How To Making Money on YouTube

Hi, my name is Stefan, and I'm a Monetization Strategist here at YouTube. The question I often hear from creators is "when can I start making money on YouTube?" So I'm going to explain the basics of what you need to know to start earning money with your YouTube channel. Before you can earn money on your channel, you need an audience. Now, to build an audience you need to make consistent videos that viewers really like watching. And, like anything on YouTube it's important that your videos follow YouTube's Community Guidelines. After that's all working for you you can apply to join the YouTube Partner Program, or YPP which lets creators monetize their videos on YouTube. To qualify for YPP, you need to be in good standing with YouTube and have 4,000 valid watch hours in the previous 12 months and at least 1,000 subscribers. 

Now, we've set these thresholds because we want creators to be good citizens on the platform and these requirements ensure our teams have enough information to really review your channel. Now, you can apply to YPP at any time, but once you hit these stats your channel will be reviewed against our policies and if everything looks good, you can start earning money from ads and from YouTube Premium subscribers watching your content. Also, once you're approved for the YouTube Partner Program there are other revenue streams besides ads that you can tap into. Things like Channel Memberships or Super Chat. As long as you meet their criteria and they're available in your country. So that's the program in a nutshell. Now I'm gonna walk you through some of the most common questions we get. The first is around channel reviews. Say you think your channel qualifies for YPP but it hasn't been reviewed yet. Well, we usually get back to you in about a month once you hit the review thresholds but you can find more about your status on the monetization page in YouTube Studio. Until then, keep making great content and focusing on building your audience. Another question that comes up, what if your channel isn't approved? If you're not approved for YPP it's likely because your channel doesn't meet the YouTube Partner Program policies and Community Guidelines. In which case, you can re-apply again in 30 days. Before you re-apply, we suggest you read through these policies. There are some links in the video description. And go to the monetization page in your account and review your videos with our YouTube Partner Program policies and Community Guidelines in mind. The next step is to edit or delete any videos that violate these policies. Once you're successfully in the program, creators often ask "Do I have to meet this threshold every year?" The short answer is, no. However, you do need to stay active with uploads and community posts. If you're inactive on your channel for 6 months and fall below the threshold we may remove your channel from the Partner Program. So, are you ready? Apply to join today and stay tuned to this channel and the Creator Academy for more insights including how to get the most out of ads and other monetization features. Thanks, and bye for now.