2022 is a new year for YouTube. For many, the once standard-video platform has become a full-time income.
A massive wave of attention has been sweeping the app in recent years, with YouTubers who started out of nowhere suddenly being propelled into hundreds of thousands of subscribers in no time.
The great thing about YouTube is that if you have a niche, you’ll find an audience. Want to talk about mysteries? You can. Want to talk about computers? There’s an audience. Heck, want to talk about beard care? There’s a crowd for that too.
See More: The 5 Best Tips to Launching a Successful YouTube Channel
The more followers you get on the app the more potential for money you have as well, which is another great plus of YouTube. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can turn your channel into a new job.
So without further ado, here are five great ways to monetize your channel!
1. The YouTube creator program
The first stream of revenue you’ll earn as a YouTube content creator as from AdSense. Essentially what this means is that every time someone clicks on your video and watches the ads before or during it, you make money.
It’s a practical essential to getting started on making money on the platform. In order to do it however, you’ll need 1,000 followers and over 4,000 watch hours on your channel.
In order to turn monetization on, you’ll need to go to the YouTube studio menu and go to a section titled “other features.” There you’ll find a monetization page where you’ll need to agree to the terms and requirements, create an AdSense account, and set up your monetization preferences. Then, you’re done!
As long as you don’t break YouTube guidelines, you can continue to get monetized on the platform. The payout is not the most insane source of income you’ll see, however you need to start somewhere, and YouTube ad revenue is the best place to do so.
2. Sell Merch
Once you begin to build up a loyal audience merchandise should become a strong focus. Every YouTuber has merch, no matter what content they produce.
The great thing about merch is that not only does it make you extra revenue, but it also builds brand loyalty. You’re no longer just a digital content creator. People now wear your brand proudly.
The other great element to merchandise is the fact that it can be a very easy way to make money. If you’re good at designing, you can make your own merchandise and sell it via drop-shipping, the process of selling a product through a third party. There’s no need to make your own items from your home at that point, and you can make easy money without spending a dollar.
If you can’t design you can always get a freelancer to do your designs as well however, but this will lead to increased costs if you’re okay with it.
3. Sponsorships
One of the biggest, most profitable ways to make money off of YouTube is by sponsorships. Getting sponsored as a YouTuber is a huge step towards making a genuine income off the platform.
Sponsors are usually willing to pay large sums of money to have their product advertised in your video. The more followers you have, the higher chances you have at making more money of course.
Having solid upper-grounds and advantages will help secure you sponsorships faster, and give you more leeway to negotiate your rates. Your viewer demographics, quality of work, and profitability of your niche alongside your engagement rate are all taken into account when a company comes to work with you.
As with most forms of making money online, there are special influencer-sponsorship platforms designed to help YouTubers find the right sponsors. Some of these platforms will get companies to send you products for free, while others will get big companies to pay you hefty amounts of money.
4. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is the process of obtaining an advertising link from a brand and earning a commission whenever the link is purchased from or clicked on, depending on the service. Most companies will provide commissions when the link is purchased from however.
Affiliate marketing is a great and easy way to make money off of simply reviewing or promoting the products you love. All you need to do is put whatever link you want viewers to click on in your description, and promote it in the video.
There’s many affiliate networks that allow you to find commission-based partnerships with brands and apply to them, making the process of starting way easier. Because there’s low barriers to entry, practically anyone can do it.
Just be sure to disclose the fact that your video includes a paid promotion!
