Every person who has shot a video for YouTube has at least once wondered: how can I make more money on YouTube? In this piece you'll discover the comprehensive list of 9 ways to earn on YouTube!
Making money on YouTube is a feat easily reached with the right strategy and quality content. However, millions off the platform? According to Forbes, that feat was reached by precious few:
- Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) - $ 85 million
- Dhar Mann - $45 million
- Matt Rife - $50 million
- Charli D’Amelio - $ 23.5 million
- Stokes Twins - $20 million
- Dixie D’Amelio - $14.60 million
- Mark Rober - $25 million
- Alex Cooper - $22 million
- Rhett & Link - $36 million
- Khaby Lame - $20 million
- Druski - $12 million
- Logan Paul - $9.6 million
- Jake Paul - $13.6 million
All of them come from different backgrounds, take different niches, and have used different strategies to get where they are now. However, what unites them all is that there are a couple of YouTube specific tricks they all employed in their strategy to some extent.
How to Get Monetized on YouTube?
Before we jump right into the advanced techniques, here are some basics for those who are just taking the first few steps on the path of YouTube. First things first: to begin earning you have to enable monetization on your channel (which wouldn’t work if your channel is completely brand new).
To get monetized, you need to prove that you’re a reliable channel that takes their uploads seriously. Therefore, to start building you’ll need the base (which is 4,000 hours of watchtime over the past 12 months and at least 1,000 subscribers).
Getting to that point can take some time, but once you have - congratulations, now you can enable the magic of monetization! The requirements are there so that YouTube specialists can analyze your videos and their effectiveness (and whether or not they comply with all the rules and regulations YouTube have put in place). Do keep in mind that even if you have reached the requirements, you may be refused to connect to monetization if you have collected a bunch of misconduct account notices.
9 Ways to Make Money on Youtube
After you have connected your account to the monetization program, you can earn. Unfortunately, there isn’t a specific one-size-fits-all formula. The right method for you depends on several factors, such as: your audience, the content you make and the way you promote it. Let’s explore in detail!
1. Do The User-Friendly Advertisement
The ad revenue on YouTube is all about traffic. Our main goal here is to keep the traffic and CPMs growing, because YouTube cannot release your payment if it’s less than $100.
To start taking control over your earnings, pay attention to what and how is advertised in your videos. It’s always better to control the ads on your video by yourself, so switch off YouTube’s automatic ad placement and do things the old fashioned way - manually. In order for your CPMs to improve, try the following:
- Use mid-roll ads for longer videos. Place them in natural breaks, like pauses or between segments, to avoid disrupting the main content.
- Don't overwhelm your audience with ads. We get it, you want to get more revenue, but too many ads can ruin a viewer's experience. Aim for no more than one ad every 5-10 minutes.
- Non-skippable ads might bring more money, but they can also cause the viewers to simply leave your video. And that is the last thing you want. Use non-skippables sparingly.
Extra Tip #1. Discover additional insights on optimizing your YouTube ads in this tutorial on YouTube ad revenue.
AIR Media-Tech has helped over 3000 content creators boost their YouTube income. Reach out to us for custom revenue growth strategies!
2. Connect YouTube Membership to Your Channel
YouTube Membership is an opportunity for the fans to support their favorite creators with monthly payments (automatic donations). The primary purpose of YouTube Membership is to provide financial support to YouTubers and help them make videos full-time. In addition, members gain access to exclusive channel perks such as badges, emojis, and members-only content.
To gain access to YouTube Membership, the channel must already be in the YouTube Partner Program and have no active strikes. And to make Memberships more effective, consider the following strategies:
- Consistent Communication: Keep members informed about channel updates, upcoming content, and changes in membership benefits.
- Exclusive Q&A Sessions: Host Q&A sessions to address members' questions, interests, and curiosities.
- Loyalty Rewards: Recognize and reward long-standing members with special badges or perks.
- Member Spotlights: Showcase members' achievements or stories to make them feel appreciated.
- Feedback Channels: Create dedicated channels for members to contribute suggestions, ideas, or improvements.
Extra Tips #2. Check out this complete guide on YouTube Memberships to set them up and manage them effectively.
3. Engage in Affiliate Programs
You've probably seen videos where the blogger first advertises and then asks viewers to place an order at the link provided in the video's description. This kind of monetization is called a YouTube Affiliate Program, where the creator earns a commission on every order made and gets paid by their referral link. In this case, you are getting paid for results on the number of orders and their average bill.
