How YouTubers Make Money : A Guide to Monetization and Earnings

Many people think about how YouTubers earn money. Have you ever wondered how to earn from YouTube? What is the YouTube earning system and YouTube earning criteria?

There are over 2.49 bn YouTube subscribers in the world. Simultaneously, more than 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. These figures show that YouTube is the best way to earn money.

The most common way to make easy money on video platforms is through advertising revenue. But this is not the only way.

In this post, we will discuss how YouTubers earn money and how to monetize YouTuber channels for budding YouTubers.

Earnings of Highest-Paying YouTubers

If you are wondering how YouTubers make money and how much they earn from the leading video platform. Then, here is the list of the top 10 YouTubers and their earnings.

Name Of the Channel	Youtuber’s name	Subscribers	Average Views	Monthly Earning (INR)	Channel Type	Channel Started
CarryMinati	Ajey Nagar	37.4 M	3.4 M	16 Lakhs +	Roasting, comedy and gaming, songs	2009
Total Gaming	Ajay	34 M	578.1K	8 to 15 lakhs +	PC and mobile gaming	2018
Round 2 hell	Nazim Ahmed, Zayn Saifi, and Wasim Ahmad	28.1 M	291K	10 to 15 Lakhs	Comedy	2015
BB ki Vines	Bhuvan Bham	25.6 M	489.3k	25 Lakhs +	Comedy	2015
Amit Bhadana	Amit Bhadana	24.3 M	13.4 M	47 crores	Comedy	2012
Technical Guruji	Gaurav Chaudhary	22.7 M	121.7K	326 crores	Technology	2015
Nisha Madhulika	Nisha Madhulika	13.2 M	8 M	33 crores	Food	2011
Ashish Chanchlani	Ashish Chanchlan	28.9 M	26.8 M	29 crores	Comedy	2014
Sandeep Maheshwari	Sandeep Maheshwari	26.3 M	2.4 M	22 crores	Motivational	2012
Harsh Beniwal	Harsh Beniwal	15.1 M	2.2 M	16 crores	Comedy	2015

YouTube Income in India

In the YouTube income calculator below, you can calculate how much you can earn from views.

Video Views	Estimated Daily Earnings
1K	INR 100-200
10K	INR 200-500
100K	INR 2000-5000
1M	INR 7000-30000
150M	INR 150000-600000

How to Earn from YouTube?

If you want to learn how to earn money from YouTube, here are the following ways to get you started.

• You must first research and select your niche.
• After that, know your audience so you can create the content accordingly.
• Once you know your audience, study your competition so that you can create content that sets you apart from them.
• The final thing you must do is start your YouTube channel page, create content, and start earning.

Related : 10 Ideas for YouTube Channel

How to Monetize a YouTube Channel

The primary requirement is to create a YouTube channel. Once the channel is created, the question of how to monetize a YouTube channel.

Here are a few ways that can help you generate income from YouTube.

1. YouTube Partner Program

Those seeking special features on this social platform should join the YouTube Partner Program. Creating an Adsense account can lead to earnings via views from the video.

The perks of these features include access to multiple income streams, ads, super chats, and memberships. These are the many different sources and ways to earn a YouTube income.

To start with YouTube Partner Program, you need to follow these steps :

• Create an Adsense account for the content creator (YouTube provides guidelines for doing so).
• Every monetization has its own rules and requirements. Meet all the YouTube Partner Program requirements. To join the program, creators need 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours annually.
• To obtain ad revenue on YouTube, you must follow the earning criteria. One must be 18 years old, and the content should be user—and advertiser-friendly.

2. Channel Memberships

You can also sell subscriptions to your channel to your subscribers as a YouTuber. When selling channel memberships, subscribers pay the content creator an additional fee to view exclusive content.

However, you can sell channel membership only if you are 18 or 18+ and have 30000 subscribers on your channel.

On YouTube, you can find a membership tab under monetization from where you can control :

• Total number of subscribed members, including canceled members.
• An active and inactive number of subscribed members.
• Income generated from the previous billing period.
• Cancellation feedback that users provide.

3. YouTube Premium Revenue

Creators can now earn a share of the revenue when users watch videos from their channel under YouTube’s premium policy. If the user has a YouTube Premium membership, creators will automatically be entitled to a portion of the subscriber’s subscription fee.

