During 2021-2023, YouTube paid creators more than $70 billion. The top YouTubers, such as MrBeast, bring in 10’s of millions, and their quarterly ad revenue on YouTube exceeded $8.92 billion.
That means, additional earnings from advertising after the cost-per-mille (CPM) usually average around $15.34.
So in this article, we give you clear strategies with actionable steps to make money on YouTube.
Monetization Through YouTube Features
The real potential to make money on YouTube is with the official monetization features.
All monetization features will provide a steady source of income once you earn access. It’s kind of the same as making money with TikTok.
Let’s look at the top 5 earner creators on YouTube, and then we’ll show you how to turn on the monetization features.
| Rank | Channel (creator) | Estimated annual earnings (2025) |
| 1 | MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) | $85M (Forbes) |
| 2 | Dhar Mann (Dhar Mann Studios) | $56M (Forbes) |
| 3 | Jake Paul | $50M (Forbes) |
| 4 | Ryan’s World (Ryan Kaji) | $35M (Forbes) |
| 5 | Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) | $32M (Forbes) |
1. Join the YouTube Partner Program
The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) opens up many ways to earn money. To be included, there is just one requirement in 2025.
- “Tiered Access” offers fan funding features only: 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the past 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours in the past year or 3 million Short views in the past 90 days.
- If you want “Full Access” to all monetization features, you need: 1,000 subscribers, and either 4,000 watch hours in the past year or 10 million shorts views in the past 90 days.
To apply, you will need to log into YouTube Studio to get started, tap on “Earn“, and then tap on the button that says “Apply Now”. You will then review and accept the terms and conditions, and link or create your AdSense account.
After that, YouTube will directly review your channel and ensure that it meets its monetization policies before approving any monetization actions.
2. Enable Ads & Earn from YouTube Premium
After you are accepted into YPP, you can start running ads straight from YouTube Studio. If you are live streaming, head to the Live Control Room to find the monetization settings.
In the app, you would just go to the settings menu to turn on monetization. Also, you will be making money passively from YouTube Premium viewers, too.
YouTube takes the 55% net from subscribers and divides it among all creators.
Further, any revenue that comes from Premium counts towards watch time, whether, for example, they were downloaded to watch offline or played with their screens turned off.
3. Use Super Chat & Channel Memberships
Super Chat and Super Stickers let viewers pay between $1 and $500 to highlight their messages in your live streams.
Super Chats and Stickers are colorful chat messages that stay pinned at the top of the chat feed and are viewable based on the amount paid.
Higher payments will stay pinned longer than less expensive ones. After taxes and app store fees, you earn 70 percent of this revenue.
Another monetization option is channel memberships. You can create up to six membership tiers (priced between $0.99 – $100) that offer the following exclusive opportunities at each tier:
- Custom badges and emoji
- Members-only videos and posts
- Early access
- Exclusive live streams
You can upload members-only content bi-monthly and mention memberships in videos to help boost new members significantly.
Make sure you are eligible with YouTube to take advantage of these monetization options!
Use Audience-Driven Revenue Streams
In addition to YouTube’s native monetization tools, directly monetizing based on your audience support offers a great revenue source, particularly for creators who do not qualify for the Partner Program yet.
Some of the influencers use these options, so you can do so even if you want to make money as an influencer.
1. Fan Funding Through Patreon & Buy Me a Coffee
Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee both offer ways for your audience to provide support via both one-time payments and recurring membership structures that rely on outside the YouTube ecosystem.
Buy Me a Coffee is perfect to allow viewers to send quick donations (called “coffees“) massively, and does not require an account to do so.
They take just 5% of the transactions, and you keep 95%. You can also set different membership levels and offer benefits; for example:
- Lower-tier memberships ($5/month) can offer early access to videos or an exclusive Discord community for fans
- Higher-tier memberships ($15-25/month) can offer monthly private Zoom calls, merchandise, or exclusive content[124]
Patreon also offers tiered subscriptions at membership levels $5 to $50+. The fees for their membership plans range from 5% to 12%.
Patreon was founded in 2013 and has grown to become the world’s largest crowdfunding site for creators.
It’s particularly popular among YouTubers as it creates a space for direct communication with fans outside of algorithm-based platforms.
2. Crowdfunding Creative Projects
If you have a one-off creative project, crowdfunding platforms are the best use of your time.
For example, Kickstarter allows projects like Cinemassacre to raise over $325,000 for the Angry Video Game Nerd movie.
Experiment takes an 8% platform fee plus 3-5% for processing, while Indiegogo is a flexible funding option where you keep what you raise.
No drawback to crowdfunding. Focus on the good: clearly outline project goals, have a good, rewarding offer, promote your campaign, and keep supporters engaged with updates on your project so they can feel a part of it.
If they relate to your project, they are much more likely to share about it and support it.
Use Product & Affiliate-Based Income
Producing and selling your own products is a way for YouTubers to have full control of their revenue and sell more, while also having stronger engagement with audiences, and you can make money on Amazon.
