How to Make Money on YouTube, According to Four Professionals Who Use It Regularly. You can make money by posting YouTube videos. And you don’t have to build a large audience to start making money.
“Back in 2015, a friend suggested I start a YouTube channel because that’s where all the heavy hitters are,” says Annagjid “Kee” Taylor, a celebrity hair stylist and the owner of Deeper Than Hair, a salon in Philadelphia. “I was terrified. I didn’t want to reveal all of my secrets to the world in that way.”
“Then a hair client told me that YouTube payouts were how she and her husband paid their bills each month.” “From then on, I was sold.” Taylor shot her first video for her channel on her smartphone. She’s a millionaire now, and her YouTube channel has 1.3 million subscribers.
YouTube offers many different ways to make money with video – with or without a large audience – through paid partnership opportunities, ad revenue, and directing viewers to your own websites or offers.
We polled successful YouTubers who use a variety of methods to make money on YouTube. Here’s what they had to say about it.
Strategies For Making Money on YouTube: An Overview
The good news is that you don’t have to be a film school graduate or a GoPro videographer to generate revenue on YouTube.
Before we get into how much money you can make on the platform, let’s first define your options for monetization and running a successful YouTube channel.
The methods for making money on YouTube can be divided into three categories:
Monetization Tools
From video ads to in-platform tips and YouTube premium subscribers, YouTube creators strive to capture and hold your attention before allowing ads to run on their videos.
How many subscribers needed to make money on youtube? This is a point that greatly influences your earnings on the platform.
Because the channel has enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program, every time you watch an ad within a YouTube video, the channel that posted the video is compensated.
Because Google owns YouTube, signing up for this program includes creating an AdSense account.
Each video view is only worth a few cents, but if your video goes viral or has staying power, the views—and dollars—will start to add up. Channel memberships, in addition to YouTube advertising revenue, are a way to generate recurring revenue on the platform.
Sponsorships
Exploring paid partnerships and creating sponsored content on your YouTube channels is another revenue-generating strategy if you have an engaged audience.
When a creator mentions a product in their video, it’s likely that they were paid to do so, are earning money through a commission-based affiliate link, or both.
Outside Revenue Sources
Many creators use YouTube to direct viewers to other properties, such as a website, an offer, or an affiliate link to another person’s product.
However, in order for any of these strategies to work, you must have multiple videos, clear video descriptions, and an engaged audience.
YouTube influencers and aspiring entrepreneurs are both drawn to YouTube because it provides opportunities to earn money while also building an audience of raving fans.
“It’s more difficult to grow on YouTube than on other platforms,” says Humphrey Yang, an entrepreneur and former financial advisor with 653,000 subscribers on YouTube. “It’s more difficult to build a community, but those who do will be loyal viewers and fans.”
How Many Views or Subscribers Do I Need to Make Money on YouTube?
How many view on youtube to get money?
This is the question that all beginners ask: how many view on youtube to get money? The number of views or subscribers required as a video creator for things to take off is determined by how you intend to make money on the platform.
You could make money right away if you direct viewers to your website or an affiliate link that pays you a commission.
“I’ve made 6+ figures from my relatively small YouTube channel,” says Luisa Zhou, a business coach with 11,900 subscribers on YouTube.
“I started seeing real progress when I was getting 400 new YouTube subscribers per month on average, which took me a year and a half to achieve.” The best way to quickly make money from your YouTube channel is to direct people to your website rather than making money from your videos.”
It’s fine to focus on both on-platform and off-platform monetization strategies at the same time. To enable YouTube’s monetization features, you must first join the YouTube Partner Program.
To be eligible, your YouTube channel must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of public watch time in the last 12 months.
“YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine,” says Jose ‘Caya’ Cayasso, co-founder and CEO of Slidebean, a company that helps startups pitch investors and has 354,000 subscribers on YouTube.
“Find questions that others are attempting to answer, and answer them better than anyone else.” Focus on underserved topics rather than competitive ones.”
Whether you join the YouTube Partner Program or not, cultivating an engaged following is a top priority for any monetization strategy.
Develop a sixth sense for what your audience enjoys watching, and you’ll be ahead of the game when it comes time to start making money.
What Equipment Do I Need to Make Money on YouTube?
It’s easy to be intimidated by YouTube stars and video content that appears to belong in a movie theater.
Many video creators use professional-grade video equipment and even have an entire room or staged space where they film their videos. Know that you don’t need expensive equipment to get started.
“No expensive equipment is required to start and grow your YouTube channel,” says Zhou. “I started with just a webcam and a microphone, and I would recommend the same to new entrepreneurs or freelancers.”
Zhou spent less than $100 on a Logitech c920x webcam and a Movo LV1 lavalier clip-on microphone to get things started.