Here are some facts about YouTube’s premium revenue :

• All videos from content creators will also be available on YouTube Premium without any ads.
• The content creator does not need to make any additional payment to get YouTube premium revenue.
• Downloaded videos are also eligible for watch time revenue generation which will increase views and ultimately increase revenue.

4. Sell Your Merchandise

If you doubt how to monetize your YouTube channel, here’s the answer. One can sell merchandise using this platform. Many Youtubers are making money by selling their T-shirts and other goodies.

The influencers make their product, and with the help of YouTube, they can easily promote the products they want to sell.

If you are also thinking about how YouTubers earn money, these are some ways by which one can easily promote the products.

• Creators determined to sell merch must devise a unique presentation before designing their products. Many YouTubers like MrBeast promote their drinks via YouTube.
• Creating an online shop allows one to easily paste the shop link in posted videos.
• After creating the online web page, one should enable the YouTube partner merchandise shelf. This feature allows creators to sell their desired merchandise through YouTube.
• Whenever a creator uploads a new video, they must ensure they are promoting their merchandise. When promoting the merchandise, the company should mention the name of its shop and website. Creators can also make YouTube groups to share product information and receive orders in one place.
• Always add a ‘thank you’ note and describe the positive aspects of the products.

5. Create Sponsored Content

Are you looking for an easy way to earn income on YouTube? Here is the answer : you can do it by creating sponsored content. You can contact the brand directly and ask them to advertise their product. If the channel has videos with a target audience similar to the brand, they will ask the creator to do the branding.

If you want to target such a branding partner, then these pointers can help you :

• The initial task is to find a suitable brand partner who is suitable for the channel. This sounds easy, but they will thoroughly check the YouTube content and check for any disturbing videos. If the videos are in their interest, then they will accept.
• Sign a contract and make a deal with them.
• Now, the creator should be transparent about the advertising. It should comply with the AdSense guidelines and YouTube guidelines.

6. Become an Affiliate Partner

If you are still thinking about how YouTubers make money, here is another easy and trending way. If the creator believes in their audience, they should become an affiliate partner.

In an affiliate partnership, the partner hosts a link to products on a website on their channel. If anyone clicks that link and purchases the product, the partner earns a part of the revenue. The link is intended to encourage subscribers to check it out.

Many sites invest in affiliate marketing. Some of these include Amazon and Rei.

Related : Affiliate Marketing in India

7. Live stream

One of the best ways how YouTubers earn money these days is by live streaming on YouTube. A creator can host live streaming or shows, and the viewers can transfer money to them in real-time using the super chat feature on YouTube (a replaced version of Fan Funding).

• This feature is only eligible for YouTube partners.
• Each super chat, along with the amount and the sender’s name, gets highlighted in the chat section.

8. Crowdfunding

Creators can also use crowdfunding, known as sponsorships.

• First, the creator should set their goals. YouTube provides a complete list of pre-approved crowdfunding sites.
• Explain the campaign in detail, let the audience know, and create an atmosphere of suspense. Ask the viewers to help the creator by donating whatever they can.
• YouTube is not the only place where creators can crowdfund. One can take this to another level by going outdoors to spread awareness about the campaign offline.

9. Licensing

If a video goes viral, then every social media outlet and every other creator will want the video to be shown to their subscriber. Nowadays, creators can license their videos. So, the original creator can benefit from the revenue if anyone else shares their video.

It is one of the best YouTube income sources. Here are some best practices :

• Always keep your profile updated. You never know who may reach out to you to collaborate.
• Check for the current trend and make videos accordingly. One can easily make a lot of money if a video becomes viral.

YouTube Partner Program

YouTube pays its creators primarily through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which allows eligible creators to monetize their content while giving them access to resources, features, and programs provided by YouTube. This program opens up the gateway to monetization, letting you turn your YouTube channel into a potential source of income. YouTube creators in the company’s Partner Program can earn money in many different ways — through advertising, subscriptions, donations, live-streaming features, and YouTube Premium revenue.

YouTube designs the program to allow content creators to monetize their videos on the platform. Through the YPP, creators can earn money from ads displayed on their videos, access various monetization features, and potentially participate in other revenue streams offered by YouTube.

1. Follow all of YouTube’s Policies and Guidelines : Adherence to YouTube’s community guidelines, terms of service, copyright laws, and all other policies is crucial. Violations of these guidelines may result in disqualification from the YPP.

