Before making money through Shorts, we need to address the elephant in the room – making money through Shorts is challenging.
Firstly, you need to meet certain criteria, failing which you won’t earn a single cent.
Secondly, the revenue generated through Short ads isn’t enough unless you earn millions upon millions of views.
But fret not, as we’ll address both issues in our article. We’ll examine what requirements you must meet to monetize through Shorts. Then, we’ll look at six tried-and-tested methods, other than ads, that can help you earn more handsomely through Shorts.
Let’s get started!
Can you monetize YouTube Shorts?
Yes, monetizing YouTube Shorts is possible by joining YouTube’s Partnership Program (YPP). However, you first need to meet the following two criteria:
- Gain 1,000 subscribers and 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
OR - Gain 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours for your long-form videos in the last 12 months.
You also have to make sure your content is eligible.
What kind of content is eligible for Shorts monetization?
Below are the eligibility criteria for monetization:
- The Shorts must be original. If your video has unedited clips from other TV Shows, movies, or other content creators’ videos, then you cannot monetize it. But if you sufficiently transform it such that there’s a meaningful difference between the original video and the changed one, then it’s monetizable. Examples of such videos include channel critiques and reaction videos.
- The Shorts should not have fake or artificial views.
- The Shorts should be compatible with advertiser-friendly content guidelines. This includes avoiding content with inappropriate language, violence, adult content, dangerous acts, and more.
How does YouTube Shorts Monetization work?
Here is how YouTube Short monetization works:
- Every month, YouTube puts revenue generated from Short ads into one pool. They distribute part of it to creators, and the other covers music licensing costs. The former portion is called the Creator Pool.
- Now if a creator uploads a Short without music, the entire revenue associated with the views goes to the Creator Pool. However, if a creator uploads a Short with music, then the revenue is split between the Creator Pool and the music publishers.
- Creators in the Creator Pool are paid based on their videos' number of views. So if a creator's Shorts account for 1% of total Short views, they'll receive 1% of the revenue.
- 45% of the allocated revenue goes to Creators, and the rest to YouTube. So if you’re allocated 1000 dollars from the Creator Pool, you get 450$, and YouTube gets $550.
How to make money from YouTube Shorts: Step-by-Step
To make money from YouTube Shorts, here are the step-by-step instructions:
Step 1: Create a YouTube channel (if you haven’t made one already).
Step 2: Meet the criteria for joining YouTube Partnership Program as mentioned above.
Step 2: Upload YouTube Shorts to your channel. You’ll need to ensure that they align with YouTube’s community guidelines, copyright rules, and advertiser-friendly guidelines. They also can’t have watermarks or logos from third-party social media channels like TikTok.
Step 3: After completing the two criteria mentioned above, apply for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) through the YouTube Studio app.
For Android users and iPhone users, here’s how to join YPP:
- Download and open the YouTube Studio app (which is different from the standard YouTube app) on either iPhone or Android.
- Tap Earn from the bottom menu.
- Then select Apply to get started.
- Click Start to review and Accept Base terms.
- Click Start to set up an AdSense account, or link an existing active one.
For desktop users, here are the steps:
- Sign in to YouTube on your desktop.
- Click on your profile picture on the top right corner, and then choose YouTube Studio.
- Click Earn in the left menu, and then select Apply.
- Click Start to review and Accept Base terms.
- Click Start to set up an AdSense account, or link an existing active one
After you’ve applied, your application gets automatically put into a review queue, where YouTube will check if you’ve met all its policies and guidelines. To see the status of your application, check the Earn section of YouTube Studio.
Step 4: If your application is approved and you’ve entered the YPP after all these steps, congrats! We’re happy for you. Now it’s time to keep making Shorts and earn money.
The ‘keep making Shorts’ bit is important, as YouTube sometimes stops monetization on your videos if you haven’t posted for 6 months or more.
How much money can you actually make from YouTube Shorts?
The money you can make from Shorts can vary from $0.01 - $0.06 per 1000 views. Unfortunately, this amount is far lower than long-form videos, where you can earn anywhere between $1.61 and $29.30 per 1000 views, the average being $1.25 to $2.5.
For instance, TubeBuddy is a YouTube channel that gets 20 million Short views per month. But for 1000 views, they get 0.05$, which amounts to only $50 per million views.
So unless you get hundreds of millions of views per month, it’s difficult to earn money on Shorts.
Luckily, there are ways to make money through Shorts besides ads, which we’ll talk about later on.
Best practices for making money with YouTube Shorts
The golden rule for making money on Shorts is to create content that’s engaging, entertaining, and unique. Check out our guide on How to Make YouTube Shorts to learn
But the golden rule aside, there are other ways to make it big on YouTube and earn money. Let’s look at what they are.
