How to make money with YouTube: A 2025 guide

It's no secret that making a living on YouTube is easier than ever, and the most successful among popular YouTubers can pull in eye-watering amounts of money simply doing what they love. Take for example Mr. Beast, one of the most well-known YouTubers in the world, who has amassed a half billion dollars since starting his channel at age 13.

Creating wealth on YouTube takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and some luck. But did you know that you can also make money on YouTube? In this article, we'll explore the different ways you can monetize your YouTube channel and start earning money. We'll also introduce IFTTT, our free YouTube automation platform that has been helping creators around the world streamline their content creation and drive more profit.

How to get monetized on YouTube

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For the uber-rich YouTubers of today, a majority of their money is made on sponsorships, brand deals, and personal businesses. But for the entry-level video maker learning how to make money on YouTube, the first way you are going to make cash is by getting monetized by YouTube.

Before we dive into the other different ways to make money on YouTube, let's first understand what YouTube monetization is. YouTube monetization is the process of earning money from your YouTube channel through advertisements, which play before and/or during your video.

To be eligible for YouTube monetization, your channel must meet certain requirements. These include having at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time in the past 12 months. Once you meet these requirements, you can apply for the YouTube Partner Program and start earning money from your videos.

Then, YouTube will display ads on your videos and pay you a portion of the ad revenue. The amount you earn from ads depends on factors such as the number of views, the length of the ad, and the advertiser's budget. You can also choose the types of ads you want to show, such as skippable ads or non-skippable ads.

Sponsors

In case you aren't familiar, sponsorships are like teaming up with brands to show off their stuff in your videos. Big YouTubers do it a lot because it is one of the easiest ways to make a profit. To get sponsors, you'll have to grow your channel to a substantial size, and you must become a figure that people would trust for product recommendations.

Then, reach out to brands that fit your style and audience. Share who watches your videos and work out a fair deal. Keep it real by making sure sponsored content feels natural, and always tell your viewers when something's sponsored.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves recommending specific products and earning a commission when these items are purchased using your unique links. To effectively execute this, choose products that resonate with your audience and discuss them in your videos. Provide genuine feedback or advice, and always disclose if you benefit financially from the links.

The key is to maintain transparency and ensure that the products you endorse align with your audience's interests. Again, in most cases, you will need a large following and an established name to begin affiliate marketing.

Merchandising

Selling your own stuff, like cool T-shirts or hats with your logo, is merchandising. Technically, you can start merchandising on day one, so start by designing things that match your style and what your viewers like.

Use trusted websites to make and sell your merch. Talk about it in your videos and get your viewers excited. Listen to what they want and make limited edition items to make it extra special, while making sure the stuff you sell is good quality too!

How many views to make money on YouTube?

The number of views you need to make money on YouTube varies depending on your monetization method. For advertisements, the amount you earn per view can range from $0.01 to $0.03. This means that for every 1,000 views, you can expect to earn between $10 and $30.

For sponsorships, the amount you earn depends on the agreement you have with the brand. Some brands may pay a flat fee for a sponsored video, while others may pay based on the number of views or conversions.

For affiliate marketing, the amount you earn depends on the commission rate and the price of the product or service you're promoting. For example, if you're promoting a $50 product with a 10% commission rate, you'll earn $5 for every sale made through your affiliate link.

Tips for making money on YouTube long-term

Now that you're aware of the various ways to make money on YouTube, here are detailed tips to help you not only monetize your channel but also build long-term wealth:

Create high-quality, niche-specific content

Invest in equipment: Quality matters on YouTube. Invest in a good camera, microphone, and editing software to enhance the production value of your videos.

Define your niche: Identify a specific niche that aligns with your interests and has an audience. Tailor your content to cater to that niche, making your channel more attractive to a dedicated viewership.

Engage actively with your audience

Respond to comments: Engage with your audience by responding to comments on your videos. This not only builds a sense of community but also encourages viewers to return.

Create interactive content: Foster interaction by creating polls, Q&A sessions, or asking for feedback. This not only boosts engagement but also helps you understand your audience better.

