:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_0832-d94757c52efd405eadbf624087e29782.jpeg)
"2024 Approved Thriving in the World of YouTube Broadcasting Master Class"
Thriving in the World of YouTube Broadcasting: Master Class
The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Live Streaming
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to get more engagement from your audience, even if you do not have a huge following. As long as you have some reliable subscribers leaving comments on your videos you should be able to schedule a live stream and know it will have an audience. People feel a personal connection with their favorite vloggers so if you give your subscribers a chance to interact with you in real time they will probably plan to join in. The key to a good live streaming is to respond to comments and questions from people who are watching. Besides watching the live chat of your video you can create a hashtag for your stream and monitor it on twitter.
Table of Contents
- Why Livestream?
- Type of Content to Livestream
- What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
- 4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
- 8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
- How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube
Why Livestream?
You have grown your audience, and now you want to take your channel to the next level and diversify your content.
Whether you are vlogging, gaming, or running tutorials on YouTube, there is potential to host a live broadcast. It’s not limited to any genre, you simply need to create content that people are interested in watching.
Before we get started into the How, let’s start with a few reasons Why you should be live streaming your content.
Connect and engage with your audience
When a viewer leaves a comment during a livestream you will be able to see it right away and respond. Having an instantaneous conversation with a viewer while they are watching your video will encourage more engagement and establish a ber relationship with your viewers — and you will know that these viewers are not bots.
Increase watch time and session watch time on your channel
If you are making YouTube videos on average 10 minutes long, and the viewer only watches half of it, that’s only 5 minutes of watch time, which is fine… But if you are live streaming for 45 minutes, and you are able to hold the viewer’s attention, you can surpass what your regular videos can do.
Make videos faster
As a YouTuber, you are always striving to be more efficient. Live streaming allows you to do that as you can set up and go. The content you end up creating during the duration of your livestream can then also be condensed into a highlight reel or a recap.
With a bit of planning before you go live, you can create a week’s worth of content in one go, instead of having multiple schedules for livestream content and your standard publishing videos.
Type of Content to Livestream
Live streaming has a lot of value, but what type of content should you be streaming?
Here are a few popular ideas for content that will attract viewers to your livestream:
Q&A session
Unboxing
Game or challenge
Sneak preview or review
Live events (just make sure the Internet can support it)
A demo or a tutorial
A live commentary or (if you are a gamer) Let’s Play video
What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
A Plan or Outline
It’s good to know what your livestream is going to be about before you start. Is there a key message you want to hit, an action you want your viewers to take, or a structure you want to follow.
Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it all has to be improvised. If you go in without a plan, you might end up feeling flustered or getting stressed out. Allow for spontaneous comments or events to take you off your initial plan, but always return to your outline so you know how to wrap up your livestream when you have to.
Stable Internet Connection
You cannot conduct a quality livestream, if your Internet is bad. When evaluating your internet connection for live streaming on YouTube, look at the Upload speed. Depending on the quality of your video, these are the minimum upload speed rates your Internet will need to perform:
480p = 1.5 mbps
720p = 3 mbps
1080 = 5 mbps
In addition, be aware of external causes that may be slowing down your internet such as someone else using it, a poorly performing router, or a damaged cable.
Camera
If you have a smartphone or a laptop with a webcam built in, that is the best camera for you to get started live streaming. It’s good to have a milestone and work towards a more advanced camera, but until then, don’t feel discouraged because you don’t have expensive gear. If you have a smartphone, a laptop, or a basic webcam, that’s perfectly fine.
Microphone
You don’t need a great microphone for live streaming, you only need a good one. If you do want to spend several hundred to a thousand dollars for a professional studio microphone, nobody will stop you, but know this, a mic that is easy to use is as important as the audio quality as you develop a consistent live streaming schedule.
Streaming Software (For Higher Quality Streams)
Once upon a time, to livestream on YouTube, you needed additional software to capture content from desktop, camera, microphone, etc, called encoding software — but not anymore.
Those encoding software, such as OBS , Wirecast , and VMix , are required if you are producing content that requires a high frame rate such as gaming, but not mandatory if you are simply vlogging or running a tutorial.
If you are using Chrome, you canstream live on YouTube without using an encoder .
A Capture Card (For Higher Quality Streams)
You will need a capture card when you are capturing footage from a different PC or console. If you are a gamer and you are using one PC to stream and one PC to play your game, then you should consider getting a capture card.
4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
There are 4 main ways you can start live streaming on YouTube. The one that works best for you depends on the content you are going to be streaming.
1. Camera/Go Live (Chrome Browser)
By accessing www.youtube.com/webcam on the Google Chrome browser, you can start streaming immediately through your connected webcam. This way is best for a simple Q&A or letting your viewers know your thoughts in a timely situation. This method does not require an encoder.
There are 3 ways to access livestream this way:
1. Click here to connect to your YouTube channel
2. You can access it from the top menu on YouTube
3. You can access it by clicking Camera under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio
2. Google Hangouts On Air (Quick)
Another way to livestream without an encoding software is by using the Google Hangouts On Air feature.
This is great if you want the feel of your livestream to be similar to a board meeting, where you can invite people, split screen, and share screen to illustrate your point.
Here’s how you can access this Google Hangouts On Air:
Step 1: Go to Events under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio
Step 2: Click New Live Event button on the top right corner
Step 3: Enter the event’s Info and Setting page. Fill out the details of your Livestream, and under Type, select Quick (using Google Hangouts On Air).
Step 4: You can schedule your livestream or Go Live immediately by clicking one of the blue buttons on the left-hand side.
3. Mobile
Live streaming via your mobile device gives you a lot more freedom to maneuver. You can walk around and give your viewers a tour — but remember to stay within the WiFi or LTE range. That means you still won’t be able to livestream well inside an elevator.
Here’s how you can livestream on mobile:
Step 1: Access the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to livestream from.
Step 2: At the top, click on the camera icon
Step 3: Click on Go Live
Pro Tip: When live streaming, always hold your smartphone horizontally. This allows your video to be oriented as a landscape, instead of a portrait.
4. Custom Encoder
The fourth way of live streaming on YouTube is with encoding software. This is the recommended method if video quality is essential, such as gaming videos.
Step 1: Download and install an encoding software. In this example, we’ll be using OBS .
Step 2: Open OBS
Step 3: Go to YouTube Creator Studio and enter the Stream Now page
Step 4: Under Encoder Setup, copy Stream name/key (Warning: DO NOT share this key with anyone)
Step 5: Return to OBS and enter the Setting menu on the lower right-hand side of the application
Step 6: Click into the Stream tab
a) Under Stream Type, select Streaming Services
b) Under Service, select YouTube/YouTube Gaming
c) Under Server, select Primary YouTube ingest server
d) In Stream Key box, paste the Stream Key you copied from YouTube
e) Click Apply and then OK
Step 7: Plug in your webcam
Step 8: In the main OBS dashboard, under the Sources menu, click the + icon and add Video Capture Device. You should now see visuals from your Webcam.
Step 9: Select the Resolution you want for your video and click OK
Step 10: Return to your YouTube Streaming Page and fill out the details of your livestream
Step 11: Go back to OBS and click Start Streaming
Step 12: See on YouTube Streaming Page at the top that you are Live. You are officially streaming. Once You are finished streaming, return to OBS and click Stop Streaming to end the stream.
8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
Do Speed Test
Before you start your livestream, do a speed test of your Internet. Check out from here.
Have Good Lighting
Be aware of your surroundings when you are about to livestream. You don’t need the top-notch lighting kit, you can simply sit beside a window and allow natural lights to illuminate your stream.
Shoot A Live Test (Unlisted)
Have a technical rehearsal by doing a livestream test, then rewatching it, and evaluating the quality of the audio and visual.
You don’t have to worry about your audience logging in and seeing your test if you set the Privacy of the stream to Unlisted.
Look at the Lens, Not the Screen
If you are streaming with the selfie camera on your smartphone or using your camera’s viewfinder to make sure you are in the frame, remember that you need to be looking at the lens — not the image of yourself.
Eye contact is important in building trust, and if you are looking at yourself, it will appear as if you are looking past your viewers instead of at them.
Show It To Your Viewers
Whatever you are talking about, if you can, show it to your viewers. YouTube is a visual medium, and that means your viewers can become disinterested if there’s nothing visual holding their attention.
In the beginning, you probably won’t have a multi-camera setup, so you cannot cut away from your livestream. However, you can share the screen and you can bring physical objects into a frame.
If you are talking about your dog, show her on camera. If you’re presenting something with a lot of steps, create a Powerpoint slideshow.
Consider what visuals or props you can add to your livestream to enhance your performance.
Find A Way to Make it Evergreen
Evergreen content refers to content that is relevant for a great length of time. Talking about an event isn’t evergreen, because the event will soon pass and become old news. However, giving some tips for how to plan an event would be evergreen content.
Since your livestream will be saved on YouTube and your viewers can replay and watch it. They’re more likely to enjoy it if the content is relevant and interesting.
It Doesn’t Have to Be Long
A livestream doesn’t need to be 40 minutes long. It only needs to be long enough for you to get your story across — and if you want to answer some questions and engage with your audience. As soon as your story is over, even if it’s only 5 minutes, that’s okay. Don’t stress about the length of your stream, it’s not an endurance competition.
Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes
Another thing you shouldn’t worry about at all is making mistakes. When you are doing livestreams pretend you are engaging with someone in real life. In real life, you aren’t able to edit out your mistakes, whether it’s a word mispronounced or coffee spilling. Roll with it and laugh it off.
How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube
Let People Know When You Are Streaming
Give people enough time to schedule it in, don’t spring it on them in the last minute. Share it on social media, your website, and any other means.
Create a Streaming Link 2 Days Before
Share your livestream link via social media to remind everyone to tune in when you go live. Looking for your link? It should look something like this: <www.youtube.com/user/\[channelname\]/live>
Reach Out To the Communities Most Interested
If you are going to be live streaming about a specific topic, such as photography, you should reach out to those who are interested in the topic. Highlight what aspect of photography you are going to be streaming and attract new viewers to your content.
Be Aware of Time Difference
If you have an international audience, find time to livestream where you can get the optimal amount of viewers.
You can find the location of your main demographic in your YouTube analytics .
Create a Channel Trailer to Promote Livestream
Make a video and host it as your channel trailer, that way anyone who lands on your YouTube page will see the promo for your livestream.
Promote Through Feature Content and Channel
YouTube has a feature that enables you to use your existing content to promote your upcoming livestream.
Here’s how to set it up:
Key Takeaways
- Live streaming will help you make more videos, engage with your audience, and grow your channel.
- You don’t need expensive equipment to livestream on YouTube, you only need a webcam and a microphone.
- YouTube has made live streaming as easy as a few clicks, no additional software needed unless you are gaming.
- Always do a test run of your livestream to ensure the internet, audio, and visual are all working properly.
- Create content and reach out to communities to promote your livestream.
Have you encountered any obstacles when setting up your livestream on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below, we are happy to help!
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to get more engagement from your audience, even if you do not have a huge following. As long as you have some reliable subscribers leaving comments on your videos you should be able to schedule a live stream and know it will have an audience. People feel a personal connection with their favorite vloggers so if you give your subscribers a chance to interact with you in real time they will probably plan to join in. The key to a good live streaming is to respond to comments and questions from people who are watching. Besides watching the live chat of your video you can create a hashtag for your stream and monitor it on twitter.
Table of Contents
- Why Livestream?
- Type of Content to Livestream
- What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
- 4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
- 8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
- How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube
Why Livestream?
You have grown your audience, and now you want to take your channel to the next level and diversify your content.
Whether you are vlogging, gaming, or running tutorials on YouTube, there is potential to host a live broadcast. It’s not limited to any genre, you simply need to create content that people are interested in watching.
Before we get started into the How, let’s start with a few reasons Why you should be live streaming your content.
Connect and engage with your audience
When a viewer leaves a comment during a livestream you will be able to see it right away and respond. Having an instantaneous conversation with a viewer while they are watching your video will encourage more engagement and establish a ber relationship with your viewers — and you will know that these viewers are not bots.
Increase watch time and session watch time on your channel
If you are making YouTube videos on average 10 minutes long, and the viewer only watches half of it, that’s only 5 minutes of watch time, which is fine… But if you are live streaming for 45 minutes, and you are able to hold the viewer’s attention, you can surpass what your regular videos can do.
Make videos faster
As a YouTuber, you are always striving to be more efficient. Live streaming allows you to do that as you can set up and go. The content you end up creating during the duration of your livestream can then also be condensed into a highlight reel or a recap.
With a bit of planning before you go live, you can create a week’s worth of content in one go, instead of having multiple schedules for livestream content and your standard publishing videos.
Type of Content to Livestream
Live streaming has a lot of value, but what type of content should you be streaming?
Here are a few popular ideas for content that will attract viewers to your livestream:
Q&A session
Unboxing
Game or challenge
Sneak preview or review
Live events (just make sure the Internet can support it)
A demo or a tutorial
A live commentary or (if you are a gamer) Let’s Play video
What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
A Plan or Outline
It’s good to know what your livestream is going to be about before you start. Is there a key message you want to hit, an action you want your viewers to take, or a structure you want to follow.
Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it all has to be improvised. If you go in without a plan, you might end up feeling flustered or getting stressed out. Allow for spontaneous comments or events to take you off your initial plan, but always return to your outline so you know how to wrap up your livestream when you have to.
Stable Internet Connection
You cannot conduct a quality livestream, if your Internet is bad. When evaluating your internet connection for live streaming on YouTube, look at the Upload speed. Depending on the quality of your video, these are the minimum upload speed rates your Internet will need to perform:
480p = 1.5 mbps
720p = 3 mbps
1080 = 5 mbps
In addition, be aware of external causes that may be slowing down your internet such as someone else using it, a poorly performing router, or a damaged cable.
Camera
If you have a smartphone or a laptop with a webcam built in, that is the best camera for you to get started live streaming. It’s good to have a milestone and work towards a more advanced camera, but until then, don’t feel discouraged because you don’t have expensive gear. If you have a smartphone, a laptop, or a basic webcam, that’s perfectly fine.
Microphone
You don’t need a great microphone for live streaming, you only need a good one. If you do want to spend several hundred to a thousand dollars for a professional studio microphone, nobody will stop you, but know this, a mic that is easy to use is as important as the audio quality as you develop a consistent live streaming schedule.
Streaming Software (For Higher Quality Streams)
Once upon a time, to livestream on YouTube, you needed additional software to capture content from desktop, camera, microphone, etc, called encoding software — but not anymore.
Those encoding software, such as OBS , Wirecast , and VMix , are required if you are producing content that requires a high frame rate such as gaming, but not mandatory if you are simply vlogging or running a tutorial.
If you are using Chrome, you canstream live on YouTube without using an encoder .
A Capture Card (For Higher Quality Streams)
You will need a capture card when you are capturing footage from a different PC or console. If you are a gamer and you are using one PC to stream and one PC to play your game, then you should consider getting a capture card.
4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
There are 4 main ways you can start live streaming on YouTube. The one that works best for you depends on the content you are going to be streaming.
1. Camera/Go Live (Chrome Browser)
By accessing www.youtube.com/webcam on the Google Chrome browser, you can start streaming immediately through your connected webcam. This way is best for a simple Q&A or letting your viewers know your thoughts in a timely situation. This method does not require an encoder.
There are 3 ways to access livestream this way:
1. Click here to connect to your YouTube channel
2. You can access it from the top menu on YouTube
3. You can access it by clicking Camera under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio
2. Google Hangouts On Air (Quick)
Another way to livestream without an encoding software is by using the Google Hangouts On Air feature.
This is great if you want the feel of your livestream to be similar to a board meeting, where you can invite people, split screen, and share screen to illustrate your point.
Here’s how you can access this Google Hangouts On Air:
Step 1: Go to Events under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio
Step 2: Click New Live Event button on the top right corner
Step 3: Enter the event’s Info and Setting page. Fill out the details of your Livestream, and under Type, select Quick (using Google Hangouts On Air).
Step 4: You can schedule your livestream or Go Live immediately by clicking one of the blue buttons on the left-hand side.
3. Mobile
Live streaming via your mobile device gives you a lot more freedom to maneuver. You can walk around and give your viewers a tour — but remember to stay within the WiFi or LTE range. That means you still won’t be able to livestream well inside an elevator.
Here’s how you can livestream on mobile:
Step 1: Access the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to livestream from.
Step 2: At the top, click on the camera icon
Step 3: Click on Go Live
Pro Tip: When live streaming, always hold your smartphone horizontally. This allows your video to be oriented as a landscape, instead of a portrait.
4. Custom Encoder
The fourth way of live streaming on YouTube is with encoding software. This is the recommended method if video quality is essential, such as gaming videos.
Step 1: Download and install an encoding software. In this example, we’ll be using OBS .
Step 2: Open OBS
Step 3: Go to YouTube Creator Studio and enter the Stream Now page
Step 4: Under Encoder Setup, copy Stream name/key (Warning: DO NOT share this key with anyone)
Step 5: Return to OBS and enter the Setting menu on the lower right-hand side of the application
Step 6: Click into the Stream tab
a) Under Stream Type, select Streaming Services
b) Under Service, select YouTube/YouTube Gaming
c) Under Server, select Primary YouTube ingest server
d) In Stream Key box, paste the Stream Key you copied from YouTube
e) Click Apply and then OK
Step 7: Plug in your webcam
Step 8: In the main OBS dashboard, under the Sources menu, click the + icon and add Video Capture Device. You should now see visuals from your Webcam.
Step 9: Select the Resolution you want for your video and click OK
Step 10: Return to your YouTube Streaming Page and fill out the details of your livestream
Step 11: Go back to OBS and click Start Streaming
Step 12: See on YouTube Streaming Page at the top that you are Live. You are officially streaming. Once You are finished streaming, return to OBS and click Stop Streaming to end the stream.
8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
Do Speed Test
Before you start your livestream, do a speed test of your Internet. Check out from here.
Have Good Lighting
Be aware of your surroundings when you are about to livestream. You don’t need the top-notch lighting kit, you can simply sit beside a window and allow natural lights to illuminate your stream.
Shoot A Live Test (Unlisted)
Have a technical rehearsal by doing a livestream test, then rewatching it, and evaluating the quality of the audio and visual.
You don’t have to worry about your audience logging in and seeing your test if you set the Privacy of the stream to Unlisted.
