: Engage with your viewers by responding to comments, creating content based on their suggestions, and encouraging them to subscribe, like, and share your videos. This helps create a loyal audience, which can lead to more views and higher RPM.

In conclusion, understanding YouTube CPM and RPM can be incredibly valuable for content creators looking to maximize their earnings on the platform. By exploring various niches and their respective CPMs and RPMs, you can make informed decisions about the type of content to create and the strategies to employ.

Remember, consistency, audience engagement, and diversification of revenue streams are key to boosting your overall RPM rates. So, go ahead and unleash your creativity, and happy YouTubing!

If you need a more in-depth deep dive into how to increase your YouTube channel’s CPMs, check out my deep dive blog on how to make more from your channel.

Q: What are YouTube earnings?

A: YouTube earnings refer to the money content creators make from their videos on the platform. This income can come from various sources, including ad revenue, channel memberships, Super Chat, merchandise sales, and YouTube Premium revenue.

Q: How do YouTube CPM and RPM relate to earnings?

A: CPM (Cost Per Mille) is the amount an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions on a video, while RPM (Revenue Per Mille) represents the amount a content creator earns for every 1,000 views of their video. Both metrics are essential in understanding and optimizing YouTube earnings.

Q: How can I calculate my CPM?

A: To calculate CPM, divide the total ad revenue by the total ad impressions and then multiply by 1,000:

CPM = (Total Ad Revenue / Total Ad Impressions) * 1,000

Q: How can I calculate my RPM?

A: To calculate RPM, add the ad revenue to other revenue sources, divide the total by the number of views, and then multiply by 1,000:

RPM = ((Ad Revenue + Other Revenue) / Total Views) * 1,000

Q: How do different niches affect CPM and RPM?

A: CPM and RPM can vary significantly across different niches. Some niches, like personal finance or education, often have higher CPMs and RPMs because advertisers are willing to pay more to reach their target audience, who tend to be more engaged and have higher conversion rates.

Q: Can I increase my RPM without increasing my CPM?

A: Yes, you can increase your RPM without increasing your CPM by diversifying your revenue streams, such as incorporating channel memberships, Super Chat, merchandise sales, and affiliate marketing, as well as by improving your audience retention and engagement.

Q: How do YouTube Premium earnings factor into RPM?

A: YouTube Premium earnings are factored into RPM calculations, as they contribute to the overall revenue a content creator earns. These earnings come from YouTube Premium subscribers who watch your content, and the amount is proportional to their watch time on your videos.

Q: Can I control the ads shown on my videos to increase my CPM?

A: While you can’t directly control which ads are shown on your videos, you can enable or disable certain ad formats and categories within your Google AdSense account. However, it’s essential to strike a balance, as being too restrictive may lead to fewer ads and potentially lower earnings.

Q: Is there a minimum threshold for YouTube earnings?

A: Yes, YouTube has a minimum payment threshold of $100. You must accumulate at least $100 in your AdSense account before receiving a payment.

Q: Are there any requirements for earning money on YouTube?

A: To be eligible for the YouTube Partner Program and earn money, you need to meet specific requirements, including having at least 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months, and adhering to YouTube’s policies and guidelines.

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HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE YOUTUBE YOUTUBE TUTORIALS

How To Sell Merchandise Directly on YouTube

To set up the merchandise shelf on your YouTube channel, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure you have a Google Merchandise Store account. You’ll need to use this account to manage your merchandise on YouTube.
  2. Go to your YouTube channel’s dashboard and click on the “Channel” tab.
  3. Under the “Channel” tab, click on the “Merchandise” option.
  4. Click on the “Connect a Merchandise Store” button.
  5. Select the Google Merchandise Store account that you want to use for your merchandise shelf.
  6. Once you’ve connected your store, you can start adding products to your merchandise shelf by clicking on the “Add Product” button.
  7. Fill out the product information, including the product name, price, and description. You can also upload an image of the product.
  8. When you’re finished, click on the “Publish” button to add the product to your merchandise shelf.
  9. Repeat this process to add more products to your merchandise shelf. You can also edit or delete existing products by clicking on the “Edit” or “Delete” buttons next to the product.

That’s it! Your merchandise shelf should now be set up and ready to go. You can promote your merchandise to your viewers by including links to your merchandise shelf in your video descriptions, or by promoting your products in your videos.

How To Sell Merchandise Directly on YouTube

In addition to the Google Merchandise Store, there are a number of other platforms that you can use to sell merchandise on your YouTube channel, such as:

  1. Teespring: This platform allows you to design and sell a wide range of custom merchandise, including t-shirts, hoodies, and more.
  2. Redbubble: This platform offers a variety of customizable products, including t-shirts, phone cases, stickers, and more.
  3. Society6: This platform offers a wide range of customizable products, including art prints, phone cases, and home decor items.
  4. Zazzle: This platform allows you to create custom merchandise, including t-shirts, mugs, and more.
  5. Printful: This platform allows you to design and sell custom merchandise, including t-shirts, hats, and more.

You can also consider using a fulfillment service, such as Printify or Printful, which will handle the production and shipping of your merchandise for you. This can be a good option if you don’t want to deal with the logistical aspects of merchandise sales.

To use one of these platforms or services to sell merchandise on your YouTube channel, you’ll need to sign up for an account and create a store. You’ll then be able to add products to your store and link to them from your YouTube channel.

 

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HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

What is YouTube RPM?

YouTube provides many ways for you to track the success of your YouTube channel.

After all, your success is their success, so it is in their best interests to make sure you have everything you need. Among the things YouTube provides you with—indeed, probably the most important thing that YouTube provides you with in this regard—is a raft of metrics for keeping track of how your channel is doing in a range of different areas.

You can track things like what regions of the world are viewing your videos, what demographics those viewers fit into. You can even track what devices they are viewing your videos on. But, most importantly for this post, you can check how your channel is doing in terms of revenue.

The most common metric, and typically the best gauge of how well you are doing financially, is the CPM.

CPM stands for cost per mille and is a metric of how much money you are making per thousand views. It is an industry-standard metric from the larger advertising world and, as such, it is not quite perfect for determining how your channel is doing.

YouTube is an increasingly complex platform with a growing number of ways for you to generate revenue from your channel, whereas CPM is very advertising-focussed.

In fact if you want to know more about CPM I deep dive into what is CPM in my blog.

But now its time to understand the new comer, Enter RPM.

What is YouTube RPM?

RPM—revenue per mille—is a new metric that YouTube has introduced in an effort to give you a much more comprehensive snapshot of how your channel is performing financially. It represents the amount of revenue your channel has generated per thousand streams, but the revenue counted comes from multiple sources, not just advertisements.

Those revenue sources are;

  • Ads
  • Channel Memberships
  • YouTube Premium
  • Super Chat
  • Super Stickers
  • YouTube BrandConnect

There are generally a lot of questions regarding RPM, so we’re going to attempt to answer them all here.

What is the Difference Between CPM and RPM?

The differences between CPM and RPM can be whittled down to three main aspects:

  1. CPM only factors in ad views when totalling up revenue
  2. CPM does not factor in views on videos that aren’t monetised
  3. CPM does not factor in YouTube’s share of your revenue

Overall, RPM is intended to be a much more creator-focused metric than CPM, which is very much intended for advertiser use by its nature. It may take a little adjustment, but RPM should be considerably more useful for YouTubers going forward.

What is YouTube CPM?

Why is my RPM so Much Lower Than my CPM?

It is important to remember that CPM and RPM are units of measurement and, like any unit of measurement, there are two variables to factor in. For CPM and RPM, those variables are views and revenue, and that makes it a very fluid metric since both variables can change.

CPM only factors in the views from monetised videos, which for most channels means fewer views, since many channels will invariably have some not-monetised content on their channel. CPM also only factors in revenue from ads, which for some channels, means less revenue, as there are other sources of revenue available to you, such as memberships and super chat.

The exact numbers will depend on your channel, but it is entirely possible that you could see your RPM being much lower than your CPM. If your channel does not make use of non-ad-based revenue streams and has a good amount of not-monetised content, the CPM will be higher because your RPM will be factoring in additional views without any additional revenue.

On the other hand, if you make a lot of revenue from things like memberships and super chat and have hardly any views on not-monetised videos, your RPM will be higher than your CPM because the views are roughly the same, but a lot of additional revenue is being factored in.

Finally, RPM factors in YouTube’s cut of your revenue, which is a pretty hefty 45%. This aspect alone will probably be enough to make your RPM lower than your CPM in most cases. The important thing to remember is that RPM is a different way of looking at the existing metrics of your channel.

It does not change your earnings in any way; it just presents a more representative snapshot of what they are.

How Do YouTubers Receive Their Money? 3

Is RPM Important?

We believe it is very important because of the clear direction that YouTube is going. YouTubers have long since accepted that YouTube’s built-in monetisation is not a reliable—or even a good—way to make money from your channel. As a result, they have cast their nets wide and found membership platforms, brand deals, affiliate marketing, and more. The key thing here being that none of these things are through YouTube, meaning YouTube are not getting a share of those profits.

As much as some YouTubers believe that YouTube hates them, the truth is YouTube is a business, and everything they do is an attempt to ensure they make money. Being primarily advertisement-based has posed its problems for YouTube, as every adpocalypse has shown. Demonetising thousands of channels doesn’t just hurt the YouTubers; it takes money out of YouTube’s pocket as well.

The solution is pretty obvious, of course. YouTubers have found ways to monetise their content away from the YouTube platform, and in ways that are not beholden to advertisers. It makes total sense that YouTube would look to incorporate those methods into their own platform, where they can take a cut of the profits.

Memberships, YouTube Premium views, Super Chat, Super Stickers—these are all ways in which a YouTuber—and YouTube themselves—can earn revenue in ways that do not involve advertisers. It is essentially a direct transaction between the viewer and the YouTuber (facilitated by YouTube for a small fee, of course) and as such, there are no external forces involved that might want that revenue removed.

The external forces are, of course, advertisers. In an increasingly volatile and reactionary world, advertisers are increasingly picky about the kinds of content they will allow their ads to be shown on. For example, content that includes political commentary, any kind of violence, weapons, things of a sexual nature—all of these things are essentially monetisation suicide because advertisers don’t want their brand associated with that kind of content. Despite this, there are many channels that make the kinds of content that are deemed not suitable for monetisation that are, nonetheless, very popular.

YouTube wants those channels to be able to generate revenue, but they can’t tell advertisers to take it or leave because, frankly, they will probably leave it. So they are introducing other ways for the channels to monetise so that YouTube can still earn revenue from them. And it is entirely reasonable to believe that they will continue adding ways for YouTubers to monetise their channels through the platform itself as new viable ways emerge.

The more alternative monetisation methods to advertising that become available, the more important RPM will be as a metric. It is unlikely that advertising will stop being the primary source of revenue for YouTube as a whole any time soon, but the more you take advantages of non-advertising-based revenue sources, the more RPM will matter to you.

Do YouTubers Pay Tax? 3

How to Increase YouTube RPM?

To bring your RPM up, you need to adjust the ratio of revenue-to-views. Make sure that as many eligible videos as possible have monetisation turned on, and enable all types of eligible advertisements on those videos.

Next up, make use of the other monetisation methods on offer where you can. Granted, things like super chat and super stickers are not the kind of thing that every channel can make use of, but if you can, use them. The more money your channel is generating for the same views, the higher your RPM will be.

Another thing that will significantly affect your RPM is watch time, and it is a thing that most YouTube experts will tell you is one of the most important aspects to focus on. More watch time does not only mean more opportunity to show ads—though that is undoubtedly a big part of it—it also says very good things about your channel to the YouTube algorithm.

Channel’s that get a lot of watch time are given higher priority in the YouTube recommendation algorithm, which means there will be a greater chance that your content will be recommended to new people. Granted, adding new viewers is a slower way to improve your RPM, but remember the ultimate goal; revenue. Low RPM is not necessarily a bad thing.

A YouTuber with an RPM of $5 and 200,000 views per month is making around $1,000, whereas a YouTuber with an RPM of $2 and 1,000,000 views per month will be making around twice as much. Manipulating your RPM without improving your overall revenue is a pointless endeavour.

Do YouTubers Pay Tax? 5

My YouTube RPM is Going Down, Should I Worry?

The answer to this question is “it depends”. RPM provides a good snapshot of how your channel is doing, but it is still only a single datapoint. Without taking other factors into account, you cannot make an accurate judgement on the state of your channel. As the example above illustrates, it is entirely possible for a YouTuber to have less than half of the RPM of another YouTuber, and yet still make more than twice as much revenue.

If your RPM is dropping, but your revenue is staying the same—or even increasing—that is indicative of a surge in viewers. This could happen because of a video going viral, or a mention on a much larger YouTube channel. In this case, there’s nothing to worry about. If your RPM settles at this new lower level, you might want to look into ways to more effectively monetise your new views, but there is nothing to be concerned about from the RPM dropping.

On the other hand, if your RPM starts to go up, but your revenue isn’t increasing, that could be a sign that you are losing viewers, but not viewers that generate much in the way of revenue.

Is There Any Revenue RPM Doesn’t Factor?

