So, you realized people are making money on Youtube and decided to try your luck, right? Well, if the only way you know is to earn money on youtube with Adsense, then continue reading this post to learn other possible ways to bring you income at youtube.
Today, youtube has 2 billion active users per month, and 30 million daily active users. According to the youtube press, over 1 billion videos are watched, and most views come from mobile devices.
The only way people used to monetize their content on youtube was to upload videos, garner views, and earn a share of ad revenue.
Nowadays, content creators have multiple ways to earn by monetizing their content. Don’t you wonder when you see YouTubers sharing their income per month but when you check their subscribers and views, things fail to add up?
You should change your mindset to understand how to earn money on youtube 2021 as long as you apply after this post.
Whether you are a new or established content creator, you need to get smarter for more income streams. Look at the tips shared below to see which one may resonate with your content.
5 Effective Ways to You can Grow your Youtube Channel that is Ready to Make Money on Youtube 2021
Before you even start incorporating income streams into your youtube channel, you need to create compelling content that provides value to users.
In recent years, the level of video marketing has risen, and competition is stiff. Therefore, if you are not creating great content, you don’t stand a chance.
I’ll share simple but effective ways to attract thousands of followers if not millions.
If you are building content, make sure to:
1. Plan your Content
Before you appear on camera to produce your content take a pre-production moment. Prepare a script, location to shoot, what to wear, practice what to say, and say what you mean.
Well prepared content leads to great production. While it may seem like a lot of work, your audience will appreciate that.
2. Know your Audience
When you are starting, it’s hard to understand your audience. And that’s why you should never create content you think is good for your audience. Instead, do that based on what your audience want.
So, after attracting a sizeable following, it’s good to understand who they are, and the type of content they want. You’ll realize most YouTubers starting video content is full of unrelated content because they created something they thought was cool for their “unknown audience.”
After you hit the right spot for them, be consistent with producing content.
3. Teach Your Audience or ( Share something they don’t know)
People come to your youtube channel to learn while searching for information. If your content gives them what they are looking for, you gained a potential subscriber immediately or later.
4. Entertain your Audience
Statistics show that the first 10 seconds are the most important to capture your viewers. Do not waste it. It doesn’t matter your content’s seriousness; you can share in an exciting way to avoid boring the viewers.
You can check top-performing youtube channels, and you’ll see how they take time to keep the viewer entertained. But, do not overdo it, just try to balance.
5. Think Quality not Quantity
I say you should produce a 10 seconds video that is meaningful to people than a 10 minutes video that says nothing.
Quality video content should be easy to digest, well-researched, and display expertise on the subject.
People love quality content to watch and share with the world.
Quantity content is created in a rush and does not have comprehensive information for the viewer. First, if you want to create quantity, master how to create quality youtube video content that is user-friendly, everything else will flow without affecting the user experience.
Now that you understand the type of youtube video content that is successful on Youtube, let’s identify multiple ways to earn you money on youtube.
1. Brand Sponsorship
Brand sponsorship is one of the most lucrative ways to make money on youtube. And there are three ways you can do this:
Create content that will attract companies for sponsorship
Remember, for companies to reach you, the content you make must be good and resonate with your audience. Secondly, you need to build a strong brand, even if you don’t have thousands of subscribers, but your content and viewership will show it.
Identify brands that are in your niche and pitch them for sponsorship.
Remember you have to be ready to answer why they should sponsor you and what it is for them.
Connect with Influencer Marketing Services to match you with sponsors
Before you go for these services, make sure you command a good following for they are matchmakers between influencers & sponsors. Here are leading Influencer Marketing Services:
- Famebit
- Grapevine Logic
- CreatorIQ
- Tap Influence
- Full Screen
- Channel Pages
Why Including Sponsorship in Your Youtube Monetization is Important?
Adsense pays youtube video creators from $2 to $8 per 1000 views.
While sponsors pay from $20 to $30 per 1000 views and negotiate for higher pay, Adsense is constant, and you can’t change their system.
In fact, some influencers rely on sponsorship alone and raking thousands of dollars per month. Getting sponsors can be a game-changer for you.
You need to know if sponsorship payment is measured by the number of views and not your subscribers.
Sometimes you may find a Youtube channel with a low number of subscribers, but high conversion than channels with a huge following.
Let’s see how sponsorship was in the year 2020 on YouTube.
In the third quarter (Q3) of 2020 here is the Youtube Influencer Marketing report for July, August & September. The top 5 spenders in the tech industry were NordVPN, Honey, ExpressVPN, Raycon & Skillshare.