Look at the Lens, Not the Screen
If you are streaming with the selfie camera on your smartphone or using your camera’s viewfinder to make sure you are in the frame, remember that you need to be looking at the lens — not the image of yourself.
Eye contact is important in building trust, and if you are looking at yourself, it will appear as if you are looking past your viewers instead of at them.
Show It To Your Viewers
Whatever you are talking about, if you can, show it to your viewers. YouTube is a visual medium, and that means your viewers can become disinterested if there’s nothing visual holding their attention.
In the beginning, you probably won’t have a multi-camera setup, so you cannot cut away from your livestream. However, you can share the screen and you can bring physical objects into a frame.
If you are talking about your dog, show her on camera. If you’re presenting something with a lot of steps, create a Powerpoint slideshow.
Consider what visuals or props you can add to your livestream to enhance your performance.
Find A Way to Make it Evergreen
Evergreen content refers to content that is relevant for a great length of time. Talking about an event isn’t evergreen, because the event will soon pass and become old news. However, giving some tips for how to plan an event would be evergreen content.
Since your livestream will be saved on YouTube and your viewers can replay and watch it. They’re more likely to enjoy it if the content is relevant and interesting.
It Doesn’t Have to Be Long
A livestream doesn’t need to be 40 minutes long. It only needs to be long enough for you to get your story across — and if you want to answer some questions and engage with your audience. As soon as your story is over, even if it’s only 5 minutes, that’s okay. Don’t stress about the length of your stream, it’s not an endurance competition.
Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes
Another thing you shouldn’t worry about at all is making mistakes. When you are doing livestreams pretend you are engaging with someone in real life. In real life, you aren’t able to edit out your mistakes, whether it’s a word mispronounced or coffee spilling. Roll with it and laugh it off.
How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube
Let People Know When You Are Streaming
Give people enough time to schedule it in, don’t spring it on them in the last minute. Share it on social media, your website, and any other means.
Create a Streaming Link 2 Days Before
Share your livestream link via social media to remind everyone to tune in when you go live. Looking for your link? It should look something like this: <www.youtube.com/user/\[channelname\]/live>
Reach Out To the Communities Most Interested
If you are going to be live streaming about a specific topic, such as photography, you should reach out to those who are interested in the topic. Highlight what aspect of photography you are going to be streaming and attract new viewers to your content.
Be Aware of Time Difference
If you have an international audience, find time to livestream where you can get the optimal amount of viewers.
You can find the location of your main demographic in your YouTube analytics .
Create a Channel Trailer to Promote Livestream
Make a video and host it as your channel trailer, that way anyone who lands on your YouTube page will see the promo for your livestream.
Promote Through Feature Content and Channel
YouTube has a feature that enables you to use your existing content to promote your upcoming livestream.
Here’s how to set it up:
Key Takeaways
- Live streaming will help you make more videos, engage with your audience, and grow your channel.
- You don’t need expensive equipment to livestream on YouTube, you only need a webcam and a microphone.
- YouTube has made live streaming as easy as a few clicks, no additional software needed unless you are gaming.
- Always do a test run of your livestream to ensure the internet, audio, and visual are all working properly.
- Create content and reach out to communities to promote your livestream.
Have you encountered any obstacles when setting up your livestream on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below, we are happy to help!
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to get more engagement from your audience, even if you do not have a huge following. As long as you have some reliable subscribers leaving comments on your videos you should be able to schedule a live stream and know it will have an audience. People feel a personal connection with their favorite vloggers so if you give your subscribers a chance to interact with you in real time they will probably plan to join in. The key to a good live streaming is to respond to comments and questions from people who are watching. Besides watching the live chat of your video you can create a hashtag for your stream and monitor it on twitter.
Table of Contents
- Why Livestream?
- Type of Content to Livestream
- What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
- 4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
- 8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
- How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube
Why Livestream?
You have grown your audience, and now you want to take your channel to the next level and diversify your content.
Whether you are vlogging, gaming, or running tutorials on YouTube, there is potential to host a live broadcast. It’s not limited to any genre, you simply need to create content that people are interested in watching.
Before we get started into the How, let’s start with a few reasons Why you should be live streaming your content.
Connect and engage with your audience
When a viewer leaves a comment during a livestream you will be able to see it right away and respond. Having an instantaneous conversation with a viewer while they are watching your video will encourage more engagement and establish a ber relationship with your viewers — and you will know that these viewers are not bots.
Increase watch time and session watch time on your channel
If you are making YouTube videos on average 10 minutes long, and the viewer only watches half of it, that’s only 5 minutes of watch time, which is fine… But if you are live streaming for 45 minutes, and you are able to hold the viewer’s attention, you can surpass what your regular videos can do.
Make videos faster
As a YouTuber, you are always striving to be more efficient. Live streaming allows you to do that as you can set up and go. The content you end up creating during the duration of your livestream can then also be condensed into a highlight reel or a recap.
With a bit of planning before you go live, you can create a week’s worth of content in one go, instead of having multiple schedules for livestream content and your standard publishing videos.
Type of Content to Livestream
Live streaming has a lot of value, but what type of content should you be streaming?
Here are a few popular ideas for content that will attract viewers to your livestream:
Q&A session
Unboxing
Game or challenge
Sneak preview or review
Live events (just make sure the Internet can support it)
A demo or a tutorial
A live commentary or (if you are a gamer) Let’s Play video
What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
A Plan or Outline
It’s good to know what your livestream is going to be about before you start. Is there a key message you want to hit, an action you want your viewers to take, or a structure you want to follow.
Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it all has to be improvised. If you go in without a plan, you might end up feeling flustered or getting stressed out. Allow for spontaneous comments or events to take you off your initial plan, but always return to your outline so you know how to wrap up your livestream when you have to.
Stable Internet Connection
You cannot conduct a quality livestream, if your Internet is bad. When evaluating your internet connection for live streaming on YouTube, look at the Upload speed. Depending on the quality of your video, these are the minimum upload speed rates your Internet will need to perform:
480p = 1.5 mbps
720p = 3 mbps
1080 = 5 mbps
In addition, be aware of external causes that may be slowing down your internet such as someone else using it, a poorly performing router, or a damaged cable.
Camera
If you have a smartphone or a laptop with a webcam built in, that is the best camera for you to get started live streaming. It’s good to have a milestone and work towards a more advanced camera, but until then, don’t feel discouraged because you don’t have expensive gear. If you have a smartphone, a laptop, or a basic webcam, that’s perfectly fine.
Microphone
You don’t need a great microphone for live streaming, you only need a good one. If you do want to spend several hundred to a thousand dollars for a professional studio microphone, nobody will stop you, but know this, a mic that is easy to use is as important as the audio quality as you develop a consistent live streaming schedule.
Streaming Software (For Higher Quality Streams)
Once upon a time, to livestream on YouTube, you needed additional software to capture content from desktop, camera, microphone, etc, called encoding software — but not anymore.
Those encoding software, such as OBS , Wirecast , and VMix , are required if you are producing content that requires a high frame rate such as gaming, but not mandatory if you are simply vlogging or running a tutorial.
If you are using Chrome, you canstream live on YouTube without using an encoder .
A Capture Card (For Higher Quality Streams)
You will need a capture card when you are capturing footage from a different PC or console. If you are a gamer and you are using one PC to stream and one PC to play your game, then you should consider getting a capture card.
4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
There are 4 main ways you can start live streaming on YouTube. The one that works best for you depends on the content you are going to be streaming.
1. Camera/Go Live (Chrome Browser)
By accessing www.youtube.com/webcam on the Google Chrome browser, you can start streaming immediately through your connected webcam. This way is best for a simple Q&A or letting your viewers know your thoughts in a timely situation. This method does not require an encoder.
There are 3 ways to access livestream this way:
1. Click here to connect to your YouTube channel
2. You can access it from the top menu on YouTube
3. You can access it by clicking Camera under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio
2. Google Hangouts On Air (Quick)
Another way to livestream without an encoding software is by using the Google Hangouts On Air feature.
This is great if you want the feel of your livestream to be similar to a board meeting, where you can invite people, split screen, and share screen to illustrate your point.
Here’s how you can access this Google Hangouts On Air:
Step 1: Go to Events under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio
Step 2: Click New Live Event button on the top right corner
Step 3: Enter the event’s Info and Setting page. Fill out the details of your Livestream, and under Type, select Quick (using Google Hangouts On Air).
Step 4: You can schedule your livestream or Go Live immediately by clicking one of the blue buttons on the left-hand side.
3. Mobile
Live streaming via your mobile device gives you a lot more freedom to maneuver. You can walk around and give your viewers a tour — but remember to stay within the WiFi or LTE range. That means you still won’t be able to livestream well inside an elevator.
Here’s how you can livestream on mobile:
Step 1: Access the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to livestream from.
Step 2: At the top, click on the camera icon
Step 3: Click on Go Live
Pro Tip: When live streaming, always hold your smartphone horizontally. This allows your video to be oriented as a landscape, instead of a portrait.
4. Custom Encoder
The fourth way of live streaming on YouTube is with encoding software. This is the recommended method if video quality is essential, such as gaming videos.
Step 1: Download and install an encoding software. In this example, we’ll be using OBS .
