Since its launch in 2005, an estimated 14 billion videos have been uploaded to YouTube. The site destroyed TV's domination and allowed anyone to gain a following, even leading to income that could potentially replace their full-time jobs.
Those people are called YouTubers. YouTubers are content creators dedicated to the platform, uploading videos in long and short form. There are an estimated 64 million YouTubers as of 2024, and the number keeps growing by 36% every year.
But how do you become a YouTuber? And then, how do you make money with YouTube? In this guide, we’ll take you through the process and explore some successful YouTuber examples.
How Much Money Can You Make as a YouTuber?
The average YouTube income is $120,226 per month on the platform. That’s $57.80 per hour, $2,312 per week, and $10,018 per month! But these stats are widely influenced by the huge household name YouTubers.
In reality, just 1% of YouTubers make any money. So it’s better to see a wider breakdown of how much people are making with YouTube:
- 100 views per day: $5 - $9 per month
- 5,000 views per day: $294 - $490 per month
- 30,000 views per day: $1,680 - $2,800 per month
- 60,000 views per day: $3,316 - $5,527 per month
- 90,000 views per day: $4,971 - $8,285 per month
- 120,000 views per day: $6,627 - $11,044 per month
- 150,000 views per day: $8,269 - $13,781 per month
YouTubers make their money through various revenue streams but primarily via the YouTube Partner Program advertising system. Creators receive around 55% of the ad revenue generated through their YouTube channels, with the rest going to Google (YouTube’s owner). We’ll get into how you can make money as a YouTuber and qualify for the YouTube Partner Program further below.
Highest-paid YouTubers in 2024
1. MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) - $82 million
With over 316 million YouTube subscribers, Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast) has been the world’s most subscribed YouTuber since overtaking PewDiePie back in 2022. He’s got more subscribers than nearly the entire population of the United States!
MrBeast’s videos are often contest-based with huge giveaways, from cars and gadgets to homes and cash. He’s also seen the rewards of investment in translation and dubbing of his videos, opening the doors to global success beyond his native English language.
- As of 2024, he earns an estimated $82 million per year through ad revenue, merchandise lines, subscriptions, and product lines such as ‘Feastables’.
2. Rhett & Link - $35 million
Rhett McLaughlin and Charles Neal III are two former engineers who made a YouTube empire from the ‘Good Mythical Morning’ series. They describe themselves as ‘Interetainers’ and began making videos way back in the early 2000s.
Good Mythical Morning has 18.9 million subscribers in 2024, making it one of YouTube’s most successful daily shows.
- As of 2024, Rhett & Link makes an estimated $35 million per year.
3. Jake Paul - $45 million
The diverse and controversial Jake Paul has amassed over 66 million followers, including 20.8 million YouTube subscribers. His videos have formed a community that follows his daily vlogs, pranks, challenges, and collaborations that feature his extravagant lifestyle and feuds.
With an estimated annual earning of around $35 million, his earnings are also largely influenced by music output and boxing and MMA contracts.
Part One: How to Become a YouTuber (In Just 10 Steps)
Step 1: Find your niche
In any business or form of entertainment, you need to find your niche (an area, interest, or topic). This is critical as it’s going to be hard to secure a regular audience if, for example, you make videos on traveling, gaming, politics, and beauty all at once. The algorithm isn’t going to enjoy that either, as it won’t know which viewers to target. Some niches overlap and you can blend them later, but try to be as direct as possible at the start.
However, we urge you to start in an area that you’re passionate about. Passion is entertaining and allows others to join in. It’s going to take time and a lot of work to make this a success, and that won’t be easy if it's an area you don’t truly enjoy.
To choose a niche, you should ask:
- What are your passions and interests?
- What do you have expertise in?
- Where does your personality shine?
- What are your goals?
- What niches do your YouTuber inspirations create in?
Popular YouTube niches range from ASMR and spiritual to finance and fitness.
Step 2: Create your YouTube channel
Next, it’s time to actually create your YouTube channel. Once you’ve created it, things will start to feel real and motivate you to keep going further.
YouTube is free, so all you need to do is:
- Create a Google account.
- Sign in to YouTube with that Google account.
- Create a channel by clicking the profile icon.
