How to Make Money on YouTube & Grow Your Audience
In this digital economy, we’re all looking for a way to get rich quick. Becoming a content creator often seems like it could fit the bill. So you may be wondering how to make money on YouTube.
Maybe one of the reasons we’re all so enticed is because of the success stories — YouTubers like Mr. Beast can make as much as $50 million a year, per “I Will Teach You to Be Rich”’s Ramit Sethi. But the reality, he says, is the average creator is making between $10 and $500 per post.
The challenge with YouTube is that audience doesn’t always translate to automatic income. Long-distance runner Allie Ostrander has almost 90,000 subscribers on YouTube — some of her top videos have as many as 259,000 views. But her top-earning video of 2024 was not actually her highest viewed. Her highest earnings came from a look at winning a pro-track race against Olympians. It had only 147,800 views and earned $1,493.66. Here, Ostrander is talking specifically about her ad revenue from YouTube. She notes sponsorships help to form part of her overall salary.
How to Make Money on YouTube
For more specifics, we can look at the per-view breakdown. On average, YouTubers earn around $0.018 for every view, per Influencer Marketing Hub, translating to about $18 for every 1,000 views. If you have 20,000 views per day, for example, the site estimates you could earn as much as $855 to $1,425 a month. That said, the typical compensation, per Aug. 2024 numbers, for a YouTube content creator is as much as $120,226 annually. But almost half — 45% — of the revenue content creators make goes back to the platforms on which they work.
What’s exciting about YouTube is perhaps more the potential than the guarantee. Data from Influencer Marketing Hub show even YouTubers with 10,000 subscribers can make between $500 to $1,500 a month through Google’s advertising platform AdSense.
Now that we know that the options are, to some degree, limitless, let’s look at how exactly to start your Youtube account and get it off the ground.
Make Quick Money Outside of YouTube
YouTube is a great place to start when you want a side hustle you can easily do from your home. If you’re starting from scratch and you’re not sure when you’re going to see a payout, we have some ways to help in the meantime. Check out some of our favorite ways to make easy money.
| Offer | What You Can Earn | What You Have to Do | Take Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| InboxDollars | $225/month | Complete short surveys | |
| Solitaire Cash | Up to $83 per win | Compete against other players | |
| FreeCash | $1,000/month | Simple online tasks | |
| GoBranded | Up to $140/month | Share your honest opinion | |
| Kashkick | $1,000/month | Try out apps |
Start a YouTube Channel
Because Google is the owner of YouTube, they have a trusty guide that shows you the easiest way to start your YouTube account. You can even watch a full how-to video here.
As Google notes, even though you can watch and like videos and subscribe to channels simply with a Google account, without a YouTube channel, “you have no public presence on YouTube.” This is a direct way to say that you’ll need to open a channel if you want to start creating content. It’s not enough just to have a Google or YouTube account.
The best way to do this is go to YouTube either on your phone or your computer and click “Create a channel.” If you want the channel to be directly associated with the Google account you’re using to open it, then you can keep the information the same. If you’re trying to create a brand channel unaffiliated with your personal Google account, you can indicate this by choosing “Brand Account.” You can also add and change channel owners and managers if you plan to give multiple people access to your account.
The YouTube Creator Channel offers a number of helpful videos to get started on your content creator journey. First, figure out the type of content you want to create. Perhaps you want to create home design videos or run a cooking class? Maybe you want to talk about language learning or manage a monthly book club. The sky is really the limit, but continuity, mission and consistency are somewhat key to success on Youtube. You’ll also want to brush up on YouTube’s community guidelines to know what you can and can’t post.
Marketing Basics
Now that you’ve opened up your YouTube channel, you’ll want to know how to market your content so it gets the best reach possible. YouTube’s Creator Academy has tips for all kinds of steps in the process, from growing your community to making money on YouTube.
But there are also a few important points to know that will help you maximize the amount of interest your content can get. First is to learn YouTube SEO. YouTube is as much a search-based platform as a social one. Tons of generally unknown creators get millions of views and earn significant revenue on YouTube because viewers find their videos through Google or YouTube search.
- Video content: If it’s a fit for your niche, create videos around what your target audience wants to know. Take frequently asked questions, and turn your answers into content.
- Video title: Write clear, descriptive titles that make people want to click to learn more. Do a little research to choose keywords relevant to your video, and put a strong one in the title.
- Video descriptions: Include keywords and a good overview of the video in the video description to help YouTube’s algorithm know what the video is about.
The next tip is to keep posting new content. Consistency on YouTube is key. If your subscribers don’t see new content from you after multiple weeks, they may lose interest or, worse yet, disappear. Certain sites advise posting at least twice a month to once a week on YouTube or even three times per week on YouTube Shorts. Whatever you decide, the important point is to have a regular posting schedule and to stick to it. If your subscribers come to expect content from you every few days and you skip a week, this may result in loss of income.