First of all, it’s important to remember that any YouTube metric can only tell you what is going on through the platform itself. If you are earning money through a service like Patreon, Amazon Affiliates, or even if you are booking live shows or speaking gigs directly off of the back of your YouTube channel, this should all be counted as part of your revenue, but YouTube cannot factor these variables in.

YouTube also cannot factor in brand deals and sponsorships unless they are through YouTube’s BrandConnect service. Finally, RPM does not include revenue made from merchandise sales through the merch shelf service that YouTube provides. Given the direction that YouTube seems to be heading in this area, it would be reasonable to expect that this revenue will someday be incorporated into RPM, but that is not the case yet.

Final Thoughts

When judging any aspect of your channel, it is essential not to get too hung up on any single metric. RPM provides an excellent snapshot of your channel’s financial health, but it is essentially meaningless on its own due to the fact that changes in the number of views you are getting or revenue you are earning overall will change the RPM without it being inherently obvious why.

As a lone metric with no other input, your RPM is a good measure of how efficiently your revenue is being generated. The higher it is, the more value you are getting per view (or, more accurately, thousand views). Without knowing how many views you are getting, or how much revenue you are making, that is about as much as RPM can tell you.

However, in conjunction with the revenue and views metrics, RPM is a powerful datapoint that can tell you a lot about your channel.

Ultimately, the foundation of your approach should be to make the best possible content you can, with additional strategies being considered improvements upon that solid base. You could make use of every strategy known to YouTube and still fail if you don’t have good content, so start there, and your RPM should stay healthy.

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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Top 5 Ways to Monetise Your YouTube Channel in 2021

“There are more ways than one to skin a cat.”

It’s a horrible old saying that dates to 1840, but there is another part to the saying that you don’t hear too often —

“so are there more ways than one of digging for money.”

This advice applies to YouTube monetisation too.

There are plenty of ways to make money from your YouTube channel apart from the obvious one of shared ad revenue from the YouTube Partner Program.

This post covers the latest rules for the YouTube Partner Program and offers a high-level overview of some alternative ways you can monetize a YouTube channel in 2021.

Here we go.

How Do I Make Money With the YouTube Partner Program?

The best way to approach making money on YouTube is to create a number of income streams. That way, if one bites the dust you still have others to fall back on.

But one method you should always aim to qualify for is the YouTube Partner Program itself. The YouTube Partner Program is where you earn a share of the advertising revenue YouTube makes from showing the short ads before, during, and at the end of videos.

There are five criteria to qualify, you must ―

  1. Have over 1000 channel subscribers.
  2. Have over 4000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months.
  3. Have registered for a Google AdSense account.
  4. Be in compliance with the content rules that YouTube sets.
  5. Be over 18 years of age (ideally).

Having 1000 channel subscribers is self-explanatory. It perhaps seems like a tough ask when you start, but once you begin to regularly put out good content, your sub-numbers can soon stack up.

4000 hours of watchtime relates to the videos that you’ve uploaded to your channel and had watched by others. Say you upload a 10-minute video and 100 people watch all of it, then you have 1000 minutes of watchtime. Don’t delete any of your videos when you start ― any video you remove also erases it’s watchtime from your account.

To register for a Google AdSense account you have to be at least 18 years old. Though if you are under 18 it may be technically possible to link the AdSense account of a parent to your YouTube channel.

Once you’ve met the criteria for the YouTube Partner Program, you still need to apply as It’s not something that happens automatically. Once you’ve applied you may need to wait as much as 30 days for a response as your account has to undergo a human review.

How much can you expect to earn?

According to Intuit, YouTubers, on average, earn $4 per 1000 video views. So to make $100 a day, you’d need to get around 25,000 video views a day.

YouTube doesn’t have to grant you monetisation, though, even if you meet all the criteria. It’s their platform and their rules. So if you do get rejected, or the YouTube Partner Program isn’t available in your country, there are still plenty of ways you can make money from the platform.

Let’s take a look at a few.

How Do I Make Money on YouTube With Endorsements?

Influencing is not a new thing. Businesses have paid prominent people money to promote their products for over a hundred years.

Once you’ve built up an audience for your channel in a niche that lends itself to promoting a product, you can register with an agency like Upfluence. Upfluence matches businesses with content creators to create influencing opportunities.

You don’t have to have a massive following to take advantage of influencing opportunities. But the amount you’re paid will depend on the size of your audience.

YouTube has launched an influencer hub too, called BrandConnect. Eligibility is restricted at the moment to creators located in the USA with over 25,000 channel subscribers.

It’s a fairly new venture for YouTube, so they may roll it out to new locations and relax entry conditions as time moves on.

Of course, you’re free to set up your own influencing opportunities by proactively approaching businesses yourself. Just make sure you have a large enough audience in a niche that plays well with your target company.

How much can you expect to earn?

Top earners can make thousands of dollars per video. But the cash you earn will depend on the size of your audience and the market niche you serve.

Starting with a small channel will likely mean that you only receive a free sample of the product you are endorsing, like a protein shake or an eyeliner for example.

How Do I Make Money on YouTube with Patreon?

You can make money with crowdfunding on YouTube, where you ask people to send you money directly. This is a method best left for those raising money for a good cause. And it could lead to a fraud claim if you aren’t transparent with what the requested money will be used for.

Much better, and a step away from crowdfunding, is using a service like Patreon.

Patreon allows you to create a page where you can distribute additional content not uploaded to your YouTube channel. You tap your fans for a small recurring monthly payment in exchange for access to exclusive content.

You can set several levels of subscription, and save you juiciest content for your top-level subscribers.

Patreon is like having your own pay-TV channel, and you have full control over the content and the schedule.

If you don’t want to commit to the extra workload that running a Patreon account brings on top of an already busy filming calendar for YouTube, consider using the Patreon pay per content model instead.

This lets you charge people to see bonus content as and when you make it.

How much can you expect to earn?

Patreon subscription prices charged by people are usually around the $4-$5 per month mark. This price is small enough for many people not to have to think too deeply about signing up.

And the recurring monthly payments are likely to continue, at least for a while, as many are too lazy to cancel them!

If you can get 1000 patrons paying you an average of $4 per month, then you have an income that most could live on.

Here’s an example from a small YouTuber with an associate Patreon account. Nate Maingard is a singer-songwriter with a little over 5K subscribers. Nate’s Patreon has three levels of subscription priced from around $5 up to about $100 for his biggest fans.

If you look at his Patreon page it says that he has 151 patrons, at the time of writing. You can’t see how that breaks down across the various levels, but he is making a minimum of $500 per month.

How Do I Make Money on YouTube with Merchandise?

You can sell products branded with your logo or channel identity and sell them on YouTube via a merch shelf.

YouTube says ‘The merch shelf allows eligible creators to showcase their official branded merchandise on YouTube. The shelf appears on the video page of eligible channels, but may not be shown on all video pages.’

To access the YouTube merch program, your channel needs 10,000 subscribers and not make content primarily aimed at kids. Your merch should also be visually appealing and desirable enough for your fans to want to buy it.

Some of the items that are best for branding and selling are everyday items that people are likely to make use of. Baseball caps, reusable water bottles, and mugs are all popular choices and cheap enough for an impulse buy.

Make sure that your designs are of good quality, so hire a designer from Fiverr or Upwork if need be.

You don’t need to buy and stock your merch products. You can sign up with a print-on-demand service that can sync with your YouTube merch shelf. When you get an order, it’s automatically sent to the print-on-demand provider who makes the product and ships it directly to the customer.

If you’re in the UK then Printful has a good service. For those elsewhere, YouTube has a page of recommended retailers.

How much can I expect to earn?

This is difficult to approximate. It all depends on your fans, the design, and how much you promote them in your videos. This Sellfy calculator tries to give you a rough idea. Sellfy reckons that 10,000 monthly video views could earn you between $340 and $1,740 from merch sales.

How Do I Make Money on YouTube with Affiliate Sales?

An excellent way to earn extra money from your YouTube channel is by seeking out affiliate sales.

This is where you act as a middle-man between a product seller and buyer. Basically, you are saying to your audience; ‘hey, I think [this product] is really good, you should go buy it’.

When someone buys a product that you recommended, and they followed a special link that identifies you as the referrer, then you earn a percentage commission on the deal.

The great thing about affiliate sales is that earnings are open-ended ― the sky’s the limit.

You can earn a few dollars when someone buys a cheap item on your recommendation. But you can earn hundreds of dollars per sale for more expensive things like premium training courses.

The easiest way to start making affiliate income on YouTube is by signing up with the Amazon Associate program.

You can pick a few products and highlight them in a video. Then, you link to the item using your affiliate link in the video details section underneath.

When a viewer follows the link and buys it you earn a commission. You also earn a commission if they buy something else too ―all sales are attributed to your referral link for that one shopping cart.

I include links to various products that I genuinely recommend in the video description for each one I upload.

How much can I expect to earn?

It’s impossible to say. How long is a piece of string? But you can easily make a living from affiliate sales only on YouTube, as long as you have enough video views.

Conclusion

Like the poor skinned cat I mentioned at the top of this post ― there are many ways to make money on YouTube.

But, your first focus should always be on growing your subscriber count and adding to your video stockpile. Like many things in life, there is a natural order to things on YouTube. One study from 2018 showed that 3% of YouTube channels had 90% of the total views.

To become a money-making powerhouse on YouTube, aim to be a 3-percenter. After that, you have as many ways as you want to earn money from YouTube in 2021 and beyond.

 

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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Can You Make Money on YouTube if You Are Under 18?

With YouTube becoming more and more of a legitimate career path, and with the barrier to entry being so low that anyone can get started from the comfort of their own home or even bedroom, it makes sense that many young people would be eyeing YouTube success before they have even left school.

At the same time, increasing concern over the safety of children online has led to ever more restrictive guidelines regarding what you can monetise on YouTube, which complicates the matter for children looking to make money on the platform.

The only real restriction on children making content on YouTube is the minimum age of thirteen. You have to be at least that age to have a YouTube channel. There are ways to work around this that we’ll touch on later in the post, but that is the only real hard limit, but it is a limit on creation, not on monetisation.

When it comes to earning money on your channel, the content you produce is more relevant than the person making it. You could be fifty years old, but if your content is designed for children, it will be subject to the additional restrictions that apply there.

Similarly, if you are fifteen years old but making content that is primarily watched by adults, you would not be subject to those restrictions.

This may all sound a bit vague, but don’t worry, all will be explained. So, can you make money on YouTube if you are under 18? Let’s find out.

Can You Make Money on YouTube if You Are Under 18? 1

Videos With Underage Audiences

Thanks to COPPA regulations, there are now considerably stricter limitations on the information that can be collected from underage watchers. While this in and of itself is not an issue regarding monetising your content, it has an indirect effect that is an issue.

The fact that YouTube is not allowed to collect as much data on their underage viewers is a significant deterrent for advertisers since one of the most compelling factors of online advertising is the ability to target your ads at increasingly narrow demographics.

If YouTube isn’t allowed to collect the information that will allow them to identify what kind of demographic is watching, advertisers can’t be sure their ads are being shown to the right kind of viewer.

It is not just videos that are marked as “for children” that fall afoul of monetisation denial, however. YouTube’s can determine if a video is primarily made for children—if for no other reason than the audience will be predominately children.

Even if you do not mark your content as intended for children—even if you do not intend for your videos to be watched by children—YouTube will mark it as such if the audience turns out to be mostly youngsters.

Making Videos As An Underaged YouTuber

There are two ways to consider the term “underage” when talking about YouTube. The first is in the legal sense of you not being able to make certain decisions for yourself due to your age. Some kinds of decisions have different age limits (drinking alcohol vs living on your own, for example) and all of them differ from region to region.

The good news is YouTube does not make much distinction here. If you are over the age of the thirteen, you are free to make content and earn money on the platform.

If you are under thirteen, however, you are not allowed to have a YouTube channel under YouTube’s terms of service. That is not necessarily the end of the road as far as your YouTube dreams go, and we’re not just talking about waiting until you are old enough. You’re just going to need a little help.

Officially speaking, your channel won’t be your own, but you can enlist the help of an adult (typically a parent) who will be in charge of the channel, while you make the content. This is perfectly allowed under the terms of service, and many very successful channels have risen to prominence in this manner, both before and after YouTube clamped down on videos by and for underage people.

Being Responsible

Now, it is important to note that we are not trying to give you advice on how to circumvent YouTube’s terms of service here. There can be debate over whether YouTube’s approach is the best way, but few people would disagree with the intent behind it. The Internet can be a dangerous place for children, in both an emotional and physical wellbeing sense.

We are not advocating you get your parents to sign up for a YouTube account and just hand you the login details and leave you to it. And if you’re a parent, we strongly advise against doing this. The adult who officially runs the account should be overseeing the content that goes on it, even if it is just to cast a watchful eye over the final edit before it goes live. They should be moderating any contact the child has with people online, and they should be ensuring the child does not get taken advantage of.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but, for the most part, children need protection, so while we are giving you advice on how to make money on YouTube if you are under 18, it shouldn’t be taken as an encouragement to break YouTube terms of service.

Can You Make Money on YouTube if You Are Under 18? 2

How to Earn Money With an Underage Audience

As we mentioned above, there are restrictions on videos with underage audiences that all but rule out the conventional route of monetising your YouTube content through the YouTube Partner Programme, but that does not mean that you cannot monetise your videos at all.