- Upload a channel photo.
- Create a channel name.
We advise you to spend some time brainstorming your channel name. You can edit it later but it's a good idea to start with something that’s going to stick.
Once your channel is created, then you need to verify it to unlock access to things like custom thumbnails, streaming, and long-form video uploads. Thumbnails are crucial to boosting views (we get into that further below). To verify you need to:
- Go into your YouTube settings.
- Click ‘Channel’.
- Click the ‘Feature Eligibility’ tab.
- Go to the ‘Intermediate Features’ section.
- Enter your phone number and follow the onscreen instructions to verify it.
Step 3: Customize your channel
The next step in becoming a Youtuber is to give your channel some personality because, right now, it’s just a boring default page.
- Add a YouTube banner: You can use templates on sites like Canva to create one. If you don’t have design skills consider hiring someone on a site like Fiverr, asking friends to help you out, or learning via a Whop course.
- Add a channel trailer: This will be a featured video pinned to your YouTube channel page. Right now, you don’t have videos to edit into a teaser. So you might want to create a short introduction about yourself and what the channel’s going to offer.
- Add social links: Your YouTube channel’s About section should feature other social media sites that people can follow you on (Instagram, TikTok, X, etc).
- Add an About description: This will feature directly under your channel name, so keep it real, brief, and unique.
Step 4: Plan out your content
So, you’ve made a YouTube channel. Now it’s time to make some videos. You’ll need to prepare in two areas: scheduling and ideas.
Scheduling
It can be tempting to post immediately after you’ve recorded a video, but that’s not always wise (outside of scenarios where quick reactions to events are needed). Instead, sticking to a schedule will give you and your viewers a chance to breathe and look forward to new content.
YouTuber JoJo Siwa highlighted the importance of this approach, “One day, I can come up with 50 content ideas. I have a YouTube notebook, and I write them all down. Then other days, I'm like, 'I have no clue what I want to do today'.”
The frequency of your uploads will vary depending on what you make. For example, travel vloggers typically share far less often than gamers. It’s just the nature of how hard it is for them to create. But, outside of extreme examples like that, we suggest aiming for one video per week at the start. If you have it in you to go for more, the great - YouTube loves daily videos. But don’t burn yourself out too fast.
Choose dates when you know you’ll be free to dedicate time to editing and uploading. It's a good idea to physically plan out your ideas and schedule. Whether you buy a calendar, start a spreadsheet, or use sites like Trello and Asana, this can give you the chance to organize your vision. Consider whether you need to travel to record your video and plan the finances and time that will take.
Ideas
Then it’s all about ideas. This is where time is your friend. Planning gives you the chance to add new ideas to the creative pipeline. You’ll avoid panicking that you haven’t got an idea for the next video if you’ve got the next four planned out.
Try brainstorming, or take inspiration from your favorite YouTubers, then put your spin on their concepts. Search YouTube trends to see what people are looking for, and find topics that excite you to spark creativity.
It's also wise to start a new notes file on your phone or buy a notebook. Every time you come up with a new idea, write it down! Try to come up with 3-4 video ideas in advance before posting your first one. That way, you’re ahead of the game.
Step 5: Organize your equipment
Being a YouTube requires investment. First, you’ll need some basic equipment. You shouldn’t break the bank with huge purchases at this point. Instead, get what you need to get you started.
If you’ve already got a decent smartphone, then you’ve already got a camera! Otherwise, you’ll need:
- A microphone (such as a Blue Yeti).
- A tripod or camera mount.
- A lighting source, such as a light ring.
If you don’t have a computer or laptop, then it’s wise to invest in one for the ease of editing. You'll also need video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Da Vinci Resolve (free), iMovie (free), Filmora (free), or Descript.
You should make an investment list that can help you organize your finances and prioritize your future purchases.
Step 6: Film and edit your videos
How you create your video will vary widely with the type of niche you're in, but this is your chance to shine. Be patient with yourself at first and don’t expect your first videos to be roaring successes. With time, you’ll get better.
Be yourself and let your personality shine. Remember what inspired you, as that can be extremely helpful to lean on when you’re struggling to introduce your videos, edit, or even know how to hold the camera. To film your video, ensure the video has a story or purpose and decide on the filming location. To keep you on track, consider writing a script or prompts, and make your intro and outro high quality.
