Yes, you can monetize your content on YouTube. But the real question is: how to make money on YouTube and stand out among others?
With 2.7 billion users globally, YouTube is where it’s at for content creators wanting to cash in. And guess what, there are so many ways to get paid from YouTube. From AdSense and brand deals to affiliate links and merch drops.
Just starting out and feeling curious about your next steps? This article is for you.
We’ll explore all the strategies on how to get income from YouTube, no matter what your niche and expertise are. Let’s dive in!
How to Make Money on YouTube: 10 Proven Ways
Platforms like Gank can help you earn more from your content. But if you want to focus on YouTube for now, here’s how to make money on YouTube in 2024:
1. Join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)
- Good for: Any Niche
- Skill levels: All Skiils
- Earning potentials: Medium to High
The first method comes from YouTube itself, called the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Yes, this program is all about how to make money on YouTube made for content creators.
This revenue-sharing model lets you make money from ad placements, channel memberships, Super Chats, and YouTube Premium revenue.
Every time someone watches your video with ads, or uses YouTube Premium, you earn a share of the revenue. As simple as that.
Can anyone join? Yes, but you need to:
- Have at least 1,000 subscribers (or 500 in some countries).
- Have at least 4,000 watch hours in the past year (or 3,000 watch hours in some countries).
- live in a country where the YPP is available
- follow the community guidelines
How to get paid on YouTube this way?
- Check if you’re eligible — Log in to YouTube Studio and go to the Earn tab. If you’re not eligible yet, simply click Get Notified.
- Apply to YPP — If you’re eligible, apply to the YouTube Partner Program.
- Content review — YouTube will check out your channel to make sure it follows their community guidelines.
- Monetize — If your channel is approved, ads will show on your videos.
That’s how to get paid on YouTube with the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Once you’re in, you can make about 50% of the ad revenue generated from your videos. For example, if your video make $100 from ads, you’ll receive $50.
If you’re watching MrBeast’s latest video “7 Days Stranded in a Cave” and see those 10-second ads, you know he’s using this method to make money on YouTube.
2. Start YouTube Channel Memberships
- Good for: Gaming, Education, Fitness
- Skill levels: Intermediate to Advanced
- Earning potentials: Medium to High
Let’s say you’re the expert in your niche. You want to share special videos on your channel and ask people to pay to watch that exclusive content. Well, you can do that. And that’s how to make money on YouTube through membership.
YouTube Channel Memberships let your viewers pay to join your channel. In return, they get special perks like exclusive content, custom badges, emojis, and even access to live chats.
This is how to make money from YouTube with recurring revenue directly from your fans. It can be a monthly membership, a six-month membership, and more.
How do you make money on YouTube this way?
- Be eligible — To make money on YouTube through membership, your channel needs at least 30,000 subscribers and must be in the YouTube Partner Program.
- Activate the membership — Once you’re eligible, turn on the Membership feature in YouTube Studio.
- Customize your membership — Choose the perks and levels for your membership, like access to exclusive content, custom badges, emojis, and priority access to live chats.
- Promote your YouTube membership — Promote your membership to your audience through videos and social media posts to get more people to join.
Don’t worry, this option to make money from YouTube is common for many YouTubers. But this is not how beginners make money on YouTube. Why? Because you need 30,000 followers, which can be hard when you’re just starting out.
Read: Best Video Monetization Platforms for Content Creators
3. Use Supers to Make Money on YouTube
- Good for: Live Streamers, Gamers, Q&A Sessions
- Skill levels: All Skils
- Earning potentials: Medium
On the Earn on YouTube page, you’ll find Supers. This means Super Chat, Super Stickers and Super Thanks. These three features are what you need on how to make money on YouTube.
- Super Chats are great for live streams. When someone sends a Super Chat, their message appears at the top of your chat in a cool color or style.
- Super Stickers are also for live streams. They let viewers buy fun moving stickers that show up in the chat.
- Super Thanks can be used for both live streams and recorded videos. When a viewer sends a Super Thanks during a live session, a big heart reaction shows up on the video.
If your content is good, you can make money on YouTube with the Supers feature. These features show that your audience likes your content.
How to make money on YouTube with Supers?
- Be eligible — You need to be part of the YPP and meet the rules for Membership.
- Activate the Supers — In YouTube Studio, click on Earn > Supers > Enable.