Source: Influencer Marketing Hub
They spent over $40.8 million, which increased compared to Q1 (Jan, Feb, Mar) and Q2 (Apr, May, Jun). However, the reach was high, with less spending, and great returns.
On the other hand, the 3 top-performing Youtube influencers in the tech industry were
- MrBeast6000
- Dude Perfect
- PewDiePie
The top 10 performing brands on Youtube spent almost 6 billion from 654 influencers using a total of 1,677 videos.
Source: Influencer Marketing Hub
You can see many brands are ready to spend on Youtube because of better conversion than any other platform. You just need to position yourself and ask for your piece.
According to the outcome of the previous year, you’ll see new entrants come on board to earn money on Youtube 2021 through sponsorship deals.
How to get sponsors on YouTube even if your channel is small
Probably you are reading this and wondering whether small channels have a chance for sponsorship deals.
The truth is that small YouTubers can tap into lucrative sponsorship just as big guys are doing it. You just need to learn how to approach the sponsorship process.
What do sponsors look for?
Brands now understand influencer marketing is the future and the most effective way to win their trust. And they do not discriminate against small Youtube channels over big ones. They are after the brands that align with theirs regardless of size.
So, if you are looking for sponsors and unsure where to begin, you need to understand what sponsors are looking for.
There are four questions sponsors want you to answer before proceeding with a sponsorship deal.
- Who is your audience?
- What are your brand core values?
- What do you do?
- What are you selling?
Answering these questions, you make it clear and easy for sponsors to understand your brand and whether you’re the right fit.
 Related: How to Grow Your Youtube Channel Using These 5 Tools
2. Affiliate Marketing
Our next additional income stream to help you make money on Youtube best 2021 is Affiliate marketing.
If the only affiliate marketing you know is the blogging part of it, then you need to incorporate the idea into your youtube channel.
Surprisingly, youtube’s conversion rate is higher than the blogging type of affiliate.
Since most new Youtubers entering the platform have one sole purpose, to earn money through Adsense revenue. The recent changes by Youtube to acquire 1000 subscribers and 4000 watched hours is tough to achieve for new Youtubers trying their luck.
But the good news is you can earn money on Youtube without Adsense. This Affiliate marketing strategy helps many young content creators focus on creating quality content rather than attaining a threshold for monetization.
So, what other ways can Affiliate marketing bring you money with the Youtube Partner program? Let’s see other option to help you bring consistent income below.
I am assuming you have sizeable Youtube followers, or your channel is successful, and this is a new idea to you.
You just require a handful of followers and start earning money with affiliate marketing, which is not easy to attain the same through Adsense revenue.
How does Affiliate Marketing Work?
You earn from affiliate marketing by partnering with brands to promote their products and services on your Youtube channel.
Affiliate marketing is a goldmine on Youtube, considering the traffic that floods there every day. Unfortunately, not many have utilized this money-making idea yet.
So, as a video content creator, your work is to creatively include links in the description part of the products you review.
When visitors follow your affiliate link and make a purchase, you receive a commission. And the more traffic you have, the higher the chances of making more money.
Where Can you Get Affiliate Links?
Here are high converting websites/ businesses that you can consider signing up for your Youtube affiliate marketing.
Amazon Associates
Amazon Associate, despite the program experiencing a low commission rate after Covid-effect, the amount of traffic per month is something you cannot completely rule out.
Amazon receives over 200 million each month. And the good thing with the platform is you can sell almost any product depending on what your audience wants.
When you identify your audience’s needs, choose a product they can respond to. You need to be convincing enough to refer to quality products that you have personally used or believe are worthy for your audience.
Here is the table for the product category with their commission rates. But if you want to see all the rates for other commission-based items/ services you can check here.
Skillshare
Skillshare is an online learning platform that offers thousands of virtual classes in various categories.
Right now Skillshare has 9 million students and 30, 000 courses. You can encourage your followers to watch your course on the platform or refer them to helpful courses.
Skillshare can earn you $10 for every referred student who signs up for a premium class or free trial.
TripAdvisor
YouTubers can fit very well with Tripadvisor affiliates as everyone loves to travel. Tripadvisor is all about travel, accommodation, hotel, and various destinies reviews worldwide.
The Tripadvisor affiliate is flexible to join for all YouTubers around the world. Keep in mind though; the commission is gained when your followers click on commerce links on the Tripadvisor website.
Other affiliate programs that YouTubers can earn money from 2021 are:
Bluehost
Hubspot
Freshbook
ShareASale
Airbnb
Honey
Audible
These are just a drop in the ocean compared to hundreds of programs you can monetize with your channel and keep your pockets loaded.
Where can You Put Affiliate Links?
