Top 7 Ways to Monetize Your YouTube Videos

YouTube is the favorite playground of content creators, offering endless opportunities to share your passion, creativity, and expertise with a global audience. But beyond the thrill of creating videos, making money from your efforts is the key to sustaining and growing your channel.

Whether you're a seasoned vlogger, newbie gamer, or respectable educator, finding effective ways to monetize YouTube videos can transform your hobby into a profitable venture.

Let's dive into the exciting world of YouTube monetization and explore how you can turn your channel into a thriving business! Here are the top 7 ways to monetize YouTube videos.

How Much Money Can I Earn with YouTube Videos?

monetize YouTube channel

Many aspiring YouTubers want to know how much do YouTubers make.

Although Mr. Beast grosses $3 million from YouTube monthly, the figures are lower for beginner video makers.

Newbie YouTubers can earn about 0.1 to 0.3 cents per ad view, averaging about 0.18 cents. You’ll get about $18 for every 1,000 ad views.

Please note that YouTube won't pay you for every ‘video view,’ only ‘ad view.’ Hence, you could have a million views on your content but no ads, and you won't make any money.

The good news is that you’ll have other monetization options, which we’ll discuss in greater detail later in this post.

Understanding YouTube’s Monetization Requirements

The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is your ticket to earning money from your videos! Over two million YouTubers are Partners, making tens to thousands of dollars off their creations.

You can tap into ad revenue, channel memberships, Super Chats, and more by joining.

Meet the eligibility criteria, apply, and start turning your creative passion into profit. And yes, you can use an AI-powered video maker (like Puppetry) to create money-making viral videos or an automated YouTube channel. It's your chance to shine and thrive!

What do you need to become a YouTube Partner?

You need at least a thousand subscribers (not followers) to your channel.
Your videos must have at least 4,000 hours of valid views (or watch) from the general YouTube community within the last 12 months. Alternatively, 10 million YouTube Shorts views in the past 90 days should make you eligible to monetize YouTube.
You must also live in a country recognized by the platform as eligible for YPP.
Your channel must not have strikes or issues with YouTube’s Community Guidelines, copyright laws, and terms of service.
Your channel must be linked to an active Google AdSense account. This requirement is essential; otherwise, you won't receive payments.

How do you apply to the YouTube Partner Program?

Joining YPP couldn't be simpler than ensuring you meet the minimum requirements before signing up. To secure your money-making YouTube channel, you will want to enable 2-factor authentication (2FA) on your Google account.

Log into your YouTube account, find YouTube Studio (click your profile picture first), and open it.
Head to the left-hand menu and find Earn. Click on it.
Click Apply Now and follow the prompts.
Read the YPP Terms and Conditions and accept them if you agree with the stipulations.
Link your Google AdSense account to the YouTube channel to receive payments.

Please note the menus might vary depending on your device (Android, iOS, or PC).

Hooray!l We want to remind you that it’s a waiting game after signing up.

The good news? You will see “In Progress” on your screen, indicating YouTube is reviewing your application, which can take weeks.

Common Reasons for Application Rejection and How to Avoid Them

YouTube only wants respectful and law-abiding video creators for its monetization program. It will reject your application if…

You don’t meet the minimum YouTube Partner Program requirements
You infringed on others’ intellectual property or violated YouTube’s ToS or Community Guidelines
YouTube considers your videos spammy, clickbait, misleading, inappropriate, or offensive
You reuse existing YouTube videos without adding educational value or original commentary
YouTube detects no recent activity in your channel
You engage in dubious activities, like artificially inflating engagements and views
Your YPP application contains inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete information

Here's how to avoid getting your YPP application rejected by YouTube.

Consistently produce high-quality videos to increase watch times and grow subscribers.
Familiarize yourself with YouTube's policies, rules, and guidelines.
Avoid using copyrighted material without asking permission.
Avoid deceptive thumbnails, titles, and subscriptions.
Strive for authentic and high-value content by adding useful commentary or educational materials to existing videos.
Genuinely engage audiences. Don't buy subscribers, views, and likes.
Avoid sensitive and offensive topics. Make only respectful videos suitable to a wide audience.
Always double-check the information you put in the application.

7 Ways to Monetize Your YouTube Videos

how to make money YouTube

YouTube Partner Program? Check! Google AdSense? Check! Now, you're ready to monetize YouTube by leveraging artificial intelligence to create the most compelling videos for your target audience.

1. Ad Revenue

As mentioned, YouTube pays content creators for every view on ads placed in their channels at a rate between 0.1 and 0.3 cents.

YouTube can display various ads, including display ads, overlay ads, skippable ads, non-skippable ads, bumper ads, and sponsored cards.

So, how can you earn from ads? YouTube offers two options for earning money from ads placed in your videos. The most common is cost-per-impression (or views), which the platform measures 1,000 views. The other, less popular, method is cost-per-click.

Please note that YouTube gets 55% of the revenues, so you will only earn $450 from the $1,000 revenue. Not bad! The question now is, can you increase it? Sure you can! Here's how.

Use generative AI technologies to produce high-quality, original, and compelling YouTube videos. High-quality creations attract more viewers and produce longer watch times, increasing ad impressions.
Encourage your viewers to interact with your content through likes, comments, and shares, boosting video visibility and ad revenue.
Customize your ad settings, such as the types and frequency of ads, to balance viewer experience and revenue generation.

