It’s difficult to overstate the role YouTube has played in shaping today’s entertainment industry. Before its launch in 2005, video content was limited to a select number of titles produced and programmed by a small number of TV networks. If you had a desire to appear on these shows, your options were equally limited.
But with a new platform came the democratisation of content creation and the rise of the influencer. For stars like Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and Zoella, millions of views on the platform led to lucrative careers in the spotlight and fresh ways to monetise their YouTube content.
Mickey Jo Boucher is an independent theatre critic who earns the majority of his income from his video content. “Initially, I didn't anticipate YouTube becoming a financially viable platform and had considered utilising any visibility it afforded me to leverage a position at a legitimate theatre outlet,” recalls the creator, who vlogs as MickeyJoTheatre to an audience of over 60,000. Things changed in 2022 when Boucher realised, “I'd spent around six months in a full-time teaching position consistently earning more from posting videos than I was in education.” Spotting a gap in the market for long-form theatre criticism, he took the leap. Here, you can learn how to do the same.
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So, how do you make money on YouTube? It’s not strictly down to talent or luck: The platform’s algorithm decides which videos to organically promote based on a regularly changing value system of metrics, including:
- Relevance of content to viewers
- How much engagement it’s receiving
- The poster’s follower count, with a higher following better for organic visibility
Understanding the system and optimising content accordingly can help you line your pockets.
And YouTube’s pockets are deep. Its Partner Programme has paid over $50 billion (over £39 billion) to creators, artists, and companies over the past three years, but there are strict monetisation requirements.
Once you meet the platform’s criteria for followers, views, output, and copyright adherence, you can apply to the Partner Programme. In the company’s words: “The YouTube Partner Programme lets qualifying creators tap into different ways to earn revenue, as well as giving access to resources like direct support and the Copyright Match Tool.”
How to Become a YouTube Influencer YouTube monetisation requirements
- At least 3,000 valid (non–bot driven) public watch hours within the last 12 months, or 3 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
- At least 500 subscribers.
- Creators must have a channel available in an eligible country.
- If creators hit 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million valid public shorts views in the last 90 days, they can unlock additional perks, including partaking in revenue sharing.
Other ways to make money on YouTube
Professional YouTubers also make money through:
- Channel memberships: Viewers can pay a monthly subscription fee in exchange for access to additional content
- Tips: Viewers can tip creators
- Sponsorship deals: Brands can pay you for promoting their products
- Affiliate links: Link to a product or service and make money when your viewers shop through that link
- Collaborations: One-off collaborations with other content creators or brands
To best leverage your content, use your other social media accounts to tease your YouTube videos, but avoid copying and pasting content between channels. “X [formerly Twitter], for example, will actively suppress anything that directs viewers to external sites,” Boucher cautions. “The value comes when you can build a brand and following across platforms, then utilise each for its different purpose, either sharing important updates, teasing longer videos with shorter excerpts [on a different channel], polling, and connecting with your community of viewers. And, vitally, engaging with different content creators and potential collaborators in your industry.”
Not only has YouTube offered anyone with commitment whose videos find an audience the chance to make money, but it’s also provided content creators with a great deal of freedom. “The ability to choose the scope of my coverage, the length of my videos, where I'm willing to travel, and how many shows I can see in a week is a luxury many traditional critics would envy,” argues Boucher. Now, you, too, can discover the kind of independence YouTube can offer.