- Get money when live — Viewers will see a dollar sign in the chat. You’lle the money they send (with revenue sharing)
The Supers feature is better than the 55-45 split for ads because you get to keep 70% of the money your viewers send you. That’s why so many people want to learn how to make money on YouTube this way to earn more.
**Read: How to make money as Content Creators
4. Get Money from Affiliate Links
- Good for: Tech Reviews, DIY, Beauty Tutorials, Gaming
- Skill levels: Intermediate to Advanced
- Earning potentials: Medium to High
You’ve joined the YouTube Partner Program? Great! But making money from ads isn’t the only way. Did you know that many famous YouTubers make money on YouTube by using affiliate links?
Look at the video above. SKSProps shows how to repaint a Nerf Aliens M41A Pulse Rifle. He tells you what supplies you need and where to get them, with links in the description that take you to the right websites.
That’s right. Those links are not ordinary ones. Affiliate marketing means you will become an affiliate and promote products in your videos. Then, you can earn a commission for every sale through your unique links.
Interested? This is how to make money on YouTube through commissions from affiliates:
- Do your research — Find affiliate programs that vibe with your niche. We recommend checking out popular ones like Amazon Associates and ShareASale.
- Sign up for programs — Join these programs to get those unique affiliate links for the products you want to share.
- Create high-quality content — Make videos that you enjoy creating and that fit your channel. Make sure they relate to the products you want to promote.
- Add affiliate links — Put your affiliate links in the video description. Make sure to say they are affiliate links in your video.
- Track affiliate sales — Go to your affiliate accounts dashboard to see how many sales you made and how much money you earned.
Gaming, tech, or beauty niche—you name it. These are niches that often make money on YouTube from affiliate links. Linus Tech Tips, Ali Abdaal are just among those YouTube channels.
5. Create Sponsored Content
- Good for: Lifestyle, Gaming, Tech, Fitness
- Skill levels: Intermediate to Advanced
- Earning potentials: High
As an affiliate, you create content on a topic you like and include affiliate links in the description. But that’s not how to make money on YouTube with sponsored content. Instead, you’ll work with brands to make videos promoting their products or services.
So, the stories and topics have to match what the brands want. In short, they pay you to talk about their content. It could be just a quick shout-out or a whole video all about their products.
Think about unboxing a new product or a detailed review of its amazing features. Or, share details about the brand’s upcoming events. This is perfect for creators with a big following or niche influencers.
How to secure sponsorships when making money from YouTube videos?
- Join the YPP — Your credibility as a YouTuber matters. So, join the YPP to increase your chances of landing brand deals for sponsored content.
- Find the right brands — Look for the brands that match your content and audience. This way, the sponsored videos feels authentic and engaging.
- Reach out to brands — You can just wait for brands to reach out to you or take the initiative to pitch your channel.
- Negotiate the deals — This is how to make money on YouTube as a professional. Think about your subscribers, engagement, and project complexity to define your potential earnings.
- Make the content — Once you have the brief, you can start making videos. Show off the products or do a good review.
When it comes to making money on YouTube, you need to know that sponsored content and brand partnerships are different. Sponsored content? Quick projects, easy money. Brand partnerships? Long-term work to build a brand.
6. Sell Your Merch
- Good for: Gaming, Lifestyle, Art, Music
- Skill levels: Intermediate to Advanced
- Earning potentials: Medium to High
Selling merch on YouTube? That’s right! YouTube has a feature called YouTube Shopping. It helps you promote your own products like t-shirts, mugs, posters, and even digital items.
YouTube Shopping launched on June 30, 2023, as the live shopping channel. It allows you to boast your products to your viewers or tag brands to promote theirs.
Set aside promoting other brands. You can make money on YouTube by connecting your online store and selling products right from your channel.
When it’s set up, viewers will see a bag icon in the bottom right corner of your videos. If they tap it, they can see the products you’re selling. Plus, you can take advantage of their new YouTube shopping collection features.
How to make money on YouTube through merch sales?
- Join the YPP — You must have at least 500 subscribers and 3,000 hours of watch time in the past 12 months. Plus you need to comply with the YouTube guidelines.
- Activate the YouTube Shopping — Go to the Earn tab and Shopping section to enable the feature when eligible.
- Setting up your merch shelf — You can set up a merch shelf to display and sell your products directly below your videos.
