Earlier this morning, I answered a question about how to make money from YouTube. The person posting that question has been proved though to be a spammer so his account was promptly deleted. Our gracious moderators decided that the topic is worth discussing though, as long as we do it in a civilized manner.
Below there is the answer I posted in the initial thread. I invite you to contribute your own experiences, ideas or inspiration on the topic on how to make money using YouTube.
First, you have to enable adverts on their videos. Check the settings of your channel to see that there are a couple of options (can’t access my own account from work so I can’t make a screenshot for you). Then you need a very high volume of traffic that sees your adverts.
Basically you need to find a niche that is very popular, thus able to attract a high number of visitors - find the time to produce quality videos and keep things coming.
I don’t have any experience in youtube. I’m creating my channel but my purpose is not to earn money (at least, not through advertising, like they do).
I thought I was going to have it up by March but some health issues have stopped me to do so.
Youtube requires commitment and effort. It is not easy at all. Often a youtuber publishes a video that goes viral but nobody knows why. But maintaing that traffic, and keeping people entertained is not easy. And youtube is about entertaining. And fame passes quickly… as you are forgotten as quickly as you reached the top.
So I would say that even if you look at youtube as a business, your channel should be about something you love, and don’t worry about the number of visitors. If your content is of quality, and you learn how to show it properly and nicely, you may earn some cash.
The examples of “professional” youtubers that I know are dealing with MMOs like World of Tanks, World of Warships or Armored Warfare. I’m not sure they monetize their traffic, but they have a huge number of visitors
I also never used YouTube as a “money machine”, but… let’s say if my music videos/songs will start to gain a lot of popularity, then I’ll surely consider adding the ads in them.
Something I have noticed, videos about reaction or reviews to movies or video games gain a lot of views. You could also try running a channel with gameplay videos. Gaming category on Youtube has a lot of potential for monetization. Otherwise, if you are expert at some technical stuff, you can create your own tutorials. Like tutorials on php, drupal, javascript, etc.