In fact, for many creators, selling products can supplement their total revenue by as much as 50%.
1. Sell Your Own Merch or Digital Products
Selling merchandise can be very profitable based on your audience’s size and engagement.
A creator who gets 5,000 views a month might expect to earn between $170 and $870 a/month from merchandise, while a channel that receives 50,000 views every month could earn between $730 and $3,500.
To be most effective, I suggest you focus on the various products that may fit with your audience. Some options include:
- Branded apparel (t-shirts, hoodies, hats)
- Custom-designed accessories/lifestyle products
- Digital products (Templates, e-books, planners, etc.)
With print-on-demand services, it has never been easier to create merchandise. Products are created only upon order, which eliminates all inventory from your concerns.
Digital products also provide fantastic earning opportunities with low investment costs. Many creators are selling planners, book trackers, consulting services, or a specialized workbook that helps solve a specific problem for their audience.
2. Drive Sales with YouTube Shopping
YouTube Shopping connects your online store directly to your channel, which means that viewers can shop directly on your channel while watching your content. To be eligible for YouTube Shopping, you must meet the following requirements:
- Must be enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program
- Must have 1,000 or more subscribers (or be an Official Artist Channel)
- Channel content cannot be primarily “Made for Kids” content
- Must not have any Hate Speech Community Guidelines strikes
Once you are eligible, you can connect your store from platforms such as Shopify or Amazon storefront through YouTube Studio by simply clicking on the Shopping tab and following the prompts to connect your store.
Once connected, you can tag up to 30 products, which is limited, so you need to find best selling products on Amazon to make more sales.
In your videos and Shorts, viewers can shop and purchase directly in the YouTube app.
3. Start Affiliate Marketing on YouTube
Affiliate marketing enables you to earn commissions by validating a brand’s products using unique tracking links.
The YouTube shopping affiliate program requires you to be:
- a member of the YouTube Partner Program
- have at least 10,000 subscribers
- be in eligible countries (U.S., Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Singapore)
Most sellers pay affiliates a commission between 5% and 50%. Focus on relevant products and creating relevant content to build trust and drive sales.
If you are interested in learning more, you can learn more by reading our complete guide on “How to make money with affiliate marketing”.
Do not share random affiliate links. Be honest and clear about your affiliate relationship. YouTube has its Shopping affiliate bonus program; you can make $50 for achieving $1,000 in sales, up to $1,750 for $17,500 in sales.
Leverage YouTube Shorts & Licensing
Now, as the competition in short-form video escalates, it’s important to realize how to maximize this format and take your earnings to a new level.
You can also use these short videos on your Instagram account and want to make money on Instagram like YouTube.
1. How to Make Money with YouTube Shorts
Unlike traditional YouTube videos, short monetization is structured differently, and YouTube collects all Shorts ad revenue and distributes it according to performance.
You’ll need to complete some steps to be eligible:
1. Join the YouTube Partner Program.
2. Accept the Shorts monetization module in YouTube Studio.
3. Create original content. Re-uploads and unedited clips are unacceptable.
Once eligible, you will earn 45% of the revenue YouTube allocates to your Shorts, as long as it is not music-based.
Shorts RPM (revenue per 1,000 views) varies from $.05 to $.07, while long-form RPM averages from $1-$30. However, Short’s volume makes this worthwhile.
2. Repurposing Your Content for Shorts
Repurposing content in the form of Shorts is a quick way to get more exposure.
When you repurpose your content, consider the following:
- First, identify the best portions of your long videos, look for tutorial steps, great moments, or key takeaways.
- Second, edit the long video to be in vertical format and curate captions, as a lot of viewers will watch with no sound.
- Finally, use text overlays to emphasize key points.
Another thing is that you can take longer videos and create multiple Short videos.
3. License Your Viral Videos
Media licensing, especially through companies like Storyful, makes money by distributing your viral content to newsrooms around the world.
Exclusive licensing agreements mean that these companies are your agent, and they pay you via PayPal, usually 4-5 months after you’ve signed the agreement (the payment comes after the company earns a set amount).
Non-exclusive licensing offered through a company like BVIRAL allows creative producers to monetize licensed content that they may have lost revenue from unauthorized use, where the creative producer does not need to grant exclusive rights.
Selling exclusive rights means lost control and access to the content, so you should consult a lawyer before you sign an exclusive license agreement so you can protect your interests.
Optimize for Growth & Higher Earnings
Once you’ve established your revenue streams, maximizing your earnings becomes the priority. Let’s explore proven optimization strategies that can dramatically increase your YouTube income.
Tips to Increase Watch Time & Engagement
Watch time affects the rankings on YouTube. To maximize it:
- Hook your audiences in the first 10 seconds with “assumptive questions” that address their needs
- Enhance retention by cutting unnecessary introductions and conclusions
- Include descriptions that have timestamps to help with the user experience and SEO signals.