Here are some ways you can make money with your videos even when your audience puts your channel below YouTube’s threshold for an underage audience.

Patreon

Patreon (and similar platforms) may be something a long shot if your audience is primarily underage since underage viewers are less likely to have money of their own to give. But, sites like Patreon have their own restrictions for who can use it. Patreon, for instance, has a minimum age restriction of thirteen years old to sign up, and eighteen years old before you can sign up as a creator or support another creator. They also allow under eighteens to be a creator or support one with written permission from a parent or guardian.

This means that if you have an audience that is prepared to support you through Patreon, you don’t need to worry about their age because Patreon’s terms of service will have ensured they are old enough or have permissions to do so. And, if you are too young to become a creator on Patreon, assuming you are over thirteen, you can get written consent from a parent or guardian and get started!

Promote Other Ventures

YouTubers with a young audience often build their content on top of something that appeals to that audience, such as video games. If you are able to, there may be a way to translate that appeal into a monetisable thing.

To take one popular example, Roblox—a video game where anyone can create their own mini-games for others to play—is especially popular among young gamers. It also provides the ability for people who create content for it to earn money through in-game transactions. If you have built an audience around such a thing, you could promote the games you create and potentially earn money that way. Another example would be an arts and crafts channel which also promotes an Etsy store where your own arts and crafts can be purchased.

If you go down this route, it is important to remember that the thing you are promoting needs to be relevant to your audience. There is no sense in building a channel around Marvel comic book-related content and then trying to promote a SquareSpace affiliate code. Of course, this is true of any age of audience, but it is especially true of younger audiences.

Can You Make Money on YouTube if You Are Under 18? 3

Target Older Viewers

Not everyone can shift their content in such a way that it changes the average ages of their audience—at least, not without drastic changes to the channel—but for some, it is definitely possible, and it may be the answer to your monetisation problems.

By shifting your content in a more mature direction and ensuring that your videos are not marked as made for children, you should be able to qualify for the YouTube Partner Programme—assuming you have met all the other criteria.

Of course, if you are making content aimed at very young children—seven to ten-year-olds, for example—this kind of shift will not be a practical solution. But, if your audience is a little older—fourteen to seventeen, for example—it may be worth looking into.

Tips for Being an Under-18 YouTuber

Firstly, if you are a parent or guardian reading this, we would recommend familiarising yourself with YouTube’s child safety page as a bare minimum. If you are the child YouTuber, it won’t hurt to read through that page either.

For the success part of YouTubing as a minor, we have some tips.

Don’t Take Things to Heart

There are mean people on the Internet, and they often don’t have much to say in the way of being constructive. YouTube disables comments on videos that are intended for a young audience for this very reason, but if you find yourself in the comments of yours or another YouTuber’s video and people are being mean to you, do not let it affect you.

There is a way of delivering constructive criticism that you may take some time to learn recognise. As a rough example, someone telling you that your videos are too quiet is useful feedback that you should take on board. On the other hand, someone telling you that you are ugly is not useful, since being ugly is a subjective comment and even if it were true, you can’t change how you look.

Learning to separate the useful criticism from the just plain insulting is a skill that will take a lot of practice, but in the meantime, do not let any mean comments you might encounter ruin your day.

Hone Your Craft

If you have dreams of becoming a professional YouTuber, take this opportunity to get as good as you can at making content. There are two important factors for young people here;

  • Their developing brains learn things more readily than when they are older
  • You will likely not have as much free time later in life as you do as a child.

You may be currently trying to balance homework, a social life, and any extracurricular activities you have with YouTube and wondering how that second point could be true. But trust us, while there are always exceptions, most people will have far less free time when they get older, start working full time, have a family, etc. Take advantage of all the spare time you have now to improve your video-making abilities.

If In Doubt, Don’t!

If you are in any doubt that something you are planning might be a bad idea, don’t do it. Or at least get a more experienced opinion before deciding. This can include things sharing personal stories online, expressing controversial viewpoints, and more.

Many people who did not grow up with the Internet (and some who did) have said and done things online that have had a significant and negative impact on their lives. Don’t risk saying something you might regret for the rest of your life this early on.

Can You Make Money on YouTube if You Are Under 18? 4

Privacy Privacy Privacy

We can’t stress this enough, but privacy is crucial, especially for under-18 YouTubers. If for no other reason than the YouTuber will almost certainly be living with their parents or guardians at that age and any privacy violations will affect the people you live with as well.

Don’t share personal information in your videos, and make sure there is nothing in the video that someone might be able to use to work out your home address or phone number, or anything of that nature.

Final Thoughts

YouTubing when you are under-18 is something that can be a fun hobby or a solid foundation for a future career, but you have to be careful. And, if you are a parent, remember that there is a reason you are responsible for your children.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

That is why I took the plunge and invested in my editing and design process with Adobe Creative Suite. They offer a WIDE range of tools to help make amazing videos, simple to use tools for overlays, graphics, one click tools to fix your audio and the very powerful Photoshop graphics program to make eye-catching thumbnails.

Best of all you can get a free trial for 30 days on their website, a discount if you are a student and if you are a regular human being it starts from as little as £9 per month if you want to commit to a plan.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

Maybe you’re on a bus, a train or sat in a living room with a 5 year old singing baby shark on loop… for HOURS. Or, you are trying to make as little noise as possible while your new born is FINALLY sleeping.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

I can talk about skydiving, food, money, kids, cats – ANYTHING I WANT – with a quick search on the Shutterstock website I can find a great looking clip to overlay on my videos, keeping them entertained and watching for longer.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How to Make Money on YouTube Without Showing Your Face

There is a fairly pervasive stereotype regarding YouTubers, and it evokes images of fresh-faced young people eagerly greeting the camera with an over the top introduction that would, eventually, be bookended with a gleeful plea to like and subscribe at the end of the video.

There is, of course, a reason that this has become a stereotype—YouTubers certainly did seem to be made up mostly of this breed for a long time—but that is far from all there is on the platform these days. Indeed, many YouTubers have found success on the platform without even showing their faces in their videos.

In this post, we are going to look at some of the ways you can succeed financially on YouTube without showing your face.

In the interests of balance, we’ll also talk about why showing your face is often considered a good thing when making YouTube videos – and if you prefer NOT to show your face I have a list of channel ideas for faceless channels on my blog.

How to Make Money on YouTube Without Showing Your Face

We’re going to split this topic into two main sections—how to make videos without showing your face and how to make money on YouTube.

The reason for this is there is nothing significantly different about how you go about making money on YouTube with faceless videos than with videos featuring your face.

So, that information is relevant regardless of which style of video you are making.

Content is Key

It sounds corny and cliché at this point, but it is a cliché for a reason. Regardless of how you dress your videos up—face or no face, effects or not—the content you produce is what will determine your success as a YouTuber.

There are many different ideas of what successful content looks like, but as long as you are delivering what your audience wants to see, you are on the right path. It is important to find the core of what that is and ensure that it is always there. For example, if the root of your content lies in videos about retro technology, there is a lot of wiggle room for what the videos can be about and how you can format them, but you will need to make sure that that root of retro-tech is always present. Similarly, if you are running a food channel and your viewers come for recipe ideas, it would not be advisable to move away from recipe ideas. At least, not abruptly.

Even if your root content is your own personality—if your viewers come to see what you have to say or what you are doing—the rule is the same. Videos where you are not present or where you are acting differently will put your regular viewers off.

This leads us nicely onto…

How to Make Money on YouTube Without Showing Your Face 1

Personality

Even if you aren’t putting your face on camera, you need to inject some personality into your videos. There is an audience for just about everything, but it is essential to remember that there are a lot of other YouTubers out there, and more than a few of them will be making similar content to you.

In short, the chances of you coming up with a niche that is completely unique are very slim, but that is okay because you do not need an entirely unique niche to succeed. By putting plenty of yourself into the videos—in your humour, opinions, and the way you speak—you give viewers a reason to come to you rather than someone else who is delivering the same kind of content.

Granted, you will invariably give some viewers a reason not to come to you over other people because they do not like your unique take on things, but you can’t please everybody, and you need to stand out to succeed.

YouTube Ideas That Don’t Involve Showing Your Face

Now that we’ve covered some generalised aspects of making videos without showing your face let’s look at some specific ideas for how you would go about making those videos.

  • The Hands-On Approach—If your video is of a tactile nature, such as product reviews, or cooking videos, you could always opt for the hands-only approach. In this kind of video, you would have the camera directed at the subject of the video, and the only part of you that would be on camera is your hands as they do whatever it is you are doing. You might be surprised at how expressive you can be with your hands, and you can inject plenty of personality into your video purely through the way you talk, and what you talk about.
  • Voice Over Content—Voice over content can cover a lot of ground. You might make a “Top 10 Sci-Fi Video Games” video where clips of the games you are talking about are on screen as you talk. It could be a pop culture video where the subject matters you are talking about is onscreen. There are even some successful YouTubers whose content is entirely audio-based, and the visuals they display has nothing to do with the actual content. If you have an existing platform, such as a popular podcast, or even a new podcast with little or no audience, you could just have a still image on your video. That being said, if you’re going to put a podcast on YouTube, it helps to give your listeners a reason to come to YouTube rather than some other audio-only platform.
  • Software Tutorials—There is an almost endless supply of niches within the software world, from simple office productivity to video game development, to music production. If you have expertise in a particular kind of software, you can make tutorials on that software without having to show your face on camera. Not only do you not need your face onscreen, but the software itself will be the focus anyway, and you could find your reluctant mug obscuring parts of the screen that your viewers need to see.

Meditation and Mindfulness Videos

Some people love to tune out of the world and take a moment with their own thoughts. The practice of mindfulness and meditation has been embraced widely over the last few years as a why to help people sleep, study or relax.

Make videos that people can unwind to, feel comfortable with or can meditate to like on the Meditation Mindfulness channel.

How to Make Money From Your Video Ideas

Fortunately, this section of the post is more or less universal, so you should find it useful even if you are happy to put your face on camera. We’ll go over some different ways to monetise your videos, but first, let’s cover some more fundamental truths about earning an income from your YouTube channel.

One crucial point to grasp when monetising your content is that numbers are rarely the be-all and end-all of success. More often than not, the quality of your audience outweighs the quantity, which is why some YouTuber’s with relatively small audiences are able to make a comfortable living from their channel while other YouTubers with enormous followings barely get by.

This is also the reason why “cheating” by buying subscribers and views rarely pays off since those numbers do not represent engaged viewers who are interested in your content, and so do not translate to financial success. The reason it doesn’t pay off is because the advertisers who pay to promote their products and services are doing so because your audience has been marked as consisting of the kind of people who would be interested in those products and services. If you have stuffed your subscriber-base with viewers who aren’t interested, it will not translate to ad engagement.

But what about the different ways you can make money from a YouTube channel? There are a few common methods (and even more less common methods) that can be used to monetise your channel, and many of them can be used simultaneously. It should be noted that, unless you are coming to YouTube with a following in place already, none of these methods are likely to yield immediate success. You will need to be patient.

YouTube Partner Programme

The most common way to earn money from your YouTube channel is through the YouTube Partner Programme, which is the built-in system that YouTube offers for YouTubers who have met specific criteria. The bullet points of those criteria are;

  • Not be in breach of any YouTube monetisation policies
  • Live in a country where the YouTube Partner Programme operates
  • Have at least 4,000 valid public watch hours over the last twelve months
  • Have at least 1,000 subscribers
  • Have a linked AdSense account.

If you meet these criteria and are accepted into the program, you will have the option to monetise eligible videos. YouTube will then show ads on those videos, and you will earn a cut of the revenue generated from those ads. You have quite a lot of control over when and what style of ads are shown on your videos, though you cannot control what ads are shown. In many cases, you can run YouTube ads alongside other means of monetising your content, though it is not always the case.

It’s worth bearing in mind that YouTube regularly changes their monetisation policies in ways that reduce—or even remove entirely—many YouTubers’ earnings.

Brand Deals and Sponsored Content

Essentially this is cutting out the YouTube middleman. Instead of relying on YouTube to serve ads, you deal with the advertiser directly and deliver the promotional content in your videos. For larger YouTubers, this type of monetisation represents a significant portion of their income. There is also a potential bonus in that brands are smart enough to know that numbers are not everything. While they will obviously want to reach a large audience, marketing reps today understand that a quality audience—one that is already interested in what you have to offer—is more valuable than a large audience. This means you may be able to strike a lucrative brand deal much sooner in your YouTube career than you would be able to make an equivalent amount of money through the YouTube Partner Programme.

Crowd Funding and Subscription Models

One of the most popular ways for YouTubers to monetise their work is through sites like Patreon, which allow viewers to opt into giving their favourite creators a regular payment in order to support them. This is popular with YouTubers because it tends to be far more reliable than ad-click-based revenue, and is not subject to the whims of YouTube policy change. It also shows real engagement from an audience, since they have gone out of their way to support you directly.

Affiliate Marketing

If your videos often involve products or services that are associated with affiliate programs, you could supplement your revenue—even form the bulk of your revenue—with affiliate marketing.

With affiliate marketing, you would have a link to a product or service and, should your viewers buy said product or service; you would get a cut.

A popular version of this for review channels involves using the Amazon Affiliates program to link out to products that have been reviewed in the video.

