Ultimate YouTube Shorts Monetization Guide for 2024

With over 2.7 billion logged-in monthly users on YouTube, Shorts have emerged as the sizzling trend, capturing attention in less than 60 seconds. But here’s the kicker – beyond entertainment, these short bursts of creativity hold the key to unlocking a revenue stream!

Are you wondering how those snappy, bite-sized videos you expertly schedule with a YouTube Scheduler could turn into a treasure trove of earnings? This complete guide on YouTube Shorts monetization uncovers the secrets behind profiting from these compact yet powerful snippets.

Part 1: Understanding YouTube Shorts Monetization

YouTube Shorts, those captivating, lightning-fast videos taking YouTube by storm, hold incredible potential for you to monetize your content. Monetization allows creators to generate income from various sources within these brief, engaging videos.

Monetizing YouTube Shorts through Ads: A Quick Rundown

Monetizing YouTube Shorts through ads offers you an opportunity to earn revenue by displaying advertisements within your short-form videos.  It works in a way similar to ad monetization for regular YouTube videos.

1. Ad Formats

   Ads in YouTube Shorts can appear in various formats, such as pre-roll (before the Shorts), mid-roll (during the Shorts), or post-roll (after the Shorts). These ads can include skippable or non-skippable video ads, overlay ads, sponsored cards, or display ads.

2. Ad Revenue Share

   When ads run on your video, you receive a portion of the revenue generated from those advertisements. The actual amount you earn can vary widely and depends on factors like ad engagement, viewer demographics, type of ad, ad rates (CPM – cost per mile), and the geographic location of the viewers.

3. Payment Structure

   If you’ve enabled YouTube Shorts monetization, the platform will pay you every month if you’ve reached the minimum payment threshold. Payments are disbursed through AdSense and can include revenue earned from ads shown on videos, including YouTube Shorts, subject to YouTube’s policies.

   The earnings generated through Shorts ad revenue sharing contribute to your overall revenue from your YouTube channel. But before you monetize through Ad Sharing, you must first meet specific criteria set by YouTube.

YouTube Shorts Monetization: Requirements

To qualify for monetization through YouTube Shorts, creators must fulfill particular criteria that the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) outlines. These YouTube Shorts monetization rules often include subscriber counts, watch time, adherence to community guidelines, copyright policies, and other eligibility criteria established by YouTube.

I’ve described the YPP requirements in detail below:

1. Channel Eligibility

   You must have an active, eligible YouTube channel in good standing. This means the channel should adhere to YouTube’s community guidelines and policies without any significant violations or strikes.

2. Adherence to Policies

   Compliance with copyright, community, and monetization policies is imperative. You must ensure your Shorts content does not infringe upon copyright regulations, contains no inappropriate material, and follows all monetization guidelines.

3. Subscribers and View Counts

   To qualify for YouTube Shorts monetization, you must meet specific thresholds. First, you’ll need a minimum of 1000 subscribers on your YouTube channel.

   Additionally, you’ll need to achieve either 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days or accumulate 4000 valid public watch hours from your long-form videos within the past 12 months.

4. Geographical Availability

   The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is not accessible in all countries. Before aiming to join or participate in the YPP, you must verify if your country is included in the list of countries where the YPP program is available.

5. 2-Step Verification

   Two-Step Verification (also known as Two-Factor Authentication or 2FA) is an enhanced security measure designed to protect your online accounts, including your Google Account. It requires an extra verification step beyond just entering your password.

   Typically, after entering your password to log in, you’ll be prompted to provide a second form of verification, such as a unique code sent to your mobile device or generated by an authentication app.

   For the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), enabling Two-Step Verification for your Google Account is mandatory. YouTube requires this added security measure to ensure the protection of your account and the content associated with it.

6. Access to Advanced Features

   The specifics of what constitutes “advanced features” can vary but may include access to features such as live streaming, custom thumbnails, external annotations, content ID appeals, or other tools that are typically available to more established and engaged channels.

   Having access to and utilizing these advanced features demonstrates an active and committed presence on the platform.

   Meeting these criteria is pivotal for your success. Once you comply with these YouTube Shorts monetization rules, you can access various income-generation tools and features, enabling you to generate revenue from your short-form videos.

