Before you start making money on your YouTube channel, before you even get ads on your videos you have to have at least 10,000 views on your channel in total to get YouTube´s partnership approval so you can monetize your content through ads display.

That means that you could have one video with 10,000 views or many videos that equal that same amount. To check this you can track the views of your account. You go to the creator studios section of your menu, and then to “Video Manager” where you will find all the information related to every video you´ve uploaded on your YouTube Channel.

You´ll find a dollar sign on the side of every video that allows you to monetize your video and start earning money from your views!

After you´ve reached the 10,000 views and you are eligible for the partner’s program you will receive an email from YouTube saying that you´ve been approved and that you can change your monetization preferences.

They will describe in a detailed manner how to do it, and you will have the opportunity to choose if you want to be paid with a check, direct deposit, etc.

How Does It Work?

It is pretty simple actually.

An advertiser goes to YouTube so they can put ads on videos to promote their company services or products, let´s say they pay 4 to 5 bucks per 1000 views, then YouTube decides where to put those ads, meaning if they are appropriate for your kind of content or not. For that reason is that you have to be “advertiser-friendly”, so how you do it?

Having clear metadata on your video (like your title, description, and tags) so YouTube’s filter can understand what it’s all about. There are also things to keep in mind, like avoiding swearing, violence and drug references. Basically, think about who you’d like to be holding your fancy new product – is that person swearing and smoking onscreen? Probably not, however good their content is.

Now that you´ve got your 10,000 views, maybe a couple subscribers and many good videos uploaded… how YouTube will determine what ads to run on my channel?

That is determined mainly by your audience and content.

Your content defines what is your channel about so they can know what sort of advertisers are a good fit for you.

Regarding your audience, they care about their preferences, age, where are they from, among many other things. So, depending on which kind of topic or niche you are getting into, your audience demographics and characteristics will vary, and those are the two reasons that will determine how much you will be paid at the end. (per thousand views)

Your content and your audience. That´s it!

YouTube Cut!

Now, getting back to the numbers… after all the ads approval process is finished (it will take usually a few hours) your videos will start running those and you will get a cut from the 4 or 5 bucks that the advertiser is paying to YouTube, but, not before they take a 45% of that amount, so the $5 become $2.75.

How big is going to be the piece of the cake on your specific situation is going to be determined, as we´ve established, by many factors, but one that you actually have control over is your content, your niche, what are you going to talk about, who is referred to.

Mainly because that is the way that advertisers decide if they want to be represented by you or some other channel.

In some cases, YouTubers that are mere entertainers don´t earn as much (per thousand views) as Channels that are mainly dedicated to teaching some form of art, science, etcétera, because the type of ads (and therefore advertiser) that are shown aren´t usually the same. And because it is not the same audience!

Another important thing is (sometimes) WHERE is your audience from, let me show you why!

For example, people that are from Germany or Algeria, or other specific countries are more valuable to YouTube, why? I couldn´t tell you!

Maybe they don´t have much audience from those countries or not as many YouTubers making videos in those languages, but the reality is that they pay high amounts for those who adventure to make some German tutorial videos.

The reality is that all of these factors affect your paycheck at the end of the month. This is just to give an idea of how everything works, but there are a few more things you should take notice of… so let´s dive in.

Google Adsense Account

Every penny you earn from the ads displayed on your videos goes to your Adsense account, that´s where you control and manage the money you earn from your YouTube channel.

But before you can redraw any money from the account you have to surpass the threshold set by Google, that is currently $100 dollars. When you get to that you can transfer your money wherever you want. Any amount that doesn´t get to the threshold needed goes to the following month.

Every 15th of the month you will receive the payment that corresponds to the previous month. For example, you´ve earned $500 in December 2017, on the 15th of the following month (January) you will have that money available.

Analytics

You can check out where the money is originating from, meaning, which are the videos that earn the most through ads. That way you can optimize your channel by making more videos about that subject or topic, or maybe the copying the style of the video. Your choice.

Be that as it may, it´s up to you to control the numbers and try to react according to your audience preferences. To check out this graphic you can go to your YouTube channel panel, and on the left, you´ll see the Analytics section, right under the Channel section.

The Envelope

Another step you should know about is the Google Adsense envelope.

Before you can redraw any money from your Google Adsense account you will get the envelope where you will find your own and unique Identification Number, a PIN basically, to activate your account. So yea, it is pretty important.

You will receive it on the address you´ve set on your account so that way Google can check that you live there, or that you own in some regard that place.

Types of Advertisements that are shown on YouTube

There are a few types of ads that are allowed on this platform for advertisers to choose from. They are:

• Embedded Ads: they are shown directly on the video page and doesn´t get in the way of the viewer at all.
• Overlay Ads: These type of ads are a pop up that shows for a few seconds and you can close easily.
• Skip the Preroll Ads: these are displayed before or during the video that can be skipped with the click of a mouse.
• Non-skippable Ads: These are limited because are absolutely annoying for the user, fortunate enough they usually don´t last more than 30 seconds long.
• Sponsored Cards: finally, these are similar to overlay ads but are usually relevant to the product that´s being promoted on the video.

Suggested Tips to Follow

If you are interested in learning about the YouTube world, maybe creating a channel and becoming a Vlogger or a YouTube star then you need to proceed with caution in a couple topics:

• Don´t overthink: Whether is about how the payment process works, or the way that Adsense and YouTube work together, think about your channel, about your audience and how you can serve them better than anyone else, the rest will take care of itself.
• Start by starting! Learn as you do, document your life, go outside, experiment, start writing a script or thinking what is your passion, hobby or personal preference that you want to talk about.
• You don´t need a camera: you just need a pen and paper, your mind, and a smartphone. Of course is not the same to have the last Canon or Sony than your iPhone, but trust me, is not as important as the content.

By doing this repeatedly you will get better, that is the secret. It is not different than any other craft and you will get the hang of it in no time!

There are plenty of channel and tutorials out there, but if you want to get good info and start with the very basics to accelerate your learning curve then you are in the right place!

You can check out our other posts related to YouTube, background setup, necessary equipment, or just about everything related to Vlogging.

I hope this information has helped you!