YouTube Monetization: Making Money Out of Videos

Back in the days, to own a camera is to use it on one of few things: to shoot a film which will be presented in the cinema, to take live footage of any happening to be broadcasted on the news, or to commemorate an event for personal keeping. But with the advent of a video platform like YouTube, making videos has developed a new meaning—to make money via a so-called YouTube monetization.

The idea behind YouTube monetization is simple: your created content gets paid per every unique view and the higher the view count about it, the better the pay. It may seem straightforward enough which even grandpa born from the 50’s or 60’s could understand. But, while the idea may be elementary, the actual money-making process behind every published video on YouTube is actually more difficult and more intricate than it sounds. For one, YouTube as a platform can be shaky at best for beginners who wanted to make some bucks from it.

Although some stars who made a career on YouTube may be racking up millions and millions of dollars per month going full-time with what they do, it takes a lot of effort for anyone to actually get there. In fact, it should be a common expectation for some beginners to just receive as much as $2.50 per month or even $100 per year upon taking the necessary steps towards YouTube monetization.

Secondly, having to partner up with a network to monetize on YouTube requires a certain benchmark which not many can easily attain without working hard for it. For instance, if you are thinking of partnering up with Google AdSense, you should have a total of 10,000 views first to qualify. There are other networks out there which also functions just the same but may impose different requirements.

Lastly, YouTube had just recently tightened its belt with regards to its rules towards monetization. Requirements are now stiffer which sounds unfavorable towards fresh publishers. This means that if you lack the necessary hours required to partner up with the platform, expect to fill in on those required hours first before starting a money-making venture with YouTube.

Ways Around YouTube Monetization

Creating contents in YouTube may sound easy enough to do if you love taking moving images of everything with a camera. But like any worthwhile endeavor, YouTube monetization requires a serious commitment to do, even if you are already a person of renown. Although creating your actual contents to share to the world is one thing about YouTube monetization, that is only half of the actual battle. Knowing how to is another.

1. Collaborate with a Network

Previously, it was mentioned that one way of generating money on YouTube is to partner up with a network like Google AdSense. For the most part, this is true due to the role of advertisers in the overall monetization process with YouTube. As of posting time, 4 networks top my list as some of the best out there around: Google AdSense, Maker, Curse, and Freedom! The latter is especially a good choice for beginners who do not yet established themselves as publishers on YouTube.

Apart from being given the capacity to generate income per every ads viewed, another perk of being partnered with a network is on the ease of publishing contents which otherwise would be a problem—the need to validate the ownership of your shared content is bypassed.

2. Get Sponsorship from Advertisers

Internet marketing gimmicks involving advertisements like pay per click or pay per view play crucial role in you making money with your videos. But to get this privilege, you would need to have a sponsor for it. Sponsors can be anything—big or small, known or unknown brands. Often, the kind of advertisers you get for your page may be dependent upon your chosen niche and what kind of videos you upload with it.

3. Be a Patreon Member

You may think that your only means of making money on YouTube is solely commensurate to your channel’s performance involving ads. While that idea may be true several years back, that is no longer the case. Publishers now opt for monetization options from YouTube but at the same time used side-by-side with it. By that, I meant being a member of Patreon which you can use to ask for donations for you creating contents (sort of). Essentially, Patreon is like PayPal itself where it is a channel used to funnel donated money coming from subscribers or viewers.

4. Sell Products

With a viewership counting in billions daily worldwide, YouTube is unsurprisingly has become a platform where people sell goods. As a publisher, your channel’s content is not forbidden to solicit for sales whether as an affiliate or a direct seller. You had probably seen a YouTube channel whose videos usually make a blurb at the end of his every vid asking viewers to buy his merchandise, oftentimes with a promo attached to it. In fact, with the right popularity, this method makes for a lucrative source of income for those who are bold enough to make the pitch.

5. Run Crowdfunding Campaigns

If there is one thing which some viewers would like about being a subscriber is that they are directly involved with what you do, even if that meant asking them for money in the process. Running a campaign meant to fund a next project is nothing new and is something which find relative success if the viewers find the idea significant to them. The idea that the more you are loved by your following, the more successful your campaigns will be are, has definite truth in this notion. I have even personally seen publishers getting surprised crowdfunding from their followers behind their backs, even without them thinking about it. So, essentially, the more you are good with public relations involving people who have interest in your channel, the higher the likelihood that your campaign efforts will pay off.