It might seem hard to stand out in the huge crowd of Youtube content creators, but you don’t have to be that big to make a living from Youtube or at least earn some extra bucks.
And you don’t need to have millions of subscribers to succeed, all you need to do is know different types of Youtube monetisation methods and few tricks to make your Youtube channel more attractive.
How to monetise Youtube videos — Youtube Partner Program
Participating in Youtube Partner Program simply means that you let Youtube show ads on your videos and receive money in exchange. To tell if your Youtube videos are being monetised or to turn on the monetisation you need to go to www.youtube.com/features and find ‘monetisation’ window. It will show if monetisation is enabled or not on your channel.
To enable monetisation you will need to apply for the program first, this includes creating AdSense account, setting monetisation preferences (what ads you don’t want to run on your channel and etc.). Also know that in order to apply for this program you have to have at least 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours during the previous 12 months (you can check the watch hours on analytics section in your account). I will talk more about how to reach these milestones a little bit later in the article.
How much does Youtube actually pay you? It is hard to say the exact number because it depends on a lot of factors, but approximately you can receive $18 per 1000 views.
How to monetise Youtube videos — Youtube Patreon
What does Patreon mean
Patreon is a membership platform that makes it much easier for different content creators to get paid and continue creating value for their patrons through content. Patrons are the ones that support these content creators by usually paying monthly membership fees.
How does Patreon work
Patreon platform is very simple, you just need to create an account on Patreon.com, use the same name, same profile picture as your Youtube channel, write an informative and catchy description. Then of course link your Youtube channel in your Patreon account.
Two very important things on Patreon:
Your introduction video. It that should be catchy and explain why your Youtube viewers should become your patrons, what value you will give to then in exchange for money. This should also be explained in “Reward Tiers” section, where you should clearly state what will your Patrons gain from being your Patron and why paying you money is worth it. Also here you will need to create few tiers with different costs and different perks you will offer for patrons.
For example:
Patron could pay $1, but receive the same content as on Youtube, this way he could simply show the appreciation for your content.Patron could pay $2 and receive you videos few day earlier than other on Youtube.Patron could pay $5 dollars per month and receive some exclusive content that nobody else will get.
Do not make too many reward choices, your viewers might get overwhelmed.
After you set up your Patreon account, just simply promote it on your Youtube channel (in the description, in the end of every video, in description of the videos and so on).
How to monetise Youtube videos — Youtube Sponsors
Youtube sponsorship (making partnership with brands and promoting them on your Youtube channel) is one of the best ways to earn money on Youtube, of course it is not the easiest one, but it might be the most rewarding one.
The most interesting question is how much money Youtube sponsors will pay you. Well, it depends both on the number of your subscribers, the views you get on videos, the interaction you get with your audience (comments, shares and etc.). I can’t tell you the exact price, but there are a lot of calculation methods you can find online to understand the value of your videos.
So how to actually get sponsors on Youtube?
First of all you let’s get this clear, you won’t get sponsors just by sitting there and waiting for offers. Yeah if you are a Youtuber with millions of subscribers you will, but if not, here are some tips for you:
1.Reach out. Go find brands that you can work with and reach out to them directly. Don’t just go for the big brands, their requirements will be a lot higher. Go for the smaller ones, with whom you can grow together. Few brand ideas for collaboration:
Surfshark is a VPN that loves to work with all sorts of different Youtubers, from travellers to tech geeks (https://surfshark.com/affiliate).
Shopify is a well known brand that helps businesses to build their e-commerce platforms. It is also a very flexible product in terms of promotion (https://www.shopify.com/affiliates).
Printful helps businesses to print their designs on T-shirts, bags and all sorts of items. Also they provide drop shipping services and warehouses (https://www.printful.com/affiliates).
There are many brands who invite all sorts of Youtubers to participate in spreading their brand name worldwide and pay good cash.
2. Show sponsors that your Youtube brand is strong. This means that you have to know yourself what your Youtube channel is all about, so the sponsors would understand it too. If your Youtube channel is about everything, sponsors won’t understand your main idea, your personality, your audience. But if you clearly state in your Youtube channel (introduction video, description) who are you, what your channel is all about and why are you special- you will immediately become much more attractive.
3. You need to build connections. This means talking to other Youtubers, following brands, participating in discussion and sharing your expertise on such social media channel as LinkedIn, Youtube itself (comments), Facebook, Reddit, Twitter and etc. Also participate in different Youtube conferences. It will be very helpful and actually very fun. If you get involved it will be much more easier to notice you.
4. Join Sponsorship marketplaces. There are many types of these platforms, for example famebit.com. What these platforms do is they connect brands with content creators on different platforms. So basically you won’t need to look for partnerships just on your own, they will help you.
How to get noticed on Youtube and get those 1000 subscribers
Okay, so now we know what possibilities are out there, how can we make money through partners program, Patreon platforms and how to reach out and find sponsors. The questions that is still unraveled is how to gain those first 1000 subscribers and how to get those views on Youtube.
I have a few tips that might be already heard on this article, but it is worth mentioning again.
Be yourself. Find a niche that you know about and where you can share you knowledge and unique perspective. And most importantly clearly show that on your Youtube channel, both in subscription and in introduction videos.
Build trust through social network channels. You can easily use such platforms as Reddit to research topics that you can cover on your Youtube channel, participate in different discussions and increase your brand awareness (this means your Youtube channel popularity). Help people and show them that you have expertise in a specific sphere and this will make them interested in you.
There are also some simple tricks to know like making longer videos helps your videos rank better, you need to look up what time is best to post on Youtube (based on the country and trends when people use Youtube the most), link to your other videos at the end of every video, add a subscribe button, add your brand watermark on videos, try to reply to comments and heart the ones that you like the best. Also you will need to make a killer introduction video, channel tagline. Everything that makes your channel informative, more attractive and catchy.
These are my thoughts on how to become a successful Youtuber. The most important thing is actually to love what you are doing. If you love it you will succeed at it.