Step 2: Open OBS
Step 3: Go to YouTube Creator Studio and enter the Stream Now page
Step 4: Under Encoder Setup, copy Stream name/key (Warning: DO NOT share this key with anyone)
Step 5: Return to OBS and enter the Setting menu on the lower right-hand side of the application
Step 6: Click into the Stream tab
a) Under Stream Type, select Streaming Services
b) Under Service, select YouTube/YouTube Gaming
c) Under Server, select Primary YouTube ingest server
d) In Stream Key box, paste the Stream Key you copied from YouTube
e) Click Apply and then OK
Step 7: Plug in your webcam
Step 8: In the main OBS dashboard, under the Sources menu, click the + icon and add Video Capture Device. You should now see visuals from your Webcam.
Step 9: Select the Resolution you want for your video and click OK
Step 10: Return to your YouTube Streaming Page and fill out the details of your livestream
Step 11: Go back to OBS and click Start Streaming
Step 12: See on YouTube Streaming Page at the top that you are Live. You are officially streaming. Once You are finished streaming, return to OBS and click Stop Streaming to end the stream.
8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
Do Speed Test
Before you start your livestream, do a speed test of your Internet. Check out from here.
Have Good Lighting
Be aware of your surroundings when you are about to livestream. You don’t need the top-notch lighting kit, you can simply sit beside a window and allow natural lights to illuminate your stream.
Shoot A Live Test (Unlisted)
Have a technical rehearsal by doing a livestream test, then rewatching it, and evaluating the quality of the audio and visual.
You don’t have to worry about your audience logging in and seeing your test if you set the Privacy of the stream to Unlisted.
Look at the Lens, Not the Screen
If you are streaming with the selfie camera on your smartphone or using your camera’s viewfinder to make sure you are in the frame, remember that you need to be looking at the lens — not the image of yourself.
Eye contact is important in building trust, and if you are looking at yourself, it will appear as if you are looking past your viewers instead of at them.
Show It To Your Viewers
Whatever you are talking about, if you can, show it to your viewers. YouTube is a visual medium, and that means your viewers can become disinterested if there’s nothing visual holding their attention.
In the beginning, you probably won’t have a multi-camera setup, so you cannot cut away from your livestream. However, you can share the screen and you can bring physical objects into a frame.
If you are talking about your dog, show her on camera. If you’re presenting something with a lot of steps, create a Powerpoint slideshow.
Consider what visuals or props you can add to your livestream to enhance your performance.
Find A Way to Make it Evergreen
Evergreen content refers to content that is relevant for a great length of time. Talking about an event isn’t evergreen, because the event will soon pass and become old news. However, giving some tips for how to plan an event would be evergreen content.
Since your livestream will be saved on YouTube and your viewers can replay and watch it. They’re more likely to enjoy it if the content is relevant and interesting.
It Doesn’t Have to Be Long
A livestream doesn’t need to be 40 minutes long. It only needs to be long enough for you to get your story across — and if you want to answer some questions and engage with your audience. As soon as your story is over, even if it’s only 5 minutes, that’s okay. Don’t stress about the length of your stream, it’s not an endurance competition.
Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes
Another thing you shouldn’t worry about at all is making mistakes. When you are doing livestreams pretend you are engaging with someone in real life. In real life, you aren’t able to edit out your mistakes, whether it’s a word mispronounced or coffee spilling. Roll with it and laugh it off.
How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube
Let People Know When You Are Streaming
Give people enough time to schedule it in, don’t spring it on them in the last minute. Share it on social media, your website, and any other means.
Create a Streaming Link 2 Days Before
Share your livestream link via social media to remind everyone to tune in when you go live. Looking for your link? It should look something like this: <www.youtube.com/user/\[channelname\]/live>
Reach Out To the Communities Most Interested
If you are going to be live streaming about a specific topic, such as photography, you should reach out to those who are interested in the topic. Highlight what aspect of photography you are going to be streaming and attract new viewers to your content.
Be Aware of Time Difference
If you have an international audience, find time to livestream where you can get the optimal amount of viewers.
You can find the location of your main demographic in your YouTube analytics .
Create a Channel Trailer to Promote Livestream
Make a video and host it as your channel trailer, that way anyone who lands on your YouTube page will see the promo for your livestream.
Promote Through Feature Content and Channel
YouTube has a feature that enables you to use your existing content to promote your upcoming livestream.
Here’s how to set it up:
Key Takeaways
- Live streaming will help you make more videos, engage with your audience, and grow your channel.
- You don’t need expensive equipment to livestream on YouTube, you only need a webcam and a microphone.
- YouTube has made live streaming as easy as a few clicks, no additional software needed unless you are gaming.
- Always do a test run of your livestream to ensure the internet, audio, and visual are all working properly.
- Create content and reach out to communities to promote your livestream.
Have you encountered any obstacles when setting up your livestream on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below, we are happy to help!
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to get more engagement from your audience, even if you do not have a huge following. As long as you have some reliable subscribers leaving comments on your videos you should be able to schedule a live stream and know it will have an audience. People feel a personal connection with their favorite vloggers so if you give your subscribers a chance to interact with you in real time they will probably plan to join in. The key to a good live streaming is to respond to comments and questions from people who are watching. Besides watching the live chat of your video you can create a hashtag for your stream and monitor it on twitter.
Table of Contents
- Why Livestream?
- Type of Content to Livestream
- What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
- 4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
- 8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
- How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube
Why Livestream?
You have grown your audience, and now you want to take your channel to the next level and diversify your content.
Whether you are vlogging, gaming, or running tutorials on YouTube, there is potential to host a live broadcast. It’s not limited to any genre, you simply need to create content that people are interested in watching.
Before we get started into the How, let’s start with a few reasons Why you should be live streaming your content.
Connect and engage with your audience
When a viewer leaves a comment during a livestream you will be able to see it right away and respond. Having an instantaneous conversation with a viewer while they are watching your video will encourage more engagement and establish a ber relationship with your viewers — and you will know that these viewers are not bots.
Increase watch time and session watch time on your channel
If you are making YouTube videos on average 10 minutes long, and the viewer only watches half of it, that’s only 5 minutes of watch time, which is fine… But if you are live streaming for 45 minutes, and you are able to hold the viewer’s attention, you can surpass what your regular videos can do.
Make videos faster
As a YouTuber, you are always striving to be more efficient. Live streaming allows you to do that as you can set up and go. The content you end up creating during the duration of your livestream can then also be condensed into a highlight reel or a recap.
With a bit of planning before you go live, you can create a week’s worth of content in one go, instead of having multiple schedules for livestream content and your standard publishing videos.
Type of Content to Livestream
Live streaming has a lot of value, but what type of content should you be streaming?
Here are a few popular ideas for content that will attract viewers to your livestream:
Q&A session
Unboxing
Game or challenge
Sneak preview or review
Live events (just make sure the Internet can support it)
A demo or a tutorial
A live commentary or (if you are a gamer) Let’s Play video
What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
A Plan or Outline
It’s good to know what your livestream is going to be about before you start. Is there a key message you want to hit, an action you want your viewers to take, or a structure you want to follow.
Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it all has to be improvised. If you go in without a plan, you might end up feeling flustered or getting stressed out. Allow for spontaneous comments or events to take you off your initial plan, but always return to your outline so you know how to wrap up your livestream when you have to.
Stable Internet Connection
You cannot conduct a quality livestream, if your Internet is bad. When evaluating your internet connection for live streaming on YouTube, look at the Upload speed. Depending on the quality of your video, these are the minimum upload speed rates your Internet will need to perform:
480p = 1.5 mbps
720p = 3 mbps
1080 = 5 mbps
In addition, be aware of external causes that may be slowing down your internet such as someone else using it, a poorly performing router, or a damaged cable.
Camera
If you have a smartphone or a laptop with a webcam built in, that is the best camera for you to get started live streaming. It’s good to have a milestone and work towards a more advanced camera, but until then, don’t feel discouraged because you don’t have expensive gear. If you have a smartphone, a laptop, or a basic webcam, that’s perfectly fine.
Microphone
You don’t need a great microphone for live streaming, you only need a good one. If you do want to spend several hundred to a thousand dollars for a professional studio microphone, nobody will stop you, but know this, a mic that is easy to use is as important as the audio quality as you develop a consistent live streaming schedule.
Streaming Software (For Higher Quality Streams)
Once upon a time, to livestream on YouTube, you needed additional software to capture content from desktop, camera, microphone, etc, called encoding software — but not anymore.
Those encoding software, such as OBS , Wirecast , and VMix , are required if you are producing content that requires a high frame rate such as gaming, but not mandatory if you are simply vlogging or running a tutorial.
If you are using Chrome, you canstream live on YouTube without using an encoder .
A Capture Card (For Higher Quality Streams)
You will need a capture card when you are capturing footage from a different PC or console. If you are a gamer and you are using one PC to stream and one PC to play your game, then you should consider getting a capture card.
4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
There are 4 main ways you can start live streaming on YouTube. The one that works best for you depends on the content you are going to be streaming.
1. Camera/Go Live (Chrome Browser)
By accessing www.youtube.com/webcam on the Google Chrome browser, you can start streaming immediately through your connected webcam. This way is best for a simple Q&A or letting your viewers know your thoughts in a timely situation. This method does not require an encoder.
