YouTube Monetization: How Hard Is It To Make Money From YouTube?

Advertisers are spending a huge amount of money to advertise their products and services and reach a wide audience through the world’s 2nd most popular website. Youtube, on the other hand, partners with people who make it happen. Youtube monetization, for vloggers and youtubers, is about getting a large fanbase first to watch their videos where the ads are inserted in between breaks.

It’s certainly more than a plug-and-play type of income stream. It’s not a simple “upload your video, wait for 24 hours to 1 week to become a viral star” scheme. There’s a long process before you can actually earn huge money through this platform.

Not all video creators can sign up to the YouTube Partner Program and start earning through views right away. They need more than 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours first before they qualify. YouTube monetization also needs a linked Google AdSense account, since this is where all payments will go. Advertisers buy ad placements and spaces through Google Adsense. Threshold is US $100 before you can get paid.

YouTubers earn 55% of what the advertisers pay for each view. The Partner Program will provide you with ad placement options after you get accepted. Here’s the caveat though: Viewers have to watch the whole ad - from start to finish. YouTube monetization requires that a viewer is actively watching the ads and not skip them. Otherwise, you won’t get paid.

Sponsors and brands reach out to YouTubers with a large fanbase and subscribers to advertise their products through video content. As such, a gamer with thousands of subscribers usually scores brand partnerships and sponsorships with tech brands to create videos featuring their products (either through product reviews or by plainly using them in the videos with the brand name clear and visible all throughout). 

YouTubers also earn through affiliate marketing. It is not sponsorship per se, but a kind of YouTube monetization which involves posting of affiliate links in the description box. Each sale that they will make through the link will earn them commissions. Usually, they feature these products on their video content to entice subscribers to buy.

These are the common ways to earn money through YouTube Monetization.

For 1,000 views, a Youtuber can earn $3 to $5 on that video. An ad view ranges from $0.01 to $0.03. If a video receives 1,000,000 views, then that alone can make $5,000 and up. This is on top of sponsorship deals that the YouTuber might have received for the content of that particular video. YouTube monetization is indeed a lucrative job!

The first step to YouTube monetization is creating valuable content. Popular videos are usually about tutorials, pranks, and house tours. Make it easy by deciding on what niche you want to focus on, and identify what kind of content will make you stand out in that niche. It’s not really a competition with other high-paid content creators. As long as you have a loyal fanbase, then you can earn money through YouTube.