How to Get YouTube Monetization (Complete Guide) — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:00So, you want to monetize your YouTube
- 0:01channel in 2025? Well, these next few
- 0:03minutes could be the difference between
- 0:04hobby and career. Or you could ignore
- 0:07all of this advice and spend the next 3
- 0:09years posting shorts about your cat.
- 0:11It's totally your call.
- 0:14Do I like cat videos?
- 0:17Yes.
- 0:19Anyway, today's video is going to cover
- 0:21all of the new monetization rules, the
- 0:24biggest mistakes keeping your channel
- 0:25stuck at, I'll take a guess, 147
- 0:28subscribers, and the three biggest moves
- 0:30that are going to help you get monetized
- 0:32faster. With all of that being said,
- 0:33let's just jump straight into it and
- 0:35break all of this down. How do you get
- 0:38monetized on YouTube in 2025? There are
- 0:41now two tiers of monetization. And yes,
- 0:44that is a little confusing, so I'll walk
- 0:45you through it. First up is tier one and
- 0:48it's a earlier access to monetization
- 0:50than what was previously available and
- 0:52it's otherwise known as the tip jar.
- 0:54This is where you unlock features such
- 0:56as super thanks, super chats, and
- 0:58channel memberships. Basically, at this
- 1:00stage, YouTube is giving you the tools
- 1:02to ask your audience to send you a
- 1:04little bit of money and say, "Good job,
- 1:06champ." And these are the requirements
- 1:08you need to reach for the first stage of
- 1:10monetization. First up, you'll need 500
- 1:12subscribers. And there is no time limit
- 1:14on how quickly or how slowly you get
- 1:16those 500 subscribers. You'll also need
- 1:18to publish three videos over a 90-day
- 1:21period, and I'm pretty sure that
- 1:23everybody can do that. But then we have
- 1:24the much harder requirements to achieve.
- 1:27You will need at least 3,000 watch hours
- 1:30in the last 12 months on your long form
- 1:32videos or 3 million shorts views over a
- 1:3690-day period. Now, I've tried to
- 1:38explain how watch time works for
- 1:40monetization a billion times on this
- 1:42channel, and people still don't seem to
- 1:43get it. So, I'm completely disowning any
- 1:46responsibility for it and handing it
- 1:48over to YouTube. What you need to do is
- 1:49go to the YouTube studio, either on your
- 1:51computer or mobile device. Navigate to
- 1:53the earn section and then you can scroll
- 1:56down to see how you're progressing
- 1:57through these monetization requirements.
- 1:59If you still don't understand it or you
- 2:00think the numbers are wrong, then take
- 2:02it up with YouTube. Capiche? Uh YouTube,
- 2:04can I ask you a question? Yes. It says
- 2:06here on my YouTube analytics page that
- 2:08I've got 3,000 hours of watch time. Yes.
- 2:11But on the monetization page, it only
- 2:12says I've got two and a half thousand
- 2:14hours of watch time. Yes. So, which is
- 2:16right?
- 2:18Yes. And I think this is the perfect
- 2:21spot to do a little bit of caring and
- 2:23sharing. So, I want you to post a
- 2:24comment on how many subscribers and
- 2:26watch hours or views you have on your
- 2:29journey towards monetization. And then I
- 2:31want you to reply to at least one other
- 2:33comment and say, "Keep creating. You've
- 2:36got this." Now, in terms of how much you
- 2:38make from all of these super chats,
- 2:40super thanks, and channel memberships,
- 2:42that is likely to be a challenge. That's
- 2:44mainly because your audience, relatively
- 2:46speaking, at this stage is still quite
- 2:48small. And persuading people to part
- 2:50with money to financially support you
- 2:52will be tough because you haven't
- 2:54established this trust and loyalty yet.
