How To Monetize Your YouTube Channel

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Do you know that as of 2022, YouTube has approximately 1.7 billion unique visitorsvisiting on a daily basis? This number is massive, and that is why many people are jumping into YouTube content creation to tap on and leverage this massive market size. One of the best ways to benefit from this opportunity is to monetize your YouTube channel!

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Simply put, YouTube monetization is the ability to make money from the videos you create and post. Whilst you shouldn't expect to become a millionaire overnight, you can stack up the small amounts you make until it becomes a significant income stream that may even potentially allow you to replace your regular job. But of course, not just any YouTube channel can be monetized.

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YouTube has a monetization policy governing the terms and conditions around it. YouTube channels must meet certain requirements and qualifying criteria before they are approved for monetization. Furthermore, the monetization policy also tends to evolve and change with time. So, this can be rather challenging and overwhelming for a YouTuber, especially someone who is still new to the whole industry.

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If you want to learn how to monetize your YouTube channel, what the rules and requirements are, etc. then you are in the right place! This article will walk you through the ins and outs of the YouTube monetization process and how to get approval for your channel to be monetized.Without further ado, let's jump into it!

How To Qualify For Monetization On YouTube

To qualify for YouTube monetization, you first have to join the Youtube Partner Program, YPP(Youtube Partner Program) for short. For your channel to be accepted into the program, you need to hit the requirements set by YPP.

✅FirstRequirement - 1000 Subscribers

The first requirement is reaching 1000 subscribers.This requirement is straightforward. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to reach the 1000 subscribers mark. The moment you reach that milestone you can cross it off your list of requirements.

✅ SecondRequirement - 4000 Hours Public Watch Time

The second requirement to qualify for YPP is to hit the 4000 Hours Public Watch Time milestone. Simply put, “Public Watch Time” refers to the total number of hours people have spent watching your publicly published videos on YouTube. You may be wondering why you need all these hours to qualify.

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The answer is YouTube is ultimately designed to keep people on the platform for the longest time possible.If your videos hit this milestone, it shows to YouTube that your channel is good enough to attract a decent number of views and retain viewers on the platform, thereby aligning with its goal. While it may be rather easy to find some “hacks” to get to 1000 subscribers quickly, being able to retain views is in fact, not so easy.

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To clarify, YouTube only counts the watch time in the last 12 months. So that means you could have started your channel years ago and have achieved more than 4000 hours of watch time generated over the lifetime of your channel, but it is only the watch time for the last 12 months that counts.

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Fortunately, with the rise in popularity of live streaming, and with YouTube encouraging content creation via this form of medium, your YouTube live streams hours will also be added towards the 4000 hours watch time count. However unlisted videos, deleted videos, videos set to private, ad campaigns and YouTube shorts watch time is not added to the total watch time hours required to qualify for YPP.

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The 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours watch time benchmarks might sound like a huge benchmark and may be somewhat intimidating at first, especially for new creators who already know how difficult it is to gain traction on the platform. But that is nothing a good SEO strategy cannot fix, and it won't be long before you hit those magic figures.

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Be warned not to play the game system; that is using “sub4sub” or “view4view” strategies where you subscribe to other people’s channels in exchange for subscriptions to yours or view their videos for the sake of getting them to view yours too. YouTube algorithms could catch this, and it could deny or disable your monetization or maybe even penalize you.

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Sometimes you may want to track your progress and check how close you are to reaching these two benchmarks. Lucky for you it is possible to check your progress by going to YouTube studio. You will find an option called “Monetization”in the left navigation menu. Clicking on it will give you a summary on your current progress towards channel monetization.

✅ Third& Fourth Requirements - 2 Step Verification & 0 Active Community Guidelines Strikes

There are 2 more requirements that you must meet before being eligible for YouTube monetization. The third requirement is that you need to set-up a 2-Step verification for your YouTube channel and account. This is simple. The fourth requirement is to ensure that you have 0 active Community Guidelines strikes.

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YouTube, like most social media platforms, has policies and guidelines that it expects users to follow to protect the other users from abuse and harm. For you to make it into the YPP and eventually be able to monetize your channel you must make sure that all your content comply with what is stipulated in these policies and guidelines.

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Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in your having to wait longer to get your channels monetization application approved, or in worse cases, you may get yourself banned from YouTube entirely. 

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We highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with these policies and guidelines before you even start creating content, so that you ensure you are setting off on the right foot. And if you want to ensure that you pass the review process, double check all the content on your channel for red flags before you hit that apply button!

Enabling Monetization On YouTube

Now that you know how you can qualify for monetization on YouTube, the next step is to apply for monetization once you have achieved all the basic requirements.

✔️Preparing For Monetization

Let’s assume that you’ve reached the 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours public watch time milestones. You’ve also checked your compliance with YouTube's rules to dodge red flags, the next step is to learn how to enable monetization to start earning income on YouTube.

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To ensure your channel stands the best chance of getting approved for monetization, avoid duplication; that is having all the relevant licenses in place if you are using stock footage and audios. YouTube makes it clear in its rules and policiesthat content must either be original or authorized to use. This also applies to the music tracks and snippets of copyrighted programs.

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If you fail to have authorization and licensing, YouTube reserves the right to take your video down. So, to avoid being in YouTube's bad books, normalize curating original content or else get the relevant licenses and authorization for borrowed content.

✔️Applying For Monetization

Enabling monetization is not rocket science. In fact, you can do it in five simple steps. First things first, head over to YouTube Studio by clicking the dropdown after you click on your profile image/ icon in the top right corner of the screen.

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As mentioned earlier you will find an option written monetization in the left navigation menu which you should click on. Upon choosing that option you will be greeted by a blue button prompting you to “APPLY NOW”, that is only if you qualify for monetization if not you will find the "Notify me when I am eligible" option. Select "APPLY NOW" to start. 

By doing all this you’ve accepted the YouTube Partner Program terms. The next thing to do is to sign up for AdSense or if you already have an account simply link your YouTube channel to it. AdSense is what ultimately allows your channel to earn money. YouTube will prompt you to set your monetization preferences.

✔️Waiting For Approval

Applying for YouTube monetization doesn’t just end here, and you certainly won’t start getting paid for your content immediately. There is a 30-day waiting period after submitting your application, where YouTube will review your application.

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What this means is that you probably won’t be able to start generating revenue for at least 30 days. So instead of sitting and waiting during this period, continue to hustle; create content and post as frequently as your posting schedule indicates. This will keep your audience actively engaged with your content.

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Remember YouTube's algorithm rewards channels that post consistently and remain engaged with their audience. If you allow your channel to lag during the 30-day waiting period, it could hurt your channel growth momentum.

Conclusion

As a YouTube content creator, you put in a lot of time, dedication, and hard work to curate your content. It would be amazing if you are able to reap some financial benefits from your efforts, wouldn’t it? And one of the best ways to do it is to earn income from YouTube by monetizing your channel.

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Monetization requires you to have 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of public watch time, compliance with its guidelines and of course setting up an AdSense account. These might seem like huge milestones especially for YouTubers who are just starting out.

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But with an effective SEO strategy, you can gain the traction you need. Of course, it is not something that can happen overnight but with patience and dedication, it is not an impossible task. With the few pointers we’ve shared you should be able to successfully monetize your channel. Good luck!

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