Want to know how YouTube can monetize your channel and start making money? Have a look at our guide for beginners!
This post is all about how to monetize your YouTube content to start revenue generation. The four basic laws that make money on YouTube are:
- One thousand subscribers are needed on your YouTube channel
- During the last 12 months your videos have provided 4,000 Watch Time hours
- You abide by all policies and guidelines on YouTube
- You’ve set up an AdSense account
1# Criteria for the YouTube Partner Program
Commonly known as the YouTube Partner Plan, or YPP for short, you will need to hit all four criteria before accepting your channel.
Let’s just begin with the 1,000 subscribers. That one is fairly easy, no matter how long it takes you to get to 1,000 subscribers, you have met the criteria until you hit the landmark.
As well as 1,000 subscribers, over the last 12 months, you do need 4,000 hours of Watch Time on your videos. There’s some misunderstanding with this one so let me try to make it clear. Firstly, it’s not about how much video content you, the founder of YouTube, stream. It’s all about how many video content people around the world are watching on your website. It’s all those hours of video people have viewed in the past 12 months (from any given date) on your website. Over the lifespan of your channel you might well have 4,000 hours of Watch Time, but it’s only the last 12 months that count for the criteria of the YouTube Partner Program.
A few of things to tell you about Watch Time. Live streams count against that total. Also counts unlisted videos against that number. However if you delete any videos, that will erase Watch Time from your Watch Time channel hours. Just one more more thing, if you’re already in the YouTube Partner Program, and if your channel falls below 4,000 Watch Time hours, YouTube does not automatically exclude you from the partner program, however they can do so at their discretion. If you specifically want a much more thorough 4,000 hours video on the subject, check out this video:
You can do so by clicking on your logo in the top right corner of most YouTube pages and then clicking on YouTube Studio Beta, if you want to test the progress of above requirements. You can show all of your statistics here, but to test monetization progress quickly, swing your mouse over “All apps” and then click on “Status and Settings.” You will see a monetization box on this screen, and if you press “Learn more” it will tell you exactly where you are with subscribers and Watch Time hours now.
But if all this sounds like too much hard work, then we have a free tool that will do all that much faster and more effectively. When you download and install the vidIQ software on almost every YouTube computer, everything about your channel you’ll see is a list of real-time stats. It will show you views of your channel every hour, views over the last 48 hours and your number of subscribers. But the very cool thing is that your progress will be monitored to 4,000 hours of Watch Time too! If you reach 4,000 hours, the number will turn green to indicate you have achieved the prerequisite for monetization.
2# Following the Rules for Monetisation on YouTube
The Rule Book is next on the list. If you want to monetize your content, as YouTube says, you have to make sure you stick to it:
When applying for the YouTube Partner Program, you must go through a standard evaluation process to see if your channel follows the policies and guidelines set out in YouTube. The program will only accept channels which meet them.
YouTube is also actively monitoring channels inside the platform to see if they want to follow the rules and guidelines of YouTube. Such very detailed rules and guidelines, despite all the growing pains YouTube has had to strike the right balance between creators, fans, and advertisers. If you intend to monetize your content in the future, I highly suggest that you familiarize yourself with these policies and guidelines
If, to sum up, you ‘re in a TLDR mood, apply common sense, though. If you think a video could be inappropriate, it’s likely, and at your own risk, you ‘re making such material.
3# YouTube Copyright and Monetarisation Policies
The huge topic of copyrighted material is amongst the policies and guidelines of YouTube. Essentially, if you’re using the work of other people, you might be using copyrighted material without their permission and YouTube doesn’t want you to. It would almost certainly make you demonetized or prohibit you from joining the Partner Program at YouTube. Let’s take a little more detail on this.
It is the most important monetisation strategy for most of you. You must ensure that you add value to any third party material that you monetize, and that your material has substantial original analysis, educational value or editorial statement. And let’s be honest, that might not be enough anyway. It doesn’t offer you a license to only use the content of other people in your videos, because if you do, YouTube can use that as an excuse not to monetize your content.