Need help in getting started with affiliate marketing? I have a deep dive article on my blog all about affiliate marketing for beginners and how to really make it work for you in the future.

Why Avoid Showing Your Face?

The concept of starting a YouTube video and not wanting to show your face may seem strange to some, but there are a few reasons someone might want to do this.

  • Shyness—The most obvious reason is shyness. Someone people simply don’t want their face on camera, but that doesn’t mean they can’t succeed on YouTube.
  • Safety—Though it still sometimes struggles with a certain stigma of being a weird thing people do on the Internet, YouTubers can get as famous as any conventional celebrity, and there are inherent safety risks with that fame. For some, those risks may be too much to risk putting their face on screen.
  • Freedom—The world of late has been less than kind to controversial figures online, with more than a few people losing their jobs because of things they might have said on social media or in YouTube videos. If you are planning to make videos on controversial topics, you may want to keep your face out of the video to protect your livelihood, should you upset a large enough group of people.
  • Aesthetic—Sometimes, there doesn’t need to be a significant underlying reason for this decision. Perhaps the YouTuber just prefers to craft their videos in a way that doesn’t involve their face being onscreen. There is no objectively right or wrong way to format a YouTube video, and any reason that makes the creator more comfortable with their work should be considered a good thing. Even if the reason they are more comfortable is just that they prefer the look of the video.
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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How Do YouTubers Receive Their Money?

In a little over a decade, YouTube has gone from an interesting online video platform that is fun but ultimately frivolous, to a legitimate career path that surprisingly attainable for almost everyone.

This may feel a bit “icky” to some—YouTube was originally this fun young thing that some people were lucky enough to succeed financially at, but now it’s a mature, grown-up platform with people of all ages eeking out a living, often making content that is far from exciting or creative.

That, unfortunately, is the reality of any career. And, with any career choice, there are a lot of mundane questions to answer. Things like “what is your earning potential”, “how reliable is this career”, and, as the title of this post asks, “how do YouTubers receive their money?”

The how of getting paid on YouTube is one of those small questions that may seem insignificant at first but can be quite important for reasons we’ll get into shortly. The quick and straightforward answer to “how do YouTubers receive their money” is through Google Adsense, who pay either directly into your bank by deposit or via a cheque in the mail.

However, as with most simplified answers, this doesn’t paint the full picture. For example, there are multiple common ways for YouTubers to get paid besides AdSense and a variety of different ways to get paid by those other methods.

Don’t worry; we’re going to go over the most common ways that YouTuber’s get paid for their content; all you need to do is keep reading!

Do YouTubers Pay Tax? 3

How Do YouTubers Make Their Money?

Before you can understand how the money is received, it is important to understand where the money is coming from.

On the Internet in this day and age, there is a seemingly limitless selection of ways to leverage an audience into financial gain, both directly and indirectly.

That being said, the many years of YouTube success across thousands and thousands of YouTubers have allowed a few different methods to rise to the top of the pile in terms of convenience, effectiveness, and popularity.

YouTube Partner Programme/Google AdSense

Let’s start with the obvious. When we gave our simplified answer to the question of “how do YouTubers receiver their money” above, this was the method we were talking about. This is the built-in monetisation option that you can choose to enable when your channel has met the necessary criteria. That criteria include;

  • Have at least 1,000 subscribers
  • Have at least 4,000 hours of watch time over the last twelve months
  • Meet YouTube’s various policies for spam and community guidelines
  • Have an AdSense account

When you are part of the YouTube Partner Programme—and on eligible videos—YouTube will show advertisements that can earn you money. The exact amount earned per video depends on how many ads are served and what your viewer’s behaviour is in relation to those ads. For example, do they watch the whole ad, or do they skip it as soon as they get a chance?

These ads are actually served by Google’s AdSense platform, and any payments are handled through there. That is why you need to have a Google AdSense account before you can join the YouTube Partner Programme. Adsense supports a few different payment methods including;

  • Cheques
  • Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
  • Rapida
  • Bank Transfer

You might have noticed the conspicuous absence of PayPal in that list. PayPal may be the largest and most popular online payment processor, but it is not an option for Google’s AdSense.

How Do YouTubers Receive Their Money?

Membership Platforms

Membership platforms allow your subscribers to commit to a small monthly sum to support your content. The incentive usually being that having a more reliable source of revenue compared to YouTube’s standard monetisation system will allow you to put more time into your channel, and thus create better or more content. Of course, there doesn’t always have to be an incentive—sometimes people just want to support their favourite creators.

YouTube offer their own membership option for channels with 30,000 subscribers or more, but the payment is handled the same way as their ad-based revenue. However, another option is to look outside of YouTube for a third party membership platform.

The most popular example of this is Patreon, a platform that allows you to set different tiers of supporters and offer unique perks to each of those tiers. Unlike AdSense, who do not support PayPal as a payment method, Patreon allows PayPal as well as fellow online payment processors, Payoneer and Stripe. Another example of this kind of service is Ko-Fi, which allows you to get paid through either PayPal or Stripe.

Merchandise

Another way to get paid from your YouTube channel is through the sale of merchandise. There are a plethora of services around that can facilitate this, including YouTube’s own inhouse solution for channels with 10,000 subscribers or more. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of alternatives, however. As a general rule, you can expect to find PayPal and cheque payments as an option for getting your money.

Direct Donations

It is also possible to receive direct donations from your viewers. How you receive this will depend entirely on your own preferences regarding the services you use. For example, PayPal allows you to set up a donation page for this very reason. Ko-Fi is essentially designed for small, one-off payments (the platform is built around the idea of your audience buying you a cup of coffee).

We strongly advise against just giving your bank details out, of course.

Brand Deals and Promoted Content

This monetisation option involves directly dealing with an advertiser. In this case, we can’t offer much insight into what would be involved since every deal will be different. Indeed, you could even request a particular method of payment as part of your deal.

Why is the Way YouTubers Receive Their Money Important?

If you are just YouTubing for fun and you are not concerned with earning money from it, it doesn’t really matter how YouTubers get paid. But for people who are interested in the earnings they could be receiving, and certainly for YouTubers who are looking to make their YouTube journey a career move, it is essential information.

For one thing, the part of the world you are in could determine whether or not you can earn money from YouTube directly. At the time of writing, AdSense is not available to people in the following countries;

  • Crimea
  • Cuba
  • Iran
  • North Korea
  • Sudan
  • Syria

It is also not available to individuals or businesses that are restricted by trade sanctions or export compliance laws. Granted, there probably aren’t a huge number of people who meet any of the above criteria that are looking to start a YouTube career, but it pays to know these things. The regions that AdSense is not available in are not set in stone, for example. Shifting political situations could see countries being removed from that list, or added to it.

The same reasoning applies to payment processors. For example, if you were unable or unwilling to use PayPal or Stripe, you would not be able to get your money out of Ko-Fi.

These are all things to factor in if you intend to make YouTube into a career move, but not necessarily something you should be concerned about when you are first starting out. After all, if you make it big on YouTube, but circumstances conspire to keep you from getting paid, you could always migrate to another platform. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be doable. And there are always other ways to monetise your channel.

Monetising Your Channel: Diversity is Key

YouTube goes to great lengths to make their platform financially viable. And, even though it doesn’t always feel like it, part of that viability is making YouTubers money, since YouTubers who are earning a decent amount of money for their efforts are more likely to continue putting that effort into the platform. Even when YouTube makes significant changes that seem to harm YouTuber earning potential, it is because they are trying to make the platform as appealing as possible advertisers.

Whether the changes they make are always effective or worth the grievances they cause is a different issue, but the motive behind them is clear enough.

Unfortunately, the ever-changing landscape of YouTube monetisation, combined with the whims of advertisers and shifting trends, makes the YouTube Partner Programme a somewhat unreliable source of income. In fact, not only is it unreliable, it is typically not a great earner for many types of video. YouTube revenue is mostly measured in CPM, which is essentially an amount you earn per thousand views you get. The actual figure is all over the place due to how large a factor viewer engagement plays—a video with a lot of views but where most viewers skipped their ads might earn less than a channel with a fraction of the views, but most viewers watched the ads—but as a rough average, you can expect around $1.50 to $2 per one thousand views.

Assuming you are making $2 for every thousand views you get, you would have to be getting an average of over seventeen thousand views a day to earn enough money to be considered above the poverty line in the United States. That’s a lot of views. It’s not an unachievable goal, of course, but it’s no small feat to reach an average number of views a day that is measured in tens of thousands. It’s also worth mentioning that most people don’t strive to be just above the poverty line. To bring your YouTube revenue up to something more in line with the average income in the United States, you would be looking at around forty thousand views a day.

How Do YouTubers Receive Their Money? 2

Other Options

If you can build up a dedicated enough audience, direct contributions such as PayPal donations, or memberships such as through Patreon or YouTube’s own membership option are a great way to build a solid, reliable revenue stream from your YouTube channel.

Merchandise is also an option but should be considered a secondary option rather than your primary source of revenue. While you can realistically build a large base of people willing to contribute a few dollars here and there to support you, it is far less likely that you will be able to sell T-shirts or mugs with the same consistency, and in large enough numbers. Unless you are a fashion company, merchandise should be considered a side gig.

Brand deals are a little trickier as they typically require a brand to come to you. Pitching ideas to companies is not unheard of, but it is far more common for the company to go to the YouTuber. Sponsored videos and brand deals are by far the most lucrative of the many ways to get paid for your YouTube channel, though the exact amount you can earn will depend on your channel’s content and following.

Final Thought: Tax

There is a multitude of ways to earn money from your YouTube channel, but not quite as many ways to receive that money. The one absolute factor is that you will need a bank account. Whether you receive your money directly from Google AdSense, via a payment processor, or even via a physical cheque mailed to your home, you will need a bank account for the money to go into. The upshot of this fact is that your earnings will always be traceable, and as such, entirely discoverable by any governmental agency that might want to look into your finances.

Neither YouTube, Google, nor any of the payment processors mentioned handle taxes; that is all on you. Of course, tax law is different from region to region, and country to country. If you are not familiar with the law on taxes where you are, you should do some research to avoid getting a nasty surprise when tax collectors start knocking on your door.

In truth, the amount of money received by most YouTuber’s will not be enough to even register on a government’s tax-collecting radar, but that is not a risk we recommend taking. If you should be paying tax on your YouTube earnings, it’s better just to pay them and stay out of trouble!

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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Does YouTube Have an Affiliate Program?

Affiliate programs are one of the most popular ways of earning money online; whether it is as a nice side-hustle for a little extra cash or the backbone of a five-figure a month income, they provide a way to earn revenue while doing the things you are already doing.

They can invisibly add additional revenue streams that, in some cases, can even add value for your viewers.

With all of this in mind, it is natural to wonder; does YouTube have an affiliate program of their own.

After all, being profitable is a serious concern for the platform, not to mention the added incentive it would give to content creators.

Does YouTube have an affiliate program? – No, YouTube does not have an affiliate program, but you can monetize your channel with the Partnership Program if/when you meet the 1K subscribers and 4K hours of watch time requirements. However you can still use external affiliate programs to make money on YouTube with click through traffic.

Through using YouTube marketing for your channel, you can grow awareness and drive traffic to your affiliate account.

We’re about to take an in-depth look at affiliate programs and how you can use them on YouTube, so let’s get comfortable.

How Many Views do you Need to Make Money on YouTube?

What is an Affiliate Program?

If you’ve made it this far into the post without knowing what an affiliate program is, don’t worry; we’ve got your back. An affiliate program is a system whereby you can earn a fee in exchange for actions taken by your viewers. With the most popular forms of affiliate programs, this fee often comes in the form a commission of a product or service sale. In some cases, it can be a fixed fee in exchange for a user signing up to something.

By far, the most popular affiliate program for individual YouTubers—and many other content creators—is the Amazon Affiliate program, which allows you to generate a unique link for any product on the Amazon marketplace. If one of your viewers clicks through your link and buys something, you earn a small percentage of the sale.

The other way in which affiliate programs are typically run is when a service that is looking for members will reward people who refer new users to them. Fiverr is an excellent example of this with its affiliate program explicitly designed to reward people for driving traffic to their service.

If you want a hugely in-depth deep dive into how to get started with affiliate marketing, best ways to leverage affiliate marketing and my 10+ years of experience in generating income with affiliate marketing – check out my Affiliate Marketing for Beginners blog post.

Do YouTubers Get Paid Monthly?

Why YouTube Doesn’t Have an Affiliate Program

Once you understand how affiliate programs work, it should be easy to understand why YouTube doesn’t have one.

First of all, they don’t sell any products, so they can’t offer a commission on the sale of those products. But secondly, there is no paid service to subsidise a traffic-driving affiliate program like the one Fiverr has. Granted, there is YouTube Premium, but that is a very narrowly focussed product that would not have much re-use value for any given YouTuber.

With a platform like Fiverr, there are dozens and dozens of different services available, so one person could theoretically want to keep going back, which in turn means there are far more ways in which an affiliate link can be worked into the content that is being created.

As for the non-YouTube Premium content, it doesn’t make much sense for YouTube to incentivise people to drive traffic to their platform, given the sheer number of people who are on that platform attempting to drive to traffic to their own videos already.

