The average viewing session on the video-sharing website has been growing 50 per cent year after year and is currently 40 minutes. Daily active YouTube users are now more than 30 million with YouTube TV boasting over 300 thousand paying subscribers.
These numbers are impressive, so it is no surprise that a lot of people are jumping on the YouTube bandwagon and searching for reliable and fast ways to make money on YouTube.
Eight-year-old YouTuber, Ryan Kaji, made 26 million dollars on YouTube in 2019, which caused some people on social media to bemoan spending lots of money on an education only to make less than an eight-year-old who reviews toys.
[bctt tweet=”Eight-year-old YouTuber, Ryan Kaji, made 26 million dollars on YouTube in 2019, which caused some people on social media to bemoan spending lots of money on an education only to make less than an eight-year-old who reviews toys.” username=”Sidomex”]
While YouTube does not have to be your main job, it can be a side hustle, to buttress what you’re doing now, until you hit your big break and become a superstar YouTuber.
But first, you will need tools that will help you shoot to the top of the list of moneymakers on YouTube. To help you do just that, we’re sharing with you how to make money on YouTube, the top YouTubers, how much YouTube pays its creators and many other things we think you’ll need.
How to start your YouTube channel
There’s a popular quote that says: “You have to start to finish,” except, of course, that with content creation, you never actually finish. You only finish creating video after video until you – hopefully – become super popular and can then hire people to shoot your videos.
On YouTube, the competition is fierce. Over 50 million users are constantly creating content on YouTube, uploading 500 hours of videos to the video-sharing social media channel every minute, hoping to someday get their big break.
It is easy to just log on to YouTube, go to your channel, and create a YouTube channel. But the important question is: What is your plan?
If you don’t make plans before starting your YouTube channel, then your channel will fail. To avoid this, you have to do some research and find out the content that people want to see AND you can deliver.
Don’t stretch yourself thin trying to fit into a category because you think it will make you more money. That will only lead to your channel’s downfall.
If you want to start your channel, see a steady increase in followers and views, you’ll need to do more than just create a channel and share videos.
[bctt tweet=”If you want to start your channel, see a steady increase in followers and views, you’ll need to do more than just create a channel and share videos.” username=”Sidomex”]
Use these tips to make sure that your YouTube channel becomes all that you hope for it to be.
1. Plan your content before filming
Don’t just pick a topic, jump in front of the camera and start talking, hoping that whatever you say makes sense. Making videos does not work like that.
Take your time to plan your content. If it’s possible, draw up a content schedule for a month, write a script for every video, then run with it. Don’t be afraid to include jokes here and there to connect better with your viewers.
Viewers like to live vicariously through their favourite YouTube channel, so it is important to keep your channel fun and engaging. Pick a theme and stick to it.
Some of the most successful niches on YouTube, which are sure to make you money include
- Gaming
- Lifehacks
- Celebrity gossip
- News
- Top [X] lists
- Compilations of fails
- Food reviews and kitchen hacks
- Product unwrapping and opening
- How-to demonstrations
- Animal activities
- Spoofs
As is obvious from the list of highest earners below, the most popular YouTubers picked a theme early on in their career and stuck to it. They may have made a switch later on but it was never drastic and it was never complete.
2. Use the right equipment
If you can, invest in a proper mirrorless or a DSLR camera for filming your videos. Also, invest in tripods and proper editing equipment for maximum quality.
Of course, all of these do not guarantee that people will come to your channel, fall in love with the beautiful clarity of your video and subscribe. There’s a reason why people constantly chant content is king.
However, if you can’t afford all the expensive equipment that will no doubt give you an edge, then your phone is fine. Just get something to place it on (preferably a tripod) so it does not shake all over the place while you film, and you’re good to go.
Content is king, reader, and that really is the most important thing to know about YouTube.
[bctt tweet=”Content is king, reader, and that really is the most important thing to know about YouTube.” username=”Sidomex”]
3. Streamline your content
Did you know that longer videos increase your watch time, which then helps you make more money? Well, now you know.
A common problem that rookie YouTubers make though, is that they keep this in mind too much and then blab their way through the video.
Your audience may be incredibly interested in what you have to say, but they’ll only be there long enough to watch you veer from the point again before they find someone with a more ‘to the point’ video.
So, it is important to break down your content so that your audience understands what you’re trying to say, but also, get to the point.
4. Optimise your videos
Optimise your videos for the best chances of people seeing them or you’ve just wasted your time and resources.
What is the point of making a YouTube channel that nobody watches? So, you need to properly optimise your content so that people who are looking for similar content to what you’re providing can find you.
When you upload every video, make sure to give it a good descriptive title with many of your keywords so that when people search for those keywords, your video comes up.
Another important thing is to use relevant tags as well when you upload your videos. Check similar videos to yours and see what tags they used for their own videos.
Finally, write a nice, long, informative description for your videos. This helps you rank higher in search engines.
5. Upload videos regularly
One very important tip for the success of your YouTube channel is consistency. Upload videos two or three times a week when you just start your channel and stick to this schedule.
Many YouTube creators upload a new video two or three times a week and they let their viewers know when this is. This is especially important as you grow your subscriber count so that you don’t end up with a large following and low views.
6. Share your content with your network
What is the point of going through the stress of filming a video that only a handful of people get to watch? While you can upload your video on YouTube and hope that the algorithm puts it in front of as many people as possible, you can’t rely only on that.
Share your video as widely as possible: send to family and friends and ask them to send to their own network. Share on your blog if you have one.
