How to Make Money From YouTube in 2025

YouTube stars have become celebrities in their own right, having earned a following by creating video content that is entertaining, informative, and engaging. If you have found success on YouTube, there are several ways to monetize your channel and earn money, even if that wasn’t your original intention. We’re here to teach you how to make money from YouTube in 2025.

While your audience is a crucial factor in unlocking your channel’s earning potential, it’s essential to create multiple revenue streams through side hustles or businesses to increase your income. This approach is similar to how Instagram influencers or bloggers generate income.

In this article, discover seven strategies for making money on YouTube and find out how much successful YouTubers can earn.

How to Make Money From YouTube in 2025

1. Sell products or merchandise

2. Be an influencer and work with brands

3. Join the Youtube Partner Program

4. Become an affiliate marketer

5. Crowdfund your next creative project

6. License your content to the media

7. Let your audience support you through ” Fan funding.”

1. Sell products or merchandise

Selling various products through your YouTube channel can be an excellent way to profit from YouTube. Merchandise, such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, tote bags, snapbacks and more, offers benefits beyond just revenue. It can increase your exposure by bringing your online brand and personality into the offline world. Additionally, it can deepen the bond between you and your fans as they “buy” into what you’re doing.

Selling branded merchandise can be simpler than it appears at first glance. You can easily order affordable designs that are tailored for specific products, such as t-shirts, by using freelance sites like Fiverr. As for order management, you can seamlessly integrate your store with services like DSers or one of many print-on-demand providers that handle shipping, fulfilment, and customer support. This allows you to enjoy all the benefits of a print-on-demand business with less effort required on your part.

2. Be an influencer and work with brands

Brands are increasingly investing in influencer marketing and sponsorships. They are allocating their substantial advertising budgets to influencers who have already established a loyal audience. As a creator, this presents a tremendous opportunity for you to secure lucrative deals by negotiating effectively.

Based on the data provided by WebFX, the estimated costs for influencer marketing on YouTube are as follows:

Per Video in USD	Subscriber count for Youtuber
$20	1,000
$200	10,000
$2,000	100,000
$20,000	1,000,000

Suppose you have a good understanding of your target audience. In that case, with the quality of your content and the uniqueness and profitability of your niche, you may be able to negotiate a better deal with a brand that is a good fit for you. When partnering with a brand for sponsored content, it’s important to be transparent about the partnership and not endorse anything that you don’t actually like or believe in. You should also be upfront with your audience about why you are doing the sponsored content.

3. Join the Youtube Partner Program

One of the first ways to earn revenue on YouTube is through ads. Whether you’re a content creator or someone who wants to earn money without creating videos, setting up monetization and joining the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is an important step. However, in order to start earning money, you must agree to follow all of YouTube’s monetization policies and reside in a country or region where the YPP is available.

Once you meet the eligibility requirements, you can apply for monetization. Specifically, you’ll need to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours over the past year. Alternatively, you can apply if you have at least 1,000 subscribers and 10 million valid public Shorts views within the past 90 days.

Here is a step-by-step on how to enable monetization on Youtube:

1. Sign into your YouTube account that you want to monetize
2. Click the icon for your account in the top right corner
3. Click YouTube Studio
4. In the menu on the left, select Other Features, then Monetization
5. Read and agree to the YouTuber Partner Program terms and eligibility requirements
6. Create a Google AdSense account or link your own account
7. Set your preferences

After you finish the previous step, go back to the dashboard and find the Analytics tab on the left-hand side. Select the Revenue tabs at the top, and then scroll down to the Monthly Estimated Revenue chart. This will give you an idea of your predicted Revenue from YouTube.

4. Become an affiliate marketer

Affiliate marketing is a method of earning a commission by promoting products or services provided by other companies. As an affiliate marketer, you can use various types of content, such as product placements and endorsements, to promote these products. However, it is crucial to be transparent and let your viewers know about your partnerships in your videos. This will help build trust with your audience and ensure that they know that you are promoting the product as an affiliate.

This payment strategy is particularly effective for YouTubers who review products because the brand only pays a commission upon sale, making it easy to get started.

Crowdfunding is an effective way to turn an idea into reality when the only obstacle in your way is money. Whether you require funds for purchasing better equipment, hiring actors, or covering other production costs, you can rely on your audience and the crowdfunding community to help you out, provided that your idea is solid and convincing enough.

When running a successful crowdfunding campaign, it’s essential to create a teaser or trailer of your project to build anticipation. Consider filming a video that provides an overview of your project or a glimpse of what’s to come.

5. Crowdfund your next creative project

Crowdfunding is an effective way to turn an idea into reality when the only obstacle in your way is money. Whether you require funds for purchasing better equipment, hiring actors, or covering other production costs, you can rely on your audience and the crowdfunding community to help you out, provided that your idea is solid and convincing enough.