YouTube is all about retention—once a new person lands on their site, they aim to keep them there as long as possible, and they’ve gotten very good at that over the years.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a popular YouTube who drives millions of unique views a day to the site, or an unknown YouTuber who is just starting out who might bring three new sets of eyeballs to the platform, YouTube will work to keep those people on the site viewing videos, and that retention just as valuable—if not more so—than bringing in new viewers who might not be so interested in sticking around.

YouTube Tips for Teachers 4

Tips for Using Affiliate Marketing with your YouTube Channel

So, YouTube doesn’t have an affiliate marketing program, that much we’ve made clear.

But what we also made clear was the fact that this doesn’t stop you from running affiliate marketing programs through your YouTube channel in order to increase your revenue, so let’s talk about that.

The strength of affiliate marketing lies in invisibility—when you can provide a link to a service or product that fits seamlessly into your content and provides your viewers with something of value to them, you are on to a winner.

To help you achieve affiliate success, we’ve put together some of our top tips for using affiliate programs in your videos and on your channel.

Full Disclosure

We live in a cynical age, borne of many web services and content creators taking advantage of their audience, more and more people assume that anytime something is hidden from them, it is for negative reasons.

To that end, you should always be upfront about any affiliate links you use, even if all you do is put “(PAID)” next to the link in your description. YouTube viewers are generally accepting of the fact that their content creators need to make money somehow, and will not go out of their way to stop that from happening.

But including affiliate links without disclosing this fact can breed bad blood with your audience—especially if you are reviewing a product or service that you are linking out to through an affiliate program.

Keep it in Context

Google puts a lot of time and effort into figuring out the best ads to show a particular individual at any given time.

This is because merely showing the ad is only part of the battle—if nobody ever clicked those ads, advertisers would stop paying for them.

The same approach should be taken for affiliate links. There is no sense in making a video about guitar building and then including an affiliate link to an eBook on making money online.

Sure, some of the viewers of that video might be interested in the eBook, but it is such a shot in the dark, it would hardly be worth the effort of typing the link.

While we’re not saying there is never a good time for an out of context affiliate link, the best use of these links is within the context of your video. If you are doing a video on the top five sports cameras, have affiliate links to each of the cameras on Amazon in your description. The people watching that video are far more likely to be in the market for a new sports camera than viewers on other videos, and your video might just be the thing that pushes them to pull the trigger.

By including a link to the product, you are saving them the effort of going off and searching for it themselves.

And, as affiliate programmes are almost never more expensive—if anything you can often get a better deal through affiliate links—you are not inconveniencing your viewers in any way.

As an additional note, being in context doesn’t necessarily mean the product or service relates to the subject matter of the video directly. A

s an example, a channel whose content is primarily about how to make better YouTube videos might list off the equipment they use in the description, along with affiliate links to where that gear can be bought. This is useful to that channel’s viewers since “what equipment do you use” is one of the most commonly asked questions that successful YouTubers get asked.

10 Best Tools to Grow Your YouTube Channel 3

Pick Something you Believe In

I am a huge fan of services like Rev – They help me add captions and foreign language subtitles to my youtube videos at a time fee per minute. I use them personally so I know they are good and that is why I promote them using an affiliate program. It is this personal edge that helps my audience understand that if I use it, its a god product and not just a huge list of products you could grab from Amazon in a blind blog post.

Not every channel creates videos of the top ten latest gadgets that can be easily linked to on Amazon, but that doesn’t mean those channels should miss out on the affiliate marketing train.

Firstly, remember that Amazon—and direct product sales in general—are not the only options when it comes to affiliate marketing. Many digital products and services have affiliate marketing options attached to them. Indeed, services like Clickbank specialise in finding digital products that can be marketed through affiliate linking. There are also services, such as Fiverr, as we mentioned earlier.

Ultimately, if there are no affiliate products or services that you can tie into your content directly, you could go on the hunt for a product or service that you truly believe will be beneficial for your viewers, and promote that instead. For example, for a programming channel, you could promote an ergonomic desk chair. For a yoga channel, you could promote a particular type of yoga mat.

It’s a little like being sponsored by that product, only the people behind the product are not involved. And on that note, you should be careful not imply that you are sponsored, as that can cause problems with the company behind the product or service.

The important thing here is that the product or service you are promoting has some usefulness to your audience, even if it doesn’t directly relate to the content of your video. Again, you might find some people in the audience of a fishing channel who are interested in a mechanical keyboard, but it would be blind luck, and that’s no way to run a business.

Do YouTubers Pay Tax? 1

Don’t go Overboard

Regardless of the exact method of incorporating affiliate links into your content you choose, it is a universal truth across all mediums that overdoing it will have negative results.

This can be because your affiliate content is overwhelming your actual content, or simply because your audience feels it’s a bit crass.

But, whatever the reason, if you stack your description full of affiliate links and hand out promo codes every two minutes in your video, you’ll almost certainly turn large portions of your audience off.

And affiliate programmes only work when you have an audience to click those links.

Will Affiliate Links Harm my Video?

To answer this question, we first need to understand a few things about the way YouTube works.

Firstly, affiliate links are very much allowed by YouTube, which is one of the main concerns YouTubers tend to have when first venturing into the world of affiliate marketing.

However, merely being allowed to do something does not mean it can’t have negative effects on your channel.

As we touched on above, YouTube is very concerned with viewer retention. Now, we’re not saying they have no interest in bringing new eyeballs to the platform, but they are more concerned with keeping those eyeballs on YouTube once they are there. This is why average watch time is one of the most crucial metrics of a video’s success in the eyes of YouTube because more watch time means that people are spending longer on the site because of that video.

With that in mind, there is no direct association that YouTube will admit to between external links—affiliate or not—and the YouTube algorithm deciding to recommend a video less often. But there may be an indirect association.

YouTube wants people to stay on the site as long as possible. The longer a viewer is on YouTube, the more chance there is to serve them ads, and the more money YouTube can make. But if a lot of users are coming to your video and then leaving the platform altogether and not coming back, that will reflect negatively in the eyes of the algorithm.

It’s something of a catch 22—you need plenty of viewers for your affiliate links to be useful, but if your affiliate links are too effective, YouTube might see that as users coming to your video and then leaving YouTube, which may lead them to recommend your video less, which means fewer viewers to click your affiliate links. Unfortunately, there is no way around this problem, and YouTube is typically quiet about the exact way that they handle things like this.

That being said, affiliate marketing is a game of percentages—you bank on a large enough percentage of your viewers clicking your affiliate links to make it worthwhile while accepting that the overwhelming majority of them won’t.

Many YouTubers have had a great deal of success through affiliate marketing on YouTube, so there’s no reason that you can’t, too. Just remember not to overdo it, and keep the subject of your affiliates in line with the content of your videos.

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HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How Many Views do you Need to Make Money on YouTube?

The numbers surrounding making money on YouTube are not always particularly transparent to those on the outside.

Indeed, even the methods of making that money can sometimes be a little opaque to the uninitiated. If you are one such person, fear not; we’re going to run the whole gamut in this post, from how many views do you need to make money on YouTube to how you can go about making that money.

But for those of you who are a little impatientthe short answer is – assuming your content is advertiser friendly, you need around 30,000 views per day to make money on YouTube. This could make you around $60-90 per day based on a fairly average $2-3 RPM. This can change with seasonal ad prices with winter being more profitable compared to New Year and early spring.

But before you run off to start making videos, you should be aware that there are caveats to that number. For one thing, there is no set-in-stone amount that you earn per view. Some people will be able to make a killing on 30,000 views a day, whereas others might get twice as many views but struggle to get by on their YouTube money alone.

It is also worth knowing how we reached this number. After all, it is possible to make money with far fewer views than 30,000, but, generally speaking, fewer views means less money, so what metric are we working from?

Keep reading, and all will be revealed.

Do YouTubers Pay Tax? 3

How Much Money is Enough?

In order to make a judgement on how many views it takes to make money on YouTube, we first have to establish our standard for making money.

Technically speaking, if you earn a single cent from your YouTube channel, you are making money.

Granted one cent a month is not exactly cause for celebration, but it is technically money. On the other side of the spectrum, PewDiePie—by far the most popular individual YouTuber in the platform’s history—potentially makes as much as half a million dollars a month from YouTube ads alone! Most people can agree that, while they might like to be making that kind of money, they don’t need that much money.

We should clarify that we don’t know how much money PewDiePie makes, but based on the average YouTube CPM and PewDiePies average monthly views, we can make an educated guess. It’s also worth remembering that we’re just talking about YouTube earnings here—PewDiePie may have sponsorships and brand deals that further increase his earnings.

So, with all that in mind, what numbers are we looking at? Well, we’ll be honest, we’ve picked a relatively arbitrary figure that should represent an amount of money somewhere between the United States’ poverty line and the average salary earned by Americans. We’ve gone with this because we feel confident that no one wants to be on or below the poverty line if they can help it, but you might be prepared to earn a below-average income if it means you get to live the YouTube dream. So what are those numbers?

Do YouTubers Pay Tax? 2

How we Calculate Our Numbers

According to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), a person in the United States is considered to be in poverty if they are earning less than $12,760 a year.

Meanwhile, the average annual salary for an American is a little over thirty thousand dollars a year. As mentioned above, we have picked a spot roughly in the middle of these figures on the basis that most aspiring YouTubers would be happy to earn a little less than average to chase their YouTube dream, but not perhaps so much less that they are officially in poverty. But how do YouTube views translate to these amounts of money?

And, just to be clear, we are only talking about YouTube Partner Programme money here—money earned directly through ads being served on your videos by Google.

The metric used for measuring the views to earnings ratio is CPM or cost per mille. CPM is a measure of how much you earn per one thousand views, and is used all over the Internet for a variety of audience-related statistics. The actual CPM your channel has will be entirely determined by the type of content you make, how engaged your audience is, how advertiser-friendly your content is, and so on. That being said, the average CPM on YouTube is around $2. That means that, on average, a YouTuber earns two dollars for every thousand views they get.

Using our 30,000 views a day average figure, you would theoretically make somewhere in the region of $22,000, which is almost right in the middle of our poverty and average salaries.

Do You Need A YouTube Intro and Outro? 2

Why It’s Not That Simple

Unfortunately, YouTube CPMs are not nearly that simple. As we stated earlier, some YouTubers will be able to make enough money from far fewer views, while others will struggle with more views.

A great deal of factors come into play when talking about how much your views are worth. Firstly, you have to be part of the YouTube Partner Programme, which has certain eligibility requirements (more on that shortly).

Secondly, your individual videos have to be eligible for monetisation—if you get 50,000 views in one day, but 40,000 of them are on videos that are not eligible to be monetised, you are can only count 10,000 views towards your CPM.

The next factor is the kind of content you are making. CPM is not a static, universal figure that applies to every YouTuber—the actual number is determined by the ads that are shown on those videos, and the ads are targeted based on the audience.

Though it doesn’t necessarily translate directly to YouTube, it can help to think of a salesperson who earns a commission. If a salesperson going door to door selling small items that cost tens of dollars will make a very small amount of money per sale. On the other hand, a salesperson in a flashy showroom selling luxury cars will make a considerable sum of money per sale.

Granted, in this scenario, the door to door salesperson will probably make a lot more sales than the car salesperson, but on YouTube, we are comparing an equal number of views.

So, if you are getting an average of 20,000 views in a niche with a high going rate for ads, you stand to earn a much higher CPM than someone in a niche with low ad rates.

Another factor is the engagement of your audience. As a general rule, pop culture videos tend to have poor CPM because their audience is much more diverse in terms of their interests. They will have come to the video to be entertained and, as a result, are not necessarily interested in any particular product or service that might be advertised at them, even when Google is serving ads targetted to that person specifically. On the other hand, a channel that is specifically about reviewing computer hardware will have an audience that is likely interested in buying computer hardware—hence why they are watching review videos. That audience will be far more likely to view a full ad or click through.

This is the main reason why a channel with a smaller audience can earn more than a larger channel. To go back to our salesperson analogy, the door-to-door salesperson has no idea if the person answering the door is going to be interested in their products, whereas the car salesman can be relatively confident that anyone walking into their showroom is at least partially interested in purchasing a car.

Another critical factor to how high your CPM can be is the length of your videos and your average watch time. Longer videos represent an opportunity for YouTube to show more advertisements, which means the potential for more money.

You can increase your CPM and improve your channel income but you might need to change your content or mindset – for more information on how to boost your channel CPM check out my deep dive blog in how to increase youtube CPM.

That being said, if your viewers regularly only watch the opening few minutes of your videos and then click away, the rest of the video—and the ads that could have been served—are not doing you any good. Though you should always prioritise the quality of your content before that video’s earning potential, it is generally recommended that a video should be at least ten minutes long, as this is the minimum length of time for YouTube to make use of mid-roll ads.

Can YouTubers Control Which Ads Are Shown? 6

YouTube’s Partner Programme

To make money directly through YouTube, you need to become part of the YouTube Partner Programme, and in order to become part of the YouTube Partner Programme, your channel has to meet certain requirements. Those requirements include;

  • Living in a region where the YouTube Partner Programme is available
  • Having more than 4,000 watch-hours over the previous twelve months
  • Having at least 1,000 subscribers
  • Having a linked AdSense account

Now, granted, none of these requirements guarantees that you are getting a particular amount of views by the time you qualify for the partner programme, but it would be difficult to reach a point where you are getting 4,000 watch hours a year and have 1,000 subscribers without at least amassing a few hundred—if not thousand—views a day on average.