2. Live in a Country or Region Where the YouTube Partner Program is Available : The YouTube Partner Program must be available in your country or region. YouTube periodically expands the availability of the program to additional locations.

3. Comply with AdSense Policies : You must have an AdSense account linked to your YouTube account. AdSense is the program through which YouTube pays content creators. Ensure that your AdSense account complies with all of AdSense’s policies.

4. Have More Than 4,000 Valid Public Watch Hours in the Last 12 Months : Your videos must have accumulated at least 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months. Valid watch hours exclude private, unlisted, and deleted videos.

5. Have More Than 1,000 Subscribers : Your YouTube channel must have more than 1,000 subscribers.

How Creators can Track their Revenue in YPP?

As a content creator, you should focus on maximizing RPM (Revenue Per Mille) while monitoring CPM (Cost Per Mille) to ensure ad quality and user experience.

Revenue Per Mille :

RPM is an all-compassing metric. It represents the estimated revenue a content creator earns per 1,000 video views. It includes not just ads but channel memberships, Super Chats, and even YouTube Premium revenue. This gives creators an accurate representation of how much money they make on YouTube after YouTube takes its cut. RPM is a creator-focused metric to help content creator better understand the revenue earned for 1000 views on their content. 

Cost Per Mille :

CPM is an advertiser-focused metric and is solely focused on ad revenue. Cost per mille refers to the money an advertiser pays for every 1,000 times their advertisement is displayed. An ad impression is recorded each time the ad is shown to a user. Advertisers use CPM to calculate the cost of running an ad campaign.

How to Create Viral Content on YouTube

If you are thinking about how YouTubers earn money, the answer is by creating viral videos.

Here are a few tips for creating viral content and earning money through it :

1. Do the Research

The first thing required is a solid plan. Therefore, you need to first set a goal. Once you set the goal, find out what your audience prefers and what content they like. Check out the viral content of your competitors and then use these answers to start your campaign.

2. Know your Audience

The key to creating great content is understanding the tastes of the audience. You should also understand the demographics and always research what your audience is looking for.

3. Be Different

The reason why people like viral content is because it is unique and original in some way or another. Therefore, you need to ensure that your content is authentic and entertaining if you want to make it viral.

4. Make Engaging Video

Your content should be engaging from the start to the end of the video. It should convey a clear message and should motivate your viewers to look forward to your following videos.

5. Get the Best Visuals

Visual content is more appealing as it is easily consumable. Along with conveying the message, it is essential to keep them engaged. Thus, you need to be creative with visuals to get your video viral.

6. Make Promotional Plan

You need a great plan for promoting your video or content. Make a proper strategy or hire a firm to do this for you.

7. Measure your Success

It is crucial to track your progress so that you can make the alterations in the next video you share. You should track how often people share your videos, how many likes you get, and at what time it is best to post videos, etc.

8. Choose Popular Niche

Choosing a popular niche will help you to get more views. The table below shows the categories that get more views on YouTube.

Category	CPM Rates Approx.
Comedy	INR 750
Educational	INR 800
Technology	INR 600
Roasting	INR 750
Cooking	INR 200
Gaming	INR 120
Music	INR 800
Lifestyle	INR 300
Travel	INR 200
Tutorials	INR 500

Also Read : Passive Income Ideas in India

When Will You See Success with YouTube Earnings?

Success with YouTube earnings can vary widely depending on several factors, such as content niche, consistency, and audience engagement. Generally, creators might start to see significant earnings after they build a substantial subscriber base and consistently produce high-quality content.Setting realistic goals and understanding that growth and earnings take time is important. By continuously refining your strategies and adapting to trends, you can enhance your chances of seeing success with your YouTube channel.

Conclusion

This was all about some of the best YouTubers, their earnings, and how the YouTube earning system works. There are different ways of making money through YouTube; essentially, you must identify the right niche for yourself and create content that differentiates you from your competition and is relevant to your target audience. In the beginning, you need to show dedication and patience. But after some time, you can earn a lot from it.

Another easy way to make money online is to become a Chegg expert. Here, you can earn money helping students from all over the world with their doubts. The best part is that you can work whenever and wherever is most convenient for you and choose your own working hours.

Looking to add a few bucks to your monthly income? Learn how to do that with our guide on Passive Income.

Frequently Asked Questions