Then it’s time to edit. This is an impressive job all by itself! Thankfully, you can learn to edit via tutorials and free software. Here are some key elements:
- Consider creating intro graphics.
- Cut out boring parts, mistakes, and unwanted sections.
- Edit the audio levels.
- Add filters and adjust the lighting.
- Add music/sound effects.
- Add text overlays.
Step 7: Upload and optimize your content
Great job! But, your mission isn’t complete yet. You’ve now got to help people find the video. YouTube is a bit like a search engine, it needs help to direct content to the appropriate audiences. That’s achieved via some SEO:
- Name your videos with descriptive keywords. Think about what you would search to find the video.
- Write a description, including the keywords.
- Use hashtags related to your video and channel.
- Assign the appropriate YouTube video category.
You also need to think about the impact your settings have on YouTube users. Make people want to click on it. That means using an exciting and attention-grabbing title and thumbnail. You can create an exciting thumbnail by taking a frame from your video and overlaying some text (it can be the title of the video, a shocking quote, or a clickbait joke).
P1 with Matt & Tommy is an extreme example of YouTubers who love to edit their thumbnails. While this sort of approach isn’t suitable for everyone, it shows how much attention you can gain with some creativity.
Step 8: Engage your audience
YouTubers that engage with their viewers are likely to see them return. Viewers who feel like their part of the channel’s community will grow attached and the algorithm will reward you too. You can track comments via your YouTube channel comments dashboard.
To engage with your audience, consider mentioning viewer comments and opinions in your next video, and ensure you reply to and like comments. Ask questions that encourage viewers to leave comments, and consider running giveaways and competitions.
Creating a paid community, such as with Whop.com, is another hack to supercharge your income from YouTube.
There’s also the old, ‘don’t forget to like and subscribe’ trick. As cliche and overused as that trick is, it does convert to users. Perhaps try to word it naturally and authentically, rather than the meme-like request it has now become.
Step 9: Grow your audience
Growing your audience is the next step. Through consistent and quality uploads, it can happen naturally. But, there are other ways to propel yourself to the next level. Add your videos to playlists to keep the viewers on your channel, and create social media accounts and remain active there too. Create clips of the best moments in your videos, to share on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Additionally, collaborations with rising or popular YouTubers can benefit both your channel and theirs.
Collaborations are particularly effective, as they can open your channel up to large numbers of viewers who are already the perfect demographic for your channel. They often come in the form of features or contests.
Dude Perfect and Mark Rober are a famous example of making collaborations work, as they combine Dude Perfect’s extreme trick shots with Rober’s engineering skills. But even on a small channel level, coming together can work wonders.
Clips are something everyone should do and even open up the potential of going viral. Think of them as teasers. You can also use these clips on YouTube Shorts, to bring in new viewers and encourage existing subscribers to watch the full video.
Step 10: Analyze your YouTube performance
Being a successful YouTube channel also means utilizing data. It can help you understand who your audience is, what they enjoy, how long they watch for, and what puts them off.
YouTube Analytics is the site’s built-in data tool. We suggest you pay attention to:
- Top videos: Here you’ll see which videos perform best.
- Click-through rate (CTR): The number of people who saw your thumbnails and decided to click it.
- Average view duration: How long viewers watch the video before closing (be careful not to always take this personally. People have other things to do and short attention spans!)
- Traffic sources: Where and how your viewers are finding your videos (such as through URLs, playlists, keywords, and other channels).
- Top search terms: What search terms are used to find your videos.
Following data means treading a fine line between giving the audience what they want and changing what you want to do. But it can help you understand where you’re wasting time and the content your audience enjoys. For example, perhaps they love your long-form guides but not your short comedy-based reels.
Part Two: How to Make Money With YouTube (In Just 10 Steps)
So, you’ve done the hard work and have turned your ideas into videos for the world to enjoy. The next step is cashing in on your viewers via monetization.
Let’s take a look at the ways you can make money on YouTube. As you grow, these revenue opportunities will increase.
Step 1: Join the YouTube Partner Program
The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is an essential route to making money on YouTube. Eligible channels can earn money directly from viewers watching adverts on their videos, as well as YouTube premium member subscribers. Channel members pay for exclusive perks and exclusive video content.