- 2:57So, don't quit your 9-to-five job just
- 3:00yet. I don't expect you'll be earning
- 3:02that much, but who knows? Maybe you are
- 3:04an infinitely better business person
- 3:06than I am. Next up is tier 2, and this
- 3:09is what everybody considers the real
- 3:11deal of making money on YouTube
- 3:13passively. Anyway, we're talking about
- 3:15YouTube premium and ad revenue, where
- 3:18every single view could result in you
- 3:20earning a few cents. And the best thing
- 3:22is you simply flick a switch and YouTube
- 3:24takes care of the rest along with 45% of
- 3:27the revenue. Anyway, you will need 1,000
- 3:29subscribers, again, no time limit on
- 3:30that. And then either 4,000 public watch
- 3:34hours over the past year, or 10 million
- 3:37shorts views in the past 90 days. Wait,
- 3:40what? Did you just say 10 million shorts
- 3:43views? Yes. Yes, I did. In 3 months?
- 3:47Well, more accurately, it's 90 days. Do
- 3:50you not think that's a little
- 3:51unrealistic?
- 3:53Yes.
- 3:55So, how do you pick your path? Which is
- 3:57easier? Long form content or YouTube
- 3:59shorts? If you're good at creating
- 4:01curiosity, building tension, raising
- 4:03stakes, having deep and meaningful
- 4:05conversations with your audience, then
- 4:07long form is probably the way to go.
- 4:09However, if you are fast, funny, and
- 4:11really good at grabbing somebody's
- 4:12attention in 2 seconds or less, or when
- 4:15you hate making thumbnails, then shorts
- 4:17might be where you want to go. But can
- 4:19creators do both? Yes, you can. And it's
- 4:22incredibly easy to get into the YouTube
- 4:24partner program as there are already 3
- 4:26million creators who are earning money
- 4:28from videos on YouTube. Well, it is a
- 4:31little tougher than what he says because
- 4:32they are very different creative
- 4:34disciplines. But no matter which path
- 4:36you take, there is one key thing to
- 4:38focus on. Make content people actually
- 4:40want to watch and a lot of it and then
- 4:43make even more of it. There are a few
- 4:44more bits of admin beyond general
- 4:46requirements, such as no community
- 4:47guideline strikes, setting up two-step
- 4:49verification on your channel and
- 4:51creating an AdSense account, but these
- 4:53are all things you achieve simply by
- 4:54following YouTube's rules, or can be
- 4:56done in 5 minutes. All right, then. Now,
- 4:58we get to the part nobody likes to
- 5:00admit. Why your stuck? And no, it's not
- 5:03because the algorithm is broken or
- 5:05YouTube is unfair. Isn't that right?
- 5:07Yes, we would never do such a thing.
- 5:13It's more likely because you're making
- 5:14at least one of these three critical
- 5:17mistakes. So, let's break them down and
- 5:19I'll give you some real examples to help
- 5:21you actually fix these issues. When I
- 5:23first started out on YouTube, I was as
- 5:25guilty as anybody else making this
- 5:27mistake. I just posted whatever I felt
- 5:29like. In one instance, I made a 6-minute
- 5:31video about unboxing a camcorder where
- 5:33the focus of a thumbnail was the
- 5:35commemorative coin that came with it.
- 5:37And you can guess what happened. Nobody
- 5:39watched it except for one person who
- 5:41wanted to know how much it was. Let me
- 5:44check.
- 5:50Yeah, still worth £5. Let me tell you
- 5:52why that happens. We're too emotionally
- 5:54attached to our own ideas. We blindly
- 5:57assume that if I care, then everybody
- 6:00else will care as well. But YouTube
- 6:02doesn't work that way. It serves the
- 6:04audience first. It cares about what
- 6:06viewers want and viewers care about what
- 6:08helps them, what entertains them, what
- 6:10inspires them, what motivates them. And
- 6:12it's what the creators usually been
- 6:14talking about for the last 100 videos or
- 6:17so. I mean, sure, maybe there are some
- 6:19people, a small number of people who are
- 6:22interested in that camcorder and that
- 6:24coin, but should I get upset when the
- 6:27video gets only 244 views over 12 years?
- 6:31No. So, what's the fix? where you find
- 6:33where your passion overlaps with
- 6:36audience demand. Use search tools from
- 6:39Vid IQ. Have a look at the trending
- 6:41topics. Dig into the comments of the big
- 6:44channels and what they're talking about.