If you choose to partner with an affiliate program, consider these steps:
If you choose to partner with an affiliate program, consider these steps:
- Choose the right media network for you. Read reviews from former and current partners, learn the rules about payments, consider the partner network requirements, and assess all of the pros and cons.
- Check if your channel is eligible for collaboration.
- Join the program via the Earn section in the bottom menu of the YouTube Studio.
YouTube Affiliate Marketing is a great way to get passive income. Here are some of the most popular video formats you can use for affiliates:
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- How-To Guides: Educate and entertain your audience through valuable how-to manuals, covering products of your partners.
- 'Best of' Videos: Rate and discuss products/services in videos like "Best Productivity Software" or "Top 10 Sneakers in 2024."
- Unboxing Videos: Share your experience as you open packages and reveal the contents.
- Product Reviews: Demonstrate product functionality, share real-life use cases, and provide honest impressions. Compare products and include affiliate links to earn commissions.
Extra Tip #3. Take a look at this step-by-step guide about YouTube affiliate marketing to maximize your earning potential.
4. Translate Your Content
English is an international language that is very popular on YouTube. But did you know that only less than a half of all YouTube views come from those, whose primary language is English?
There are 602 million Hindi speakers, 548 million Spanish speakers, 274 million Arabic speakers, and other languages with lower competition. These markets are less saturated and you can benefit greatly from tapping into that.
There are three simple strategies to scale through translation:
- Start by adding subtitles and translating metadata on your main channel since 57% of people prefer videos with subtitles.
- Progress to offering multi-language audio options (you can try out the automatic dubbing option YouTube offers to try it out before actually investing into the full dub).
- For maximum impact, create fully translated and localized channels.
Our Partner Kids Diana Show launched 20 translated channels with AIR Media Tech, gathering 160 million subscribers and achieving a monthly viewership of 2.5 billion worldwide. Sounds like a great foundation for increasing revenue, don't you think?
How to Use YouTube Auto-dubbing to Make it Work?
It’s even easier to opt for translation starting now, as YouTube has introduced so many new features to make it easier, including, but not limited to, automatic dubbing feature. It’s not perfect by any means (and even YouTube itself admits so), but it’s a great starting point to test out the potential. Keep in mind that AI can only get you so far, but to scale globally, you need the dubs that get in views, subs and retention.
Here’s the strategy we’ve seen work hundreds of times:
- Turn on auto-dubbing: go to YouTube Studio → Settings → Upload Defaults → Advanced Settings, and switch on “Allow automatic dubbing.” It’s free and gives you a low-risk way to test new markets.
- Translate your metadata: use AI Metadata Translation to localize your titles, descriptions, and tags. This alone can give your video a major visibility boost in search and recommendations.
- Spot the signals: Keep an eye on views, subscribers, watch time, retention, and CPM in the new regions. When the numbers start to move, you’ll know you’re onto something.
Go pro when it works: If a language starts showing real traction, double down. Our team can help you upgrade to studio-level dubbing that sounds native and drives actual growth.
But dubs alone aren’t enough.
We’ll also help you grow your translated content across markets, bringing in views, subs, and watch-time where it really counts.
5. Join AIR Ultimate Space
You don’t have to face troubles alone. AIR offers an ecosystem of 30+ tools and hundreds of experts who know YouTube inside out. We help creators in more ways than one by offering:
- Growth tools for going global with content translation and localization or content distribution.
- Services for easy financial management and extra funds.
- Support teams that do everything from channel audit to strike resolution, digital rights protection and tax management.
- Services for arranging and managing brand deals.
How much growth can you expect from our partnership? It all depends on the strategy you choose. For instance:
- With our partner Pikameo Gameplay, we opted for continuous streams, and they managed to generate roughly $2,000 and gain 6,000 new subscribers within a month.
- Another partner experienced over 1500% revenue growth in 2023 with the help of a set of services, ranging from YouTube SEO optimization to content distribution and enhancing the ad strategy.
- For the Canadian family-friendly channel HZHtube Kids Fun, we translated and localized their content into 12 languages, resulting in over 54 million subscribers globally on those channels, significantly boosting their income.
- We helped to translate and localize channels like Kids Diana Show, Brave Wilderness, Amelka Karamelka, and so many more, which significantly boosted their global reach.
Every case is unique and depends on the partner's goals and the methods we choose to achieve them. If you'd like an audit and estimate from one of the top 3 MCNs globally, drop us a line.