The truth is, even with these requirements in place, most YouTubers who join the partner programme as soon as they are eligible barely make any money in the beginning. Given that AdSense has a $100 minimum payout threshold, it can easily be many months from you first joining the partner programme before you see any money in your bank account.

Other Methods of Earning

So far, we have been focussing exclusively on the YouTube Partner Programme as a means of earning money from your videos. In reality, the partner programme is not the best way to translate YouTube success into revenue, as CPMs are often too low, and the necessary viewing targets too difficult to achieve to make it a viable source of income. It is also the unfortunate reality of YouTube that, for some YouTubers, the number of views they would need to turn their CPM into a viable income is forever out of their reach. This is not because of any failing on their part, but a natural limitation of the niche they are creating videos in.

The more focussed your niche is, the more value each viewer represents, but the fewer viewers there are. Going back to our salesperson example, the door-to-door salesperson might not know if they are knocking on the door of an interested customer, but they have lots of doors to knock on.

In contrast, the luxury car salesperson knows that people walking in are interested in buying a car, but won’t get many customers walking through the door.

If you assume that you need at least 30,000 views a day and you are creating videos for a niche where there are perhaps a million interested viewers, that means that each of your videos has the potential for a little over thirty days viewing before everyone who is interested has seen it. And, truthfully, you’re unlikely to get a view from everyone who is interested in that niche, regardless of how popular you are.

This is where other methods of earning money from your YouTube success come in, methods like membership platforms, merchandise, and brand deals. With membership platforms—such as Patreon, or YouTube’s in-house solution—your viewers can chip in a small monthly sum to support your content, providing you with additional earnings and a more reliable source of income. Brand deals and sponsorships are less predictable since they can range from a single video for a few hundred dollars all the way up to a multi-video sponsorship for thousands of dollars.

The important part about these alternative methods of earning money is that they are not inherently linked to your number of views. Granted, more views means a bigger audience, and a bigger audience means it is more likely that you will be able to attract members to your membership platform, or brands to offer you a deal.

But viewing figures are not the hard barrier that they are for the YouTube Partner Programme and your earnings through that programme. You are not required to have a certain amount of views before you can sign up for Patreon, nor will a brand refuse to sponsor a video if the view count isn’t high enough when there are other factors at play. Marketing is evolving all the time, and brands are increasingly about quality over quantity.

You could, in theory, convince a brand to sponsor your content before you’ve even uploaded your first video.

You probably won’t succeed… but you could.

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BUSINESS TIPS HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

4 Books for New Entrepreneurs That All YouTubers Should Read

They teach many subjects at school, but one that I think is missing from the syllabus is entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is the art of turning muck into brass, the practice of taking an idea and nurturing it until it blooms into a money-making powerhouse.

Some people say that you can’t teach entrepreneurship, because you have to have a particular personality or an elusive ‘x-factor’ to have any chance of success. I think they’re wrong.

Entrepreneurship is a skill that can be learned by anyone, and I believe everyone should try to launch a business at least once. So, if you’re a new entrepreneur, and are looking for some help and guidance from those who have tried entrepreneurship and succeeded, here is a selection of books you should consider adding to your bookshelf.

I am much more of an audiobook “reader” as I tend to take it in easier – I even use Amazon’s FREE Audible trials to load up on 2 free books every month.

Book 1: Crushing It!

Author: Gary Vaynerchuk

Number of pages: 288

Published: 2018

Why should you listen to him?: Gary Vaynerchuk is a global social media superstar.

Known affectionately as Gary Vee, Vaynerchuk was born in Belarus in 1975 but emigrated to the USA with his parents at a young age. Raised in New York City, Vaynerchuk showed entrepreneurial spirit as a boy, buying and selling baseball cards at school. He joined his parent’s wine business at 14, and after he took over in 2003, he grew it from $3 million to $60 million a year in revenue.

Vaynerchuk spotted the internet’s potential early, launching a channel on YouTube in 2006 to promote the wine business. Famous for hard work and ‘hustle’, Vaynerchuk now owns a $100 million social media digital agency, VaynerMedia, and gives inspirational speeches internationally about entrepreneurship and social influencing.

Book Synopsis: The book is part motivational and part social media strategy manual. Vaynerchuk explains how personal branding over social media is crucial to success today as an entrepreneur.

The book is in two parts. The first part gets you pumped up for the road ahead and gives you eight foundational principals on which to build your business.

The second part delves deeper into different social media platforms, covering YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and a few others. Vaynerchuk shows you how to use each platform to gain attention and grow your entrepreneurial endeavours. Each chapter is illustrated with real-life case studies from successful small businesses who have followed his framework.

Even though the book is nearly three years old, it’s often found near the top of the charts. It ranks top 10 on Amazon Audible in the categories for Social Media, Web Marketing, and E-commerce. Many people consider it one of the first books to buy when you are thinking about starting a business.

The book is available in several formats. There are the usual hardback and paperback, plus Kindle too. The best way to absorb it is via Amazon Audible, though. Narrated by Vaynerchuk and two other colleagues, you get to understand and learn the book’s lessons via Gary Vee’s unique style of delivery.

Amazon Link To Book: Buy The Book Now.

Book 2: Primalbranding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future: Create Belief Systems that Attract Communities.

Author: Patrick Hanlon

Number of pages: 272

Published: 2011

Why should you listen to him?: Patrick Hanlon is a world-renowned branding consultant. He has worked with the likes of Levi’s, PayPal, and Shopify to help them develop their brands and connect with new audiences.

He gives talks and lectures internationally on the topic of branding, is a contributor to the major news networks, and owns several consulting businesses which offer advice on branding in the digital age.

Book Synopsis: How do some companies like Tesla, create a horde of devoted followers while other businesses, despite access to the same level of resources, struggle or even become objects of scorn?

Hanlon argues that companies like Tesla succeed because they build a following of people who become true believers and advocates for their brand.

Primalbranding identifies the seven pieces of ‘primal code’ that humans instinctively use to form groups. He then applies this to branding and shows you how you can use these hardwired human dynamics and apply them to shape your brand and attract a legion of followers.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section explains the seven elements of the primal code. Including concepts such as ‘the creation story’, ‘the rituals’, and ‘the leader’. Hanlon then shows how these parts come together to foster ‘primal belonging’.

Sections two and three then show how these immutable traits can be used by just about anyone or anything to market and promote their products.

The book is available in hardback, paperback, Kindle and also as an MP3 CD (hello 2011!). If you want to build a following that will shout your name from the rooftops and promote your brand freely, it’s an essential one for your reading list.

Amazon Link To Book: Buy The Book Now.

Book 3: Innovation from Desperation: The Unfiltered Failures & Successes of an OG Social Media Marketer

Author: Desiree Martinez

Number of pages: 234

Published: 2020

Why should you listen to her?: Desiree Martinez is an entrepreneur, YouTuber, and all-round social media guru. As a military spouse, a life moving from base to base with her Air Force husband left her with few career opportunities and forced her to act for herself and think entrepreneurially.

She was surprised to learn that Facebook, a platform she knew well from her college days, was becoming an essential platform for businesses. So she started a social media consulting firm and has since helped hundreds of businesses shape their social presence.

Book Synopsis:

My 5* review for this book which I posted to Amazon reads:

“A real heartfelt walk through the ups and downs of working in media and social media in this current age. Running a business, raising a family and growing a brand is not easy. This is a warts and all story sharing some truly inspirational lessons. Well worth a read!”

The book is part autobiography and part how to launch your own business. It provides an unfiltered account of the ups and downs of launching a business with little support and no roadmap.

There are many lessons to learn from the book. Desiree covers topics like becoming a better content creator, what to do when a new social media platform becomes hot, and how to keep on going when everything seems to conspire against you.

Released in 2020, it also contains a chapter covering the impact of the pandemic. It’s a book to read if you can’t see yourself in any of the thousands of books available about entrepreneurship. Desiree says that she was the girl at school you who would never think could launch their own business, never mind write a book!

If that sounds like you, then this is a book worth reading.

The book is available in paperback and on Kindle, and it’s one I really recommend that you read.

Amazon Link To Book: Buy The Book Now.

Book 4: The 4-Hour Workweek

Author: Tim Ferris

Number of pages: 416

Published: 2011

Why should you listen to him?: Tim Ferris is a writer, podcaster, investor, and entrepreneur. Many know him today for his podcast about lifestyle and smart working, but it was this book – The 4-hour Work Week – that propelled him onto the global stage.

He has advised or invested in many well know internet startups, like Evernote, Stumbleupon, and Uber.

Book Synopsis: One of the best books about entrepreneurship available to read.

Ferris argues in this now-famous book about how you should strive to avoid the 9-5 and instead choose to live life on your terms by building lifestyle businesses.

Ferris writes about how he started work after college and found himself working 80 hours a week for $40,000 a year. After a little experimentation with various business ideas and working strategies, he launched his own brand of supplements and soon started earning $40,000 every month, working just 4 hours per week.

Ferris achieved his success by working smartly. He used the 80/20 principle made famous by Italian economist Pareto and outsourced most menial tasks to cheap virtual assistants overseas.

The 4-hour Work Week gives you the tools and the inspiration to build a business of your own, and enjoy the benefits while you are still young by taking ‘mini-retirements’.

Essentially, you design and launch a business that can operate day-to-day without your presence. Something that earns money on autopilot so you can head out into the world and seek out unforgettable experiences.

The book is in four parts; Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation. Each step in the framework guides you through his approach to building a lifestyle business and contains lots of real-life examples to illustrate the points.

The book is available in hardback, paperback, Kindle, and audio CD. It’s become a classic of the genre and regularly makes it into top-10s of books about entrepreneurship.

Amazon Link To Book: Buy The Book Now.

I hope you find this list of books useful.

Remember, if you sometimes struggle to find the time actually to sit down and read; there is an alternative. You can listen to a book when you are out and about—maybe travelling to work or out getting coffee.

You can download and listen to many useful books about YouTube and entrepreneurship using Amazon Audible. Every month for a small monthly subscription, you can listen to a book often narrated by the author themselves.

Educating yourself is the single best thing you can do for your career, so why not try listening to two of the books mentioned above with a 30-day trial of Amazon Audible.

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HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE LISTS TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How to Make Money on YouTube With Fitness

Thanks to the wealth of information we now know about our bodies—and probably in no small part because of the ubiquitous presence of attractive social media stars all over the Internet—the general public has never been more concerned with their health as they are today. You only need to look at the sheer number of fitness products, services, gyms, and, yes, YouTube channels.

There is clearly a healthy demand for fitness content, and where there is demand, there is an opportunity to make money. That being said, just because the demand is there doesn’t mean that making money serving that market is straightforward or intuitive.

But fear not, we have put together this bumper post on how to make money on YouTube with fitness content just for you.

We’re nice like that.

How to Write a YouTube Title

1. Standard YouTube Advice Applies

The first thing to note is that fitness videos on YouTube are no different from any other videos on YouTube, and all the same rules for success apply.

This post may be on how to make money on YouTube with fitness content, but you should absolutely check out other more general resources on succeeding on YouTube. There are plenty on this very site, not to mention the YouTube channel.

There is lots to cover in the realm of fitness videos specifically, so we’re not going to rehash anything we don’t need to here.

Just be aware that all those posts and videos about YouTube success that don’t mention fitness in the title are still well worth your time.

2. Practice What You Preach

When you are claiming to be an authority on something—which is precisely what you are doing when you give any kind of advice on YouTube—there is an element of trust involved. Specifically, the viewer’s trust that you know what you are talking about.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times our mother’s told us not to judge a book by its cover, we always do. In other words, even if you have a wall full of qualifications in a host of fitness-related fields, the viewers are going to be sceptical about coming to your for fitness content if you are overweight, or you are out of breath after relatively mild activity.

Whatever it is you are demonstrating (weight loss, bulking up, improved cardio, etc.), make sure you can back up your words with actions.

If you can’t, your viewers might see it as a sign that your methods don’t work, and go elsewhere.

There is an exception to this rule, however…

How to Make Money on YouTube With Fitness

3. Take Your Viewers on a Journey

The exception to the above rule is if you are creating journey videos. These are videos where you are going on your own fitness journey and taking your viewers along for the ride.

In these cases, it would make no sense if you were already in great shape at the start of the series.

For example, a journey series on you getting your weight down to 160 lbs won’t hold much interest if you are starting off at 171 lbs. If you are starting at 230 lbs, on the other hand, people will be interested in your success.

Success is another important factor here. If you start this series and, ultimately, fail in your goal, it can leave a sour taste in the mouths of your viewers and may put them off of coming back for other content.

If you have unflappable confidence in your own ability to stick it out and reach your goals, by all means, jump in. If you want to play it a little more cautiously, however, consider creating the whole series first, then uploading the videos when you are done.

If for some unfortunate reason, you don’t succeed in your goal, you don’t have to release the series.

4. Align Yourself With Suitable Partners

The fitness boom we are experiencing is not limited to YouTube, and there is plenty of opportunity in taking advantage of that fact.

