A Beginner’s Guide to Making Money From YouTube

YouTube has slowly transformed into an alternative source of income, and for many, the main source of income. The platform is now much more than just checking recipes or makeup tutorials. With increasing views and subscriber base, the role has reversed. It’s now more about “you” preparing a visually appealing recipe, unboxing a new smartphone, sharing your weight loss secrets, explaining a fix for a certain software issue, sharing your day-to-day life, and it’s an ever-growing list. 

The First Step to Making Money from YouTube

To start with, you need to set up a basic account with YouTube (if you don’t already have one). You must sign in with your Google account and I must tell you, this is useful since it keeps all your Google accounts synced to make life easier. 

You can then proceed to create a YouTube channel, however, make sure that you have a product, service, or an idea to sell. For instance, if have a penchant for cooking, you can create a video of your recipes, those with makeup skills can create makeup tutorials, if you love to create DIY (Do It Yourself) crafts work on that, or you can simply make vlogs on your daily routine that may include household tips, beauty tips, etc. The list of ideas is endless, however, make sure you have a unique and original idea to offer. 

While having a significant subscriber base is important to kickstart your earnings, your YouTube channel can still make a good amount of money if you don’t have millions of subscribers. There are a lot of factors apart from just the views and the subscribers that contribute to your earning potential. Some of them include:

• The quality of your content and the potential it has to engage viewers.

• The niche market you are addressing.

• The revenue streams you explore. 

Monetise your YouTube videos

Once you have the idea in place, finish creating your YouTube channel. At the same time, remember that YouTube does not pay you for the videos, but YouTube Partners do. Thus, to start making money on your YouTube channel, you must activate the “Monetisation” option in the YouTube Channel settings through the YouTube Studio Dashboard. 

Picture icon on the top > Your Studio > on the left panel > Monetisation

The monetisation section will allow you to join a YouTube Partner Programme like Google Adsense to begin earning based on views, however, on the condition that you have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours. Since you are just starting, simply press the ‘NOTIFY ME WHEN I’M ELIGIBLE’ button to get notified when you have met the basic requirement and you are ready to earn. 

Monetisation> right panel > Grow with YouTube > NOTIFY ME WHEN I’M ELIGIBLE

Other revenue channels to consider based on eligibility would be:

• YouTube Premium

• Channel memberships

• YouTube’s merchandise shelf

• Live chats during live streams

Stick to the YouTube Community Guidelines along with the YouTube channel monetisation policies to maintain higher standards as a YouTube Partner and with YouTube. 

Sell a Product

While selling merchandise items can generate revenue beyond your imagination, there are other products also that can do equally well. However, make sure that you are an entrepreneur first and then a content creator. Hence, if you have a store, focus on selling your product or merchandise from the point of sale, and for maximum impact, create a video. At the same time, make sure that:

• Your product is unique. 

• Connect with a manufacturer, supplier, or wholesaler who can make and deliver your product.

• Create a dedicated website. 

• Activate your YouTube shelf feature. 

• Market your products through YouTube videos. 

Focus on Brand Sponsorship

Also known as influencer marketing, you get paid to promote a brand or product of another company. For example, in Indian YouTube videos, we frequently notice women selling health products, skin care products, and likewise. So, make sure you create an effective brand pitch to find a brand to partner with. 

Set Up a Funding Strategy

1. Use the fan funding strategy to raise funds with the help of your fans. You could encourage your fans or subscribers to become paid channel members or YouTube Premium subscribers and generate income through live chats using Super Chat. 

2. Generate Funds through Crowdfunding using the YouTube-approved Merch and crowdfunding sites, promote this crowdfunding campaign through your content, and promote your YouTube channel through other mediums, for example – SEO, punchy titles, custom thumbnails, and so on. 

Additionally, you can also use different other mediums to promote your YouTube content and product, like social media platforms (Facebook ads, Instagram,), by commenting on other’s content, through discussion forums, like Reddit or Quora, and the list is endless. This will help you not only generate more views, but also your brand awareness. 

With all the statistics in place, it can be safely said that YouTube is one of the most used video-sharing platforms in the world. The best part is, you don’t need the fortune to start earning money on YouTube. With the work from home or school from home trend gaining traction during the pandemic, we are more online more than ever. With a list of growing YouTubers these days, you can be easily the next self-made celebrity or a social media influencer by creating content that generates common interest and more revenue.