How much money can you make from YouTube views?

Unless you’re Justin Bieber or another celebrity with millions of followers and millions more from endorsements, music videos, and other advertising deals, making money from YouTube views is harder than it sounds. You can monetize your channel and get paid for pre-roll ads on your videos, but that’s about as far as the revenue goes.

If you want to make real money from views, you need to think outside the box. Here are a few ideas for monetizing your YouTube channel so you can start making some cash from all that work.

Build an Audience

The best way to monetize your YouTube channel is to first grow a dedicated fanbase. Only when you have a loyal following will you have the power to negotiate deals with advertisers and other businesses. More views on your channel means it’s more likely you’ll attract potential partners for joint ventures, too.

Once you have your audience, the easiest way to make money from YouTube is by recommending relevant products and services your viewers might want or need. If you review books often, for example, you could partner with an online bookstore like Amazon and share a percentage of your sales with them.

This is called affiliate marketing, and it’s one of the easiest ways to make money online. You can also become a brand ambassador and get paid to promote products or services.

Create Sponsored Content

Once you’ve built up a strong following on YouTube, you can start to pitch brands to create sponsored content. This is content created by YouTubers, but paid for by brands. They’re not ads, but posts that look and feel organic but are created by the YouTuber as part of a partnership with the brand.
Once you’ve got a few thousand followers on your channel, you can start to pitch brands that might be interested in working with you. You might be surprised at what brands will consider sponsoring. If you’re lucky, you might land a big-name sponsor and get paid a few thousand dollars for a video or two.
Most sponsored content is based on a profit share, so you might only get a few hundred dollars for a video, but you can create sponsored content with lots of small brands and make a decent side income from YouTube.

Sell Goods and Services

If your channel is focused around a specific niche, then you might be able to sell physical products. If you’re a gamer, for example, you might be able to sell your own branded merchandise. Or if you’re a beauty guru, you might be able to sell makeup and skincare products. Traditional retailers have also caught on to the power of influencer marketing, and many will pay YouTubers to create sponsored content around their products.

You can also charge for classes and courses on topics related to your channel, too. If your channel revolves around gardening, for example, you could charge a monthly subscription to teach other gardeners how to create gardens that thrive.

Ask for Donations

If you’re creating a channel around a specific topic, you might be able to ask your viewers for donations. If you’re a YouTuber who makes videos about a specific charity, or a channel focused on current affairs and politics, you can ask your viewers to donate to causes you care about.
If you’re not comfortable asking your viewers to donate, you can also consider crowdfunding your channel. Many crowdfunding sites accept fundraisers for YouTube channels, too.

Make Money From Merchandise

If you’re creating a channel aimed at a young audience, like a kids or teen channel, you can make money from merchandise, too. Most merchandise companies will allow you to use their templates and design your own merchandise, but you can also hire a designer to create unique designs for your products.
If you have a large enough fanbase, you might be able to sell your products through retailers like Amazon and Target, too.

YouTube has millions of users, and millions more every day, so there’s no better place to build a brand and make money from your channel. You can start by focusing on growing an audience, creating sponsored content, and then moving on to sell your own merchandise.

The best way to make money from YouTube is to focus on growing your channel. Start by creating great content that your followers love, and then you can begin to monetize your channel and make real money from your videos.