While YouTube gives a lot of options for users to create videos, monetization is a topic that most creators struggle with.
Most people think that having a large YouTube subscriber base (think in millions) is needed to make income out of YouTube. While it’s true that people with millions of subscribers do make good money, you can make a full-time income with just a few thousand subscribers as well. This is because they do not rely on just the adsense revenue (the revenue that you get when people click on ads on your video) for monetization. They combine multiple income streams and link them to their videos to make use of their viewership to the fullest.
Successful YouTubers build a business model around their channel, and do not just focus on growing your audience and adsense revenue. Second, they strategically build multiple income streams around their channel, and their overall income is a combination of the money they get from all these streams.
There are several types of income streams that you can earn as a YouTuber. Some of these are given below:
This is the most common type of income stream for YouTubers, and most of you must be familiar with this. When a viewer clicks on an ad that shows up on your video, they get paid by Google. According to recent updates, you will need to be accepted into YouTube’s Partner Program and get multiple options to monetize your channel.
Affiliate Marketing is another great way to earn additional income. You sign up to be an affiliate of a product, get an affiliate link for yourself, add those links to your YouTube’s description field, and when someone purchases that product by clicking on that link, you get paid a commission.
You could sell your own physical products through YouTube Videos. For example, if you’re an artist, musician, etc. you can sell your own creations through YouTube. There are also websites that can help you create your own products that you can sell through your videos. Some of these do not have any upfront investment as well. These websites will even supply the product and ship them for you (dropshipping).
Selling digital products is similar to selling physical products, but is much easier to automate. There are various types of digital products (eBooks, video tutorials, graphics, templates, etc) that you can sell through your Videos. For example, you could write an e-book and drive traffic to your website through your videos where you sell your eBook.
Crowd Funding is a way by which you can drive awareness and support for your channel with the help of your viewers. Your supporters and viewers can make a monthly or one-off payment through various crowdfunding networks to support your channel. Whoever backs your project with payments get something in return (like a shout out, or a digital or physical product).
Another way to make money with your YouTube videos is to contact brands who are willing to pay you to talk about their products on your YouTube channel. There are dozens of websites where influencers and brands can connect with each other
You can offer consulting and 1×1 or group lessons to your audience. This is great for people with very large / engaged audiences or those who show the process of making physical products through their videos (jewelry, craftsman, woodworkers, etc).
You can use your videos to drive traffic to your membership site. You can set up a membership site using WordPress.
Many influencers incorporate vlogging (or “Video blogging”) into their channels capturing their everyday life, thoughts and feelings. The content is similar to a “video diary” capturing authentic, unscripted musings.
Reaction videos show a YouTube influencer’s reaction to a particular piece of content (movie clips, music videos, other video memes, etc) or a real world event. Driven by strong emotions, these videos build suspense and excitement among viewers who want to react vicariously through the YouTuber.