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It’s no secret that there’s some big money involved with the top names in YouTube. In 2018, Logan Paul and PewDiePie both made around $15 million. Though reaching that level of success is pretty unlikely, there are still ways to earn some money off of your content on the site. For example, if you receive around 50,000 views a day on your videos, it is anticipated that you can make up to $55,000 a year. So how do you turn views into profit? Use this as a guide to help you get paid on YouTube!
Build an Audience
This is the very first and most crucial step. Advertisers don’t want to approach accounts with small followings. This step takes some time unless you’ve managed to build up online fame through another site.
Start by building a library of quality videos that focuses on a specific audience. Then, promote these videos through any social media or any medium you can think of that will help you gain exposure. Once you gain a sturdy following, you’re ready to start charging.
Set up Your YouTube Account for Monetization
YouTube has a formal, yet straightforward process when it comes to monetizing accounts. The first step is to enable your account for monetization. The first part of this process has you join the YouTube Partner Program, basically to ensure you won’t do anything fraudulent.
The next step is to create an AdSense account through Google. This tells Google where you plan on using the ads, which would be YouTube in this case. If you already have an AdSense account, all you have to do is add YouTube and you’ll be approved immediately.
Once your AdSense account is created, you have to go to the Upload Defaults screen, scroll about halfway down and select “Monetise with Ads.” You will then be asked if you own the copyright to your videos and you understand what you are doing. You aren’t allowed to monetize anyone else’s copyrighted material, including music in the background of videos– even if you legally purchased it.
Advertise
The first step in advertising is to choose which formats you want to use. YouTube provides instructions and advice on advertising formats. It’s important to remember in the ad selection process, that viewers have to actively interact with your ads for you to receive any money.
The YouTube Advertising Formats are as follows:
AdSense won’t automatically produce ad opportunities once you monetize your account. Ads will only come around if brands want to associate themselves with you. It’s important that all of your content meets the Advertiser-friendly Content Guidelines that YouTube has set up.
Make Sure Brands Want to Advertise on Your Content
In short, you should try to stay away from:
- Violence
- Sexually suggestive content
- Controversial or sensitive subjects and events
- Promotion of drugs or regulated substances
- Inappropriate language
The more popular the demographic your content caters to, the more potential you have to make money. You’re much more likely to attract advertisers if you target large and prevalent audiences that they want to reach.
Use Analytics to Measure Your Performance
YouTube provides you with free analytics tools to show you how well your monetized account is doing at generating engagement.
In the YouTube Analytics Revenue report, you’re able to view your channel and video’s estimated earnings. This shows you estimates on…
- Ad-revenue split between AdSense and DoubleClick Revenue
- Revenue from YouTube Red
- Revenue from YouTube Rentals
- Revenue from Google-sold ad sources
The analytical reports are typically estimated. Finalized revenue reports are downloadable and ready approximately 10 days after the end of every month.
Get Your Money
Once you’ve built an audience, signed up as a monetized account and received interest from advertisers, you’ll start to earn money. All you have to do is follow a couple of steps to verify your address and payment information. You’ll also have the ability to choose how you’d like to receive the money.
Once you’ve started receiving money, the key is to stay consistent and work on growing your reach. This will increase the number of advertisers approaching your account and allow you to throw in more ads which will result in more money.