When running a successful crowdfunding campaign, it’s essential to create a teaser or trailer of your project to build anticipation. Consider filming a video that provides an overview of your project or a glimpse of what’s to come.

6. License your content to the media

If you create a video that goes viral and has mass appeal, such as a funny clip of your dog, you can earn money by licensing your content. Various media outlets like TV news, morning shows, and online news sites may contact you to request the rights to use your videos if they become popular.

Alternatively, you can list your videos in a marketplace where it will be easier for interested parties to find and purchase your content.

7. Let your audience support you through ” Fan funding.”

Just like crowdfunding a project, you can also create “fan funding” channels to source donations from your audience. As a content creator, you are sharing your work with the online community without charging them.

 However, if you’re providing valuable content, your audience may want to support you on an ongoing basis. 

Many fan funding platforms provide creators with another platform for people to discover their content, as well as a way to engage with their most loyal audience and reward them for their support.

If you decide to go with crowdfunding to raise funds for your project, it’s important to follow some best practices. Firstly, ensure that you are transparent about how the money will be spent. This will help your fanbase feel more invested in your story or mission, and they will be more likely to support the value of your content by donating. 

Secondly, attractive rewards for higher pledges should be offered. The more you can make your donors feel like they’re receiving something special for being loyal fans, the more likely you are to receive donations and higher pledges.

Some of those options are:

• YouTube Super Chat & Super Stickers. Super Chat is a feature that enables creators to receive tips during live streams on YouTube. It allows viewers to donate any amount they wish, whenever they want, by creating a tipping jar. Super Stickers are animated images that users can use in a live chat. To use these features, you need to set up your YouTube account for advertising, as outlined above.
• Channel memberships. Viewers can support your channel by paying for monthly memberships that provide members-only perks. Access to this feature requires participation in YouTube’s Partner Program, which is similar to Super Chat.

How to earn money on YouTube monetization

To earn money directly from YouTube, you need to meet specific requirements. One of the requirements is to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours within the past year. Alternatively, you can have 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views within the past 90 days. Once you meet either of these requirements, you can apply to YouTube’s Partner Program, which allows you to monetize your channel.

Below, we listed ways to earn money on YouTube directly:

• Offer channel subscriptions
• Sign up for affiliate marketing
• Publish ads on your channel
• Offer channel memberships

Related: If YouTube doesn’t work out, here are other websites where you can earn money.

How many views do you need to make money on YouTube?

According to data from Influencer Marketing Hub, the average YouTube channel earns approximately $0.018 per view, which means $18 for every 1,000 views. However, the number of views your video receives does not necessarily determine how much Revenue you earn.

If nobody clicks on or watches the ad, even if your video gets thousands of views, you won’t make any money. This is because YouTube only pays you when a viewer clicks on an ad or watches it in its entirety (10, 15, or 30 seconds), in compliance with their criteria for billing advertisers.

Tips on how to grow on YouTube

Many of the strategies for making money as a content creator involve promoting products or campaigns, such as crowdfunding a video series. However, it is crucial to ensure that your promotions do not compromise the quality of your content. Some creators worry about appearing like they are “selling out,” but it is vital to ask for opportunities to monetize your content. You can choose from various options for promoting products or campaigns that fit your values and audience.

Understand your audience on YouTube

Creating your audience is crucial if you want to earn money by publishing content. However, to maximize the opportunities available, it’s essential to have a good understanding of who your audience is. If you have a specialized YouTube channel, you’ll be in a better position to partner with brands that want to reach a specific target audience. We will discuss this in more detail later on.

You’ll want to take a close look at:

• The gender of your audience, to see if it goes towards a specific group

• The age range most of your audience is

• The geographic location—countries or cities—where people watch your videos

• Your audience’s overall engagement

Having access to demographic information about your audience can help you work more effectively with brands. You can obtain this information from your YouTube analytics. 

However, if you want to compare your channel with others, you can use a tool like Social Blade. This will give you a better understanding of your audience and help you make informed decisions when working with brands.

Mention call to action in your content

Many YouTubers end their videos with a call to action to increase their viewership. By specifically suggesting the action that you want your viewers to take, they are more likely to take it. You can use this technique to direct your audience’s focus towards a revenue-generating opportunity.

An example of a call to action is: “Make sure you hit that like button and subscribe so you never miss out.”

Promote your content on other platforms

It’s important to note that just because your content is hosted on YouTube, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be taking advantage of other distribution channels.

You should always spread the word about new campaigns, discounts and content on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and any other profiles you own. The more places your message lives, the greater the chance a wider audience will see it. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to grow your following beyond YouTube with social media marketing.

Conclusion

With so many ways and so many tools we have nowadays, making money from YouTube in 2025 has never been easier. There are so many tips and tricks online, from this article to hundreds of YouTube videos, guiding you on how to become a successful YouTube content creator.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your camera, download your editing software and start making content; who knows, maybe you’ll become the next Mr.Beast.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)