- 6:46Hunt for patterns and try to avoid going
- 6:48for that one really big idea. Instead,
- 6:51be specific so you can relate to a very
- 6:54targeted audience. For example, instead
- 6:56of an idea and a title which is along
- 6:58the lines of why I love journaling, try
- 7:01this. When you're more intentional, you
- 7:03can turn videos into series, not just
- 7:06one-offs. And that way, you can easily
- 7:08attract new viewers who share the same
- 7:11interests each time, even though it's
- 7:13technically the same topic. The big
- 7:15takeaway is this. It isn't about
- 7:17abandoning your passions. It's more
- 7:20about reframing them for the benefit of
- 7:23the viewer. Ask yourself these
- 7:24fundamental questions every time you
- 7:26start to plan a video. Why would
- 7:29somebody click this? what's in it for
- 7:31them? Am I making this because I want to
- 7:33express myself or because I want to
- 7:35help, inspire, or entertain someone
- 7:38else? And once you are able to flip that
- 7:40reframing switch, you go from a hobbyist
- 7:43shouting into a void to a creator
- 7:46building an audience. But there is
- 7:48another concept that we can too easily
- 7:50misunderstand. What do you think if I
- 7:53give you the advice to post
- 7:55consistently? you probably take it
- 7:56literally and assume that uploading 30
- 7:59videos in 30 days is the way forward.
- 8:01Well, if you do do that, this is how
- 8:03that roller coaster is probably going to
- 8:06unfold. Hey guys, welcome to my channel.
- 8:08Don't forget to subscribe. This is day
- 8:10one of my ultra amazing super blog.
- 8:12Let's do this. Like, smash go. Hey guys,
- 8:15welcome back to my channel. It is day
- 8:17seven of this super amazing blog. Don't
- 8:20forget to subscribe. I'm going to show
- 8:21you today how I toast my brios buns.
- 8:26Let's do this.
- 8:28Make sure to like the video. Hey guys,
- 8:30welcome back to my channel. It's day 30.
- 8:34Still nobody has subscribed yet and I've
- 8:37run out of things to say. So, here's my
- 8:39dog Jasper who's uh so bored by me that
- 8:44he's basically licking himself.
- 8:47Like the video, maybe. Guess what
- 8:49happens? Not much. Except your
- 8:52viewership doesn't grow. They tire of
- 8:54what you're doing, and so do you. Here's
- 8:57why this happens. We buy into an
- 8:59outdated myth that the algorithm rewards
- 9:02those who post the most videos. But
- 9:04YouTube isn't just counting video
- 9:06uploads. It's far more interested in how
- 9:09people react to those uploads. If you
- 9:11post 10 sloppy videos, all you're doing
- 9:14is reaffirming the algorithm's attitude
- 9:17to your videos that they're simply meh
- 9:19when it comes to what the audience
- 9:21thinks of them. So, what is the fix to
- 9:23this? Shift from more videos to better
- 9:27videos. Now, I do need to clarify this
- 9:29statement because I'm a big supporter of
- 9:31making a ton of videos when a creator
- 9:34first starts on YouTube to learn fast.
- 9:37In my opinion, nothing beats experience.
- 9:40But there does come a point where you
- 9:42need to create a little less and think a
- 9:45little more about the types of videos
- 9:47you're making. And I think this is
- 9:49pretty much the exact inflection point.
- 9:52When you do seriously want to monetize
- 9:54your channel, you need to create
- 9:57smarter, not work harder. Instead of
- 10:00asking yourself, "How many videos can I
- 10:02crank out this week?" Ask yourself, "How
- 10:04can I make the next video a little
- 10:06better than my previous video?" In
- 10:08reality, that could mean one solid video
- 10:11upload every week instead of two which
- 10:13you rush it. It gives you a chance to
- 10:14focus on certain aspects of your
- 10:17content, be it thumbnail design,
- 10:19scripting, talking in front of camera
- 10:21and try and improve those techniques and
- 10:24double down on the content that's
- 10:26actually working on your channel. So,
- 10:27what you're saying is I should make more
- 10:29consistent content. Yes, but more
- 10:32doesn't actually mean more. Yes. And
- 10:36less means more. Yes. What don't you
- 10:39understand? So yeah, consistency
- 10:41matters, but not if it turns you into a
- 10:44human content machine just spitting out
- 10:46videos that nobody ever finishes
- 10:47watching. But speaking of watching
- 10:49videos, what if your viewers don't even
- 10:51do that? You can make the best video in
- 10:53the world with perfect lighting, spoton
- 10:55editing, and the wisdom of 10 TED talks,
- 10:58but if nobody clicks on it, it's
- 11:01invisible. And if they do click on it,
- 11:02but leave after 20 seconds if it's not a
- 11:06YouTube short, that's even worse. So,
- 11:08how would you know this is happening?