Whether it’s a trendy new protein shake, an innovative piece of exercise equipment, or the latest in high-tech fitness gadgetry, there is seemingly no end to fitness products and services.

When looking at potential partners, whether it’s for affiliate linking, a full-on brand deal, or anything in between, be sure to go with a company or product that suits your channel.

Try to avoid some of the more common partners, like Squarespace, and opt for a product or service that will appeal to your audience.

Similarly, if you are preaching the benefits of an organic diet, don’t promote processed protein powder!

How to Make Money on YouTube With Fitness 1

5. Don’t Promote Dangerous Diets or Unsafe Techniques

As much as we like to think a disclaimer at the start of our videos carries a lot of legal weight, they’re not as reliable as many seem to believe.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t put disclaimers in your video, but they won’t necessarily protect you from legal action if you advocate an exercise or recipe that ends up seriously injuring someone or adversely affecting their health.

The unfortunate reality of the legal system is that it is possible for anyone to take anyone else to court, even when there are airtight legal documents in place.

Granted, having said documents makes it far less likely such a case would ever see a courtroom, and even less likely that the complainant would win any resulting case, but the risk is always there.

All of this is to say that you should be wary of what you advocate in your videos. If something is extremely risky or highly controversial, it may be worth just steering clear of it.

How to Make Money on YouTube With Fitness 2

6. Find a Niche Within a Niche

If you’re reading this post, you clearly already have a main niche—fitness. However, as we mentioned at the top, fitness is a big niche, and there is a lot of competition there.

If you want to succeed at making money with fitness content on YouTube, you will benefit from drilling down even further to find a more specific area within the fitness niche to focus on.

You could focus on vegan nutrition for athletes or deadlifting technique.

You could even focus your content on how to get the best workouts without going to the gym, or retrospectives of famous athletes.

And, of course, there are more obvious options, such as reviewing fitness gear or posting short workout routines.

Don’t feel as though you have to appeal to everybody.

By zeroing in on a smaller subsection of the fitness niche, you shrink your potential audience, sure, but you also increase your chances of capturing that audience in the process.

7. Be Interesting and Unique

Such is the interest in fitness right now that even with a more focussed niche, you will still be facing plenty of competition for views.

To combat this, try to make your videos as unique as possible. If you have a lot of personality, you could achieve this by simply being yourself on camera, assuming that all that personality you have is likeable.

You can also give your videos a unique flair by adding a twist to your content, such as showing unconventional ways to get a great workout, or even something as seemingly minor as shooting your workout videos in interesting locations.

These factors do not have to be significant. Every touch of uniqueness you add to your content sets you apart from other channels, making you more memorable.

Of course, some viewers may not like your unique touches and see them as a reason to go elsewhere, but that is part of being a YouTuber; you have to accept that not everyone will like you.

How to Make Money on YouTube With Fitness 4

8. Sell Your Own Products

If your channel starts to really take off, you could look to leverage that success by selling additional products.

You could go the whole hog, and work with manufacturers to develop and market your own unique products or services, of course, but if that is a little too deep for you, there is another way.

Many companies provide turnkey solutions for merchandise in much the same way that YouTube’s own merchandise solution works. These services allow you to modify products with your own logos and designs, selling things like T-shirts and mugs.

Of course, mugs and T-shirts aren’t very fitness-specific, so you will probably want to look a little further afield than YouTube’s own merchandising solution. One option is Total Merchandise, who offer an enormous range of customisable products, including things like sports flasks and outdoor gear. It should be noted that you would have to buy a large quantity from a service like Total Merchandise, whereas YouTube’s solution would sell directly to your customers.

9. Consider Partnering With Other Fitness Channels

If you have taken the advice we gave above about drilling down into the fitness niche to find an area where you can flourish, then you might want to consider teaming up with other YouTubers in the fitness niche.

Of course, you want to partner with people who are not offering exactly the same kind of content as you. For example, if you had a channel specialising in cardio workouts, you might partner with a channel that focuses on weight lifting or a channel that covers nutrition.

You wouldn’t partner with another cardio channel, however, because you would then be competing with each other.

The goal of this kind of partnership is to help each other grow and succeed. Someone may come to your channel for cardio but then go looking elsewhere for weight lifting videos. In this kind of partnership, you would be able to direct those viewers to your partner channel, and vice versa.

This way, you and your partners get to provide your combined viewers with a total fitness package, while at the same time helping each other to grow.

How to Make Money on YouTube With Fitness 5

10. Motivate

Most of us mere mortals have motivation problems when it comes to exercising, and it is those motivation-deprived people that will likely make up the bulk of your audience.

Showing your viewers amazing techniques for getting toned abs or shedding that excess weight won’t count for much if they can’t muster up the willpower and interest to use those techniques on a regular basis.

In short, don’t neglect the motivational aspect of your videos.

We’re not saying you should don bright lycra and turn the cheerfulness up to eleven while you bounce around to upbeat dance music… unless you want to, of course. But put some thought into ways to help your viewers muster up the energy to do your workouts, or follow your routines.

Remember, the more success stories your channel creates, the bigger your reputation will become, and the more successful you are likely to be.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, much of advice for how to make money on YouTube with fitness videos is the same as it is for any other video, and as such, hasn’t been included in this post.

Things like making eye-catching thumbnails and attention-grabbing titles, promoting your channel on social media, uploading regularly, all of these are crucial components to a typical successful channel, and it is worth taking some time to look over some of the other posts on this blog to learn more about that side of things.

For fitness specifically, the most significant piece of advice we can give you is to be good at what you do.

With other kinds of YouTube videos, the ultimate gatekeeper to success is the quality of the content. If the videos are poor, the channel won’t succeed. While this is just as true for fitness videos, there is the added dimension of the fitness content itself.

You could make the best videos in the world from a production and entertainment standpoint, but if they don’t help people lose weight or gain muscle or do whatever it is they are supposed to be getting help with, then the channel will ultimately fail.

And don’t be afraid to check out the competition. If you find a channel in your niche—or very close to your niche—that is incredibly successful, watch their videos, analyse their content, and see what they are doing that is leading to that success.

Please don’t steal from them, of course, but look for elements that you can incorporate into your videos.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

That is why I took the plunge and invested in my editing and design process with Adobe Creative Suite. They offer a WIDE range of tools to help make amazing videos, simple to use tools for overlays, graphics, one click tools to fix your audio and the very powerful Photoshop graphics program to make eye-catching thumbnails.

Best of all you can get a free trial for 30 days on their website, a discount if you are a student and if you are a regular human being it starts from as little as £9 per month if you want to commit to a plan.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

Maybe you’re on a bus, a train or sat in a living room with a 5 year old singing baby shark on loop… for HOURS. Or, you are trying to make as little noise as possible while your new born is FINALLY sleeping.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. PlaceIT can help you STAND OUT on YouTube

I SUCK at making anything flashy or arty.

I have every intention in the world to make something that looks cool but im about as artistic as a dropped ice-cream cone on the web windy day.

That is why I could not live on YouTube without someone like PlaceIT. They offer custom YouTube Banners, Avatars, YouTube Video Intros and YouTube End Screen Templates that are easy to edit with simple click, upload wizard to help you make amazing professional graphics in minutes.

Best of all, some of their templates are FREE! or you can pay a small fee if you want to go for their slightly more premium designs (pst – I always used the free ones).

5. StoryBlocks helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

I can talk about skydiving, food, money, kids, cats – ANYTHING I WANT – with a quick search on the StoryBlocks website I can find a great looking clip to overlay on my videos, keeping them entertained and watching for longer.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How to Make Money on YouTube as a Gamer

Of all the niches that video streaming platforms like YouTube have either created or allowed to flourish, few can boast as much unprecedented growth as gaming.

Twitch may be the first name that comes to mind when you think about making gaming video content, but it is only very recently that YouTube began to compete with Twitch in the live streaming arena directly.

Even before that, YouTube acted as an excellent complementary platform for Twitch streamers to put highlight videos out on. Now, of course, YouTube is making moves of their own in the streaming world, which only increases the number of ways you can make money with gaming content on the platform.

The truth is, there are many ways to make money as a gaming YouTuber. Sponsorship, affiliate marketing, live stream super chats, superstickers, YouTube premieres, donations and directly selling services like direct gaming advice or multiplayer games where you join their fireteam in a co-op game –  and even a few ways to make money on YouTube with gaming content if you aren’t a gamer.

This post will cover more than just video ideas for gaming content. There are some interesting legal question marks over this niche that deserve mention.

So keep reading as we explore how to make money on YouTube as a gamer.

Affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful tools for any budding YouTuber or Twitch gamer looking to make money online but it an be full of jargon. That is why I wrote a deep dive into affiliate marketing for beginners to help you wade through all the confusing words and get you on the path to making money online fast – without any need to buy silly expensive courses.

How to Make Money on YouTube as a Gamer

Gaming Content and Monetisation

If you intend to make Let’s Play style videos, there is a question of rights ownership that may affect your ability to make money from your content. YouTube has its own policy on software and video game content, which essentially boil down to it being fine to monetise as long as there is commentary and instructional value that is associate with the video.

All of that is a wordy way of saying you can’t just have an hour of video game footage playing while you talk about something unrelated to the game, or don’t talk at all.

You won’t be prevented from making this kind of content, of course, but YouTube may demonetise it, which will put a major roadblock in your efforts to make money as a YouTube gamer.

The other thing to note in the legal realm of YouTube gaming is the policies of the companies behind the games themselves. Though they have since eased up on their draconian approach to gaming content, Nintendo has been an example of this for some time.

This is because they would routinely claim videos of their games through YouTube’s Content ID system, claiming the revenue those videos made.

Since then, Nintendo has adopted a more fan-friendly approach, instead issuing a set of guidelines that state more or less what YouTube’s own policies state—that you have to add commentary or creative input to the content. If you want to just upload straight video of Nintendo games, you have to do it using Nintendo’s own tools.

That being said, it is worth noting that Nintendo chose to soften their stance on this after negative feedback, but there is no legal impetus for them to do so, and nothing to stop them from going back to a more hostile approach in the future.

Of course, there are more than just the Nintendos, Sonys, and Microsofts of the world.

The Internet has fostered a vibrant independent game development scene, and many of the developers and publishers in that scene are more than happy to let YouTubers make content using their games as it brings more exposure to their product.

An excellent example of this can be found at Devolver Digital, a small game development studio who actively encourage people to make content using their games, and even have a page on their site where you can enter your channel name to get written permission.

How to Make Money on YouTube as a Gamer 1

Choosing Which Games to Make Content Around

Once you’ve made peace with the various legal hurdles surrounding intellectual property, there is the small matter of what kind of content you intend to make.

There are plenty of different types of gaming video you can make, and we’re going to list a lot of them shortly, including examples of each.

As with any attempt to create regular content—especially if you intend to make money from it, one of the best things you can do is play to your strengths. It will not only produce better content, but it will also make your life more comfortable since it is always less work to do something you are good at than it is to do something you struggle with.

As an example, let’s consider a personality-based YouTube gaming channel. This is a channel where the YouTuber themself is what draws the views because the subscribers like to watch that person specifically. With a channel like this, the YouTuber could theoretically play anything they wanted, and the views would still roll in.

But by playing to their strengths, they can make better content and attract more views than just those diehard fans who will tune in for anything.

Two examples we have picked out are PewDiePie and DrDisRespect. Both of these YouTubers are incredibly popular, and could probably make a video of them eating a sandwich and still get millions of views. Despite this, they have clear strengths in the video game niche.

For PewDiePie’s part, he greatly enhanced his popularity by playing horror games. It was his comical reactions to jump scares and tense moments that pushed his channel into the upper echelons of YouTube during his early days of making videos, something that he would not have been able to reproduce with a different genre of game.

This stage of PewDiePie’s YouTube career is an excellent example of playing to your strengths, as PewDiePie started out making video game commentaries, but it wasn’t until he started making horror game videos that his channel really took off.

In the case of DrDisRespect, as his name suggests, his gimmick is being disrespectful. Now, while he could be disrespectful while playing a casual, friendly game like Animal Crossing, it wouldn’t have quite the same impact as it does while playing competitive multiplayer shooters. DrDisRespect, for all his gimmicks, is a very good gamer and has plenty of opportunities to boast during his playthroughs.

There may be a bit of trial and error in finding your strengths, but it is a worthy goal to achieve, especially when you are just starting out.

Who knows, maybe PewDiePie would have just been another successful YouTuber with a few million followers had he not started making horror game videos, rather than the most successful individual YouTuber in the history of the platform.

Different Types of Gaming Content

Before you can play to your strengths, you need to know what kind of content there is a market for. Of course, it’s worth noting that there will always be rewards for those who can think outside of the box and be successful because of it.

What we are about to list are established types of gaming content with proven popularity. We are not saying these are the only options if you want to make gaming content.

Unfortunately, if you want to blaze new trails, you will be on your own on that journey. After all, it wouldn’t be trailblazing if there was a post like this one telling you how to do it!

Straight Playthroughs

These are the kinds of videos that companies like Nintendo won’t allow you to monetise, so you will have to think carefully about what games you intend to make your videos around if you choose this path.

