YouTube is one of the few social media platforms that was designed to help its creators succeed. YouTube will go out of its way to promote you because the more people that watch and engage with your videos, the more money you and YouTube will make.
However, getting views on your YouTube videos is certainly not the only (nor the best way) to monetize your channel. Listed below are our top 5 ways to make $1,000 on YouTube.
1. Run Ads on Your YouTube Channel
AdSense is one of the most popular routes to take when looking to monetize your content. By running ads on your YouTube channel, you’ll be able to earn passive income on the videos that you’ve already created.
Based on the average industry standards, your video will need around 500,000 views to earn $1,000 from AdSense, or you’ll earn $2 for every 1,000 views. However, this number varies on your location, the type of ads you’re running, and your channel’s engagement and performance.
By creating content in profitable niches, you’ll be able to increase this number. The best way to find a profitable niche is to do some keyword research and identify which keywords have the highest cost-per-click rates.
2. Become a YouTube Partner
Joining the YouTube Partner Program will grant you access to special features on the video platform. However, to get into the program, you’ll need a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and at least 4,000 watch hours over the course of the last 12 months.
The YouTube Partner Program includes the following features:
- Ad Revenue: Your content must be advertiser-friendly if you’re looking to earn ad revenue. If your videos aren’t controversial, YouTube advertisers will feel comfortable running ads on them and you’ll be making money.
- Channel Memberships: Channel memberships allow your fans to opt-in to compensate you for your content. If you’re looking to sell channel memberships to your subscribers, you’ll need to have more than 30,000 subscribers.
- YouTube Premium: If a YouTube Premium member watches your video, you will automatically get a portion of their subscription fee.
- Super Chat: Super Chat allows your viewers to have the ability to pay to have their messages highlighted in the chat during your live streams. It’s important to note that this feature is not offered in all countries.
- Merchandise Shelf: You must have at least 10,000 subscribers if you’re looking to sell merch on YouTube’s merchandise shelf.
3. Get Involved With Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the most lucrative ways to monetize your YouTube channel. While this method often performs best for review-based content, such as digital services or beauty products, there are multiple ways to get your channel involved with affiliate marketing.
For example, if your channel shares photography-related content, you can create a video to review a new camera and share affiliate links in your video’s description section. You’re also able to create YouTube cards and redirect viewers to a website page that contains your affiliate links.
Amazon is a popular choice when it comes to recommending products using affiliate links. However, there are a variety of platforms that allow you to earn a commission from product purchases. Depending on the individual affiliate partner’s policies, you may be able to earna small commission from other products that a person buys on their website within a specified duration of time.
When it comes to finding success with affiliate marketing, it’s important to have a long-term plan. By growing your channel, building an active community, and creating a solid reputation for yourself, you’ll be able to gain the trust of your viewers so they’ll buy the products that you recommend in your YouTube videos.
4. Try Crowd-Funding for Ongoing or One-Time Projects
YouTube offers its creators a list of approved crowdfunding sites that they can choose to use. If you’re looking to ask for recurring funding, Patreon is the most popular choice. Sites such as GoFundMe or Kickstarter typically work best for single campaigns.
When creating a successful campaign, it’s important to detail your specific goals so people know what to expect once you’ve succeeded. Offering perks that improve as higher goals are met is a creative way to entice your fans to donate more to your campaign.
5. Sell Digital Products and E-Courses
Earning money from a digital course is not as easy as it sounds. You have to create the course first, which can take weeks or months of your time. However, once you’ve completed your course, the resulting income can be completely passive.
However, if you have skills to teach that people will pay to learn, your courses can bring in plenty of passive income over time. Many people are willing to pay $100 or more to learn a specific skill so set your prices accordingly based on the value that your course brings to them.
While courses are a great option in the realm of digital products, there are other avenues that you can pursue. E-books, online instruction guides, or anything else you can market and sell online can help you make additional money from your YouTube channel. Digital products can be sold for smaller amounts than courses but they can add up quickly when you’re selling a couple hundred each month.
When you’re looking to achieve your first $1,000 on YouTube, it’s important to create a plan to get the traffic that you’ll need. And while many of these methods require a fair amount of upfront work, they have great potential to securing you a steady passive income in the long run.
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