♪ [upbeat music] ♪
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.
♪ [upbeat music] ♪
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 public 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.
Note that you can only apply to YPP
after you cross the watch hour and subscriber thresholds.
We'll keep you updated on your progress towards hitting these thresholds
in the Monetization tab in YouTube Studio.
You can also choose to be notified with an email
once you're eligible to apply.
Once your channel does hit these thresholds,
you'll need to sign the Partner Program terms
and sign up for a Google AdSense account.
After all of these steps are completed,
then 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 going to 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 reapply again in 30 days,
as long as you still meet the watch hour and subscriber thresholds.
Before you reapply, we suggest you read through these policies--
there's 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 six months
and fall below the threshold,
we may remove your channel from the Partner Program.
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.
♪ [upbeat music] ♪