6. Collaborate with Brands
Working with brands and direct advertisers offers a much more impressive income than that you can earn directly from your videos. However, if you combine both methods, the profits will soar. If you have a channel with many subscribers, good display statistics, and impressive reach, then advertisers and brand representatives will contact you on their own. Cooperation takes place under a formal agreement: for six months, a year, or more.
Possible formats:
- Demonstration of an advertising product in their videos (direct advertising);
- Placement of referral links on the channel;
- Reviews and PR mailings.
It’s best to cooperate with the brand that aligns with your YouTube niche and branding. If you struggle to find suitable partners to work with, reach out and we can help you land those sponsorships.
Need money to develop your channel?
The free MilX app can help you unlock up to 6 months of your YouTube revenue upfront. Contact us for more information.
7. Promote and Sell Your Own Products
If you're a YouTube creator, chances are you've got other things going on in your life besides making videos. But here's the deal: once you've got a bunch of subscribers, you've got a built-in audience that you can show off your other stuff to. Here is just a brief list of ideas on a "What can I sell as a creator?" topic:
- Courses: Share your knowledge by creating an online course. Teach your skills or expertise to your audience.
- Artwork: If you're an artist, sell prints or custom pieces to your fans who love your creative style.
- Music: If you make music for your videos, release original tracks or albums for your audience to enjoy.
- Consultation Services: Use your expertise to offer consultation services. Help others with what you've learned about YouTube or your niche.
- Live or Online Events: Host events or meet-ups for your fans. Sell tickets, merchandise, or exclusive experiences.
- Digital Products: Create downloadable content like presets, templates, or exclusive digital goodies for your followers.
- Books: If you've got some wisdom to share or a story to tell, write a book and sell it on platforms like Amazon.
It’s not just about the videos, true. YouTube opens the door for all sorts of monetization opportunities. If you get big enough on YouTube, you can even use your popularity to launch new projects (like movies, a line of clothing, games, etc.). Some creators also get paid to talk at conferences or give advice on YouTube Marketing, all thanks to their YouTube fame.
8. Merch It Out
When it comes to merchandise you need to be very careful. Make sure your merch has a story your followers can associate you with or the meaning they can relate to. YouTube fans can be picky. If they think their favorite creators are just in it for the money, it can be a turn-off. So, be careful not to sell stuff in a way that makes your audience feel like you've gone all commercial on them.
- Don't bombard your audience with constant sales pitches. Integrate merch promotion organically into your content: use/wear it yourself, tell stories about it naturally.
- Create the atmosphere of belonging for your audience. Ask for input on merch ideas. Involving your audience in the process can create a sense of community and anticipation.
- Whether it's T-shirts or stickers, ensure the quality is good. You want your fans to be happy with what they buy.
Pay attention to what your audience is saying. If they have concerns or suggestions about your merch, take it into consideration for future releases.
9. Go For Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding on YouTube is a way to raise funds for the development of your channel. If you regularly post quality content, you can ask users for financial support. A great example of this kind of platform is Patreon. You can use it in tandem with Memberships for a greater boost. It's up to your audience to choose what they prefer more. Your task is to make it more convenient for them to donate.
One of our partners was already using the Parteon Service when they decided to add Memberships, incorporating levels, prices, and bonuses from their Patreon account. This allowed the author to attract new sponsors and increase channel revenue by 17% in the first month and 24% in the second month after activating Membership.
But first of all, you need to build a loyal audience and make good stuff regularly. That's where Patreon comes in. It's a place where your fans can chip in every month to support your content creation. When you decide to go for the crowdfunding, try to stick to these main rules to make it transparent and effective:
- Clearly communicate what your crowdfunding is for. Whether it's to upgrade equipment, fund a special project, or support regular content creation, let your audience know what their contributions will be used for.
- Provide perks for different contribution levels. It could be exclusive content, behind-the-scenes access, personalized shoutouts, or even limited-edition merch.
- Keep your backers in the loop. Regularly update them on the progress of your project or how their contributions are making a difference. Transparency builds trust.
If you promise perks or exclusive content, make sure to deliver. Keeping your word enhances trust and encourages ongoing support from your audience.
A blog on YouTube is a long term story. You won’t be able to earn much all at once. In the beginning of your journey you can expect only a tiny portion of income from AdSense advertising. However, as you progress and grow, other doors will open for you as long as you’re ready to walk through them. For our part, we at AIR are ready to back you up in reaching your goals as soon as possible. Your job is to do what you do best: create quality content.
