Some of the most popular YouTubers make millions from their videos. Here's how you can make some money from your YouTube channel too.
To earn money on YouTube, video creators need to be accepted into the service's Partner Program.
Once you become part of the program, you'll have access to a trove of resources and features provided by YouTube. The program offers tips on the different ways you can make money and provides a dedicated support team.
Source: YouTube Help
To qualify for the YouTube Partner Program, your channel has to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch-hours in the last year.
YouTube sets such requirements for the program to "protect the creator community from spammers, impersonators, and other bad actors," it says.
Source: YouTube Creators
To be eligibile, you have to live in a country where the Partner Program is available.
YouTube offers the program in more than 100 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Russia, and Norway. One country where it's not available is China.
Source: YouTube Help
You'll have to make sure your videos meet YouTube's terms of service and its community and advertiser-friendly content guidelines.
Those rules bar nudity, hate speech and harassment, violence, spam, and invasions of privacy.
You should also make sure you have the commercial-use rights for your content and that you aren't violating any copyright laws.
YouTube's policies are complex, so you should read them for yourself.
Source: YouTube Help
You'll also have to create an AdSense account, which allows you to get paid for advertisements that run on your videos.
YouTube's Help Center has a page where you can troubleshoot the process, which may be necessary if you have more than one YouTube account.
Source: YouTube Help, YouTube Creator Studio
The simplest way to sign up for AdSense is through YouTube's Creator Studio area.
Within Creator Studio, you'll find a link to the monetization page. That page walks through the process of generating revenue from your YouTube channel step-by-step.
As part of signing up for AdSense, you'll have to accept the program's terms and conditions.
You do that on a separate page. You'll have to enter some personal information, including your address and payment details, to ensure you're paid for ads that run on your videos.
After you submit your AdSense application, you'll need to set your "monetization preferences."
Once you complete the application, the sign-up process will automatically redirect you back to the Creator Studio area. From there, you can choose whether or not you want certain ads to run with your videos. You can change those settings at any time.
Source: YouTube
Once you've completed all these steps — and met all the requirements — your channel will automatically be submitted for review
However, YouTube won't consider your application for the program until you meet the 4,000 watch-hour and 1,000 subscriber thresholds. I've posted few videos on my personal YouTube account and done little to try to draw in viewers, so I haven't come close to meeting those requirements, but YouTube is tracking my progress toward them.
YouTube is warning that it's taking longer than a month for it to process applications for its Partner Program.
"There can be multiple reasons for delays," YouTube says. "Higher-than-usual application volumes, system issues, or we may occasionally need to shift resources."
So even if you apply and meet all the requirements, it could be a while before you start making money off your channel.
Source: YouTube Help
Once you get into the program, you'll find that YouTube divvies up partners into different compensation tiers.
The most basic tier, which everyone qualifies for once they're accepted into the Partner Program, provides creators with revenue from ads that show up on their videos.
Source: YouTube Help
YouTube offers other revenue opportunities for creators and channels with larger numbers of subscribers.
If you have at least 10,000 subscribers, you'll be able to link out to a site to sell merchandise to your fans. If you have at least 30,000 subscribers, you can offer memberships to your channel. With that feature, fans pay a monthly fee to get badges, emojis, and other perks.
Source: YouTube Creators Academy
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