Reader Approved How to Earn Money on YouTube

How to Earn Money on YouTube

In this Article:Article Summary Community Q&A

You’ve probably heard stories about regular people earning money on YouTube and thought, “Hey, I can do this too!”. While earning thousands of dollars probably isn’t realistic, you can start earning money quickly, especially if you have a strong subscriber base. Follow this guide to get your videos monetized and start earning revenue off of those YouTube ads.

Steps

1
Set up and build your YouTube channel. Your channel is your personal presence on YouTube. Each YouTube account has one channel attached to it. A YouTube account is the same as a Google account, and creating a YouTube account will grant you access to other Google products, such as Gmail and Drive.
- Create your account or use your existing one. Add keywords to help people find your channel. You can add keywords by navigating to the Advanced section of your Channel Settings. Make sure that your keywords are relevant to your content.
- Your user name can also work for or against you. If it’s short, easy to remember, and original, people will be more apt to remember you. However if you are using an existing account, you can always change your username by editing it on your Google+ account.
2
Add content. Try to upload content that is high quality, and isn't super long. (This option can vary depending on what type of content you decide to upload) Also try to upload regularly and stay consistent with your uploads.
- Even if your content isn't great at first, keep at it. Practice makes perfect. Try to make each video better than the last. You will often learn as you go.
- Improve your content by either using a better camera or trying better editing software or techniques. Also try to improve the way things are filmed. Use a tripod, have a friend help you or light your scenes better. It all helps for a better end product which in turn helps you get a better audience.
- By uploading regularly you can help hold an audience. People are more likely to subscribe if you add content on regular schedule, and maintain that schedule as much as possible.
- Make sure to tag your videos with key words that describe the content, as well as an eye-catching description. These will help drive people to your video from YouTube searches.
3
Gain an audience. Building an audience is key to increasing your monetization. You need people to watch your ads in order to make any money off of them. There is no one secret to getting more subscribers, just make the best content that you can and they will come to you.
- Keep uploading content and try to get people hooked. Send your video out on Twitter and Facebook. Share it with people. Distribute it elsewhere on the internet. Subscribers are essential to becoming a partner.
- Interact with your viewers by responding to comments and making occasional videos directly related to viewer comments and questions. Connecting with your community will bring more members into that community.
4
Monetize your videos. In order to start earning money on your videos, you’ll need to enable monetization. This means you are allowing YouTube to place ads in your video. This also means that you acknowledge that there is no copyrighted material in your video.
- Go to www.youtube.com and click "My Channel" on the webpage.
- Click the link called "Video Manager" on the top bar.
- Click channel and Enable on monetization.
5
Meet the requirements. You need at least 4000 hours watch time and 1000 subscribers to start earning money.
- You can monetize a video as it uploads by clicking the Monetization tab and checking the “Monetize with Ads” box.
- To monetize a video after it has been uploaded, open your Video Manager and click the “$” sign next to the video that you want to monetize. Check the “Monetize with Ads” box.
6
Set up Google AdSense. You can set up Google AdSense for free at the AdSense website. Click the Sign Up Now button to begin creating your account. You must be 18 years or older to create your own account. If you are younger than that, you will need an adult to help you.
- You need either PayPal or a bank account and a valid mailing address as well as other information so AdSense can verify who you are and who to send the money to. You only gain money per ad click and a smaller amount per view but it adds up over time. This is why having an audience is key.
7
Check your analytics. Once you have some videos online, monetized, and being viewed, you can check out the analytics on them to see how they are performing. Click the Analytics option in your Channel menu. Here you can view estimated earnings, ad performance, video views, demographics and more.
- Use these tools to see how your content is resonating with your audience. You can change your content or your marketing if you’re finding that you aren’t attracting the users that you want to.
8

