How YouTube creators can make money on the platform and why it is not easy to do so, how to make money from fan-funding and the Partner Program.
YouTube is the go-to place for consuming all the video content you can imagine on different types of topics.
It’s also one of the places that people go to watch all their favourite YouTube sensations who have all found a way to make money from the platform, as well as through other channels for their relevance and influence.
Anyone can make money on YouTube if they are willing to do the work required to build their reputation, increase their followers and subscribers and put out content that is able to capture audiences and have them engaging.
So, what is the easiest way to earn an income on YouTube?
Making money on YouTube
There are many ways of making money on YouTube, but in terms of it being easy, this is unfortunately not the case. It is not as easy as it may look to make money on YouTube, especially if you are just beginning your journey.
It takes a lot to build your YouTube brand and to make a name for yourself on the platform.
There are criteria one needs to meet to start making money, particularly from the YouTube Partner Program such as having 1Â 000 subscribers and 4Â 000 hours watch time accumulated from video views.
Easiest way to make money on YouTube
There is no easy way to make money on YouTube, as whatever you do will require that you put in some effort.
There are many different ways of making money on the platform either from YouTube itself or by using YouTube as a channel to monetise your ideas and your content. Making money on the platform is going to require you to be creative in your approach.
YouTube may not make it easy for creators to make money, but it certainly does reward those who work hard to earn it.
Some of the ways you can make your YouTube journey profitable is by qualifying and joining the YouTube Partner Program.
You will need to have a certain number of subscribers and views on your channel, working with brands, licensing your content to media, selling merchandise, and becoming an affiliate marketer amongst other strategies.
Becoming a YouTube Partner to start earning
One way of making money on YouTube is through becoming a YouTube Partner through their program.
You need to, however, meet the criteria to make partner, which entails having 1Â 000 subscribers and accumulating 4Â 000 video watch hours on your channel in the last 12 months.
Gaining YouTube subscribers can be a slow process and will require you to advertise yourself. Achieving this is possible, but to gain the number of subscribers is where the tough part will come in.
Partners make money from ads, channel memberships or Google AdSense banner ads.
Making money through fan funding
Another way to make money on YouTube allows your fans to play a part in supporting you further than just following you and consuming your content. You can create fan-funding streams to collect donations from your audience.
This can work greatly if you are a creator that people love, and if your fans think your work is worthy of a couple donations.
Fan funding might require some third-party platforms such as Patreon, where you can get paid easily for your content. Tipeee is also another service YouTube creators can use to receive their fan donations.
How much money can you possibly make on YouTube?
This will depend on a number of factors and the channels you are using to make your money. With monetisation through ads, affiliate links and selling sponsored products in your content, you can increase your revenue.
Through ads, you can earn on a cost per impression basis and YouTubers can make money from their views. Google will give creators 55 percent of ad revenues, and keep the remaining 45 percent for themselves.
Affiliate marketing will pay YouTube creators on a cost per sale or cost per lead basis meaning a creator earns commissions.
Final thoughts
When people watch their favourite content creators on YouTube and see how much money they are potentially making for themselves, this could lead people to think that making money on the platform is as simple as shooting a video and posting it on your channel to get views.
However, making money on YouTube is not going to be easy and will require you to be strategic with how you plan to gain a good number of subscribers and views to make it into the Partner Program, and start earning as well as exploring other channels of making money successfully.