- 11:10Well, you need to base your evidence off
- 11:12of real data. And where can you get that
- 11:15data? The YouTube studio. By now, in
- 11:17your YouTube journey, you've probably
- 11:19heard of these two terms already. CTR or
- 11:21click-through rate tells YouTube, "All
- 11:23right, people are interested." And then
- 11:25watch time and average view duration
- 11:27tells YouTube, "Yeah, they're sticking
- 11:29around, too. This must be good." So, if
- 11:31both are high, yeah, let's recommend
- 11:33this more. And both are low, nope. So,
- 11:36how do you end up losing points in this
- 11:38area? Well, there are a bunch of fails
- 11:40that affect click-through rate and watch
- 11:42time. Let's say you title your video
- 11:44packing tips for travel.
- 11:48But now, let's change it to 10 packing
- 11:50mistakes that ruined my trip. Oo. Now,
- 11:54let's say the video title is how I saved
- 11:57$1,000 traveling. But the hook of the
- 11:59video goes along the lines of this. Hey
- 12:00guys, welcome back to my amazing super
- 12:03travel blog. I'm still waiting for my
- 12:04first subscriber, but I've just been on
- 12:06the most amazing adventure going to
- 12:08Disney World for just $500. All the
- 12:11parks, all the rides. What a budget.
- 12:14Can't wait to tell you about it. But
- 12:15first, a little bit of a life update.
- 12:19This ain't it, Chief. Or how about this
- 12:21one? Your thumbnail screams I quit my
- 12:24job. But in actuality, the video is
- 12:26about you thinking about quitting your
- 12:28job because you hate your boss and you
- 12:30wish you had financial freedom. In that
- 12:32instance, people will feel clickbaited,
- 12:34tricked, they'll bounce, and YouTube
- 12:36learns. Yeah, this is just annoying
- 12:39viewers. I'm not going to send anyone
- 12:40else to this video. The bottom line is
- 12:42it's not just about getting views. It's
- 12:45getting views that stick. And if you are
- 12:48still here, which obviously you are 13
- 12:51minutes into the video, then I've
- 12:53accomplished my mission of educating,
- 12:56inspiring, and maybe entertaining you.
- 12:59But anyway, now that we've covered all
- 13:01of the big important mistakes, it's time
- 13:03to get to the good stuff. The three
- 13:06moves that are going to help push you
- 13:08over the monetization line. These are
- 13:10things I wish someone had tattooed on my
- 13:13forehead because there's plenty of space
- 13:15up there when I first started my
- 13:17channel. And of course, they would have
- 13:19had to have been tattooed in reverse and
- 13:21I would have had to have looked at a
- 13:23mirror. This is getting complicated,
- 13:25isn't it? Anyway, random uploads do not
- 13:28get you monetized, but repeatable
- 13:31formats do. This is where we start
- 13:33looking for evidence, proof of
- 13:35successful concepts. So look at your
- 13:37last 10 videos on your channel. Which
- 13:40ones got even a small spark of traction?
- 13:43And if you don't have enough content
- 13:44yet, then study the three channels in
- 13:47your niche that inspire you. What are
- 13:49you seeing that works well? Tutorials,
- 13:51challenge videos, reactions, opinions,
- 13:53listicles. Where you find success, be it
- 13:56on your own channel or others, double
- 13:59down. What you want to do is make it
- 14:01your content pattern. And why is that?
