How to make $100 on YouTube - First steps

There are plenty of ways to make money on YouTube. You can also use it as a launch pad for other career opportunities. But most importantly, it’s fun! Whether you want to share your passion for gaming, comedy or fashion with the world, there’s a place for you on YouTube. Best of all? It’s one of the easiest social media platforms on which to monetize your personal brand and creative content.

Even if you don’t think you have what it takes to make videos or build an audience, trust us: You do...

Why make money on YouTube?

It’s estimated that the average YouTuber makes $16 per month from their content. You read that right: $16 per month. That’s $192 per year, which is less than a daily Starbucks run.

But there’s another reason that’s far more important: You might not want to make money on YouTube. Maybe you want to build a brand, improve your public speaking skills, or learn how to edit videos.

Whatever your reason, it can be hard to get started. You might not know where to begin or how to even go about making your channel appealing to potential viewers. What if your channel fails and all you have to show for it is your empty wallet, and a few months of your time?

How to monetize your channel

Before you can start making money on YouTube, you have to turn on monetization for your channel. This process is a bit tedious, as you’ll have to fill out a form with information from your local bank and wait for the green light from YouTube. Without monetization activated through your account, you won’t earn a dime from your videos, no matter how many people view them.

Once you’ve monetized your channel, you can choose from a variety of monetization methods that suit your content and audience. The best way to figure out which videos to monetize is to ask yourself, “What can my viewers do after watching this video?”

The most common monetization method is through pre-roll advertisements before your video. This means that a 30-second advertisement will play before your video and that you’ll receive a portion of the revenue generated by those advertisements. You can also use mid-roll advertisements, which play at a specific point during your video.

Promote your YouTube channel

If you want to grow your audience, you have to promote your videos. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to do so without spending a dime. Here are a few ways to promote your YouTube channel for free.

•  Create a YouTube channel trailer: A channel trailer is essentially your introduction to your audience. It’s your chance to showcase your personality and what you plan to bring to the table with your channel.
•  Use hashtags: When you upload a video, include relevant hashtags that reflect your content. This will help people discover your videos, and could even lead to a partnership with another channel.
•  Comment on other YouTube channels: Commenting on other YouTube videos is a great way to network with other creators, build a relationship with your audience, and introduce yourself as a new channel.
• Join a YouTube partner program: Partner programs are exclusive networks of creators who work together to grow their channels and brands. Partner programs are invite-only, but there are a few ways to get in.

Grow your audience with free tactics

These tips are free, but they’re also incredibly effective when it comes to building an audience. Pick a few of these strategies to begin growing your channel with free tactics:

•  Create a consistent schedule: The more videos you upload, the more likely people are to return to your channel and become subscribers. Aim for at least one video per week, but try to upload as often as you can.
• Create high-quality content:It’s not enough to show up and start filming. You have to produce content that stands out from the crowd. This might take some trial and error, but once you figure out what works for you, you can replicate the process over and over again.
•  Promote your channel beyond YouTube: There are lots of ways to promote your YouTube channel, outside the YouTube platform. Whether you’re on Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat, you can link back to your YouTube channel with a short video and invite your followers to subscribe.
•  Grow your list with email and other offers: You can grow your subscriber list with an email list, Patreon, or another platform where you can offer exclusive content to members. This is an incredibly effective way of growing your audience, but it works best with a consistent schedule of videos and content.

Grow your audience with paid tactics

When you’re ready to invest, these paid tactics will help grow your channel and audience even faster.

•  Buy Google AdWords: You can purchase Google AdWords to advertise your YouTube channel. You pick the keywords that people are searching for, and Google will display your ads on the side of the page. When people click on the ad, they’ll be taken to your YouTube channel.
•  Buy YouTube views: This might seem like a lazy, artificial way of growing your audience, but it’s effective. Buying YouTube views and bringing your channel up to a certain level can be helpful when you’re trying to get in with YouTube partner programs.
• Buy YouTube subscribers: Similar to buying views, buying subscribers is an effective way to boost your channel and get noticed by YouTube. This isn’t a sustainable strategy, but it can get you the leg up you need.

It’s not just about making money on YouTube. It’s about finding your passion and sharing it with the world. If you’re passionate about what you love, you won’t care about reaching the numbers you see in other channels, because you’ll be having too much fun.

Once you’ve found your niche and are consistently posting, your subscribers will find you. They’ll see your content, share it with their friends, and before you know it, you’ve built an audience. Once you’ve found success on YouTube, you can use your new-found fame to launch into other career paths, like podcasting. You can also use the platform to build your personal brand, gain new skills, and make new friends.