There are 3 ways to access livestream this way:
1. Click here to connect to your YouTube channel
2. You can access it from the top menu on YouTube
3. You can access it by clicking Camera under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio
2. Google Hangouts On Air (Quick)
Another way to livestream without an encoding software is by using the Google Hangouts On Air feature.
This is great if you want the feel of your livestream to be similar to a board meeting, where you can invite people, split screen, and share screen to illustrate your point.
Here’s how you can access this Google Hangouts On Air:
Step 1: Go to Events under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio
Step 2: Click New Live Event button on the top right corner
Step 3: Enter the event’s Info and Setting page. Fill out the details of your Livestream, and under Type, select Quick (using Google Hangouts On Air).
Step 4: You can schedule your livestream or Go Live immediately by clicking one of the blue buttons on the left-hand side.
3. Mobile
Live streaming via your mobile device gives you a lot more freedom to maneuver. You can walk around and give your viewers a tour — but remember to stay within the WiFi or LTE range. That means you still won’t be able to livestream well inside an elevator.
Here’s how you can livestream on mobile:
Step 1: Access the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to livestream from.
Step 2: At the top, click on the camera icon
Step 3: Click on Go Live
Pro Tip: When live streaming, always hold your smartphone horizontally. This allows your video to be oriented as a landscape, instead of a portrait.
4. Custom Encoder
The fourth way of live streaming on YouTube is with encoding software. This is the recommended method if video quality is essential, such as gaming videos.
Step 1: Download and install an encoding software. In this example, we’ll be using OBS .
Step 2: Open OBS
Step 3: Go to YouTube Creator Studio and enter the Stream Now page
Step 4: Under Encoder Setup, copy Stream name/key (Warning: DO NOT share this key with anyone)
Step 5: Return to OBS and enter the Setting menu on the lower right-hand side of the application
Step 6: Click into the Stream tab
a) Under Stream Type, select Streaming Services
b) Under Service, select YouTube/YouTube Gaming
c) Under Server, select Primary YouTube ingest server
d) In Stream Key box, paste the Stream Key you copied from YouTube
e) Click Apply and then OK
Step 7: Plug in your webcam
Step 8: In the main OBS dashboard, under the Sources menu, click the + icon and add Video Capture Device. You should now see visuals from your Webcam.
Step 9: Select the Resolution you want for your video and click OK
Step 10: Return to your YouTube Streaming Page and fill out the details of your livestream
Step 11: Go back to OBS and click Start Streaming
Step 12: See on YouTube Streaming Page at the top that you are Live. You are officially streaming. Once You are finished streaming, return to OBS and click Stop Streaming to end the stream.
8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
Do Speed Test
Before you start your livestream, do a speed test of your Internet. Check out from here.
Have Good Lighting
Be aware of your surroundings when you are about to livestream. You don’t need the top-notch lighting kit, you can simply sit beside a window and allow natural lights to illuminate your stream.
Shoot A Live Test (Unlisted)
Have a technical rehearsal by doing a livestream test, then rewatching it, and evaluating the quality of the audio and visual.
You don’t have to worry about your audience logging in and seeing your test if you set the Privacy of the stream to Unlisted.
Look at the Lens, Not the Screen
If you are streaming with the selfie camera on your smartphone or using your camera’s viewfinder to make sure you are in the frame, remember that you need to be looking at the lens — not the image of yourself.
Eye contact is important in building trust, and if you are looking at yourself, it will appear as if you are looking past your viewers instead of at them.
Show It To Your Viewers
Whatever you are talking about, if you can, show it to your viewers. YouTube is a visual medium, and that means your viewers can become disinterested if there’s nothing visual holding their attention.
In the beginning, you probably won’t have a multi-camera setup, so you cannot cut away from your livestream. However, you can share the screen and you can bring physical objects into a frame.
If you are talking about your dog, show her on camera. If you’re presenting something with a lot of steps, create a Powerpoint slideshow.
Consider what visuals or props you can add to your livestream to enhance your performance.
Find A Way to Make it Evergreen
Evergreen content refers to content that is relevant for a great length of time. Talking about an event isn’t evergreen, because the event will soon pass and become old news. However, giving some tips for how to plan an event would be evergreen content.
Since your livestream will be saved on YouTube and your viewers can replay and watch it. They’re more likely to enjoy it if the content is relevant and interesting.
It Doesn’t Have to Be Long
A livestream doesn’t need to be 40 minutes long. It only needs to be long enough for you to get your story across — and if you want to answer some questions and engage with your audience. As soon as your story is over, even if it’s only 5 minutes, that’s okay. Don’t stress about the length of your stream, it’s not an endurance competition.
Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes
Another thing you shouldn’t worry about at all is making mistakes. When you are doing livestreams pretend you are engaging with someone in real life. In real life, you aren’t able to edit out your mistakes, whether it’s a word mispronounced or coffee spilling. Roll with it and laugh it off.
How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube
Let People Know When You Are Streaming
Give people enough time to schedule it in, don’t spring it on them in the last minute. Share it on social media, your website, and any other means.
Create a Streaming Link 2 Days Before
Share your livestream link via social media to remind everyone to tune in when you go live. Looking for your link? It should look something like this: <www.youtube.com/user/\[channelname\]/live>
Reach Out To the Communities Most Interested
If you are going to be live streaming about a specific topic, such as photography, you should reach out to those who are interested in the topic. Highlight what aspect of photography you are going to be streaming and attract new viewers to your content.
Be Aware of Time Difference
If you have an international audience, find time to livestream where you can get the optimal amount of viewers.
You can find the location of your main demographic in your YouTube analytics .
Create a Channel Trailer to Promote Livestream
Make a video and host it as your channel trailer, that way anyone who lands on your YouTube page will see the promo for your livestream.
Promote Through Feature Content and Channel
YouTube has a feature that enables you to use your existing content to promote your upcoming livestream.
Here’s how to set it up:
Key Takeaways
- Live streaming will help you make more videos, engage with your audience, and grow your channel.
- You don’t need expensive equipment to livestream on YouTube, you only need a webcam and a microphone.
- YouTube has made live streaming as easy as a few clicks, no additional software needed unless you are gaming.
- Always do a test run of your livestream to ensure the internet, audio, and visual are all working properly.
- Create content and reach out to communities to promote your livestream.
Have you encountered any obstacles when setting up your livestream on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below, we are happy to help!
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
From Content Creator to Earnings Expert on YouTube
Monetize YouTube Videos | The Ultimate Guide to Ad Revenue
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to make money on YouTube? There are qualifications you have to meet before you can monetize your videos with ads, but you don’t have to have a huge channel.
Here’s everything you need to know to join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning ad revenue:
- Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
- How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
- What is Ad Friendly Content?
- How to Get Paid Through AdSense
- Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
- Useful Terminology (CPM, CPV, CPC)
What is the YouTube Partner Program
YouTube’s Partner Program, or YPP, allows creators to monetize their YouTube videos through ads. If you are a YouTube Partner, that means you are earning revenue from the ads being shown before and during your videos.
Before you dive into the below guide, you may need a video editor to start your monetizing on Youtube. Filmora video editor will be the best choice.
Becoming a skilled video editor takes years of practice, but with Wondershare Filmora video editor, you can produce YouTube videos that have a professional look and feel, even if you are new to the world of video editing. This YouTube Video Creator has big icons and an intuitive interface, so those YouTubers who edit videos for the first time can quickly make a video.
Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
In order to qualify for YPP, you need to prove that you’re creating consistent, original, content and that people are watching your content. YouTube believes that has been proven when you reach these qualifications:
- 1000 Subscribers
- 4000 Hours of Watch Time (over the past 12 months)
Not quite there yet? Here’s a list of actionable tips that can help you grow your channel.
If you meet these requirements and are approved for monetization, but then drop below them, your channel will not be automatically demonetized. YouTube may review your content and demonetize you if you seem to have stopped posting videos, but this will not be automatic.
Remember: meeting these milestones does not grant you automatic monetization.
You can apply for YPP when you reach the milestones above, but your channel will still need to be reviewed by a human working for YouTube. Reviewers will be watching for:
- Nudity or sexual content
- Harmful, dangerous, threatening, or hateful content
- Violent or graphic content
- Harassment or cyberbullying
- Spam, scams, and misleading metadata
- Copyright infringement or impersonation
- Privacy violations
- Fake subscribers
- Other guidelines violations
If your content violates any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines you may be denied monetization. Learn more about YouTube’s Community Guidelines here.
How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
Once you qualify for YPP, applying for monetization is easy.
- In the Creator Studio, select Channel > Status and features.
- Under ‘Monetization’, click Enable and follow the steps that appear to accept YouTube’s terms.
- Wait to be approved.
If you’re approved, you can start earning money as soon as your AdSense account is set up!
If you’re not approved, you can apply again in 30 days.
To make sure you’re approved the next time you apply, review all of YouTube’s related policies (Partner Program policies , Terms of Service , spam policies , and Community Guidelines ) and remove the content that might be holding you back.
In order to start monetizing, you’ll need to link your channel with an AdSense account. You must be over 18 to create an AdSense account. YouTube creators under 18 can link to the AdSense accounts of their parents or guardians.
Here’s how to sign up for AdSense through YouTube:
- Under Channel > Status and features in your Creator Studio, look for Paid content. Click where it says ‘active AdSense account’.