Super fans pay for their comments to be highlighted, plus there are super chat and super stickers, where fans pay for their messages to be spotlighted in live streams. Additionally, viewers can buy your products or brands you recommend.
The YPP system is only available to eligible channels. Here’s how you can become eligible:
- Follow YouTube’s channel monetization policies.
- Live in a location where the YouTube Partner Program is available.
- Have no active community guideline strikes.
- Have a 2-step verification set-up on your Google account.
- Activate advanced feature settings on YouTube.
- Set up or link an AdSense for YouTube account.
To earn fan funding and certain shopping features you’ll need:
- 500 subscribers
- 3 valid public uploads
- 3,000 valid public watch hours in the past year, OR 3 million public short views in the last 90 days
You can unlock revenue sharing from ads and YouTube premium subscribers if you have:
- 1,000 subscribers
- 4,000 valid public watch hours in the past year, OR 3 million public short views in the past 90 days
How to apply to the YouTube Partner Program
Go to YouTube Studio and select ‘Earn’. You can then track eligibility and sign up to get an email notification when your account is ready. The process uses both automated systems and human reviews to ensure you follow YouTube guidelines.
It should take one month after you apply to receive a response, and you can follow your status in the Earn section of your account. If you're unsuccessful, you’ll have 21 days to appeal or the chance to reapply after 30 days. Multiple failed applications may require an additional 90-day wait.
Step 2: Sell merchandise
Fandoms love merchandise, from soccer teams to music artists. YouTube is no different. Once you gain a following, you can start selling merchandise such as t-shirts, hoodies, and mugs. Many sites allow print-on-demand sales, so you don’t have to invest upfront.
The bigger you get, the more you can push the merch possibilities. You can reference memorable moments from your channel, make plushies, and collaborate with merch creators.
Step 3: Start affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the most profitable ways to make money on YouTube. YouTubers can capitalize on YouTube’s shopping function to feature items that brands have paid you to recommend. Put simply, when someone buys a product via a link you shared, then you’ll get a commission.
Brands will likely offer you the chance to be an affiliate marketer relatively quickly, but the bigger you get the more your choice of brand will grow. Products with large price tags are particularly profitable as you get a bigger slice of the pie per purchase.
YouTuber Patt Flynn warns, however, that you shouldn’t target your audience with irrelevant products: “Many people who get into affiliate marketing do so with the same mindset: making money first, and thinking of their audience second (if they think of them at all!). That's a recipe for disaster or at least lousy results.”
Step 4: Create a paid community
Paid communities allow you to reward your biggest fans with exclusive content, access to events, merch, and a look behind the scenes. You can choose the price, but make sure it’s worthwhile or you’ll risk upsetting some of your most loyal supporters.
The YouTube Partner Program allows for ‘Channel Members’, ‘Superfans’, and ‘Superchat’ options, but as we discussed above, there are several hoops you'll need to jump through to be eligible. You could also consider Whop.com, where you can set up an exclusive paid community on an easy-to-use platform with all the tools you’d ever need. Whop has no minimum subscriber demand, so you can start making money with just a few subscribers.
Step 5: Ask for donations
Donations are typically small but can result in a nice pad to your income when combined in large numbers. There’s also the possibility that you get a wealthy viewer to wake up in a generous mood one day.
Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Ko-Fi are just a few options that you can use as a YouTuber to accept donations from supportive fans. Patreon, for example, requires no subscription fee but will take a small cut of your earnings.
Step 6: Sell an online course
Depending on your niche, you might quickly become an expert in your field. You can consider monetizing this expertise via a paid online course. For example, if you make fitness videos then you could make something like a 3-month get fit course. But even as a successful YouTuber, you’re in a position to sell courses on how to become a YouTuber!
Users can buy these courses upfront or via subscription and enjoy video content and resources that show them how to achieve their desired goals. Whop has helped thousands of creators create courses and expand their audience.