YouTube states that if you do not change the original work by adding your own unique meaning, if all or most of your channel is devoted to reused content, then your channel is not eligible for the YouTube Partner Scheme. The spirit of this policy is to ensure that YouTube provides the YouTube Partner Program with opportunities for creative and original content, and that YouTube supports and rewards creators who work hard on original content.
Now, some can see the spirit of a policy on YouTube as an excuse to demonetize the channels they don’t want in the monetization system, so let’s take a look at it from that viewpoint. You’ve spent days, hours making a beautiful piece of content, and it’s going viral on YouTube. And then a dozen random video makers steal the content, upload it, create hundreds of thousands of views, and end up beautifully taking advantage. What would you feel if it did? That’s what youTube is trying to hide from video makers-original content.
Reused, duplicated content, and copyright material is, frankly, a broad gray area on YouTube and they don’t always get it right. And on YouTube, you can look at some channels and see that they explicitly flaunt those rules. Well, you don’t know what their individual circumstances are, they might be allowed to use that content, or they might get caught in the future, and you don’t want to follow the channel examples that do this. It is not a good path.
YouTube is the gatekeeper, in the end. They keep the keys all over. You ‘re on leased property, so you’re not surprised when YouTube comes after you if you flaunt these laws so break them.
4# Linking an account with a YouTube channel from Google Adsense
If you’re trying to make money out of your posts, YouTube needs a way to pay you, and at least to start with, it’s going to be done via an AdSense account. If you already have an AdSense account, you can use that for a few things you need to know about this. You may link several channels to one AdSense account, and if you do not have an AdSense account, you can set up one during the application process for the YouTube Partner Program.
5# To apply to the Partner Program on YouTube
Let’s remember once again these requirements: you need:
- 1,000 Your Youtube Channel Subscribers
- 4,000 Watch time over the last 12 months on your videos
- To follow all the rules and guidelines of YouTube
- Set up an AdSense account
When you have submitted a YouTube Partner Plan, it can take up to a month to make a decision for the platform. This is because your channel will be monitored by actual humans so it’s a manual operation. Some channels were approved in days so it might be faster. However, if it takes more than a month, then usually your channel will be put in further analysis. Sadly, when this happens the waiting times can get very long. Four, six, mightbe even twelve months. For several tragic situations, YouTube never seems to make a decision, leaving the maker in the limbo of monetization.
We understand that this can be a very difficult place to find yourself in as a video maker, as many of you have posted on this here at vidIQ on our posts. Sadly, we can’t help moving the process forward for you on our own, so what we’re suggesting is to speak to TeamYouTube on Twitter, make sure everybody knows you’ve got a problem with your monetisation decision.
YouTube says that would never speed up the process, but it’s something you would expect as a video maker to at least have some decision.
6# YouTube Partner Programming Rejected: Next Steps
Now let’s presume you were applying for the YouTube Partner Program, but you were denied. How will you do?
YouTube will give you a general explanation, when you are disqualified from the YouTube Partner System. Unfortunately, they won’t clearly tell you what video or content is causing the problem, so you may be left blindly changing your channel. The good news though, is that in 30 days ‘ time you can reapply for the program.
That’s where you’ll need to use your common sense once again. When you believe there are videos walking the rules of the group and the tightrope procedures, then they are most likely and you need to change them. Unless there are videos with copyright content on them then those are likely to trigger a YouTube issue as well, and you’ll need to remove them.
Creators asked when they are applying for a partner scheme, could a group policy strike or a copyright strike on my channel keep me from joining the programme? Perhaps the answer is no, it will certainly not prevent you but it will have an effect.
A dedicated help page has been created with suggestions on what to do if you are rejected from and you will find it here.
Once you’re in the partnership program and want to make a move forward by earning money from Súper Chats, membership, and commodities, check out the following video about the following topic:
Would you like to see more YouTube views?
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