There are two areas you can place your affiliate link on your Youtube channel. In the description part and make sure it flows naturally without interfering with the description’s intended idea.
The second part you can insert your links is in your video’s pinned comment.
You should note that Youtube accepts affiliate links whether you prefer shortening the URL’s or leaving them naked.
Who is Doing Youtube Affiliate Marketing in 2021?
Probably the idea of earning money on Youtube 2021 through affiliate marketing still sounds like a myth to you.
Here are success stories of Youtubers making a killing on Youtube with affiliate marketing to clear your doubts.
Marques Brownlee
He is known for high-tech reviews on YouTube.
Look how he places the affiliate links in the description for brands and his Merch business.
He is currently making over $2 billion per year.
Jonny DIY
Jonny’s YouTube channel promotes Amazon products and Home Depot.
He demonstrates the products by practically showing how they work on every video. So, if you want to join and feel like you can hack his approach, look for products to promote.
Let’s see how he shares the affiliate links.
So, any interested customers would follow the links and make a purchase and you gain through an agreed commission.
There many people using this approach and earning passive income continuously. That’s the beauty of affiliate marketing, you can earn a commission even after many years.
How can you Succeed with Youtube Affiliate Marketing?
Your affiliate marketing’s success depends on traffic flowing to your channel and the percentage clicking on the affiliate links. The more traffic, the more guarantee you have to make lots of money on Youtube.
When your content is driving lots of viewership, Youtube can easily rank your videos on top. But here is the ranking factor that Youtube follows.
- How many people share your videos
- The rate of new subscribers
- The number of comments
- The number of likes you get
- The duration people spend watching start to the end.
Of course, meeting all this requires great content and not the type that sparks controversy (e.g. politics).
If you are searching for ways to get lots of Youtube traffic, there are a couple of factors to consider before you start incorporating Affiliate marketing into your videos.
What are the Pros of Youtube Affiliate Marketing?
Including Affiliate Marketing as your extra income source on Youtube 2021 & beyond is great to maximize returns on your video content creation.
It is one of the most promising income avenues for many Youtubers. Affiliate marketing has surpassed by far other streams of income combined, but content creators understand how to do it.
If you are a Youtube video creator and not yet incorporated affiliate marketing into your channel, here are the positive aspects.
Free traffic – Millions of people across the globe flock on Youtube to watch videos that interest them
Promising Growth:Â Some Youtube channels have by far surpassed mainstream TV channels through viewership per day. That can give you hope about the direction the world is heading.
Loyal following:Â You can easily build a community of loyal followers, and they get notified of every content you upload.
Minimal Investment:Â The only investment you need is a microphone, laptop, camera, or webcam software to get started.
Low competition:Â You still have room to expand to your desired level as no competitors in various niches. And whether you are starting, you can even build a massive following.
3. Super Chat and Super Stickers
Here is another way to earn money from Youtube without Adsense as your primary or only income source.
Super chat and super stickers is a Youtube monetization avenue initiated by Youtube to your community during the live chat.
These features allow your followers to buy chat messages and have their comments featured on the top.
How do you Qualify for Super chat?
The eligible channel must attain 1,000 subscribers.
You must be a Youtube Partner Program member, commonly known as YPP before you turn on the features.
You must be 18 years and above.
Before you consider this type of monetization, check whether your location is supported.
What are Super Chat and Super Stickers Restriction?
If your channel falls into this category, then this Youtube monetization does not fit you
- Your Youtube channel is age-restricted
- Your channel is made for kids.
- Your channel is unlisted.
- Your channel is private.
Also, it cannot work for chats that are turned off
Youtube started the super chat feature in 2017 after killing a similar feature Fan Funding (though not packed as SC)
Fan Funding allowed users to donate once to the channels they deemed favorite plus content creators.
What is a Super Sticker?
These are animated images and allow users to express themselves through greetings, a show of support, congratulate or respond to the flow of what is happening live.
Super Sticker function just like Super chat. They are displayed in the chat and pinned at the top.
Is Super Chat Real Money?
Super chat is real money and users decide the amount to send. So, as a content creator, you cannot interfere or decide for your followers.
Users can decide to send from $1 and above as they see fit.
For followers below 18 years of age, they cannot participate in Super Chat.
How Much Do Youtubers Get from Super Chat?
Youtube content creators get what their fans are willing to give. Therefore, they can get from $1 and above.
Some channels with many super chat contributors receive up to $500 per day.
The super chat money given to Youtubers is not refundable.
Youtube deducts 30% of all the acquired super chats money, while Youtubers receive the remaining 70%.
Here are the top 10 most Super Chatted channels on Youtube and their earnings.