Collaborate strategically with other creators

Find compatible creators: Identify creators in your niche with a similar audience size and reach out for collaborations. This can expose your channel to a new audience and boost your subscriber count.

Joint projects: Collaborate on joint projects or series to create a cohesive experience for both your audiences.

Promote your videos across platforms

Utilize social media: Share your videos on other social media platforms to broaden your reach. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook can drive additional traffic to your YouTube channel.

Leverage SEO: Optimize video titles, descriptions, and tags with relevant keywords to improve discoverability on both YouTube and search engines.

Consistent upload schedule

Establish a schedule: Stick to a consistent uploading schedule. This helps build anticipation among your audience and improves the chances of your videos appearing in subscribers' feeds.

Optimize monetization features

Utilize YouTube Partner Program: Aim to meet the eligibility criteria for the YouTube Partner Program, which unlocks various monetization features, including ad revenue and channel memberships.

Explore merchandising and Super Chat: Diversify income by utilizing features like merchandise shelf and Super Chat during live streams.

Stay informed and adapt

Keep up with trends: Stay informed about industry trends and adjust your content strategy accordingly. Trending topics can attract more views and subscribers.

Adapt to algorithm changes: YouTube's algorithms change, affecting content visibility. Stay adaptable and tweak your approach based on platform updates.

Making money on YouTube is possible, but it takes time, effort, and dedication. By creating high-quality content, engaging with your audience, and exploring different monetization methods, you can turn your YouTube channel into a source of income. Remember to always stay true to your brand and provide value to your viewers, and the money will follow.

Can you make money on YouTube Shorts?

YouTube Shorts is a relatively new feature that allows creators to upload short vertical videos of up to 60 seconds. While it's still early to determine the exact earning potential of YouTube Shorts, it presents an exciting opportunity for creators to monetize their content. Similar to regular YouTube videos, creators can earn money through advertisements and sponsorships on YouTube Shorts.

As the popularity of Shorts continues to grow, it's expected that more monetization options specific to this format will become available, providing creators with additional ways to make money on the platform. So, if you're looking to diversify your income streams on YouTube, exploring the potential of YouTube Shorts is definitely worth considering.

Becoming a YouTube sensation with IFTTT

IFTTT (If This Then That) is our free automation tool that allows you to create connections between over 800 of your favorite web services. This includes YouTube, which means that you can use IFTTT to improve and automate YouTube, both for a better viewing experience and a more streamlined channel-building journey.

For example, IFTTT can automatically download or upload videos to YouTube based on certain parameters set by you. It can also be used to send email notifications when a channel has been mentioned in a comment or video. By using IFTTT, you can make downloading videos even more simple, or have them downloaded automatically.

Read on to hear more about our mission and our top picks for YouTube automation.

What is IFTTT?

IFTTT, avaliable as both as free web-based service and mobile app, works by creating connections between popular apps and services, allowing them to work together seamlessly.

The basic idea behind IFTTT is to create "applets" or sets of instructions that trigger when certain conditions are met. This can be turning on the lights automatically when you enter your house, for example.

Founded in 2011, IFTTT has been used by over 25 million individuals around the globe to automate both business and home tasks, saving time and increasing efficiency. It's commonly used to connect disparate services and systems, making all products and services work well together in a way that instills user confidence. Best of all, it's free and only takes a couple of minutes to set up.

Top YouTube Applets with IFTTT

Add songs from videos you like to a Spotify playlist

This Applet will search the title of the video on Spotify — if it finds the track, it'll add it to a "YouTube" playlist. Not all songs on YouTube are available on Spotify, but many are. Happy tune hunting!

Automatically share your new videos to a Facebook Page

Keep your communities in sync with this easy-to-use Applet — when you upload a new public video the link will be posted on your Facebook Page.

Publish your new videos as Wordpress posts

Grow your audience by cross-posting your videos automatically — this Applet will grab the embed code and post it on WordPress. The title of the blog will be the title of the video.

Receive a notification when someone you're subscribed to uploads a new video

Never miss an upload by all of your favorite creators! This Applet will send out a notification if someone you are following posts a video.

To enable these Applets and millions more (yes, millions), try IFTTT today for free!