- On the following ‘Monetization’ screen, click Next to go to AdSense.
- You will be asked whether you want to use the Google account you’re already signed in to for AdSense, or if you want to use a different account.
- The next step is ‘Your Website’. This will automatically be filled in with your channel. Click Accept association if it’s right.
Note: you can only have one AdSense account. Do not make a second one if you already have one. Duplicate accounts may be banned, which will stop you from monetizing your videos.
What is Ad Friendly content?
Not all content that meets YouTube’s Community Guidelines will be considered ‘advertiser-friendly’. Companies don’t want to run ads alongside content that doesn’t match the values of their brands.
YouTube may disable ads on any video it doesn’t think is ad-friendly. Videos which may be flagged as inappropriate for ads include (but are not limited to):
- Videos that cover controversial or sensitive subjects.
- Videos depicting the use of drugs or dangerous products.
- Videos may encourage harmful or dangerous behavior.
- Videos with swearing (but not ALL videos with swearing – quantity and context are factors).
- Videos which contain hate speech.
- Videos that depict family entertainment characters (i.e. Disney princesses) engaged in inappropriate behavior (even if you’re being satirical).
If you want to make sure all of your content is advertiser-friendly, here are some best practices suggested by YouTube:
- Be respectful of your viewers and any people or groups you may include or mention in your video.
- Extend this respectful tone to your thumbnails and video titles, and make sure your thumbnails and metadata accurately depict your video’s content.
- Don’t try to monetize videos that already contain ads (i.e. paid product placement ).
How to Get Paid Through AdSense
In order to receive a payment from AdSense, you need to earn at least $100.
For example, if you only earn $10 in a month, you will not receive a payment that month. You will not lose that $10 – you will receive it when your total earnings reach or exceed $100.
You will also need to provide AdSense with tax information and verify your identity and address in order to start being paid.
The most popular way to get paid through AdSense is via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). To receive your payments this way, you’ll need to link your bank account to your AdSense account.
Here’s how:
- Log in to AdSense.
- Click Settings in the menu on the left, and then select Payments.
- On the Payments page, click Manage payment options.
- Click the Add payment method.
- You’ll be prompted to add your bank account details.
- Make sure the name on your AdSense account matches the name on your bank account (if you’re under 18 and cannot make your own AdSense account, this may mean you’re using your parent or guardian’s bank account).
Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
Not all ads pay the same, and not all videos will be able to attract the ads that pay the most.
How much money your video has the potential to earn depends on:
- The size of your channel
- Your niche on YouTube
- The specific topic of the video
That the size of your channel matters probably isn’t a surprise. The biggest brands want to run their ads beside videos that are getting more views.
Whether or not your YouTube niche has a high potential for profit will depend on a couple things:
- How many other channels are in your niche?
The more people there are making similar videos to you, the thinner the available ads are spread.
- How many cheap or expensive products are being advertised in your niche?
If the products are free or inexpensive (i.e. free online games) then that limits your earning ability. In large niches like gaming, the few higher paying ads will go to the most popular channels and the low-paying ads will be spread amongst everyone else.
If you have a very specific niche, i.e. luxury cars, then you will have less competition and the ads available will likely be for more expensive products (and thus the ads themselves will be higher paying).
Even if you are in a large niche, you can still make videos on specific topics designed to attract higher-paying ads and more revenue. Pay attention to the analytics in your Creator Studio to learn which of your videos earn the most. Then, make more videos on similar topics to boost your earnings.
Another factor that can affect what ads appear alongside your videos is the viewing habits of individual viewers. People are shown ads that YouTube believes are more relevant to their interests.
Useful Terminology (CPM, CPC, CPV)
A lot of people think your ad revenue is determined by your view count. This isn’t true – it’s determined by ad impressions.
How much revenue you earn from the ads running around your videos depends on these three things:
CPC: ‘cost per click’. Most of the ads on YouTube are CPC, meaning that an ad impression is only recorded when an ad is clicked on.
CPV: ‘cost per view’. Skippable pre-roll ads are the only ads on YouTube which record ad impressions without clicks. These ads record ad impressions when viewers watch 30 seconds of the ad instead of skipping it.
CPM: ‘cost per mille’ or ‘cost per thousand’. This refers to how much money gets paid out for 1000 ad impressions.
Your CPM will be affected by a multitude of things including the ads themselves and the size of your channel. AdSense has made it a rule that you cannot disclose your CPM to anyone, which makes it difficult to determine what you should expect.
Note: never click on ads near your own videos or instruct your viewers/friends to do so. If your clicks are higher than what AdSense considers normal they may ban you.
Sites like Social Blade provide estimated earnings for any channel you want to look up. Looking up channels that are where you plan to be in the near future could help you set your own expectations.
Are you able to monetize your videos? How many more subscribers or hours of watch time do you need?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to make money on YouTube? There are qualifications you have to meet before you can monetize your videos with ads, but you don’t have to have a huge channel.
Here’s everything you need to know to join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning ad revenue:
- Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
- How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
- What is Ad Friendly Content?
- How to Get Paid Through AdSense
- Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
- Useful Terminology (CPM, CPV, CPC)
What is the YouTube Partner Program
YouTube’s Partner Program, or YPP, allows creators to monetize their YouTube videos through ads. If you are a YouTube Partner, that means you are earning revenue from the ads being shown before and during your videos.
Before you dive into the below guide, you may need a video editor to start your monetizing on Youtube. Filmora video editor will be the best choice.
Becoming a skilled video editor takes years of practice, but with Wondershare Filmora video editor, you can produce YouTube videos that have a professional look and feel, even if you are new to the world of video editing. This YouTube Video Creator has big icons and an intuitive interface, so those YouTubers who edit videos for the first time can quickly make a video.
Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
In order to qualify for YPP, you need to prove that you’re creating consistent, original, content and that people are watching your content. YouTube believes that has been proven when you reach these qualifications:
- 1000 Subscribers
- 4000 Hours of Watch Time (over the past 12 months)
Not quite there yet? Here’s a list of actionable tips that can help you grow your channel.
If you meet these requirements and are approved for monetization, but then drop below them, your channel will not be automatically demonetized. YouTube may review your content and demonetize you if you seem to have stopped posting videos, but this will not be automatic.
Remember: meeting these milestones does not grant you automatic monetization.
You can apply for YPP when you reach the milestones above, but your channel will still need to be reviewed by a human working for YouTube. Reviewers will be watching for:
- Nudity or sexual content
- Harmful, dangerous, threatening, or hateful content
- Violent or graphic content
- Harassment or cyberbullying
- Spam, scams, and misleading metadata
- Copyright infringement or impersonation
- Privacy violations
- Fake subscribers
- Other guidelines violations
If your content violates any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines you may be denied monetization. Learn more about YouTube’s Community Guidelines here.
How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
Once you qualify for YPP, applying for monetization is easy.
- In the Creator Studio, select Channel > Status and features.
- Under ‘Monetization’, click Enable and follow the steps that appear to accept YouTube’s terms.
- Wait to be approved.
If you’re approved, you can start earning money as soon as your AdSense account is set up!
If you’re not approved, you can apply again in 30 days.
To make sure you’re approved the next time you apply, review all of YouTube’s related policies (Partner Program policies , Terms of Service , spam policies , and Community Guidelines ) and remove the content that might be holding you back.
In order to start monetizing, you’ll need to link your channel with an AdSense account. You must be over 18 to create an AdSense account. YouTube creators under 18 can link to the AdSense accounts of their parents or guardians.
Here’s how to sign up for AdSense through YouTube:
- Under Channel > Status and features in your Creator Studio, look for Paid content. Click where it says ‘active AdSense account’.
- On the following ‘Monetization’ screen, click Next to go to AdSense.
- You will be asked whether you want to use the Google account you’re already signed in to for AdSense, or if you want to use a different account.
- The next step is ‘Your Website’. This will automatically be filled in with your channel. Click Accept association if it’s right.
Note: you can only have one AdSense account. Do not make a second one if you already have one. Duplicate accounts may be banned, which will stop you from monetizing your videos.
What is Ad Friendly content?
Not all content that meets YouTube’s Community Guidelines will be considered ‘advertiser-friendly’. Companies don’t want to run ads alongside content that doesn’t match the values of their brands.
YouTube may disable ads on any video it doesn’t think is ad-friendly. Videos which may be flagged as inappropriate for ads include (but are not limited to):
- Videos that cover controversial or sensitive subjects.
- Videos depicting the use of drugs or dangerous products.
- Videos may encourage harmful or dangerous behavior.
- Videos with swearing (but not ALL videos with swearing – quantity and context are factors).
- Videos which contain hate speech.
- Videos that depict family entertainment characters (i.e. Disney princesses) engaged in inappropriate behavior (even if you’re being satirical).
If you want to make sure all of your content is advertiser-friendly, here are some best practices suggested by YouTube:
- Be respectful of your viewers and any people or groups you may include or mention in your video.
- Extend this respectful tone to your thumbnails and video titles, and make sure your thumbnails and metadata accurately depict your video’s content.
- Don’t try to monetize videos that already contain ads (i.e. paid product placement ).
How to Get Paid Through AdSense
In order to receive a payment from AdSense, you need to earn at least $100.
For example, if you only earn $10 in a month, you will not receive a payment that month. You will not lose that $10 – you will receive it when your total earnings reach or exceed $100.