- Add pattern interrupters throughout your videos to keep attention
- Create playlists that allow viewers to spend more time watching videos on your channel
Any kind of user interaction (likes, comments, shares, subscriptions) sends strong signals to YouTube’s algorithm.
SEO & Thumbnails that Drive Clicks
YouTube SEO is how you optimize your video so it’s searchable in both YouTube search and Google search. Focus on:
- File names that contain the target keywords
- Descriptive title (place keywords early in title)
- Description (250+ words)
- Relevant tags so YT can understand what your video content is about.
Moreover, thumbnails, or content previews, for your video will have a huge impact on your click-through rates.
Research shows that as high as 90% of the most successful videos on YouTube use custom Thumbnails. Make an effective thumbnail including:
- High contrast colors that stand out.
- Facial emotion.
- Less than 20-character text, and a legible font size.
- Branding elements that you consistently use in your content and post-production workshops.
How to Make Money on YouTube for Beginners
If you’re a creator just starting on YouTube, you surely won’t have to achieve the full monetization requirements of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours to start earning.
Thanks to a new entry-level for fan funding features, all you need is 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 watch time or 3 million Shorts views.
With this entry-level tier, you’ll have access to Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks, so viewers can tip you during a live stream and appreciate your videos.
And for the first time, these fan funding options allow supporters to contribute between $1 and $500 to the creators they love.
For example, Super Thanks allows viewers to support you with a tip by purchasing one-time animations and posting colorful, customized comments on your videos.
For live streams, Super Chats can be a significant revenue stream; one creator earned $200 from a single live stream with around 150 concurrent viewers!
YouTube Income Per 1,000 Views
In 2025, advertisers pay creators on average $5.00 to $15.00 for every 1,000 ad views. Yes, I said ad views, not video views.
You can’t reference a 10,000-view video because YouTube has an ad view rate of 49-68%. Ad view counts for your videos can be calculated as about 49-68% on 10,000 views, or around 4,900-6,800 ad views, meaning that your typical monthly income runs from $25.00 to $100.00.
The amount you are compensated for ad views depends on:
- Country demographics: the RPMs for viewers in the US, UK, and Canada will be on average larger than for viewers in developing countries.
- Video length: For longer videos that have a runtime of over 8 minutes long you can add mid-roll ads, meaning you will be able to make substantially more ad revenue.
- Niche content: Finance and business content will earn around $21.20 per 1,000 views, while photography people will only earn $4.48 per, etc.
How to Make Money on YouTube Fast
To reach 4,000 watch time quickly, you will need to plan your content methodically. The best way to make videos that passively collect watch time is by using:
- Podcast–style episodes (around 30-120min)
- Documents and longer style videos
- Livestreams will count towards watch hours
- Compilation videos with engagement
Indeed, a consistent uploading schedule clearly tells YouTube that your channel deserves to be promoted and helps you make money on YouTube fast. Many creators that found success recommend that you release 3-4 videos a week while you are in a phase of growth.
Final Tips
There are a number of income sources that help you make money on YouTube, beyond ads, such as fan funding and product sales.
You’ve really got to crank out the content, and make it engaging, plus you need sustained watch time, good SEO, etc., and compelling thumbnails.
You have to spread out your revenue through all sources of income (ads, memberships, merchandise, affiliate partnerships); otherwise, you are relying on one source of income, and that can affect your sustainable income when the platform evolves.
The key is to change strategy continuously for long-term monetization.
FAQs Before You Start YouTube
1. How many views does it take to monetize on YouTube?
To monetize ad revenue, you need to apply to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). This requires you to meet YouTube’s eligibility thresholds (subscribers/watched hours or views on Shorts) and accept their terms and conditions. You can also earn money before joining YPP through other platforms (affiliate links, sponsorships, merchandise, etc.).
2. How can a beginner monetize a channel on YouTube?
- Affiliate links in descriptions and mentioning products.
- Sponsorships or brand deals if you are a niche channel.
- Selling merchandise or digital products (linking to your external shop).
- Crowdfunding/tips (Patreon, Ko-fi, or PayPal).
- Providing paid services (coaching or freelancing) advertised through your video.
3. How many views on YouTube do you need to make $2,000 a month?
Follow this formula: Needed views = (Target $ / RPM) × 1,000, where RPM = how much you receive per 1,000 views. Here are example targets for earning $2,000/month:
RPM = $0.50 → 4,000,000 views
RPM = $1 → 2,000,000 views
RPM = $3 → 666,667 views
RPM = $5 → 400,000 views
RPM = $10 → 200,000 views
(Putting ads together with sponsors, affiliates, and merch will get to $2,000 much quicker.)
4. How much will YouTube pay me for 1,000 views?
There is no exact number. Usually, creator income per 1,000 views (for long-form) probably falls in the ballpark of $0.50 – $8, depending on niche, where the audience is located, ad type, and seasonality. Shorts usually pay much less (usually well under $1/1,000 views). Note: advertisers usually pay CPM, YouTube takes its cut (historically ~45%), and therefore, we are left with the creator’s RPM in our pockets.