Earnings on Youtube: all options and possibilities

In different situations and in different theme genres, the effectiveness of different methods sometimes differs radically. For example, what works well on a popular-themed channel with several hundred day views may not go on a narrow channel (even with twice the attendance). We tried to discover how to choose the most suitable method.

All methods of earning can be conditionally divided into two groups: a) automatic monetization or earnings with the help of advertising systems and b) manual monetization, in which the blogger participates in the selection of advertising content for his channel.

How to make money with YouTube advertising services

With automatic monetization, you don’t get to choose which advertising will be shown, the advertising system does it for you. Special algorithms determine which advertisement will be shown in your video to a particular user. You only, provisionally speaking, provide advertising space to the system with which you have agreed on partnership. You don’t contact the direct advertiser. Money is credited for viewing or clicking on ads. Today, there are two main ways to automatically monetize.

1. Google Adsense. Advertising system of YouTube itself (more precisely, Google). These are ads that pop up on the user’s screen while watching your videos. Most often, these ads in one way or another correspond to the subject of your video – Google is interested in showing ads to those who are likely to click on it. You don’t know exactly which ad will be seen by your subscriber, but in one you can be sure: no extremist, shocking, provocative statements will not appear on your channel. YouTube strictly adheres to the ad rules, so working with Adsense is probably the safest and most reliable way to monetize. Although not very profitable.

The ppc advertising service on YouTube doesn’t neglect self-promotion and actively invites bloggers to cooperate

Who is it suitable for:

• beginning bloggers as one of the first methods of earning
• for those who want to have a relatively stable income

Things to remember:

• income is relatively small. For those who only connect to the system, the monthly income is usually $ 8-16. However, in this system serious earnings are possible as well. It is claimed, for example, that the income of blogger Pete Kashmore, the founder of the portal Mashable.co, in Adsense is about 450,000 dollars a month. However, the monthly attendance of the Kashmore blog exceeds 4 million unique visitors.
• withdrawal of earned money is not very convenient. YouTube allows you to withdraw money only through the Rapida payment system. You can not withdraw money to bank cards, electronic wallets and other payment systems. The minimum amount for withdrawal is not less than 100 US dollars.
• high requirements for content. First of all, we are talking about the requirements for the uniqueness of content. Google is constantly improving its algorithms aimed at protecting copyrights by dealing with copy-paste and “pirate” content. You should not upload other people’s videos on your channel in the hope of catching additional clicks and earn some money. YouTube is able to determine such manipulations. At best, money from advertising on your channel will go to the real author of the video. At worst, your account will be banned.

2. Advertising in media networks or the so-called “YouTube partnerships”. Keep in mind that terminological confusion is possible: by “partnerships” people may mean different ways of monetization. In this case, we are talking about partnerships with media networks, such as AIR or YOOLA. The principle of operation is the same as that of Adsense – you provide the advertising system with your “advertising space”. But the content requirements for networks are lower, registration in the affiliate program is simpler, there are many alternative ways of withdrawing money, the minimum amount for withdrawal is from 1 dollar. Therefore, many bloggers prefer to work with a certain media network.

Who is it suitable for:

• bloggers who work in popular theme genres and have good viewing rates
• beginning bloggers who already have experience with automated advertising
• those who for various reasons have problems with the moderation of YouTube (more precisely, Google Adsense)

Things to remember:

• the commission for withdrawing money is higher, since in addition to the YouTube commission, the advertising system withdraws its interest from the revenue (up to 30%)
• according to bloggers, media networks don’t work well in some niche topics and areas (for example, in the luxury segment)

Media Network Yoola offers opportunities for both beginners and experienced bloggers

How to work with affiliate programs and direct advertising

3. Affiliate programs. Don’t confuse with YouTube partnerships we reviewed above. When working with media networks, you provide an affiliate network with an ad slot that the network uses at its discretion. In this case, the choice of an advertising clip on your channel remains for the media network.

And with the affiliate program, you choose the product that will be advertised. For example, you saw that a conditional online store of kids products offers a partnership. You register in the affiliate program of the store, get a link with your code in it and paste it into the description of the video. The video should encourage the viewer to become interested in the product (for example, a baby stroller), and the link – to give an opportunity to immediately go to the website where you can make a purchase. A unique link will allow the store to understand that the buyer has come from you and charge you a percentage of the sale.

