How Do I Make Money from YouTube?

YouTube has become the internet’s dominant video-sharing platform, with anyone able to create an account and start uploading in exceptional quality today. Featuring around 2.3 billion users from around the globe, YouTube has an unspeakably large audience to reach with the perfect videos. 

But considering the time and effort that goes into producing stellar YouTube videos, how can you make money from your work? Fortunately, there’s a myriad of direct and indirect ways that YouTube enables creators to boost their revenue.

Here, we look at the most common money-making strategies that build your audience, spread brand awareness and ultimately boost your bottom line.

Join the YouTube Partner Programme

If you’re serious about earning income from the platform, you need to join the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP). This step means YouTube Ads will get served on your YouTube videos and provide you with a healthy revenue split. 

However, you must first meet the eligibility criteria. This involves having over 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 public watch hours in the last year, and no active community strikes on your channel. 

Although it’ll definitely take some effort to meet these criteria, these requirements are still relatively low for how lucrative the YPP is for creators. Focus on hitting these targets to put your channel on the right path.

Find Video Sponsors

The smartest YouTubers don’t just rely on their advertising revenue. Instead, many channels find and shout out sponsors during each YouTube video, increasing their earnings and limiting the impact of content demonetisation. 

So how can you find sponsors? Hopefully, brands will notice your content and reach out to get their advertisements in front of your audience. However, you can also be the one that starts up the conversation.

By identifying brands with a similar product or audience to your own, you can contact their management to create sponsored content on their behalf. Backed by a razor-sharp pitch, even small channels can secure beneficial partnerships.

Use Affiliate Marketing

Many niches on YouTube are primed for affiliate marketing. This strategy involves becoming a salesperson for another business and convincing your audience to purchase their product via a unique URL.

For instance, photographers that review the latest gear in their YouTube videos might link to featured items on a specific Amazon store, ensuring they earn a commission for every purchase made via their sponsored content.

With many of the world’s largest companies, including Amazon, Airbnb and Skillshare, having easy-to-access affiliate programmes, these schemes are outstanding for YouTubers looking to increase their returns.

Boost Channel Members

As audiences now want more options to directly support their favourite creators, YouTube has rolled out its ‘Channel Memberships’ feature, where users can pay a small monthly fee. 

In exchange, creators must provide at least one perk for their most loyal audience, from member-only content and special badges to exclusive emojis. In addition, you might decide to host members-only live streams or live stream chats.

With channels needing to be part of the YouTube Partner Programme to gain access, boosting your Channel Members is another way content creators can generate stellar income from their hard work.

Go Live and Earn Super Chats

Live streaming is becoming increasingly common on YouTube. Many channels regularly host Q&As for their most loyal fans or present informative sessions to provide insight into their industry knowledge.

While live streaming is great for forming a stronger relationship with your audience, you can also earn extra income via Super Chat. With your audience interacting via live messaging, they can make sure their message gets noticed by donating a small amount.

Meanwhile, YouTube has also released Super Stickers. These animated images cost users a small fee to purchase and ensure their support stands out in the chat during a live stream.

Promote Merchandise

YouTube regularly gives creators new ways to earn extra income directly from the platform. But you can take things into your own hands by creating a lineup of merchandise that enables your subscribers to financially support your work.

Whether you make hats, shirts or soft toys, you can always include these items in your video content. Then, at the end of your video, you can add a quick plug to let your audience know how to purchase their own. 

With merchandise for your channel opening up additional revenue streams and often generating a great return on investment, designing your own is a smart choice for your channel’s future.

Make YouTube Your Sales Funnel

Some brands will struggle to gain enough viewers to earn meaningful revenue from YouTube Ads. Plus, others aren’t set up to host live streams or create sponsored content. Fortunately, you can also make YouTube videos simply part of your sales funnel.

By using the platform to generate leads, you can convert viewers to your website and convince them to make a purchase. But how do you find viewers in the first place? You can use Google Ads or enhance your YouTube SEO.

You might also generate highly optimised how-to guides or behind-the-scenes content. Then, pair this with a strong call-to-action to convince your audience to visit your website and make a purchase.

Improve YouTube SEO

You can’t expect to make significant money from YouTube videos if they aren’t optimised for success. As YouTube effectively works like a giant search engine, you need powerful YouTube SEO techniques to skyrocket your reach.

You can start by adding relevant keywords to the video title and description. In addition, you want to create a thumbnail for your video that stands out on the homepage and convinces people to click. 

Alongside other factors like completing your account information and getting active in the comments, a detailed approach to YouTube SEO will dramatically improve your performance on the platform.

Make Money from YouTube Today

With thousands of people from around the globe making a living directly or indirectly from YouTube, there’s no reason you can’t achieve the same goal with the right ideas.

But with millions of channels vying for attention, taking a considered approach goes a long way to delivering success. Backed by a high-end digital marketing agency like First Page Digital, we can help your business reach its objectives with data-driven Google Ads and content marketing strategies.

Ready to learn more? Reach out to our talented team to find out how your business can attract its ideal target market and generate more income from YouTube.