Share the link to your channel on your social media pages and encourage people to click on them by using appropriate calls to action.
How does YouTube pay its creators
As you wish to monetise your channel, there are a few things you need to consider such as, how does YouTube pay its creators? Which content earns more and which earns less? These are important things that you need to take into consideration.
YouTube uses a lot of metrics to decide how each creator is paid and based on your content and your plan, you may earn more or less.
Check out some methods below that you can use to make money on YouTube.
YouTube Partner Program
One way that a YouTube creator can make money on YouTube is to join the YouTube partner program. The programme allows YouTubers to be paid through views and advertisements on their videos.
[bctt tweet=”One way that a YouTube creator can make money on YouTube is to join the YouTube partner program. The programme allows YouTubers to be paid through views and advertisements on their videos.” username=”Sidomex”]
To be eligible for the YouTube partner program, your channel needs to have garnered 1000 subscribers. In addition, you’re also required to have accumulated 4000 watch hours within one year.
And that is just to qualify for consideration. After hitting these milestones, your application will be considered and YouTube will let you know if you qualify for the Partner Program after a review period.
Once approved, you can start making money through two different ways: CPM (cost per thousand views) and CPC (cost per click).
If your method of advertisement is through CPM, then viewers must watch ads for longer than 30 seconds, something that is highly unlikely going by people’s online watching habits.
CPC means that you will be paid based on how many people click the ads around your video. No, you cannot have family and friends click your video to boost your income as that can get you blacklisted.
For every view on your channel, every ad on YouTube is worth between 10 and 30 cents with an average of 18 cents. For every thousand views, you would make an average of 18 dollars. YouTube takes 45% of incomes, so for every thousand views, you’ll make nine dollars and 90 cents.
As you begin making money, you can create an AdSense account so that your earnings can be paid into your AdSense account. You should know, though, that you can only direct deposit your money once it has reached 100 dollars.
Ad incomes can differ based on ad formats, geographical location and whether the viewer sees the ad on an embedded video or directly on YouTube.
It may sound like a herculean task right now, but this is exactly how the biggest YouTubers today all started too. Success is not an overnight thing.
The first few dollars you earn will be the hardest, but as you continue sharing interesting content and acquiring more subscribers, it will get easier to increase your earnings.
When you are popular enough, you can then branch out into other interests in your industry – creating a television show, becoming a talk show host like YouTuber, Lilly Singh, among many other options.
The first thing to do, though, is to create your channel and upload your first video. The sky is your starting point.
YouTube Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an arrangement where an advertiser pays a portion of profits to a YouTuber based on sales or traffic generated from that YouTuber’s referrals.
These videos can take several forms, and regular YouTube users must have seen at least one form of an affiliate video. The most common forms are:
- A video unboxing the product you’re trying to sell
- A video in which you recommend the product or service
- A video reviewing the product
YouTubers usually include a link to the retailer’s website or social media page where a viewer can purchase the product and/or service. Retailers can choose to pay based on how many people click on the link or based on how many people buy the product.
In some cases, YouTube influencers give their viewers a special code to get some discount off their purchase. This is also an example of affiliate marketing.
Brand Sponsorships
Brand sponsorships are the ultimate most profitable ways of making money on YouTube. Before you can get to this stage though, you must have gained a reasonable following.
This is how sponsorship works: A brand can sponsor one or two videos by a YouTuber and then the creator has to make a video about the company’s a product launch, a company event, a site opening, or something similar.
This is why several makeup artists or skincare aficionados ‘review’ or use some brands in their videos. It is most likely a sponsored video.
In another situation, a brand can sponsor the entire channel and the creator has to mention the brand’s products in every video and/or where it is appropriate.
The rates for sponsored videos range from 10 to 50 dollars per 1000 views. If the video hits one million views, then the YouTuber can make anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 dollars from a single video.
Extra: Sell your own products
This is not a way that YouTube pays its creators, just one way for you to make money from your YouTube channel.
Similar to how YouTube pays you to run ads on your channel, you can also share your own ads and direct some money to your pocket. Make sure that whatever you’re offering for sale is related to your channel so that viewers are not thrown out of the loop.
Set up a website where you can share your items for sale and include the link to your website in the description of your videos.
You can also mention your merchandise in your videos. Although you should make sure not to go overboard so that your viewers don’t get tired of hearing the same thing from you over and over again.
In addition, you can go a step further and create a special video for your brand. You can start small by making branded t-shirts that have your YouTube channel’s logo on it. This will also help to increase your reach and take your business to the next level.
Who are the top YouTubers and how do they make money on YouTube?
8-year-old YouTuber, Ryan Kaji, was the highest-paid YouTube star of 2019, making a total of $26 million. And that is just what he made from YouTube.
Social media stars, when they become popular enough, get endorsements and collaborations that extend outside their social media infamy. It is no wonder that everyone, celebrities included, are now joining YouTube too.
Here are the top 10 YouTube earners and how much they made by the end of 2019.
1. Ryan Kaji – $26 million
Ryan’s World, formerly Ryan’s ToysReview, is a children’s toy review YouTube channel that posts videos which are a blend of personal videos and toy unboxing videos.
One of his videos, titled Huge Eggs Surprise Toys Challenge has almost two billion views as of March 2020 and is one of the top 50 most viewed videos on YouTube.
He also has over 20 million subscribers and over 30 billion views. In 2019, he released his own line of toothbrush and toothpaste.