- 14:06You know what? This is good content and
- 14:10it's predictable. I know that if I show
- 14:12this to viewers who've watched content
- 14:15on this channel before, they're likely
- 14:17to watch this new stuff. A viewer
- 14:18basically wants to know, if I subscribe
- 14:21to a channel, am I going to be served up
- 14:23more of what I like? So, let's say your
- 14:255minute craft reviews got two times the
- 14:28views you normally get. Don't wait. Turn
- 14:30that into a series. Make a 5minute craft
- 14:33reviews kitchen edition. Make a five
- 14:35minute craft reviews disaster edition.
- 14:37What you want to do is own that lane on
- 14:41YouTube. And all of this naturally leads
- 14:43into the second strategy. You don't just
- 14:45need one good video. You need a domino
- 14:48effect. If someone watches one of your
- 14:50videos, what's pulling them into the
- 14:52next. You want to give the viewer
- 14:53options and reasons to stay on your
- 14:55channel as long as possible. So, how do
- 14:58you do that? Well, the most natural way
- 15:00is the end screen. If a viewer has
- 15:02reached the end of one of your videos,
- 15:04the chances are you satisfied them and
- 15:05they're willing to watch more. So, give
- 15:07a viewer a very clear, a very
- 15:09intentional, and single reason to watch
- 15:13another video that you're going to point
- 15:14towards. Engaged viewers often delve
- 15:17into the comments, too. And you have the
- 15:19power to pin a comment at the very top
- 15:22of this conversation. So, again, this
- 15:24gives you an opportunity to provide a
- 15:26link to another video that you think
- 15:28they will enjoy watching. And you can
- 15:30organize videos into a playlist, but one
- 15:32of these super hacks is to take all of
- 15:34these videos and stitch them into one
- 15:37mega video. So instead of a playlist of
- 15:39six videos, where there is friction
- 15:41moving from one video to the next, you
- 15:43bundle all of those videos together and
- 15:45they just flow naturally one into the
- 15:47next. This is a fantastic way to
- 15:50introduce new viewers to your channel
- 15:52because you give them a ton of content
- 15:55and a ton of value all at the same time.
- 15:58The longer people stay on your channel
- 16:00and on your content, the more YouTube is
- 16:02going to think, "Yes, I'm pretty sure I
- 16:05know which viewers watch this content
- 16:07now. So, let's keep serving them these
- 16:10videos and find some more similar
- 16:12viewers, too." So many creators focus on
- 16:14trying to get that one viral hit. But in
- 16:17truth, your goal as a creator should be
- 16:20to create many entry points into your
- 16:22entire library of content. Now then,
- 16:24here's what separates channels with
- 16:26views from creators with momentum. It's
- 16:30not just about posting videos. It's
- 16:32about building a community. When most
- 16:34creators here engage with your audience,
- 16:37they just think, "Yeah, I'll a few
- 16:39comments and then I'll get back to my
- 16:40editing." But here's the deal. The
- 16:42fastest growing creators, especially the
- 16:45small ones, when they adopt this
- 16:46philosophy, is treating their audience
- 16:49as people and not simply numbers in the
- 16:52YouTube studio. And why does this
- 16:54matter? It's because it tells YouTube
- 16:56two important things. This creator is
- 16:59active and they're here to build a real
- 17:02channel. And this audience is invested.
- 17:04They're sticking around. They're
- 17:06participating. And the second one in
- 17:08particular,
- 17:09that is magic. This is the very reason
- 17:12why I asked you more than 10 minutes ago
- 17:14to post in the comments where you are in
- 17:16your monetization journey, but also to
- 17:19encourage other creators who are on that
- 17:21very same journey. When viewers start to
- 17:23feel like they matter, they don't just
- 17:24watch the content. They comment, they
- 17:27share, they binge your backlog. They
- 17:29come back in the future when the creator
- 17:31posts more content. And yes, even some
- 17:34of them may donate a little bit of cash
- 17:36to you through super thanks and super
- 17:38chats. In short, they the viewers, your
- 17:41community become part of your momentum.
- 17:44So, how do you, the creator, make use of
- 17:47this? Well, when you publish a video,
- 17:49reply to those early comments. This is
- 17:51especially important when you're a small
- 17:53channel because every comment is gold.