Part 2: Can You Enjoy YouTube Shorts Monetization Without 1,000 Subscribers

Picture this: you’re a rising star in the Shorts universe, eager to turn your snappy, attention-grabbing videos into a source of income. But wait, do you need 1,000 subscribers to start earning from your Shorts?

The good news? No, you don’t necessarily need a whopping 1,000 subscribers for YouTube Shorts monetization. While subscriber count remains a vital metric for overall channel monetization, the Shorts arena opens doors for early birds – creators bubbling with creativity, zest and a knack for capturing attention.

So, what’s the catch? With only 500 subscribers, you can earn through fun funding. In addition to the 500 subscribers, you’ll need three valid public uploads in the past ninety days. You’ll also need three million valid public Shorts views in the last ninety days or 3,000 valid public watch hours of long-form videos in the last 12 months.

YouTube Shorts monetization through fan funding introduces a vibrant array of options to earn through your short-form videos by engaging directly with your audience. These fan funding avenues are a way for viewers to support their favorite creators financially while enjoying special perks or interactions.

Here are the various YouTube fan funding options to consider:

1. Super Thanks

   This is a feature that enables viewers to show appreciation for Shorts by making a one-time monetary contribution. Viewers can purchase and send a Super Thanks to the creator as a form of support. This gesture allows creators to receive additional financial support directly linked to their Shorts.

2. Super Chats

   Super Chats enable viewers to highlight their messages during live streams or Premieres by paying a specific amount. These highlighted messages appear prominently, catching the creator’s attention and fostering direct engagement during live Shorts events or Premieres.

3. Super Stickers

   

   Similar to Super Chats, Super Stickers are animated images that viewers can purchase and send during live streams or Premieres. These fun and expressive stickers add flair to viewer messages, providing an entertaining way for viewers to support creators during Shorts events.

   Source: YouTube Official Blog

4. Channel Memberships

   Channel Memberships allow dedicated fans to become paying members of a creator’s channel. For Shorts creators with at least 500 subscribers, this feature enables viewers to subscribe for a monthly fee and gain access to exclusive perks such as custom badges, emojis, behind-the-scenes content, or exclusive live streams.

   Each of these fan funding options encourages viewer engagement and financial support for creators directly within their Shorts content. Through fan funding, you can diversify your revenue streams beyond the traditional approach to YouTube Shorts monetization, empowering your audience to contribute directly to your success while enhancing the overall viewer experience.

Related Article: A Comprehensive Guide on YouTube Shorts in 2024

Part 3: Exploring Other Ways to Make Money with YouTube Shorts

While ad revenue is one path to success, you can explore other avenues to ensure a healthy income through.  They include:

1. YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program

   This feature allows you to showcase and link products in your Shorts videos via YouTube’s merchandise shelf. Here’s how it works:

   • Product Integration

   You can display products within your Shorts videos, either by featuring them in the content or by adding clickable links in the video description or through the merchandise shelf.

   • Direct Viewer Engagement

   Viewers watching the Shorts can click on the showcased products to learn more or make a purchase. These product links appear alongside or within the video, making it easy for interested viewers to explore and potentially buy the featured items. This can be a great approach to maximize your earnings through YouTube Shorts monetization.

   • Earning Potential

   When viewers engage with the product links and make purchases through these links, you get to earn a commission or revenue share from the sales generated. The earnings are based on the sales driven through these affiliated product links, providing a monetization avenue for you.

   Incorporating YouTube Shopping into your Shorts content strategy can enhance viewer engagement, provide value to your audience, and simultaneously explore monetization opportunities beyond conventional ad revenue models on the platform.

2. External Affiliate Programs

   External affiliate programs involve partnerships with third-party companies or platforms outside of YouTube. These programs allow creators to partner with many brands beyond those available through YouTube Shopping.

   You can sign up for external affiliate programs offered by various brands, companies, or affiliate marketing platforms to ensure YouTube Shorts monetization. After signing up, you’ll receive unique affiliate links or codes to promote products or services in your Shorts videos. When viewers use these affiliate links to make purchases, you’ll earn commissions or referral fees from those sales.