Market your videos elsewhere. Don't put your videos just on YouTube! Start a blog, make a website or post them on other video or social media sites. The more views it gets, the better. By sharing the link or embedding the video on the internet, you are increasing the chance of it getting noticed.
9
Become a YouTube partner. YouTube Partners are YouTube members who have monetized videos with a large number of viewers. Partners gain access to more content creation tools, and can win prizes for the number of viewers they have. Partners also get access to much more community support and tips.
- You can apply for YouTube partnership at any time through the YouTube Partner page. In order to gain access to the most powerful Partner programs, you need to have 15,000 cumulative watch hours for your channel over the last 90 days.
10

Increase your YouTube revenue with Supp.me service.Supp.me allows to easily create polls & quizzes for free. Just create a question for your subscribers and invite them to answer it. The more people visit pages you created on Supp.me, the more you earn. This is a great way of getting feedback from your audience (you can ask for ideas for new videos and so on) and increase your earnings at the same time.

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Question

Is it very difficult to make a good YouTube channel with many subscribers?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

It takes a long time to build up a large subscriber count. Just keep posting, and try to make very good content.

Not Helpful 149 Helpful 1097
Question

How often will I get paid?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

Before you can start getting paid, you'll need to reach the payment threshold. This varies depending on your currency. In the US, the payment threshold is $100. This means you'll need to earn $100 before you can start collecting any money. If you've hit your payment threshold, you'll be paid around the 21st of every month. If you didn't meet the threshold, that money will be rolled over into next month's amount.

Not Helpful 172 Helpful 1197
Question

Is it easy to earn money in just a month or so?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

Generally, no. You will need time to build your Youtube channel before you will see any profit.

Not Helpful 29 Helpful 238
Question

Does it cost any money to upload videos to YouTube and earn money from them?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

No, uploading and monetizing your videos is completely free. YouTube will take a cut of your ad earnings as compensation, but you won't ever have to pay anything.

Not Helpful 133 Helpful 892
Question

Can someone else make money from videos I create myself without my permission?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

If somebody tries to do this without your permission, they are breaching your copyright. If this happens or is happening now, contact Google and let them know that someone is stealing your videos and monetizing them. This is not only a legal breach, but it's quite a mean thing to do and their reputation will be impacted when it comes to light.

Not Helpful 206 Helpful 1320
Question

Do I need an AdSense account to earn money on YouTube?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

Yes, AdSense is the company that provides the ads that earn you money on YouTube. Without AdSense, you cannot insert and track ads on your videos. If you are too young to create an AdSense account, ask for help from your parents.

Not Helpful 46 Helpful 338
Question

Why are likes important on a video?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

Likes are important because they provide quick feedback to the content creator. If a video gets a lot of likes, it suggests that the channel's viewers will enjoy more videos of a similar kind.

Not Helpful 42 Helpful 308
Question

How much money is needed to create an account?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

Creating an account on YouTube is free.

Not Helpful 137 Helpful 877
Question

How can I increase my audience and subscribers?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

YouTube is all about constant content. You'll want to focus on creating videos that serve your audience's needs, as well as creating content at a regular pace to keep them coming back. As long as you are uploading regularly, you should see your numbers increase.

Not Helpful 169 Helpful 1067
Question

How can I receive my payments?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

The payment methods available will vary depending on your location. Open the "Payment settings" page for your AdSense account and use the "Form of payment" section to choose how you would like to receive your payments. You may be able to receive a check, get a wire transfer or electronic transfer directly to your bank, or use Western Union.

Not Helpful 205 Helpful 1235

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Tips

Create social networking site accounts (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and advertise for yourself!
Make sure you add tags when uploading videos.
Make videos based on what's popular on the Internet.
Share your video on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
Gaming and comedy are the most popular genres.
Always check if the content you upload is copyrighted before posting a video.
Use key words so people see your video.
Have a distinctive tune play at the beginning of all your videos.
Upload content regularly.
Try to upload high quality videos.

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Warnings

Partnerships with YouTube for most people do not earn very much. Unless you have a huge success, don't plan on a job-free life.
Copyrighted content can get your videos taken down, and possibly banned. This includes images, videos, movie clips, etc. If you are found to be reusing copyrighted content without owner's permission, your account will be demonetized. Be sure to consider what is fair use and what is not.