Source: Fandom
East Asian Channels seem to rock the chat world, top of all being virtual Japanese Youtubers.
4. Sell Merchandise
If you are a member of YPP (Youtube partners), you qualify to sell merchandise. All you need to do is enable a merchandise feature in your account that allows you to sell 12 items to your fans.
Of course, many YouTubers are passionate to create content for their followers, but adding another avenue motivates your passion even more.
Selling merchandise through a Youtube channel is not only for big channels, but even small channels can incorporate the idea to earn extra income.
However, it is advisable to consider merch sales when you have enough numbers to make meaningful sales.
 Eligible Youtubers that plan to sell merchandise are required to attain 10, 000 subscribers and be a member of the Youtube Partner Program, channels with 100,000 subscribers and above promise good returns.
That is not to say small channels have slim chances of making a decent income. What matters is metrics to show how effective your channel is before considering selling merchandise.
Apart from size, another important metric to determine a channel’s effectiveness is a high level of engagement and content creators’ promotion tactics.
A channel may have small numbers of subscribers, views, but lots of engagements.
And that’s why you should never despise the small size of your channel, instead measure its capability through the level of engagements.
Youtube brokered a deal with Teespring and the idea to sell merchandise started.
YouTubers can now sell phone cases, t-shirts, mugs, and more by turning their Youtube channel into some virtual store.
Do merchandise sales suit every Youtube channel?
While selling merchandise on your channel can increase your income source, it doesn’t fit all Youtube channels.
For instance, a gamer Youtuber with lots of teenagers as followers will easily sell gaming t-shirts that a channel attracting business managers and CEOs.
The popularity of a channel also matters for massive merchandise sales. Most channels that benefit from this setup are where Youtubers have the muscle to produce their own products.
Such Youtubers are:
PewDiePie
He needs no introduction and is one of the most inspiring YouTubers especially to the new generation.
JuegaGerman
You can see the success stories of top merchandise earners on Youtube according to sell merch.
Here are the top 10 most successful Merchandise sellers on Youtube.
- PewDiePie  $6,834,645
- Dude Perfect $2,957,950
- VanossGaming $2,281,315
- DanDTMÂ $2,207,725
- JuegaGerman $1,956,575
- Markiplier $1,783,195
- Collins Key $1,780,780
- Atta Halilintar $1,426,575
- Jacksepticeye $1,414,150
- Smosh $1,371,805
5. Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is an additional way you can bring extra income to your channel.
It is now a common practice to solicit donations from your fans. You can choose to crowdfund continuously or one-off funding.
You can choose the Patreon platform for recurring funding, while for one-off campaigns Kickstarter and GoFundMe is the right choice for that.
Patreon allows content creators to gift their contributing audience.
The recently released Youtube “sponsor” crowdfunding feature makes it better.
The approach is just like Patreon, but for Youtube, button placement helps to convert better than Patreon.
Youtube places the sponsor button just below each video, making it visible for the audience.
How Can you Appreciate your Crowdfunding Contributors?
It’s good to make your sponsors feel appreciated by giving them some perks. Here are some that may encourage them to continue sponsoring your channel in the future.
Exclusive live streams –Â Giving priority to sponsors by creating an exclusive live stream that allows them to interact with you.
Custom badge: You create a badge for your sponsors when they drop a comment, a badge appears next to their username.
Have Custom Emojis – You can encourage more sponsors to contribute by providing them with custom emojis to use for live chat.
However, the Youtube crowdfunding plan should include one of the platforms where you have the idea, but not solely using crowdfunding alone to earn money on Youtube in 2021.
The success of crowdfunding is where you include various platforms to achieve a common goal. And it is only a single way to help you learn how to make a living on Youtube by incorporating multiple avenues.
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How Many Subscribers Do you Need to Make Money on Youtube 2021?
While having many subscribers gives you more advantage to make more money, a good strategy differentiates the income of Youtube Channels.
There are Youtube channels with a small number of subscribers, but making more money than big channels.
I mentioned earlier in this post; some Youtube channels rely on the Youtube partner’s program alone. You cannot compare with a channel using several ways of earning money like highlighted above, even with few subscribers.
You need to define your audience and see what type of income you need to incorporate on your Channel without hurting your audience.
Wrap Up
The technique of earning money on YouTube 2021 is not a matter of numbers but smart strategies. It’s evident there are channels with a huge following and relying on one source of income.
Others can make lots of money but lack a proper approach to utilize important factors such as the ones shared above. Identify your audience and figure out the right monetary option to earn you much revenue.
If you are just starting, don’t be afraid to A/B test until you identify your soft spot.
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