With a platform as big as YouTube, there is an audience for just about everything, including watching games being played. Sometimes it is merely a desire to watch the narrative in some of the more cinematic games, other times it is a gamer wanting to see parts of the game they missed but are not prepared to play the game again. With enormous open-world games like Fallout 4 and Grand Theft Auto V, it is easy to miss a lot of the content available to you. It can even be people who can’t play a particular game for one reason or another but still want to see it.

If you choose this style of gaming video, you will want to make sure you are offering something to the viewer. If you are showing the cinematics, don’t have 3 hours of regular gameplay in between.

Gameplay With Commentary

You may have seen these videos labelled as Let’s Play videos in the past. These videos involve the YouTuber playing through a game while talking about it. Videos like this will often have the YouTuber’s face in the video so the viewers can see their reactions.

This is by far the most popular kind of gaming content on YouTube, and both of the above examples of PewDiePie and DrDisRespect fall into this category.

Speedruns

If you are a particularly talented gamer, there is a whole niche around the ability to complete video games as quickly as possible. There is no limitation in terms of the game, with everything from retro platformers to huge open-world role-playing games being completed in ludicrously short spaces of time.

One example of this kind of channel can be found in GarishGoblin, who may not have that many subscribers, but has been able to amass millions of views with various speedruns in the Halo franchise.

Comedy Videos

Comedy gaming videos can come in several forms. One of the more famous examples is Red Vs Blue, a series on the Rooster Teeth Animation channel that features comedy sketches acted out using the Halo video game franchise.

Another example is SovietWomble, who creates highlight videos from his streams, often with humorous edits and effects to enhance the final product.

These types of videos are considerably more work in terms of editing when compared to something like a commentary video. On the other hand, they require less skill at actual gaming, which makes them an excellent option for people who enjoy gaming but aren’t necessarily that good at it.

Update Videos

Update videos could take the form of a general roundup of gaming news; however, that would be a competitive niche to enter, and one that would contain several media outlets. Success may be more attainable with a model like that employed by the YouTuber, ShadowFrax.

ShadowFrax makes videos detailing the latest updates surrounding the game, Rust, an open-world multiplayer survival game that is continually getting new content and updates from the developers. T

here are hundreds of popular games in active development, and finding one that you like and focusing your content on that could be an excellent way to create gaming content.

How to Make Games

This option is a little less attainable for your average YouTuber, but if you have the ability, making videos on how to make certain popular games may be a good option, as demonstrated by small YouTuber, b3agz, whose videos on how to make Minecraft and 7 Days to Die have amassed hundreds of thousands of views despite only having a few thousand subscribers.

Of course, you don’t necessarily need to create full step-by-step tutorials in the way that b3agz does; you could make videos analysing game mechanics, or talking about the methods behind certain aspects of the game. There has never been a better time to be providing resources for game developers, with game development being more popular now than at any point in its history.

How to Make Money on YouTube as a Gamer Conclusions

Ultimately, the key to making money on YouTube as a gamer—or as anything else, for that matter—is to make good content that people want to watch.

Granted, you must navigate the hurdles we mentioned above regarding intellectual property rights, but once you have done that, the first thing you should be focussing on is your content.

If you make good content, your chances of succeeding on YouTube—and making money as a result of that success—will be significantly improved. And, while we can’t guarantee a good video will make you money, we can say with confidence that a lousy video won’t make you money.

Or, perhaps more accurately, it could make you money, but it will be a short term thing that could damage your earning potential in the long run, as your channel will get a reputation for poor content, both in the eyes of the viewers and of YouTube itself.

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DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How to Make Money on YouTube Using Other People’s Videos

Making money on YouTube with other people’s content is certainly possible, though, as you might expect, there are ethical considerations depending on how you go about it.

If you just re-upload someone else’s content wholesale, without any kind of modification, and pass it off as your own, there is no question that it is wrong in every sense of the word, including YouTube’s rules and guidelines.

So, not only would you be doing something generally unpleasant, but you would also likely fall afoul of YouTube’s policies, and lose any monetary gain you might have had.

That being said, there are ways to make money using other people’s content on YouTube that are entirely within YouTube’s terms, and you can do it in ways that won’t have the YouTubers whose content you are using wishing ill fortune on you.

So let’s dive into how to make money on YouTube using other people’s videos!

How to Make Money on YouTube Using Other People's Videos

Stealing Content

There isn’t much more to say about this that we didn’t cover in the intro, but just to reiterate; taking another YouTuber’s content and re-uploading without their permission has very little going for it as a money-making tactic.

It will not make you many friends, you will be competing with the original video for views, and it will almost certainly be a short term thing as YouTube will eventually shut you down when they find out you are stealing content.

It’s best to steer clear of this method entirely.

Getting Permission

We’re going to discuss some methods here that, strictly speaking, could be done without permission from the YouTuber whose content you are using, but it’s always worth getting permission if you can, regardless of whether you need it.

If you can somehow get permission for it, even the above method of just taking someone else’s content and re-uploading it would be fine. We can’t think of many situations where the original creator would be okay with that, but it would be perfectly fine if they did.

But, as a general courtesy, it is nice to ask YouTuber’s if you can use their content, even if it’s only a small clip. And, who knows? They may even share your video.

Getting the permissions itself can be tricky, especially if the YouTuber doesn’t check their spam folder too often.

You should be able to find a contact email address for them in their channel’s “About” page (you may have to prove you’re not a bot in order to see it), though the existence of an email address doesn’t mean anyone is looking at the inbox.

You can also try pinging them on social media. What you want to avoid, however, is spamming them with a barrage of messages across different platforms.

Try to leave a little bit of breathing space between attempts to contact them, as waking up to dozens of notifications in different apps all from the same person may be a bit off-putting.

In your messages, be polite, and it can’t hurt to throw in a compliment about their content. After all; you are wanting to use it. Y

ou should also let them know what you are planning to do with the content you are seeking permission to use, and be honest. Nothing can burn bridges like getting permission to use someone’s content for one thing and then using it for something else, especially if the thing you end up using it for is something the original creator would object to.

How to Make Money on YouTube Using Other People's Videos 1

Reused Content

As this post is talking about making money specifically, we need to address YouTube’s stance on reused content.

There is a lot of content on YouTube (and other parts of the web) that are fair game for you to use on your channel from a legal standpoint. Creative Commons content and content in the public domain being the main examples of this.

However, being legally allowed to use content does not mean YouTube will let you monetise it. Their monetisation policies specifically call out “reused content” as something that cannot be monetised.

What this means in practical terms is that even though you are allowed—both legally and under YouTube’s terms—to take a video that is licensed under Creative Commons (as long as you give full attribution) and post it on your channel in full, YouTube will not allow you to monetise it unless you have made sufficient modification to it. How these modifications might look is a significant part of the rest of this post, so keep reading.

What About Fair Use?

Fair use is a convention through which copyrighted material can be used without the express permission of the copyright holder or a licensing agreement to use the content in some circumstances.

The content you produce must be “transformative”, which can include commentary and parody, as well as some other kinds of content.

Fair use is often misunderstood to be some kind of shield to protect you against copyright strikes, but that is not how it works. Fair use is a defence—not a black and white policy—and it is determined on a case-by-case basis. That means that, even if you were entirely within the spirit of fair use, you would still have to go to court and make your case if you faced a copyright owner who is aggressive enough with their legal team to take it that far.

One of the problems with fair use on YouTube is their automated content recognition system, which has no concept of fair use and will flag your videos regardless if it recognises copyrighted material.

As sad a state of affairs as it may seem, it would generally make your life much easier if you steered clear of copyrighted content altogether.

How to Make Money on YouTube Using Other People’s Videos

Now that we’ve told you what you can’t do, let’s get into what you can do.

Here we are going to outline some different ways you can make money on YouTube using other people’s videos, as well as how you would go about it and any other relevant information.

Reaction Videos

Reaction videos are more popular than ever and are not limited to movie trailers. Just about any viral video can be good fodder for a reaction video, though it can help to stick within a particular genre or type of video.

For example, Stevie Knight is a popular reaction YouTuber who reacts to rap songs specifically. For the super famous YouTubers, reaction videos can be about anything because the audience is there to see them, whatever they are doing. But for us mere mortals, it’s probably best to find a niche and stick to it.

One of the critical aspects of reaction videos, as obvious as it sounds, is reacting. If you sit and watch a nine-minute video, pulling the occasional face and barely saying anything, you’re not going to make much of an impression.

And you may fall afoul of YouTube’s reuse policy, as they could deem it not to be sufficiently different from the original video.

Needless to say, this type of video is more suited to YouTubers with a lot of personality.

You are banking on people wanting to see you. They can go and watch the original video easily enough, or check out one of the other reaction YouTubers covering this video, and if you are bland and unentertaining, they may do just that.

Be yourself, as well.

Being a reaction, YouTuber will quickly fall apart if you are putting on a persona. Try not to worry about pleasing everyone; it’s an impossible task.

Just be yourself and be consistent with your videos.

Breakdown Videos

Breakdown videos are very similar to reaction videos but a little more technical in nature.

Where a reaction video is all about the… well… reaction, breakdown videos go into detail about the content itself. In fact, the YouTuber we mentioned above, Stevie Knight, would be a good example for this kind of video as well, as he doesn’t just react to rap music, he breaks down the lyrics.

Breakdown videos are also common for political and social commentary, as well as movie trailers and speeches. The aim of a breakdown is either to respond to things in the video or to give your unique insight to the viewers.

If you decide to go down this path, you make sure you have something to offer.

Unlike reaction videos, where a lively personality and a bit of comedy can be enough, a breakdown video needs to add something to the conversation. If you are breaking down the latest Marvel movie trailer, make sure you are well-versed in Marvel lore, so that you can spot things that regular viewers may miss.

Clip Videos

Clip videos can be on a range of topics, such as “Top 10” videos, or “This Week In…”. An example of this can be found on GameDevHQ’s channel, where they have a weekly series that lists off some of the most interesting projects being developed in the Unity game engine.

This kind of video is very appealing to those more camera-shy YouTubers out there, as it doesn’t require you to be on-camera to make content. It would typically take the form of a series of clips with voice-over narration saying something about each clip.

In these cases, as long as the clips are not too long, you can usually claim fair use with regards to your use of the clip, however, as we stated above, fair use, even when used correctly, is no guarantee that you will be free to use the content.

It would be best to get permission from the content owners first, but if you keep the clips short, you should be okay.

How to Make Money Doing Covers on YouTube 6

Become a Music Content Aggregator/Promoter

This one is a little less conventional, but you could become a channel for promoting unknown musicians.

The idea here would be that you are putting the music videos out on a channel that has more exposure—benefitting the artist—while you run advertisements on those videos.

Whether or not you cut the artists in on the revenue would be up to you, although it will undoubtedly be easier to get artists on board if you are going to pay them.

The main problem with this kind of channel is that it is challenging to get off of the ground, as you need a significant number of subscribers to draw in more popular artists.

One trick could be to use Creative Commons music in the beginning. You would not be able to monetise these videos due to YouTube’s reuse policy, but you wouldn’t be able to monetise in the beginning anyway due to the requirements for joining YouTube’s Partner Programme.

The goal would be to build the channel’s reputation and following up to the point that you can entice up and coming artists to release music through your channel, and hopefully reach a point where all of the content you publish is original.

You can even use cover songs to get your foot in the door and leverage attention. If you need help in making money from cover songs then check out my deep dive blog where I break down the legal points, the fast traffic tips and some great tweaks you can use to get the maximum impact for minimal impact on your pocket.

Mashup Videos

This one requires quite a bit of ability with audio editing software, but you could make mashups of existing music videos.

These tend to be popular when the original videos are from contrasting genres, making the final result something of a novelty that will interest fans of both genres.

One of the most well-known examples of this kind of video is an interesting mashup between Justin Beiber and Slipknot. The less similar to the original songs, the better, or you may get hit with YouTube’s Content ID.

It should be noted that there are legal obligations when using copyrighted music, even if it is only small samples.

You probably won’t end up in a courtroom if you get caught—it is far more likely you’ll get a copyright strike or your ad revenue diverted to the copyright holder—but the possibility is always there when you break copyright law.

What we’re saying here is, strictly speaking, you should get the proper licensing sorted with any copyright holders before creating mashups video. This blog does not endorse doing anything that breaks the law.

You could always license a song from a music supplier such as LickD where you can make cover-songs or mashups and not have to worry about revenue share or copyright clam for the audio. They have a wide selection of popular tracks and you even get your first track for free when you sign up.

Conclusions

You may have noticed that there is still quite a bit of work involved in these various methods.

Unfortunately, there is no way of making money on YouTube with other people’s videos that is simultaneously allowed by YouTube, legal, and does not require some effort on your part.

However you could always try stock video content (for example I use storyblocks for all my b-roll) to pad out your creations and all you have to do is talk over the clips – you wouldn’t even need to show your face.

If that sounds perfect I have 12 Channel Ideas Without Showing Your Face just for you!

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5:37 – Generate Business Leads with YouTube – if you can create content that set you up as an expert in your niche you can then leverage that for business leads, sales and maybe ongoing income. I make a large percentage of my personal income from this method and can help grow a business with a stable foundation.

6:58 – Make Money on YouTube with Merchandise – TShirts, Hoodies, Teddy Bears, mugs and more – all through fulfillment providers like TeeSpring or SpreadShirt – https://www.AlanSpicer.com/shop

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