Create videos consistently
To make a decent income from Shorts, you must garner millions of views. And to do this, you need to upload videos consistently.
There’s another reason it’s good to post Shorts often; the more you publish, the more one of your videos will go viral and bring your channel in front of a large number of viewers.
Eye-catching thumbnails and titles
Creating eye-catching thumbnails and engaging titles can go a long way in grabbing the eyeballs of your viewers. And the best way to master this skill is to study channels whose Shorts gain millions of views and emulate them.
Monitor analytics
Keep an eye on your analytics. Understand what’s working and what isn’t. Here are a list of metrics to check for:
- Number of views
- Likes and comments
- Average view duration of your Shorts
Another especially important metric to track is viewed vs. swiped away. This shows the percentage of viewers who watched your Shorts versus those who swiped away before finishing. If a large number of viewers swipe away, it sends a bad signal to YouTube that your Shorts isn’t engaging enough, and they might prevent showing your video to further viewers.
Diversify revenue streams
Explore other revenue streams. These can include sponsorships, merchandise sales, and affiliate marketing. Earning money through these streams can prevent you from relying on the rather paltry ad money that YouTube offers.
Learn more: How to Make Money on YouTube in 2024: 8 Practical Ways
Learn from successful Shorts
A point we’ve discussed before, but is worth repeating, is watching popular Shorts for ideas and inspiration. Analyze them to see what makes them successful and apply what you’ve learned to your own videos.
Experiment with different types of videos
Don’t just stick to one video – be creative and explore different types. Play with them. Again, you can always draw inspiration from other YouTube creators' shorts for this.
Additional ways to make money from YouTube shorts
Making money through YouTube Shorts may not be as lucrative if you’re only relying on ads. However, there are other ways to earn through the medium.
#1 Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is promoting products or services using affiliate links in the comment section of a YouTube Short. When a viewer purchases through your link, you earn a commission.
So, for instance, if you’re reviewing a laptop in your Short, you can add an Amazon affiliate link in the comments section to that item. If anyone clicks on the link and buys a laptop, you get a commission from it (for laptops, the commission rate you earn is 2.5% of the purchase).
#2 Sponsorships
Partnering with brands or companies to create sponsored content can earn you a decent amount of money. The niche can be anything: gadgets, fashion, beauty products, cooking-related items, fitness products, and more.
You don’t need millions of followers to get sponsorship, but you do need a decent-sized following in a profitable niche for the company you want to partner with.
#3 Product sales
Got your own product that you want to sell? You can make creative Shorts that feature the product and then link to your online store in the comments section.
#4 Patreon or other crowdfunding platforms
Patreon is a subscription-based platform where fans pay creators to support them and, in exchange, get exclusive content and benefits.
A lot of big channels with millions of views use Patreon, as it’s a great way to supplement income earned through ads. On average, a Patreon owner makes between $315-$1575 per month. However, you can also earn way more than that – one of the highest earners on Patreon is The Tim Dillon Show, which makes about $101,000 to $253,000 per month on Patreon.
#5 Merchandise
If you’ve got a dedicated fanbase, you can sell merchandise related to your content, such as t-shirts, hats, or other items.
#6 Long-form YouTube Videos
You don’t have to restrict yourself to Shorts – you can also create long-form YouTube videos. The latter can earn you more money per thousand views. These videos make $1.25 to $2.5 per thousand views on average, with the amount reaching even up to $30.
And the best part about making long-form videos is that you can make Shorts easily. To do so, you can use YouTube’s built-in text-based editor. But a better option would be to use tools like Riverside’s clip creator, Magic Clips. Magic Clips uses AI to find the most shareable moments from any recording and turn them into clips. This saves you from a lot of manual editing.
FAQs on YouTube Shorts Monetization
Can you still earn money from the YouTube Shorts fund?
No, you can’t earn money from the YouTube Shorts fund anymore – its operation stopped in Feb 2023. However, you can still make money through the YouTube Partner Program’s new Shorts revenue-sharing model.
How much money is 1,000 views on YouTube Shorts?
The money you can earn from 1000 views can vary anywhere between $0.01-$0.06. Various factors determine this amount, like the country your Shorts are being played in, the number of views your Shorts get, etc.
Do you need 1000 subscribers to monetize YouTube Shorts?
Yes, you need 1000 subscribers plus two other criteria to monetize through Shorts: either 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days or 4,000 public watch hours for your long-form videos for the last 12 months.
Can I monetize my channel with only Shorts?
You can monetize your channel with only Shorts, but you may not earn enough unless you have millions upon millions of views.
But you can earn money through other ways, including affiliate marketing, sponsorships, product sales, Patreon, and merchandise.
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