- 17:55And when you reply to comments, don't
- 17:57just acknowledge them with a thanks that
- 17:59can't go anywhere. Get involved in the
- 18:01conversation. Ask them a question back.
- 18:03People are way more likely to comment
- 18:05when they see you showing up in the
- 18:07comments as well. You can even ask
- 18:09questions directly to your viewers in
- 18:11your videos. I suggest doing this in the
- 18:13first minute or two and make the
- 18:15question relatively easy to answer, but
- 18:17also open-ended so that you get a unique
- 18:20response from each viewer. I promise
- 18:22you, this call to action is infinitely
- 18:24more valuable than asking your viewers
- 18:26to simply like and subscribe. With a
- 18:28question, you're giving the viewer a
- 18:30reason to engage with the content. When
- 18:32you invite conversation, you get better
- 18:34signals from YouTube and you get an
- 18:36understanding of your audience on what
- 18:38to make next. I cannot stress this
- 18:40enough. Use the community tab. Post one
- 18:44thing a day. It only takes five minutes.
- 18:47This helps you engage with your
- 18:49audience, your community, when you're
- 18:51hard at work making your next video. And
- 18:53it's an extension of your social
- 18:55presence on the platform. It's mini
- 18:57moments of education, inspiration,
- 19:00motivation. Whatever you do in your
- 19:03videos, you can just remind people every
- 19:05single day that you're around helping
- 19:08the viewer on their own journey. And
- 19:10this is also a huge one, especially for
- 19:12smaller channels. Show audience input in
- 19:16your future videos. If someone does drop
- 19:18a great idea in the comments, then shout
- 19:20them out in your next video. As a quick
- 19:22example, thanks Sarah for that fantastic
- 19:25suggestion in the comments. Here's what
- 19:26you asked for. Or a bunch of you
- 19:28requested this topic. Let's break it
- 19:30down. It makes people feel seen and
- 19:33heard, and they're more likely to stick
- 19:34around. And then, of course, you can go
- 19:36beyond YouTube. You can connect, learn,
- 19:38and converse with like-minded people in
- 19:41your community through Discord, Reddit,
- 19:43Facebook groups. Why does any of this
- 19:46work? Well, think of it this way. Would
- 19:48you, as a viewer, rather invest in a
- 19:51creator that simply talks at you or one
- 19:54that makes you feel part of a shared
- 19:57journey? The algorithm will try its best
- 19:59to surface your videos to viewers, but
- 20:02you're responsible for cultivating a
- 20:04community that keeps them there. So,
- 20:06what he's saying is that treating
- 20:08viewers like humans and not numbers
- 20:11actually works for the final time.
- 20:16Yes. Right.
- 20:18So, can you like and subscribe to my
- 20:20super amazing blog? No. So, let's answer
- 20:23the real question. YouTube monetization.
- 20:26How long will it take? You have probably
- 20:28seen creators brag about how they hit
- 20:311,000 subscribers in 28 days. Cool.
- 20:34YouTube is so big and so diverse and so
- 20:37many people are starting channels every
- 20:39single day that some of them will hit
- 20:42the jackpot on their first uploads. But
- 20:44for most of us, it's a slow and
- 20:46deliberate climb. And that's okay as
- 20:49well. For you, it might take 30 days,
- 20:51but it also might take 300 days and a
- 20:55thousand coffees and an existential
- 20:57crisis. None of this means that you're
- 20:58failing. It means that you're learning,
- 21:01training, working hard. Every upload
- 21:05is a rep. Every comment is feedback. And
- 21:08every click is progress. The only real
- 21:12way you lose on YouTube and never get
- 21:14monetized is if you quit. And here's the
- 21:17good news. If you are genuinely
- 21:19committed to improving with every video
- 21:22and thinking about the videos people
- 21:24want to watch, you will grow. I
- 21:28guarantee it. But here's the thing. I
- 21:30know exactly what you're thinking right
- 21:32now. You've ignored everything I've just
- 21:34said over the last 30 seconds and you're
- 21:37fixated on the channels I say can get
- 21:40monetized in less than a month. So, here
- 21:42is your clear, intentional call to
- 21:45action. If you want to get your channel
- 21:47monetized as fast as possible, watch
- 21:50this right now.
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