   Collaborating with brands stands as a promising avenue for creators to earn through their YouTube Shorts. This collaborative approach often takes shape through two primary methods: Brand deals and sponsorships.

   As a Shorts creator, establishing brand deals and sponsorships can diversify your income streams beyond ad revenue or fan funding, providing substantial financial opportunities. These collaborations involve partnering with brands or companies to promote their products or services within your Shorts videos.

3. Exploring Brand Deals and Sponsorships

   While brand deals and sponsorships are both collaborations between creators and brands, there are nuanced differences, especially in the context of YouTube Shorts monetization:

   a) Brand Deals

   Nature: Brand deals involve a specific agreement between a creator and a brand to promote or feature the brand’s product or service within their content, including Shorts videos.

   

   Promotional Content: In a brand deal, creators create content explicitly highlighting the brand’s offerings. The video might showcase the product/service in use, review it, or promote it within the context of the creator’s content.

   Compensation: Creators are typically paid a negotiated fee for their services in promoting the brand, which might include a flat fee, performance-based incentives, or a combination of both.

   Duration: Brand deals are often individual, one-time collaborations for a particular campaign or product launch.

   b) Sponsorships

   Nature: Sponsorships entail a more ongoing relationship between a creator and a brand, where the brand sponsors or supports the creator’s content in exchange for promotion.

   

   Content Integration: In sponsorships, the brand might not always be the central focus of the content. It could involve the brand supporting the creator in creating their content or sponsoring a series of videos without direct product placement in every video.

   Compensation: The compensation in sponsorships can vary widely. It might include financial support, free products/services, or resources provided to the creator to enhance their content.

   Duration: Sponsorships often involve a longer-term commitment between the brand and the creator, allowing for more extensive partnerships or continuous support for the creator’s channel/content.

   In the context of YouTube Shorts monetization, both brand deals and sponsorships can be avenues for creators to generate revenue. Nevertheless, YouTube’s policies require creators to clearly disclose sponsored content or paid promotions to viewers. Therefore, you should disclose any sponsored content to maintain transparency with your audience.

   Moreover, it’s essential to ensure that brand partnerships align with your content and values to maintain brand authenticity and credibility with your audience. When done authentically and creatively, brand deals and sponsorships can be mutually beneficial for both you and the brands you collaborate with, allowing you to earn while delivering valuable content to your audience.

4. Using Patreon

   Patreon is a membership platform that enables creators to earn money directly from their audience or fans, providing a way for creators to receive ongoing financial support for their work.

   While Patreon itself is not an affiliate program, it functions as a platform where creators can offer exclusive content, experiences, or perks to their subscribers or patrons in exchange for recurring payments or subscriptions.

5. Using Shorts to Boost Long-Form Video Views

   Leveraging Shorts strategically can indeed bolster earnings from long-form videos. Here’s how leveraging YouTube Shorts monetization can increase earnings from long-form videos:

   Audience Engagement

   Shorts attract quick attention and high engagement due to their short, captivating nature. By strategically using Shorts to promote or preview long-form videos, creators can entice viewers and drive more traffic to their longer content.

   Increased Visibility

   Shorts often receive substantial visibility and rapid circulation on YouTube’s Shorts shelf or through the Shorts player. By directing Shorts viewers to longer videos, creators can leverage this visibility to increase the reach and potential viewership of their longer, monetizable content.

   Teasers and Previews

   Shorts can serve as teasers or sneak peeks for longer videos. Highlighting intriguing snippets or key moments from longer content can spark curiosity, compelling viewers to watch the complete video for a more comprehensive experience.

   Call-to-Action (CTA):

   Implementing clear call-to-actions in Shorts, directing viewers to watch the full video, can significantly impact viewership on longer content. Engaging text or voiceover prompts encourage viewers to explore the complete story or in-depth information offered in longer videos.

   Viewer Retention

   If Shorts capture attention and draw in viewers, strategically guiding them toward long-form content can enhance audience retention on your channel. This prolonged engagement can positively impact ad revenue and overall channel performance.