How to Make Money on YouTube Through the YouTube Partner Program
Once you’re content with the way your content is going (see what we did there?), it may be worth looking into the Youtube Partner Program. With access to this, you will be able to introduce revenue sharing with ads on your content, per Google.
But first, there are a few requirements to join. You’ll have to follow YouTube channel monetization policies, live in an area where the program is available (check here), have no activity Community Guidelines strikes, activate two-step verification on Google, have advanced features access on YouTube and have at least one active AdSense for YouTube account linked to the channel.
You also need to meet certain criteria to be eligible. You’ll either need 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months or have 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
YouTube will automatically put your application in to be reviewed once you accept YPP terms and have an active and linked AdSense account. Decisions are typically made within a month, per Google. And if you receive a denial, you can always appeal the decision within 21 days or keep uploading content and reapply after a 30-day period.
Once you’re in, congratulations! Review Youtube’s frequently asked questions to better understand the Youtube Partner Program. You can also learn more here about how to earn money and the tax implications of that income.
There’s just one important requirement. You’ll have to make sure your account stays active in order to stay part of the Youtube Partner Program. That means that if you haven’t uploaded a video or posted in six months or more, Youtube may turn off monetization. So be sure you stay on top of your posting.
Other Ways to Make Money on YouTube
You don’t have to monetize your videos on YouTube to earn money from YouTube content. Creators have found lots of innovative ways to get paid for the content they create and the audiences they build through YouTube.
These strategies could be good options for big channels or those with fewer than 1,000 subscribers who aren’t eligible to monetize through YPP.
Fan Funding
A popular option for online content creators in any genre, paid membership programs like Patreon, Tipeee and Buy Me a Coffee let creators build and monetize a community.
You can publish your YouTube videos without monetizing through the partner program and instead invite your fans to send you a tip or subscribe for a paid membership through a third-party site.
Here’s how they work:
- Patreon: Set monthly membership levels — Patreon recommends between $5 to $10 for first-timers, although you can also have tiers at various prices — with varying access to perks like exclusive videos, audio or newsletters. Members subscribe and access content through the Patreon platform, and Patreon keeps 8% to 12% of fees depending on the service plan you choose.
- Tipeee: Make a creator page, and invite fans to tip any amount they want one time or as a recurring contribution. You can include perks for tippers to choose, but those aren’t tied to contribution amounts. The site takes a 8% commission from every tip.
- Buy Me a Coffee: Create a simple way for supporters to tip you for your creations through PayPal or a credit card. You can also add on a monthly membership option with exclusive perks at a price you set. For pages with a membership option, you can create posts (similar to Patreon); for support-only pages, your page just shows a feed of supporters. You’ll have to pay a 5% transaction fee.
Influencer Marketing
If your audience looks to you for recommendations on products, brands, events, activities or anything else, brands could pay you to create sponsored content.
You don’t have to have an enormous audience to make money through influencer marketing, but you should have a loyal, engaged audience. How big it needs to be for you to make money depends on the size and focus of your niche — a YouTube channel about using Google Sheets could monetize a much smaller audience than one about video games.
You can connect with brands by getting noticed through relevant hashtags, reaching out directly or connecting through an influencer marketplace like:
- YouTube BrandConnect: YouTube’s self-service platform helps connect creators with branded content opportunities. You’ll need to be a member of the Youtube Partner Program to participate. This is a seamless way to manage brand deals through Youtube itself.
License Your Content to Media Outlets
If a video on your channel gets a lot of traction or goes viral — or just contains content other outlets might find valuable — you could earn money selling media outlets the right to publish it on their own channels.
This is different from a site’s ability to embed your YouTube video in their content or share it on social media — you get credit for all those views and potential ad revenue.
If a video goes viral, you might have media organizations contacting you for the rights to use it. If you want to be proactive about licensing your content, you can list your videos through sites like Jukin Media and ViralHog to connect with outlets and get help managing your licensing deals.
Affiliate Marketing
You can earn money by promoting other companies’ products or services without creating sponsored content. If you naturally mention products or brands in your content, join affiliate programs and share your links in the video description.
Affiliate marketing is an especially good fit for instructional videos. As you teach viewers how to do things, you’ll naturally mention brands and tools you love and recommend. Affiliate marketing lets you get paid when viewers follow your recommendations.
If you’ve got a large following online, you might be able to connect with companies directly to strike affiliate deals. But most affiliate marketers use affiliate networks to benefit from deals companies are offering any creators who meet their qualifications.
You can find affiliate opportunities through networks including:
Writer Elizabeth Djinis is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder, often writing about selling goods online through social platforms. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Smithsonian Magazine and the Tampa Bay Times.
Contributor Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® who has written about work and money for publications including Forbes, The New York Times, CNBC, Insider, NextAdvisor and Inc. Magazine.
