How to make money on YouTube

Looking at the list of top-earning YouTube Creators, you might think making money with YouTube videos is a breeze. But it's not that simple. The competition has become extremely cutthroat.

According to Statista, YouTube has 2.51 billion registered and active users. To stand out from this crowd, you need a unique selling point, a topic that resonates with your audience's unique taste. You'll need to leverage passion, perseverance, and maybe a bit of luck.

Even if you can't dethrone the big YouTube stars and become the next Mr. Beast, you can still use YouTube as part of your social media strategy to increase your visibility, successfully position yourself, and earn money from ads and engagement on YouTube.

Before diving into content creation, you'll need to configure your channel with a business strategy in mind. What should you prioritize?

• Choosing your niche and target audience carefully - focus on topics you're sure you could talk for hours about - and be opinionated.
• Creating a content calendar to maintain consistent uploads.
• Investing in basic equipment - a good microphone and decent lighting can significantly improve video quality.
• Setting up your channel profile professionally, including an engaging channel banner and description.
• Learning YouTube's SEO basics to help your content reach the right audience.

While building your subscriber base, focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to your viewers. This could be through educational content, entertainment, or solving specific problems for your audience.

Remember to enable all relevant monetization features as soon as they become available to your channel. This includes setting up your Google AdSense account early - even before reaching the Partner Program requirements (explained below) - so you're ready when you hit the eligibility thresholds.

To earn income on YouTube, you need to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), a subsidiary of Google AdSense, a provider of ads for online publishers.

Through the partner program, you gain access to monetization features for your YouTube channel. To apply, your YouTube channel must meet certain minimum requirements:

• A channel must comply with the program's guidelines. Even after joining, your channel will be regularly reviewed for compliance.
• Your channel must have at least 1,000 subscribers. For public videos, a valid watch time of more than 4,000 hours is required.
• You must accept the terms of use.
• To receive payments, you’ll need to have a Google AdSense account linked to your YouTube channel. You can configure the extent of AdSense ads in your channel by adjusting the account settings.

A review follows. If your YouTube channel doesn't meet the guidelines, your application for the partner program is rejected.

People annoyed by ads on YouTube pay for the ad-free YouTube Premium subscription. Longer watch times from YouTube Premium subscribers directly impact revenue, rewarding creators for high-quality, engaging content.

While YouTube Premium subscribers can unlock higher earnings, another type of audience can hold back your growth. The other, more common way to use YouTube ad-free is through adblockers, which allow users to block ads on YouTube. Since YouTube is ad-funded like every other social media giant, viewers that use adblockers on YouTube will have negative financial impacts on your ad revenue.

You have several ways to make money with your YouTube channel. When a user opens YouTube to watch a video, ads can be shown before and during the video via Google AdSense. The more your video is viewed, the more you earn from video ads.

YouTube has avoided going into specifics about earning potentials. According to some YouTubers, earnings range between €1 and €2 per 1,000 views. To earn revenue with AdSense on YouTube, you have to join the YouTube Partner Program and have a Google AdSense account.

However, you don't need to be in the partner program to earn money with your YouTube channel. Affiliate marketing ventures, like product placements, are often the most lucrative options for content creators with limited reach. Even at the start of your career, if you haven’t yet built a massive audience, you’ll often be able to keep the products you promote via affiliate marketing.

On YouTube, there are various forms of product placement: you can simply show the product to the camera via paid promotions or unboxing videos. You can sometimes score invitations to special events for filming vlog content, or test products like video games and tech before they hit the market.

You earn a commission on YouTube through affiliate marketing links in the video description, with the most common option being the Amazon Associates Program. When a follower buys a product through an affiliate link, you can earn up to 10% of the sale as a commission, depending on the program.

The big money on YouTube comes from ad deals. Once you've made a name for yourself, advertisers capitalize on your reach. These deals can bring additional income beyond YouTube earnings through lucrative ad contracts, that you’ll be able to negotiate based on the size of your audience.

Views, clicks, likes, shares, subscribers, and comments are metrics often associated with YouTube channel earnings. But which of these metrics is actually relevant for directly generating income?

The number of subscribers doesn't directly bring income, but it's crucial as a potential income base. The more subscribers your channel has, the higher the number of video views will be, provided they watch your videos.

Subscriber numbers are also relevant for ad deals, as advertisers look for wide reach to promote their products and services. The chance of advertisers letting you place their products in your channel or offering you a deal increases with more followers.

It's the same with likes. They offer indirect benefits: the more likes, the higher your video's ranking in search results, helping you build reach.

With AdSense, advertisers and YouTubers can choose different ad formats. Most ads on YouTube are based on the Cost-per-Mille (CPM) model, where advertisers set the price per 1,000 ad impressions and choose the desired ad placement.

Billing is based on the number of ad impressions, meaning the more users watch your video, the higher your earnings. Views are the currency for direct earnings on YouTube.

With frequent use of ad-blockers on YouTube, earnings can be lower despite many views.

If an advertiser chooses the Cost-per-Click (CPC) model, only the highest-performing ads are shown on your YouTube channel. This means advertisers must bid a higher CPM than competing CPC ads for their ad to display. If you want to earn per click, you need to enable "display ads" and "overlay ads" for your YouTube videos.

Another way to make money on YouTube is by running your own ads to broadly market your products and services. For local campaigns, companies pay from €10 per day. Costs vary depending on the type of video ad you choose.

Managing your earnings from multiple revenue streams as a content creator requires smart financial planning. As your YouTube income grows, you'll want a business account that understands the unique needs of digital creators and can help you track different income sources efficiently. Qonto offers specialized business accounts for creators and entrepreneurs, making it easier to manage your YouTube earnings alongside other revenue streams.

Want to dive deeper into the world of content creation? Check out our comprehensive guide to making money as an influencer, where we break down everything from tax considerations to managing brand partnerships. This resource will help you build a sustainable career in content creation while keeping your finances organized and professional.