The YouTube Partner Program

First things first, in order to make money by means of YouTube, you’ll need to get accepted to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Not only does the YPP enable revenue sharing from ads, but it also gives creators access to more resources and features offered by the platform such as access to a creator support team, Copyright  Match Tool, and monetization features, like ad revenue.

With regards to ad revenue specifically, you’ll need to keep in mind that the advertising money is split between different parties. Google will pay $68 for every $100 an advertiser pays to the publisher. Also, if viewers skip the ad before 30 seconds, YouTube earns nothing which means that you won’t be paid. On average, around 15% of viewers watch the required 30 seconds of a video ad to qualify for payment. 


What About the YouTube Shorts Fund?

If you don’t get accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, you can turn your focus to creating videos that are 60 seconds or shorter and check out the YouTube Shorts Fund. It’s a $100 million fund that rewards creators for creating original Shorts. Each month, YouTube will select thousands of creators and reward them with a Shorts bonus. 

That being said, focusing on getting your YouTube channel up and running is really the way to go. It will take time, but by posting videos regularly that your target audience can resonate with, you’ll get there. Also, the advantage of uploading longer videos is that it offers you the ability to add more than one ad which means more opportunities to earn. 

5. Monetize Live Streams via Super Chat

Super Chat is a popular new way to make money from YouTube. The feature lets your audience buy chat messages that stand out and, in certain instances, pin them to the top of the comments section of a live stream. So, when you go live on YouTube, you can use Super Chat to monetize your stream.