Who is it suitable for:

• everyone

Things to remember:

• most suited bloggers with an attendance of 1000 unique visitors per month. Blogs with less attendance can also participate in affiliate programs, but more or less decent earnings will only be if the advertised product precisely links with the audience. For example, tools for needlework in the blog about knitting and embroidery.
• with active participation in affiliate programs, you can earn up to 50,000 or more per month. However, a stable income can be provided only for popular bloggers who are able to maintain the constant interest of the audience.

4. CPA network. Don’t confuse it with affiliate programs. Logic and algorithms work very similar, but with “affiliate” you get a percentage only if the person who came by your link made a purchase. In the CPA model, the percentage will be accrued when performing any targeted action on the partner’s website (for example, registration, clicking on a button, filling out a questionnaire). By such principles resources such as Admitad. Basically, such websites are designed for webmasters of websites, but youtube-bloggers can also cooperate with them.

Who is it suitable for:

• advanced bloggers who understand how CPA-networks are arranged and are able to work with advertisers through these websites

Things to remember:

• despite the fact that network administrators try to ensure maximum transparency and reliability, there are unscrupulous advertisers and simply scammers in the system, as a result of which you can miss honestly earned money.
• before you start working with networks, it is advisable to study the mechanics of the work of CPA-networks and arbitration, as well as to get acquainted with the feedback of users on the network with which you are going to cooperate.

5. Direct advertising. Advertiser comes to you with a proposal of cooperation. He can offer a ready-made commercial, but more often it’s about the blogger himself developing a feed for the advertising object. It works well for already well-known channels, but recently many began to pay attention to channels with a small number of subscribers and views. The main condition is the appropriate channel genre, the presence of the target audience and the involvement of users. A good option for bloggers will be registration in special services, such as Epicstars. At similar websites, advertisers select filters that are interesting to them through filters and advanced search. And the chance to receive an order for a blogger increases many times.

Who is it suitable for:

• everyone

Things to remember:

• direct advertising, as a rule, takes the most time. Even if you only need to mention the name of the brand in the speech, the time will be spent on all negotiations and reconciliations.
• this method is not very reliable, if you work not through the exchange platform, but on your own. There is a possibility that you will be thrown over without  payment. Tip: always formalize contracts with the customer (or work through blog websites and services).

6. Sale of products and services. If you have your own online store or the opportunity to sell your services as, for example, a specialist in contextual advertising, you can organize the sale directly on your channel. There are also known cases where the promoted blogger is a co-owner or shareholder in a particular business and begins to promote it on his channel.

Who is it suitable for:

• bloggers – owners (or co-owners) of their own business.
• anyone who is interested in creating and promoting a personal brand

Things to remember:

• try to not get carried away. Users usually come to the channel not for advertising something, but for quality and useful content. Once the amount of advertising is beyond reasonable limits, the outflow of subscribers will begin.

7. Donation. Type of earnings, in which subscribers support the channel by voluntary donations. You can simply offer subscribers to support the channel financially or use services like https://www.tipeeestream.com or https://www.donationalerts.ru. The essence of the services is similar to partner programs. On the service there is an option “Fundraising”. After registration, the blogger receives a special link, which is placed in the description of the video. After clicking on the link, the user gets an offer to support the channel. The service is integrated with YouTube and shows the receipts directly in the channel. It sometimes can be used by even large channels.

Who is it suitable for:

• bloggers with active and involved audience

Things to remember:

• when announcing a loan, you don’t need to complain about a difficult financial situation. Better create a goal for which you collect money – for example, the purchase of studio equipment for filming. The goal must necessarily have a finite amount and time.

By clicking on the unique generated link, the user can donate an arbitrary amount of money to the project or blogger

Most used ad formats:

• banner advertising. Showing banners on top of the video.
• advertising video. It can be shown before the beginning of the author’s video, in the middle of the video or (very rarely) at the end (post-roll). Money is accrued in the event that the viewer has watched the advertisement in full or the first 30 seconds
• integration or native advertising. The author independently thinks over the pitch and prepares an advertising video, which naturally integrates into the style of the whole channel. This is the most laborious way, but the prices here start from 10 thousand per minute.
• hidden ad. In this format, the brand is not mentioned at all, but “insensibly” is presented in the frame. For example, during an interview, a presenter and a guest drink coffee from cups with the logo of the advertised brand.

Whichever type of monetization you choose for yourself, remember: YouTube loves unique, useful and informative content. Even if you still have a small channel, but you host valuable content for your audience, you are already of interest to advertising systems and direct advertisers. And, therefore, the opportunities for earnings will constantly grow.