Step 7: Make and sell digital downloads
Like merch, you can also make and sell digital downloads to make money on YouTube. People love wallpapers of their favorite YouTubers and you get the chance to be creative. These downloads are often relatively cheap but can sell in large numbers with very low outgoing costs. Digital downloads could include:
- Ebooks
- Wallpapers, logos, or templates
- Presets and filters
- Music and sound effects
- Merch designs
- Gaming files
Step 8: Get sponsored
Once you’ve got a following on YouTube, you’ll become an attractive partner to brands. You may be approached by them to promote their products or services via sponsored videos and branded content. This is separate from the YouTube Partner Program.
Typically, you'll participate in product reviews and thank your sponsor at the start of the video for helping make the video possible. The brand may also want you to incorporate their logos/branding and design your content around the product or service.
You should create a media kit to showcase your channel’s value and attract the best sponsors possible. A media kit should contain a summary of your YouTube channel and purpose, as well as your key achievements to date, including features, collaborations, viewing figures, and awards. Include any testimonials from previous brand collaborations and sponsorships. You should also present a pricing structure with a clear explainer of what each package offers, and list all your social media accounts and email addresses.
Additionally, there are trusted sponsorship websites where you can find brands to connect with, such as YouTube BrandConnect, Artbrief, and Scrunch.
An alternative option is to reach out directly to brands. Try to create a list of around 50 potential sponsors and send them emails. Make sure you include your media kit. It’s likely most brands will ignore you, but it only takes one to see your value to receive a sponsorship that can power your creativity for years to come.
Step 9: Network
Networking can come into play at any moment, but as you grow it will gain further importance. Networking is the act of meeting others in your field (such as YouTubers and other content creators) to make connections that can further your career.
You can network online on social media and LinkedIn, but we recommend attending events, conventions, and workshops. You might even make supportive friends at these events.
YouTuber Lilly Singh said, “Networking is not just about collecting contacts; it’s about building relationships. Collaborating with other creators has been a game changer for my channel.”
Events you can network at may include:
- PAX
- TwitchCon
- Gamescom
- EGX
- IndieCade
- Comic-Con
Step 10: Expand
In the glorified future where you’ve made your YouTube channel a money-making success, you will have the opportunity to expand into further revenue streams. The biggest YouTubers in the world have done this to great success, building empires from their once humble beginnings.
The possibilities for expansion will vary depending on many circumstances. Some classic examples include starting a podcast, hosting events, and consulting/speaking engagements. You could also create your own product range or licensed content for commercials, TV shows, and other media. Alternatively, contribute to major media outlets or start your own media company.
What’s the Best Way to Make Money With YouTube?
The best way to make money via YouTube is by diversifying your revenue streams. YouTube ad revenue will only go so far and those who make a living from YouTube capitalize on any area they can.
There’s no fixed data to these earnings but here’s an example of how it could look:
- Google AdSense revenue:
- $0.25 to $4 per click
- If you had a click rate of $2, you could make $2,000 per 1 million views
- YouTube channel memberships:
- $1 to $50 per month
- If you have 500 members paying $5 per month, you could earn $2,500 per month
- Sponsored marketing:
- If you had 100,000 subscribers you could charge around $3,000 for a single sponsored video
- Paid communities:
- You could earn $3,000 per month from 300 subscribers paying $10 per month
Learn How to Grow Your YouTube Channel With Whop, and Monetize It Too
Whop is a social commerce platform that allows you to create and sell access to your community and exclusive content.
Once you become a YouTuber, your possibilities with Whop are vast - from creating exclusive behind-the-scenes content to selling digital products, chats, courses, and paid webinars.
You can use Whop to welcome your biggest fans and monetize their support through memberships. Although YouTube has its channel subscription option, it’s less powerful than Whop, and you must first qualify to participate. But with Whop, you can start monetizing at all subscriber levels - no more waiting to be huge.
To get started, head over to Whop.com and sign up. You can use your Google account, linked to your YouTube channel. Name your whop after your YouTube channel to align the branding. Next, you can choose what you want your subscribers to have access to, by selecting various apps to add to your whop:
- Courses
- Discord access
- Ebooks
- Chats/forums
- And more.
Once you’ve done this you can start tracking your information via Whop’s real-time revenue and subscriber tracking. Congratulations, you’ve just expanded your revenue streams! Remember to include the link to your whop to funnel your audience via social media and your videos.
