YouTube Partner Program_ How to Monetize Your Channel

Are you ready to apply to the YouTube Partner Program? Just follow our step by step guide!

If you're a video creator who wants to make money online, joining the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is one of the best ways to do it. On a basic level, the program lets creators monetize their content with advertisements, and in turn, earn a profit as solid as their work ethic.

YouTube and its creators are part of a revenue-sharing model, and that helps both parties stay in business. For example, when a creator enables ads on their YouTube videos, and viewers watch those ads, the revenue is split between YouTube and the creator. The latter receives 55% while YouTube takes the remaining 45%.

That may seem like a big chunk of money for YouTube, but with hard work and dedication, your 55% share could be millions of dollars - as is the case with creators like MrBeast and Dude Perfect.

Think you're ready to join the YPP and start building a career on YouTube? Here's a complete guide to bring you one step closer to applying.

YouTube Partner Program: Minimum Requirements to Apply

Before you can apply to the YPP, you need to accomplish two important goals on YouTube:

Attract 1,000 subscribers to your YouTube channel.

Earn 4,000 hours of public Watch Time within a 12-month period.

If you need help reaching these milestones, we've got a few resources to help you out:

To reach the subscriber count you need, read our blog "How to Get Your First 1000 YouTube Subscribers." It outlines powerful ways you can cater to your audience, communicate your channel's value, boost your content's search engine optimization, and more.

If it's Watch Time you're struggling with, read our blog, "How to Get 4000 Hours Watch Time." It explains how consistency, evergreen content, and live streams can help you earn more Watch Time hours.

How to Apply to the YouTube Partner Program

When you're ready to apply to the YPP, you can complete the application in the YouTube Studio. Just click 'Monetization' in the studio's left navigation menu. That'll bring you to the YPP application page, which requires three steps before you can press submit:

Review and agree to the YPP's Terms of Service.

Set up and connect a Google AdSense account to your channel.

Wait for YouTube to review your channel and inform you of its decision.

For in-depth guidance on how to complete the application, watch the video below. It shares extra tips, such as the importance of checking your channel's location settings and extra documents you need to read before applying to the YPP:

How Long it Takes to Get Accepted to the YouTube Partner Program

After applying to the YPP, you may be wondering how long YouTube will take to review your application. The official answer from the platform's support page is about one month. However, plenty of creators have been accepted before then, so keep checking your email.

In our experience, we were able to monetize two of our channels in less than 72 hours. YouTube reviewed both applications over a weekend, which we weren't expecting. For more information on what that was like, watch the video below:

Admittedly, our smooth experience was probably due to the vidIQ YouTube channel already being monetized. We were trying to get a Russian and Spanish language channel into the YPP, and they're both branded as vidIQ.

If you don't make it into the program on your first attempt, don't give up. You can always reapply in 30 days after fixing any issues on your channel.

How the YouTube Partner Program Benefits Creators

The YPP is great for boosting your income, but that's not the only benefit of joining. The program also gives creators access to a copyright match tool and the platform's creator support teams. The copyright tool helps you find and flag stolen video content, and the creator support teams help you get more value out of YouTube.

But of course, creators are typically most excited about the YPP's extra monetization features.

These money-making tools go beyond ad revenue, so you should look forward to using them. When executed the right way, they help creators reach their desired income and build a sustainable career on YouTube.

If you're accepted into the YPP, your level of access to these tools depends on your subscriber count and other important factors.

Below, you'll find a list of YouTube's extra monetization features. To learn more about any of them, click the hyperlinks and get acquainted with the money-making tools:

Super Chats & Stickers - Monetary donations from viewers that are only sent to creators during live streams.

Channel Memberships - Paid, multi-level memberships where creators offer exclusive content to viewers.

YouTube Premium revenue - YouTube Premium is a monthly subscription service offering several perks to loyal viewers. When a Premium subscriber watches your content, you'll receive part of their subscription fee.

Merchandise Shelves - A carousel of branded merchandise creators can display below their videos.

Applying to the YPP doesn't take much time. But even if you run into a snag or get stuck somewhere in the application, you'll be glad you started the process.

Getting into the YPP is the first step to making money on YouTube, so keep creating valuable content!