- Connect your store — Connect your online store to YouTube using platforms like Shopify or your WordPress/WooCommerce site.
7. Make Money with YouTube Shorts
- Good for: Entertainment, Comedy, Dance, Quick Tutorials
- Skill levels: All Skills
- Earning potentials: Low to Medium
How to make money on YouTube with mostly Gen Z viewers? You could try YouTube Shorts, especially if you want to attract followers from TikTok or Instagram.
Why? TikTok and Instagram Reels are great, but YouTube still leads in video content. Creating short videos could be the perfect way to attract more subscribers with your amazing content.
You can make money from YouTube Shorts just like regular videos. The YouTube Shorts Fund? No, it’s no longer active and is now part of the YPP. If you think a program like the TikTok Creator Fund suits you, check out the Gank Creator Grant.
8. Promote Other Platforms to Earn Money
- Good for: Niche Content, Art, Music, Independent Creators
- Skill levels: All Skills
- Earning potentials: Low to Medium
Not into Super Thanks? No problem. But how do you make money on YouTube to fund your projects?
That’s where platforms like Gank come in. With this platform, you can get donations and let your audience support your channel directly, even if they are not on YouTube and not watching your videos.
How do you make money on YouTube from other platforms?
- Sign Up — Simply create an account on Gank with your email, Google, Facebook, or Twitch account.
- Complete your profile — Add a profile picture, descriptions and customize your profile
- Set a Goal — On the Profile page, you can Create a New Goal. Just add a title, description, target amount, and starting amount.
- Promote your goal — Share your Gank channel link in the video descriptions on YouTube or during live streams to get more viewers and possible donors.
Setting up another account on a platform like Gank might seem like a hassle. But wait, this profile could boost your earnings from various sources. Why? It’s not just about YouTube. Think Twitch and beyond. More platforms mean more income, right?
9. License Your Content
- Good for: Viral Videos, Newsworthy Content, Unique Footage
- Skill levels: Intermediate to Advanced
- Earning potentials: Medium to High
You may wonder how to make money on YouTube by licensing content, right? In short, it’s about selling your video rights to make money with creators, brands, or news outlets.
Let’s say you have a video of beautiful nature. You can license it to a filmmaker or travel brand. So, they can use your footage, and you will earn money from the license deal.
Think of it as passive income? Yes, but it’s not that simple. It can give you steady money, but you still need to make deals, track payments, and ensure your videos are used correctly.
But still, this is how to make money on YouTube without making videos, as the income comes from licensing your existing content.
So, how do make money on YouTube this way?
- Make potentially viral or repurpose-friendly content — Make original, share-worthy content that attract interest from other creators or brands.
- Join in licensing platforms — Get YouTube ID s great but you might need to join Jukin Media and ViralHog to you earn money from licensing.
- Negotiate well — Learn to negotiate well if you want to talk about how your videos will be used, how long the license lasts, and the payment terms.
- Track agreements and payments — Write down all agreements and payments to make sure everything goes well.
10. Sell Your YouTube Videos as NFTs
- Good for: Viral Videos, Unique Videos
- Skill levels: Advanced
- Earning potentials: Medium to High
Remember the viral YouTube video “Charlie Bit My Finger”? You might still be able to watch it now, but it’s important to note that the version you see is not from the original uploader.
Why? It has to be removed from YouTube because it was sold as an NFT and has become personal exclusive digital content. 3F Music won the auction with a top bid of $760,999 to own the video.
You don’t think selling your video can help you make money on YouTube, right? Well, it can. If licensing isn’t your thing, you could try selling it as digital content or an NFT. That could be a great idea.
Read: How Much do YouTubers Make
How Do You Make Money on YouTube
That’s right. The question is not, “Can you make money on YouTube?” but “How can you make money on YouTube?”
It turns out that there are many ways to do that. We’ve covered it all in this article. To wrap up, here are some ways to make money on YouTube:
- Join the YPP
- Offer Membership with Special Perks
- Use Supers Feature
- Put Affililate Links in the Video Description
- Make Sponsored Video Content
- Sell Your Merch
- Make Money from YouTube Shorts
- Promote Other Platforms to Receive Donations
- License Your Content
- Sell Your Videos as NFTs
We hope this information helps! If you want more ideas on how to make money as a content creator, subscribe to our blog for the latest articles. See you!