2. Channel Membership

Did you know you can monetize your YouTube channel by offering exclusive perks to subscribers in exchange for a monthly fee? Depending on the membership tier they choose, members gain access to special badges, emojis, exclusive content, and other unique benefits.

This feature helps creators build a closer community with their most dedicated fans while generating recurring revenue. You can create one of two membership tiers.

Multiple levels - You can offer different membership tiers at various price points, each providing unique benefits.
Tier pricing - Set competitive prices for each tier that reflect the perks' value.

As mentioned, you can offer members exclusive perks, including custom emojis and badges, early access to never-before-seen videos, and members-only content.

Promoting your YouTube channel membership should be easy. You can add a compelling call-to-action in your videos, leverage social media, or produce purposeful explainer videos. Here's how to boost your channel membership’s revenues.

Engage your members through exclusive live chats and personal interactions.
Actively seek your members’ suggestions and recommendations on how to improve member experiences.
Continuously produce high-quality content and regular updates to keep members excited. You can use Puppetry’s AI video maker to create videos members will love.
Reward new members with discounts, special promotions, and other perks. You can also reward existing members for referring new ones to your channel membership.

3. Super Chat and Super Stickers

Here's a more fun way to make money from YouTube videos. Your loyal followers love interacting with you, especially when you’re live on YouTube. So, they try to grab your attention by using highlighted, vibrant messages or wacky animations and stickers.

Here's the kicker. Super Chats and Super Stickers aren't free. Users must buy them. And you know what happens next. Around 30% of the sales proceeds will go to YouTube; you can pocket the rest. So, how do you entice your audience to use Super Chats and Super Stickers? Here are some suggestions.

Read out and respond to the messages and stickers to create a more interactive user experience.
Acknowledge viewers who use Super Chats and Super Stickers to encourage others to do the same.
Incentivize the use of Super Chats and Super Stickers. You can offer exclusive access to rare videos, special promos, and other perks.
Use an AI avatar to grab the viewer's attention. On-screen graphics, text prompts, and talking heads are also helpful.
Remind audiences that Super Chats and Super Stickers don't only grab their attention. They also show their unwavering support for your channel, motivating you to create more high-quality, compelling videos.
Schedule live streams during peak viewing times to maximize audience size and engagement.
Stream regularly to build a loyal audience that is more likely to support you through Super Chats and Super Stickers.
Create interactive live streams, such as gaming sessions, live reactions, or tutorials, with high viewer engagement.
Stream about trending or highly requested topics to attract viewers and potential Super Chat or Super Sticker purchases.

4. Merchandise Shelf

This YouTube monetization method isn't for everyone because it requires at least 10,000 subscribers. Moreover, YouTubers must have a valid account with a YouTube-recognized merchant partner (i.e., Merchalbar, Teespring, and Spreadshop).

Still, YouTube’s Merchandise Shelf is innovative enough that you will never worry about selling products outside the platform. YouTube is your store.

Besides using AI video generators to create fascinating content, you can do the following to boost revenue from this source.

Regularly mention your merchandise in your videos.
Produce merchandise-specific explainers or informative videos.
Promote your products on other social media platforms.
Offer discounts, perks, and other incentives to entice viewers to buy.

5. Affiliate Marketing

This money-making method is like Merchandise Shelf, except you promote products and services of brands outside YouTube merchants.

You can create how-to or tutorial videos, explainer clips, product unboxing videos, reviews, and others to increase brand awareness or introduce the product to your viewers.

You embed an affiliate link in your video’s description for viewers to click. When they do, they open the product’s website and decide to buy. You will earn a commission or a flat rate from the company (not YouTube) for every valid customer action.

So, here’s how to maximize this income stream.

Select a reputable affiliate program or network to join, preferably with a high commission scheme and excellent marketing support.
Always disclose your affiliate marketing connections to maintain transparency.
Read YouTube's rules on posting affiliate links.
Promote the links in other channels and platforms.

6. Sponsored Content

This method only works if you already have significant clout in your niche—if you're a bona fide influencer (like Mr.Beast).

The idea is to leverage your large audience base to make brands want to collaborate with you and promote their products or services. In a way, you become a brand ambassador.

Companies will handsomely compensate you for your efforts and the increased exposure. That's how you earn money, and here's how to boost it.

Grow your follower base by consistently delivering high-quality content. Brands want to sponsor or collaborate with YouTubers with large followings.
Choose a brand to partner with, considering their products and how their philosophy aligns with your channel.
Negotiate for a more attractive sponsorship compensation. You can ask for a flat rate, commission, or both.
Diversify sponsored content to increase your channel’s revenues.

7. Crowdfunding

Super Chats and Super Stickers are excellent examples of this in-platform money-making scheme.

Moreover, YouTube has third-party partnerships for more effective crowdfunding. Examples are Patreon, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, and Ko-Fi. Here are some tips to maximize this YouTube video revenue stream.

Offer incentives or rewards to potential donors and supporters.
Engage your audience frequently and respectfully.
Create a compelling pitch. You can use Puppetry’s GPT-4o technology to develop surprising hooks for your videos.
Promote your videos across channels and platforms.

Final Thoughts

Making YouTube videos is fun and financially rewarding if you get the formula right. Focusing on high-quality, original content and adhering to YouTube’s guidelines should help you see more dollars in the bank.

Be patient because seeing the fruits of one’s YouTube monetization efforts takes time. Lastly, take care of your viewers because they are instrumental in bringing money to your YouTube channel.