Joining the YouTube Partner Program
It’s possible to make money on YouTube. If you’re really successful, producing content for YouTube can be your full-time, exciting job. But don’t run to the bank yet, because you’ll need to create a great channel, fill it with wickedly good content, build a passionate community of fans — and join the YouTube Partner Program.
The YouTube Partner Program is a formalized way of helping content creators (which usually goes hand in hand with channel owners because they’re often one and the same) make money in several ways:
» Advertising revenue: You can allow Google and YouTube to place ads against your content and receive a share of the ad revenue. You can learn all
the details about this in Chapter 14.
» Channel memberships: You can off paid subscriptions with viewers paying a monthly fee for access. This option isn’t for everyone, and you’ll need some
unique content. Viewers on YouTube usually don’t like to pay.
» Merchandise shelf: You can use your content to help sell your product and
actually provide special links where viewers can go buy your stuff You can sell
up to 12 items on your channel, and superimpose products on livestreams or at the end of videos.
» Live fan engagement: Subscribers can pay to have comments or stickers stand out from others during live events on your channel.
» YouTube Premium: Though YouTube Premium viewers don’t see ads,
creators can still receive revenue if their content gets viewed.
» Super Chat and Super Stickers: Subscribers can pay to have comments or stickers stand out from others during live events on your channel.
Though the monetary aspect of the YouTube Partner Program is the primary driver for most creators, YouTube also provides some support for content genera- tion though places like YouTube Spaces, which are special studios built just for YouTube creators and advertisers around the world. Check it out here:
Our recommendation is to not rush into the partner program right away. Focus on your channel, content, and community, which you can learn about in detail in this book. With all that in place, you can check out Chapter 14 to start the revenue engine humming.