In this article, I outline 5 excellent tips to monetize your YouTube Channel. It is with no doubt that over a couple of years, video marketing has increased its influence on online marketing platform especially here in Kenya.
While social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Snap Chat have become great social media marketing platforms in Kenya, but YouTube still shares an enormous vacuum with almost 2 billion users worldwide.
Going with the latest statistics, it is the second in popularity after Facebook, with more than 2.32 billion users worldwide. According to an estimate, YouTube viewers are spending 180 million hours watching video content every day.
With this fact, let’s see the 5 excellent tips to monetize your YouTube Channel and make more money
Prepare your Monetization Platform
Before we take a look at the tips, make sure your YouTube channel have at least 4,000 hours of watch time in the last year and at least 1,000 subscribers to qualify for monetization.
This rule came into effect in early 2018 and is another way for YouTube to prioritize watch time (as opposed to view count, which was the previous emphasis of the platform).
“Watch time” is the average number of hours spent by users watching videos from your website. Because YouTube mostly wants to keep viewers as long as possible on the site, viewing time has become increasingly valuable to creators.
You can work on some things to ensure that the channel has the best chance of monetization before you hit the “Enable” button to monetize your channel.
It can also take up to 30 days or more for YouTube to review your channel,
and if your application is denied, you have to wait another 30 days to apply, so do not take any chances — you want revenue to start coming in as soon as possible.
Steps to allow YouTube monetization
You have gained a number of required watched hours and checked for red
flags on your channel— now what? It’s time to learn how to enable YouTube monetization.
- Drop-down My Channel click on the icon in the top right corner of the screen
- From this screen, click YouTube Studio (beta)
- Once you are on YouTube studio, find menu channel on the left side of your screen and click Other Features > Monetization.
- Finally, click Start in the Monetarisation window.
After this has been finished, you have accepted the terms of the YouTube
Partner Program. Sign up for AdSense or connect to an existing account. This is basically what makes it possible for your network to make money.
YouTube then prompts you to set your preferences for monetization. Don’t
worry too much about this step— you can later change your preferences for monetization and customize it to monetize only specific videos.
5 Different ways to monetize your channel
YouTube monetization is just one way you can make money on YouTube.
There are several others, but it’s a high, relatively easy entry point to enable YouTube monetization.
The subscriber and watch time threshold for YouTube ads is pretty low so that when it’s still in its infancy, your channel can pick up steam. However, as you continue to gain more followers and increase watch times, additional monetization options should be considered — especially if you have a very loyal and engaged audience.
1. Patronage
Patreon is one of the YouTube creators ‘ most popular online patronage sites. Patreon allows your loyal followers to pay for access to exclusive content a certain amount of money each month.
You can have multiple levels of patrons, supplying them with anything from behind-the-scenes footage to entirely new material (which cannot be seen by non-paying members).
Many YouTubers give their patrons a day early access to videos; others even put the creators themselves in some one-on-one time. Patreon is an excellent fan based choice for artists. This loyalty is gained more often than not by consistent communication and engagement with your followers.
2. Merchandise
Merchandise loves people. But before you start printing 1,000 t-shirts for all 1,000 subscribers, try the waters a little bit. Ask your audience if they want to buy goods from you.
You can suggest merchandise types and even ask them to comment on the products they would like to purchase. Selling merch is particularly fantastic if you and your followers use specific jargon, catchphrases, or jokes inside.
You can also include it in competitions, giveaways, or even add it to one of your Patreon rates when you start selling merchandise.
3. Affiliates
The good news is that the affiliate program is pretty straightforward. The
earnings are just lower than what a paid sponsorship would give you. Once
you register with a specific brand for an affiliate program, you will receive a
unique discount code that your followers can use while shopping with that
brand.
You will earn a small commission every time you use your system. Mention the affiliate software in your videos and include it to boost earnings in your video descriptions, as well.
4. Service
Product features are a big step in the direction of paying sponsorships, but they may not result in money. Brands may send you their products to feature and review in your videos as you begin to gain a more extensive follow-up. It’s excellent free stuff.
You don’t even have to wait until brands meet you — go ahead and pitch to potential sponsors. Only make sure you throw to businesses that make sense for your platform (although you may start receiving requests for random product features along the way).
5. Paid sponsorships
They are the gold mine on YouTube to make money. This is when companies are paying you in your videos to reference or support their products.
I will be honest to you— this is a daunting goal to achieve. Yet preparing to sell yourself to businesses is never too early. Join them on social media, show them how to support their company, and offer examples of successful product sponsorships or affiliate programs you’ve done in the past.
Even if you haven’t hit the desired number of subscribers yet, you’re still going to put yourself on the radars of brands. Again, make sure the companies you’re looking for making sense of the content you’re producing.
Other Useful Resources