You will also need to provide AdSense with tax information and verify your identity and address in order to start being paid.
The most popular way to get paid through AdSense is via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). To receive your payments this way, you’ll need to link your bank account to your AdSense account.
Here’s how:
- Log in to AdSense.
- Click Settings in the menu on the left, and then select Payments.
- On the Payments page, click Manage payment options.
- Click the Add payment method.
- You’ll be prompted to add your bank account details.
- Make sure the name on your AdSense account matches the name on your bank account (if you’re under 18 and cannot make your own AdSense account, this may mean you’re using your parent or guardian’s bank account).
Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
Not all ads pay the same, and not all videos will be able to attract the ads that pay the most.
How much money your video has the potential to earn depends on:
- The size of your channel
- Your niche on YouTube
- The specific topic of the video
That the size of your channel matters probably isn’t a surprise. The biggest brands want to run their ads beside videos that are getting more views.
Whether or not your YouTube niche has a high potential for profit will depend on a couple things:
- How many other channels are in your niche?
The more people there are making similar videos to you, the thinner the available ads are spread.
- How many cheap or expensive products are being advertised in your niche?
If the products are free or inexpensive (i.e. free online games) then that limits your earning ability. In large niches like gaming, the few higher paying ads will go to the most popular channels and the low-paying ads will be spread amongst everyone else.
If you have a very specific niche, i.e. luxury cars, then you will have less competition and the ads available will likely be for more expensive products (and thus the ads themselves will be higher paying).
Even if you are in a large niche, you can still make videos on specific topics designed to attract higher-paying ads and more revenue. Pay attention to the analytics in your Creator Studio to learn which of your videos earn the most. Then, make more videos on similar topics to boost your earnings.
Another factor that can affect what ads appear alongside your videos is the viewing habits of individual viewers. People are shown ads that YouTube believes are more relevant to their interests.
Useful Terminology (CPM, CPC, CPV)
A lot of people think your ad revenue is determined by your view count. This isn’t true – it’s determined by ad impressions.
How much revenue you earn from the ads running around your videos depends on these three things:
CPC: ‘cost per click’. Most of the ads on YouTube are CPC, meaning that an ad impression is only recorded when an ad is clicked on.
CPV: ‘cost per view’. Skippable pre-roll ads are the only ads on YouTube which record ad impressions without clicks. These ads record ad impressions when viewers watch 30 seconds of the ad instead of skipping it.
CPM: ‘cost per mille’ or ‘cost per thousand’. This refers to how much money gets paid out for 1000 ad impressions.
Your CPM will be affected by a multitude of things including the ads themselves and the size of your channel. AdSense has made it a rule that you cannot disclose your CPM to anyone, which makes it difficult to determine what you should expect.
Note: never click on ads near your own videos or instruct your viewers/friends to do so. If your clicks are higher than what AdSense considers normal they may ban you.
Sites like Social Blade provide estimated earnings for any channel you want to look up. Looking up channels that are where you plan to be in the near future could help you set your own expectations.
Are you able to monetize your videos? How many more subscribers or hours of watch time do you need?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to make money on YouTube? There are qualifications you have to meet before you can monetize your videos with ads, but you don’t have to have a huge channel.
Here’s everything you need to know to join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning ad revenue:
- Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
- How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
- What is Ad Friendly Content?
- How to Get Paid Through AdSense
- Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
- Useful Terminology (CPM, CPV, CPC)
What is the YouTube Partner Program
YouTube’s Partner Program, or YPP, allows creators to monetize their YouTube videos through ads. If you are a YouTube Partner, that means you are earning revenue from the ads being shown before and during your videos.
Before you dive into the below guide, you may need a video editor to start your monetizing on Youtube. Filmora video editor will be the best choice.
Becoming a skilled video editor takes years of practice, but with Wondershare Filmora video editor, you can produce YouTube videos that have a professional look and feel, even if you are new to the world of video editing. This YouTube Video Creator has big icons and an intuitive interface, so those YouTubers who edit videos for the first time can quickly make a video.
Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
In order to qualify for YPP, you need to prove that you’re creating consistent, original, content and that people are watching your content. YouTube believes that has been proven when you reach these qualifications:
- 1000 Subscribers
- 4000 Hours of Watch Time (over the past 12 months)
Not quite there yet? Here’s a list of actionable tips that can help you grow your channel.
If you meet these requirements and are approved for monetization, but then drop below them, your channel will not be automatically demonetized. YouTube may review your content and demonetize you if you seem to have stopped posting videos, but this will not be automatic.
Remember: meeting these milestones does not grant you automatic monetization.
You can apply for YPP when you reach the milestones above, but your channel will still need to be reviewed by a human working for YouTube. Reviewers will be watching for:
- Nudity or sexual content
- Harmful, dangerous, threatening, or hateful content
- Violent or graphic content
- Harassment or cyberbullying
- Spam, scams, and misleading metadata
- Copyright infringement or impersonation
- Privacy violations
- Fake subscribers
- Other guidelines violations
If your content violates any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines you may be denied monetization. Learn more about YouTube’s Community Guidelines here.
How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
Once you qualify for YPP, applying for monetization is easy.
- In the Creator Studio, select Channel > Status and features.
- Under ‘Monetization’, click Enable and follow the steps that appear to accept YouTube’s terms.
- Wait to be approved.
If you’re approved, you can start earning money as soon as your AdSense account is set up!
If you’re not approved, you can apply again in 30 days.
To make sure you’re approved the next time you apply, review all of YouTube’s related policies (Partner Program policies , Terms of Service , spam policies , and Community Guidelines ) and remove the content that might be holding you back.
In order to start monetizing, you’ll need to link your channel with an AdSense account. You must be over 18 to create an AdSense account. YouTube creators under 18 can link to the AdSense accounts of their parents or guardians.
Here’s how to sign up for AdSense through YouTube:
- Under Channel > Status and features in your Creator Studio, look for Paid content. Click where it says ‘active AdSense account’.
- On the following ‘Monetization’ screen, click Next to go to AdSense.
- You will be asked whether you want to use the Google account you’re already signed in to for AdSense, or if you want to use a different account.
- The next step is ‘Your Website’. This will automatically be filled in with your channel. Click Accept association if it’s right.
Note: you can only have one AdSense account. Do not make a second one if you already have one. Duplicate accounts may be banned, which will stop you from monetizing your videos.
What is Ad Friendly content?
Not all content that meets YouTube’s Community Guidelines will be considered ‘advertiser-friendly’. Companies don’t want to run ads alongside content that doesn’t match the values of their brands.
YouTube may disable ads on any video it doesn’t think is ad-friendly. Videos which may be flagged as inappropriate for ads include (but are not limited to):
- Videos that cover controversial or sensitive subjects.
- Videos depicting the use of drugs or dangerous products.
- Videos may encourage harmful or dangerous behavior.
- Videos with swearing (but not ALL videos with swearing – quantity and context are factors).
- Videos which contain hate speech.
- Videos that depict family entertainment characters (i.e. Disney princesses) engaged in inappropriate behavior (even if you’re being satirical).
If you want to make sure all of your content is advertiser-friendly, here are some best practices suggested by YouTube:
- Be respectful of your viewers and any people or groups you may include or mention in your video.
- Extend this respectful tone to your thumbnails and video titles, and make sure your thumbnails and metadata accurately depict your video’s content.
- Don’t try to monetize videos that already contain ads (i.e. paid product placement ).
How to Get Paid Through AdSense
In order to receive a payment from AdSense, you need to earn at least $100.
For example, if you only earn $10 in a month, you will not receive a payment that month. You will not lose that $10 – you will receive it when your total earnings reach or exceed $100.
You will also need to provide AdSense with tax information and verify your identity and address in order to start being paid.
The most popular way to get paid through AdSense is via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). To receive your payments this way, you’ll need to link your bank account to your AdSense account.
Here’s how:
- Log in to AdSense.
- Click Settings in the menu on the left, and then select Payments.
- On the Payments page, click Manage payment options.
- Click the Add payment method.
- You’ll be prompted to add your bank account details.
- Make sure the name on your AdSense account matches the name on your bank account (if you’re under 18 and cannot make your own AdSense account, this may mean you’re using your parent or guardian’s bank account).
Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
Not all ads pay the same, and not all videos will be able to attract the ads that pay the most.
How much money your video has the potential to earn depends on:
- The size of your channel
- Your niche on YouTube
- The specific topic of the video
That the size of your channel matters probably isn’t a surprise. The biggest brands want to run their ads beside videos that are getting more views.
Whether or not your YouTube niche has a high potential for profit will depend on a couple things:
- How many other channels are in your niche?
The more people there are making similar videos to you, the thinner the available ads are spread.
- How many cheap or expensive products are being advertised in your niche?
If the products are free or inexpensive (i.e. free online games) then that limits your earning ability. In large niches like gaming, the few higher paying ads will go to the most popular channels and the low-paying ads will be spread amongst everyone else.
If you have a very specific niche, i.e. luxury cars, then you will have less competition and the ads available will likely be for more expensive products (and thus the ads themselves will be higher paying).
Even if you are in a large niche, you can still make videos on specific topics designed to attract higher-paying ads and more revenue. Pay attention to the analytics in your Creator Studio to learn which of your videos earn the most. Then, make more videos on similar topics to boost your earnings.
