Today, YouTube has become one of the most popular platforms for content creators. Almost everyone has access to this site, which means that you can reach out to a huge variety of audiences by simply posting relevant content on YouTube. But if you can’t seem to wrap your head around the various monetization policies of YouTube, you are not alone. Even experienced creators face issues as they try to understand how to get monetized faster, which gets even tougher as the policies get updated with time. However, YouTube has introduced some new policies that will help you to get monetized faster. In this blog post, we will discuss what this new update is, how you can be eligible for monetization, and a few tips to help you out in the process. Let us dive right in!
YouTube Shorts gained immense popularity ever since they were launched on the platform. Several creators who already had experience working with Instagram reels and TikTok videos had an upper hand while creating Shorts. However, there was one issue - YouTube Shorts could not be monetized, which means that creators could not make money by posting them on their accounts. The good news is that YouTube has updated its policies, and now you can monetize your YouTube Shorts! How does this work? Content creators can earn money by hosting advertisements within their YouTube Shorts. This means that along with the traditional long-duration videos that could help you earn money, you can also access additional monetization by posting YouTube Shorts consistently.
While there are different kinds of requirements to be eligible for YouTube monetization (both long videos and Shorts) - the most important ones are subscribers and watch time. This means that if you want to start earning from your YouTube Shorts, you will have to accumulate a certain number of subscribers and a specific amount of watch time on your account. YouTube does this to ensure that your account is already in momentum concerning creating a loyal audience before monetization. With the new update, YouTube guidelines require you to have just 500 subscribers and a watch time of 3000 hours (or 3 million views on your YouTube Short videos) within the past 90 days to be eligible for seeking monetization. You must also upload at least three videos in the public domain within this time frame to monetize your Shorts. This step helps the platform ensure that you have a decent level of engagement and following on YouTube. Further, you should also comply with the YouTube advertisement and channel monetization policies. You must also reside in a region where the YouTube Partner Program is accessible and should not go against the community guidelines, ever.
While the aspect of creating good content to get monetized faster on YouTube is a no-brainer, it is not given as much attention as it deserves. Every upload of yours should consist of high-quality content only. This way, you will be able to retain the attention of your audience for a longer period, thus boosting your earnings on the platform.
Since you will be paid based on your watch time as well, you must upload videos regularly on YouTube. This way, you can increase your earnings with every new Shorts video that you upload. Generally, you should try posting at least one video per week, and more frequently if possible.
Keyword research is not just important in blogs and articles, but in the titles and descriptions of your YouTube videos as well. Hence, make sure that you include the relevant keywords in these sections to reach out to a specific audience that would be interested in watching and engaging with your content.
You should use platforms like YouTube Analytics to assess your progress from time to time. By doing so, you will be able to make sure that you are making note of what kind of content is gaining attention on your account. Similarly, you can ditch the content ideas that have not gained popularity amongst your audience in the past or tailor them to suit the target users in a better way.
YouTube Shorts are an easier alternative to long-duration videos, primarily because you do not need to put in as much effort in the former as compared to the latter. While the new update allows you to earn directly through the revenue-sharing model, you can earn by promoting brands and selling digital products via your Shorts too. However, it is worth noting that the revenue-sharing model of the YouTube monetization policy has been recently introduced, and the creators have not fully grasped how to work around it. The amount earned via Shorts does not seem to follow a specific pattern, which is why we suggest you consider it as an additional passive income and not a primary one.