By Arslan Shahzad
In the previous blog, I promised that I will explain the tips and tricks that are required to monetize and expand the reach and influence of your YouTube channel.
Monetizing your YouTube channel is a piece of cake. I will be explaining how the program works and how to set-up your account to begin earning income from your YouTube videos. However we first need to Understand How YouTube Monetization Works.
YouTube places ads inside or at the start of your videos. After you’ve enabled monetization on your YouTube channel, your videos can be submitted and approved for monetization. In order to earn part of the profits that is generated from these ads, you will need to attach an Ad Sense account with your YouTube account.
For a video to be eligible, you must own worldwide commercial rights to everything in the video. For example, a video that features a song that you do not own the copyright for (e.g. a song you purchased on iTunes) would not be eligible. For more information about copyright and fair use, visit YouTube’s Copyright Center. In addition to complying with YouTube’s copyright policies, videos must abide by YouTube’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
The two key factors for earnings are the type of ads and the pricing of the ads appearing with your videos. Pre-roll ads, which are placed in the beginning of a video, make more money per thousand views than less flashy banners. You will make money per ad click and a smaller amount per view. The rates are different for different countries, the highest being in Australia, a whooping $56 per thousand views.
Ads that are shown with your videos are determined automatically based on a number of factors, including how you categorize your video and video content. Make sure that video titles, tags and descriptions are SEO friendly for best results. It is important to note that you cannot control all of the ads that may appear on your channel.
Getting Started: Step-By-Step
- To begin, log-in to your YouTube channel account.
- In the Channel Settings tab, select “Enable monetization.”
- Follow the steps to accept the YouTube monetization agreement.
- In the Uploads tab, you will see a green box with a dollar sign next to the videos that are immediately eligible for monetization. Videos that are not eligible to be monetized due to copyright will be appearing under the Copyright Notices tab.
- Next, you’ll need to associate an Ad Sense account to your YouTube channel. It is free to set up a new Ad Sense account. You will need a valid mailing address in order to have your account verified. Ad Sense will update you by mail once your account has been approved. You can also associate an existing, approved Ad Sense account to your channel. The money can be withdrawn by Western Union in Pakistan.
- For further instructions on how to associate your YouTube and Ad Sense accounts, visit the Google support page.
In the next blogs to come, I will be discussing additional ways to earn money, especially if you are shy to appear in front of the camera or lack different skills required to operate a YouTube Channel, as discussed in my previous blog. Just keep reading my blog.
The writer is Masters in International Relations from National Defense University, Islamabad. Kindly like my Facebook page “The Basement Journal” and follow me on Twitter @Journalbasement for any queries or suggestions.
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