Another factor that can affect what ads appear alongside your videos is the viewing habits of individual viewers. People are shown ads that YouTube believes are more relevant to their interests.
Useful Terminology (CPM, CPC, CPV)
A lot of people think your ad revenue is determined by your view count. This isn’t true – it’s determined by ad impressions.
How much revenue you earn from the ads running around your videos depends on these three things:
CPC: ‘cost per click’. Most of the ads on YouTube are CPC, meaning that an ad impression is only recorded when an ad is clicked on.
CPV: ‘cost per view’. Skippable pre-roll ads are the only ads on YouTube which record ad impressions without clicks. These ads record ad impressions when viewers watch 30 seconds of the ad instead of skipping it.
CPM: ‘cost per mille’ or ‘cost per thousand’. This refers to how much money gets paid out for 1000 ad impressions.
Your CPM will be affected by a multitude of things including the ads themselves and the size of your channel. AdSense has made it a rule that you cannot disclose your CPM to anyone, which makes it difficult to determine what you should expect.
Note: never click on ads near your own videos or instruct your viewers/friends to do so. If your clicks are higher than what AdSense considers normal they may ban you.
Sites like Social Blade provide estimated earnings for any channel you want to look up. Looking up channels that are where you plan to be in the near future could help you set your own expectations.
Are you able to monetize your videos? How many more subscribers or hours of watch time do you need?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to make money on YouTube? There are qualifications you have to meet before you can monetize your videos with ads, but you don’t have to have a huge channel.
Here’s everything you need to know to join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning ad revenue:
- Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
- How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
- What is Ad Friendly Content?
- How to Get Paid Through AdSense
- Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
- Useful Terminology (CPM, CPV, CPC)
What is the YouTube Partner Program
YouTube’s Partner Program, or YPP, allows creators to monetize their YouTube videos through ads. If you are a YouTube Partner, that means you are earning revenue from the ads being shown before and during your videos.
Before you dive into the below guide, you may need a video editor to start your monetizing on Youtube. Filmora video editor will be the best choice.
Becoming a skilled video editor takes years of practice, but with Wondershare Filmora video editor, you can produce YouTube videos that have a professional look and feel, even if you are new to the world of video editing. This YouTube Video Creator has big icons and an intuitive interface, so those YouTubers who edit videos for the first time can quickly make a video.
Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
In order to qualify for YPP, you need to prove that you’re creating consistent, original, content and that people are watching your content. YouTube believes that has been proven when you reach these qualifications:
- 1000 Subscribers
- 4000 Hours of Watch Time (over the past 12 months)
Not quite there yet? Here’s a list of actionable tips that can help you grow your channel.
If you meet these requirements and are approved for monetization, but then drop below them, your channel will not be automatically demonetized. YouTube may review your content and demonetize you if you seem to have stopped posting videos, but this will not be automatic.
Remember: meeting these milestones does not grant you automatic monetization.
You can apply for YPP when you reach the milestones above, but your channel will still need to be reviewed by a human working for YouTube. Reviewers will be watching for:
- Nudity or sexual content
- Harmful, dangerous, threatening, or hateful content
- Violent or graphic content
- Harassment or cyberbullying
- Spam, scams, and misleading metadata
- Copyright infringement or impersonation
- Privacy violations
- Fake subscribers
- Other guidelines violations
If your content violates any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines you may be denied monetization. Learn more about YouTube’s Community Guidelines here.
How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
Once you qualify for YPP, applying for monetization is easy.
- In the Creator Studio, select Channel > Status and features.
- Under ‘Monetization’, click Enable and follow the steps that appear to accept YouTube’s terms.
- Wait to be approved.
If you’re approved, you can start earning money as soon as your AdSense account is set up!
If you’re not approved, you can apply again in 30 days.
To make sure you’re approved the next time you apply, review all of YouTube’s related policies (Partner Program policies , Terms of Service , spam policies , and Community Guidelines ) and remove the content that might be holding you back.
In order to start monetizing, you’ll need to link your channel with an AdSense account. You must be over 18 to create an AdSense account. YouTube creators under 18 can link to the AdSense accounts of their parents or guardians.
Here’s how to sign up for AdSense through YouTube:
- Under Channel > Status and features in your Creator Studio, look for Paid content. Click where it says ‘active AdSense account’.
- On the following ‘Monetization’ screen, click Next to go to AdSense.
- You will be asked whether you want to use the Google account you’re already signed in to for AdSense, or if you want to use a different account.
- The next step is ‘Your Website’. This will automatically be filled in with your channel. Click Accept association if it’s right.
Note: you can only have one AdSense account. Do not make a second one if you already have one. Duplicate accounts may be banned, which will stop you from monetizing your videos.
What is Ad Friendly content?
Not all content that meets YouTube’s Community Guidelines will be considered ‘advertiser-friendly’. Companies don’t want to run ads alongside content that doesn’t match the values of their brands.
YouTube may disable ads on any video it doesn’t think is ad-friendly. Videos which may be flagged as inappropriate for ads include (but are not limited to):
- Videos that cover controversial or sensitive subjects.
- Videos depicting the use of drugs or dangerous products.
- Videos may encourage harmful or dangerous behavior.
- Videos with swearing (but not ALL videos with swearing – quantity and context are factors).
- Videos which contain hate speech.
- Videos that depict family entertainment characters (i.e. Disney princesses) engaged in inappropriate behavior (even if you’re being satirical).
If you want to make sure all of your content is advertiser-friendly, here are some best practices suggested by YouTube:
- Be respectful of your viewers and any people or groups you may include or mention in your video.
- Extend this respectful tone to your thumbnails and video titles, and make sure your thumbnails and metadata accurately depict your video’s content.
- Don’t try to monetize videos that already contain ads (i.e. paid product placement ).
How to Get Paid Through AdSense
In order to receive a payment from AdSense, you need to earn at least $100.
For example, if you only earn $10 in a month, you will not receive a payment that month. You will not lose that $10 – you will receive it when your total earnings reach or exceed $100.
You will also need to provide AdSense with tax information and verify your identity and address in order to start being paid.
The most popular way to get paid through AdSense is via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). To receive your payments this way, you’ll need to link your bank account to your AdSense account.
Here’s how:
- Log in to AdSense.
- Click Settings in the menu on the left, and then select Payments.
- On the Payments page, click Manage payment options.
- Click the Add payment method.
- You’ll be prompted to add your bank account details.
- Make sure the name on your AdSense account matches the name on your bank account (if you’re under 18 and cannot make your own AdSense account, this may mean you’re using your parent or guardian’s bank account).
Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
Not all ads pay the same, and not all videos will be able to attract the ads that pay the most.
How much money your video has the potential to earn depends on:
- The size of your channel
- Your niche on YouTube
- The specific topic of the video
That the size of your channel matters probably isn’t a surprise. The biggest brands want to run their ads beside videos that are getting more views.
Whether or not your YouTube niche has a high potential for profit will depend on a couple things:
- How many other channels are in your niche?
The more people there are making similar videos to you, the thinner the available ads are spread.
- How many cheap or expensive products are being advertised in your niche?
If the products are free or inexpensive (i.e. free online games) then that limits your earning ability. In large niches like gaming, the few higher paying ads will go to the most popular channels and the low-paying ads will be spread amongst everyone else.
If you have a very specific niche, i.e. luxury cars, then you will have less competition and the ads available will likely be for more expensive products (and thus the ads themselves will be higher paying).
Even if you are in a large niche, you can still make videos on specific topics designed to attract higher-paying ads and more revenue. Pay attention to the analytics in your Creator Studio to learn which of your videos earn the most. Then, make more videos on similar topics to boost your earnings.
Another factor that can affect what ads appear alongside your videos is the viewing habits of individual viewers. People are shown ads that YouTube believes are more relevant to their interests.
Useful Terminology (CPM, CPC, CPV)
A lot of people think your ad revenue is determined by your view count. This isn’t true – it’s determined by ad impressions.
How much revenue you earn from the ads running around your videos depends on these three things:
CPC: ‘cost per click’. Most of the ads on YouTube are CPC, meaning that an ad impression is only recorded when an ad is clicked on.
CPV: ‘cost per view’. Skippable pre-roll ads are the only ads on YouTube which record ad impressions without clicks. These ads record ad impressions when viewers watch 30 seconds of the ad instead of skipping it.
CPM: ‘cost per mille’ or ‘cost per thousand’. This refers to how much money gets paid out for 1000 ad impressions.
Your CPM will be affected by a multitude of things including the ads themselves and the size of your channel. AdSense has made it a rule that you cannot disclose your CPM to anyone, which makes it difficult to determine what you should expect.
Note: never click on ads near your own videos or instruct your viewers/friends to do so. If your clicks are higher than what AdSense considers normal they may ban you.
Sites like Social Blade provide estimated earnings for any channel you want to look up. Looking up channels that are where you plan to be in the near future could help you set your own expectations.
Are you able to monetize your videos? How many more subscribers or hours of watch time do you need?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
- Title: "2024 Approved Thriving in the World of YouTube Broadcasting Master Class"
- Author: Thomas
- Created at : 2024-05-31 12:42:00
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 12:42:00
- Link: https://youtube-help.techidaily.com/2024-approved-thriving-in-the-world-of-youtube-broadcasting-master-class/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