“You can begin with just an iPhone and possibly an external microphone.” Starting is much more difficult than just having the right equipment; there are many obstacles to overcome, such as fear of failure, being on camera, actually publishing the video, and having a searchable content strategy.”
You have enough hardware to get started and make money on YouTube if you can record yourself with your phone.
You don’t have to appear on camera if you don’t want to; many successful channels create their content using screen-recorded video footage, slideshows, or stock images with voiceover.
How to Start Your YouTube Channel
Before you post any videos, you should take a moment to set up your channel. This includes giving your channel a name, uploading a profile picture, and designing a banner that will appear at the top of your channel page. YouTube’s onboarding page has the most recent specifications for these elements.
Aside from graphics, there’s one more important task you’ll want to prioritize right away: a search strategy. Keep in mind that YouTube is a search engine, and that users navigate the platform by searching for specific words or phrases.
Instead of attempting to rank for general search terms such as “how to exercise,” which are already saturated with results, concentrate on search terms with few results.
“Iterate quickly and create 3-4 videos per ‘experiment,’ taking into account your topic, style, and audience,” Cayasso advises. “If something isn’t working, try changing one of those variables.”
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Use data points such as clickthrough rate and audience retention to determine objectively if your videos are on the right track.
Additionally, Cayaso underlines the need of evaluating your channel metrics. “Make decisions on the basis of data.”
The clickthrough rate and audience retention (how long viewers remain on your video) are two critical measures that can objectively indicate whether or not your content is engaging.
You can view all of your channel analytics and even interact with your subscribers in YouTube Studio. You can also use the YouTube Studio app to keep up with your channel while you’re on the go.
Taylor says, “I check my YouTube Studio app nearly every day.” It’s the same as if I were checking my bank account. You literally observe daily growth, which motivates you to become more involved. It is imperative to engage with other users in the comments section. All of this contributes to your channel’s faster growth; it’s not always about speed.”
Now that you know a little bit more about YouTube, let’s go over three of the best strategies for making money on YouTube.
Strategy No. 1: Direct Viewers to Other Revenue Drivers
YouTube is one of the most popular websites in the world, with millions of visitors every day. If you want to make users aware of a service, program, or product, YouTube can be a great way to find search traffic.
“I personally recommend that first-time entrepreneurs build coaching, consulting, or freelancing businesses because they can charge higher rates than, say, if they run an ecommerce business,” says Zhou, who advocates using YouTube to generate website traffic.
“The sales process does not end when people visit your website.” Offer visitors a free bonus, such as a useful PDF that teaches them something new, and get them on your email list so you can continue to build that relationship with them.”
The attraction of search-based traffic is that your users are actively seeking answers to their questions.
In contrast, some feed-based platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, do not. If you choose to use this strategy, keep in mind that being informative rather than entertaining will get you far.
Strategy No. 2: Monetize Your Viewership via YouTube Itself
If you want to make a lot of money through the YouTube Partner Program, you need traffic – lots of it. Even so, your industry can still have a significant impact on your overall earnings.
According to Yang, “subscriber count is almost irrelevant for making money on YouTube through advertisements.” Your compensation will depend more on views than subscribers.
According to Yang, if you are in the technology niche, you will earn approximately $8 per 1,000 video views. Therefore, if you want $4,000 per month in revenue, you will need 500,000 monthly views, he says.
“Finance allows you to earn between $12 and $20 per 1,000 views. Dropshipping and videos about Amazon FBA have the highest payout rates; channels on these topics can earn between $60 and $80 per 1,000 views. Gaming, on the other hand, earns approximately $2 per 1,000 views. Thus, everything depends on the category.”
A word of caution: this strategy relies heavily on your videos appearing frequently in YouTube’s algorithm, which is subject to change. Pay close attention to which videos are viewed and re-create what is successful.
Strategy No. 3: Pursue Sponsors and Paid Partnership Opportunities
Sooner than you might expect, influencer marketing could become a source of revenue if you have sufficient engagement.
According to Hallie Wilson, director of brand marketing at Darkroom, an integrated growth marketing agency, a high relative engagement rate is one of the most sought-after characteristics in a potential brand partner.
According to Wilson, it is acceptable to pitch yourself to prospective sponsors, but sending a generic email or direct message is ineffective.
She says, “Imagine you are writing a cover letter for a job application.” Companies are seeking specificity, strategy, and intelligence. Be open to integrating yourself into whatever content creation needs [the company] has.”
The good news is that it is not rocket science to figure out how to make money on YouTube. You will need to begin taking action immediately.
Set aside time to begin learning and recording, and you will be well on your way to earning money on YouTube for months and years.
Editora responsável por conteúdos do portal Noticias no Mundo. Jornalista formada pela PUC-SP, escreve sobre conteúdos diversos em várias categorias.