Part 4: Estimating Your Earnings

Curious about how much moolah your cool Shorts might bring in? Estimating your YouTube Shorts monetization involves considering various factors contributing to your potential revenue. However, YouTube’s algorithm and ad rates can impact earnings.

Remember, estimating earnings is just that – an estimate. Actual earnings may vary due to the factors outlined above. Creating engaging Shorts and building an active audience can positively impact potential earnings.

How Much Money Will You Earn from Shorts?

When your YouTube Shorts gather high view counts, you earn potentially up to $24 for every 1000 views. You could still earn around $0.10 for every 1000 views, even with minimal views. This variation in earnings per view count is due to several factors affecting the platform’s ad rates and revenue generation.

While higher view counts generally correlate with increased earnings, even a smaller number of views can still contribute to your overall revenue from YouTube Shorts, albeit at a reduced rate per view.

You can use the simple formula for estimating potential earnings from YouTube Shorts to estimate your earnings. This simple calculation considers the Estimated CPM (Cost Per mile) and the total views of your Shorts videos.

Here’s a breakdown to consider when analyzing the income of your YouTube Shorts monetization strategy:

• Estimated Earnings: This represents your potential revenue from your Shorts videos.
• Total Views: Refers to the cumulative number of views your Shorts have received.
• CPM (Cost Per Mile): CPM is the estimated amount advertisers pay for 1,000 ad views on your content.

The formula, Estimated earnings = Total views ÷ 1,000 x CPM, works by first dividing the total views of your Shorts by 1,000 to establish the number of “sets of 1,000 views.” Then, this figure is multiplied by the Estimated CPM to approximate potential earnings.

For instance, if your Shorts videos accumulated a total of 500,000 views and the Estimated CPM for your content is $10, the calculation would be:

Estimated earnings = 500,000 ÷ 1,000 x $10 = 500 x $10 = $5,000

This calculation suggests a potential earnings estimate of $5,000 based on the provided figures. However, it’s crucial to note that this formula provides an approximation, and the actual earnings may vary due to several factors, such as ad engagement, viewer location, ad types, changes in YouTube policies, and more.

YouTube’s algorithm and ad structures can impact CPM rates and, subsequently, your actual earnings. Thus, while this formula serves as a basic estimation tool, actual earnings might differ from this calculation. Regularly monitoring YouTube Analytics will provide more precise insights into your YouTube Shorts monetization strategy.

Ensure YouTube Shorts Monetization Social Champ’s YouTube Post Scheduler

We’ve established that YouTube Shorts monetization offers content creators a lucrative avenue to generate revenue through various means. When you strategically craft and post, these short-form videos can attract a broad audience, leading to increased views, engagement, and potential earnings.

However, managing a consistent posting schedule for YouTube Shorts can be time-consuming and challenging. This is where Social Champ proves invaluable. This tool saves valuable time and ensures a consistent presence on the platform, enhancing audience engagement and channel growth.

Here’s an outline highlighting some of the key Social Champ features that will prove to be quite useful:

• Scheduler: This feature enables you to schedule YouTube Shorts and videos in advance. It also allows planning and automating posting times for optimal audience reach.  With a scheduler, you can enjoy a good return on your YouTube Shorts monetization strategy.
• Social Media Calendar: This feature offers a centralized view of scheduled posts, ensuring a well-planned content strategy. It also helps you visualize your content schedule for YouTube Shorts and maintain consistency.
• Bulk Upload: This handy feature streamlines the content-uploading process. It allows you to simultaneously upload multiple YouTube Shorts or videos, saving time and effort.
• Analytics and Reporting: This feature helps you analyze the effectiveness of your content strategy and optimize future posts. It provides insights into the performance of YouTube Shorts, including views, engagement, and audience demographics.
• Team Management and Collaboration: This feature enhances collaboration among team members or collaborators for content planning and scheduling. It enhances workflow efficiency by allowing multiple users to work together on content creation and posting.

These Social Champ features collectively empower you to streamline your content creation, scheduling, and analysis processes when creating these videos to ultimately enhance your channel’s performance and maximize audience engagement. You can streamline your YouTube Shorts monetization with this complete social media management tool!

Related Guide: How to Schedule YouTube Shorts

Frequently Asked Questions