With thousands of users worldwide and billions of hours of daily watching, YouTube is the largest platform for sharing videos. It has overturned the data in the media world. Now anyone can create a video, share it with a large audience and even make money on YouTube. If you want to get serious about YouTube, keep reading.
Starting from the basics
First, you need to decide your content and create interesting videos that people want to watch. The more original and unique your videos are, the faster you will stand out among the rest. At the same time, content related to products or services is more likely to bring you sponsorships and profits.
However, a good idea is not enough. You have to look after both your aesthetics and style. Good equipment can help towards this direction. You don’t need to spend a fortune, but a good camera, a reliable microphone and an easy-to-use editing program will help you achieve a better aesthetic result and keep your viewer longer.
Still, your audience will constantly want to see new material on your YouTube channel. So try to be consistent: the more often you upload, the more often you will appear on your subscribers’ homepage. It has been observed that if you upload videos on fixed days they are more likely to get views.
Fine, so far. You have set your channel, you are uploading videos and content and you are expecting to make some cash.
Subscribe to the YouTube Partner Program
In order to try and make money on YouTube you will need to join the Affiliate Program or Youtube Partnership Program (YPP).
On your profile, go to “Channel Status” and enable “Revenue Generation”. To apply for a membership you must have at least 1.000 followers and 4.000 hours of watching on your YouTube channel within the last 12 months. Then you should agree to the Program’s terms and link your Google AdSense account: the account you use to earn money from your page or blog. If you don’t have an account you can create one through YouTube.
YouTube will then check whether your content complies with its guidelines and policies. The evaluation process usually takes a month.
Making money on YouTube
Advertising
There are many ways to make money from your Youtube content. Advertising revenue is the most common one but not necessarily the most profitable. The ads appear in the form of display ads, overlay ads, skippable video ads, non-skippable video ads, bumper ads and sponsored cards. You get paid either when a viewer clicks on an ad (CPC) or when someone watches an ad (CPM). In the latter case the profit is much smaller.
Videos with fun and ad-friendly content bring more money than ads. Also, the amount of money is higher when these ads play in financially developed countries. Or in videos with content in English that are addressed to larger audiences.
It is also important to know that in times of high purchasing traffic, advertising revenue increases.
Special features
Apart from the ads, there are several features you can use in order to make money from your Youtube Partnership Program. When making a live broadcast activate superchat and receive donations from your viewers or invite them to subscribe by paying a monthly subscription and receiving extra membership privileges (channel membership).
In Greece there has been a significant increase in users who want to support their favorite YouTube channels in these ways and this is still the beginning. You can use more special features such as merchandise shelf and YouTube Premium.
YouTube Analytics
Wondering who your best viewers are? Where are they watching you from, what time of the day and how much money do you make? Youtube Analytics has the answers to all these questions and offers more insights. Youtube Analytics will help you optimise your content by uploading videos that interest your viewers. If for example your viewers are watching from abroad you can consider adding subtitles or metadata in their language to make the access to your videos easier.
You can even post videos the exact moment that your audience tunes in! This will increase the views and watch time which means more money on your YouTube channel.
In the same way you can evaluate which videos were more appealing and your audience’s favorites, which subjects and what kind of aesthetics and style your viewers prefer. You can then create more similar videos. YouTube analytics will also help you understand which titles, video thumbnails and keywords bring the most views and the highest click-through rate. But beware, not only the number of clicks is important but also the watching time: it means that the viewer found what he was really looking for.
More ways to increase your income through YouTube
Even if you don’t make money directly on Youtube, there are other ways to get paid by your audience.
A really common way is to promote products / services through your channel. You can collaborate with a brand and make videos to promote their products or services. You can also add to the video’s description affiliate links: every time someone clicks on the link to make a purchase, you will get a commission. It’s nice to sell through your channel, but you should be careful to promote only what is worth for you and your audience, otherwise you may lose your followers’ trust.
Build a loyal audience and ask your crowd to support you. A small monthly subscription in patreon or another platform can provide you with the money and energy needed to work on a project that will be interesting for your viewers.
Concluding
We are not claiming that it is easy to create a successful YouTube channel from which you will make a fortune. However, it is an interesting and creative process, with incredible potential! Why not give it a try?
Dimitris Zacharakis is an Audience & Performance Manager in 24Media. He has been working in Digital Marketing since 2015. He has worked as a Digital Marketing Manager in GIM - Greek Internet Marketing- having dealt with important e-commerce & lead generation projects. He has also worked as a Performance Associate for giaola, while developing the 11888 giaola project. He does podcasts for PPC & Digital Marketing through Digital Jam and his articles are published in the Papaki blog.
Join the Discussion