How to Make Money on YouTube in 2024 (7 Use Cases that Actually Work!)
Making money on YouTube is a dream for many content creators. In 2021, YouTube’s user base in the World amounts to approximately 2,200 million users. The number of YouTube users in the World is projected to reach more than 2,800 million users by 2025.
Based on estimations from 2021 by Statista, Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) earned the most out of any YouTuber globally with an income of 54 million U.S dollars while Jake Paul ranked second close behind with earnings of 45 million U.S dollars. Anastasia Radzinskaya, who is better known by her alias Nastya across her various channels managed to achieve 6th place and more impressively- she is only 7 years old. In the past year alone, she made 28 million U.S dollars which was enough to surpass Ryan Kaji.
So what we can see is that there is plenty of room to earn high figures on YouTube. In this article, we’re going to explore seven ways that you can make money on YouTube in 2024. Including selling online courses, making brand deals, and starting a podcast. While some of these methods are more traditional, others are a little more innovative. But they’re all viable ways to make a living through your channel. So let’s get started!
Sell Your Own Merchandise
You might have seen people wearing their own t-shirts in their videos. Well, there’s a good money-reason behind that. Selling your own merchandise on YouTube can make you a millionaire if you have a large enough fanbase. You can start with something as simple as a t-shirt with your channel’s logo on it and then branch out into other things like coffee mugs, phone cases, and even underwear!
If you want to make serious money from selling merchandise, you need to take it seriously and not just wrap some white tees with a basic logo. You also need to make sure that your merchandise is high quality and reasonably priced. People won’t buy your stuff if it’s too expensive or if it’s not good quality.
To get started, you’ll need to set up a store on your YouTube channel. This is where people will go to buy your merchandise. You can use a service like Shopify to set up your store. Once you have your store set up, you’ll need to promote it to your fans. You can do this by including links to your store in your videos, in your video descriptions, and on social media.
For printing and delivering the items, you can use a POD (print-on-demand) service. One of the benefits of using POD service for selling merchandise is that it can help you to save money on shipping costs and you don’t have to do the heavy job of acquiring the products and then printing them. When you use a POD service, the items are printed and shipped directly to your customers from the company’s warehouse, which eliminates the need for you to ship the items yourself. This can save you a significant amount of money on shipping costs, especially if you are selling a large number of items.
Sell Online Courses
Selling online courses is a great way to make money in itself. Online course creators are making over $450 million each year. You can reach a large audience and help people learn new skills or improve their current ones. But before you start selling online courses, there are a few things you need to know.
You need to choose if you want to sell courses on an online course platform or on an online course marketplace.
The main difference between an online course platform and an online course marketplace is that an online course marketplace allows instructors to sell their courses directly to students, whereas an online course platform typically requires instructors to use the platform’s built-in course management system.
So with the platform, you do the marketing and with a marketplace, the student base is already built by the marketplace.
For YouTubers, I’d recommend the online course platform as you get a way better commission rate and you already have an audience ready.
Online courses can also help you establish yourself as an expert in your field, and they can also help you build your brand.
To get started on selling online courses, you’ll need to create an account with a course delivery platform like Thinkific. Once you have created your account, you’ll be able to add your course content and set up pricing and payment options. You’ll also need to create a promotional strategy to drive traffic to your course page and convert viewers into buyers.
Read our full guide on how to create and sell online courses.
Start a Podcast
It seems like everyone has a podcast these days. So should you as a YouTuber! You can actually podcast right on YouTube by creating another channel on YouTube and calling it YOURNAME PODCAST. This way, you have two channels that complement each other.
Starting a podcast is easier than you might think, and can be a great way to share your thoughts, ideas, and passions with the world.
There are a few different ways to make money with a podcast. The most common way is by selling advertising. Advertisers will pay to have their ad played during your podcast. Another way to make money is by creating products related to your podcast. For example, if you have a cooking podcast, you could create a cookbook or video tutorial series. You could also offer consulting services related to your podcast topic.
All in all, starting a podcast is a great way to extend your money-making opportunities on YouTube.
Here are some tips for getting started on a podcast world:
1. Choose your topic
The first step to starting a podcast is deciding what you want to talk about. Pick a subject that you’re passionate about and that you think other people would be interested in hearing about. It could be anything from sports to pop culture to politics to personal finance.
2. Find your co-host
If you’re going to start a podcast, you’ll need someone to help you. Find a friend or colleague who shares your interests and who you think would make a good co-host. This person will help you plan and record your episodes and will be someone to bounce ideas off.
3. Get the equipment you need
You don’t need much to start a podcast. All you really need is a microphone and a recording device. If you want to get fancy, you can invest in some additional equipment, like headphones and a pop filter. But it’s not necessary.
4. Choose a format
There are a few different ways you can format your podcast. You can do interviews, have discussions, or tell stories. Figure out what will work best for your topic and your co-host’s personality.
5. Promote your podcast
Once you have a few episodes recorded, it’s time to start promoting your podcast. Share it with your friends and family, and post about it on social media. You can also submit it to directories like iTunes and Stitcher.
Starting a podcast is easy and can be a lot of fun. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to sharing your voice with the world.
Sponsorships (Brand Deals)
Sponsorships can be a great way to make money and grow your channel, but it’s not as easy as just asking a company for money.
Sponsorships are like brand deals where a company pays you to promote their product or service in your videos. This can be either a one-time payment or a recurring payment, depending on the agreement you reach with the company. In order to land brand deals, you’ll need to have a large audience and a high level of engagement with your viewers. You can increase your chances of landing brand deals by creating quality content that is relevant to your audience’s interests.
Brand deals are beneficial for both the YouTuber and the brand. For YouTuber, it can be a great way to make money and increase their exposure. For the brand, it’s a way to reach a new audience and create more awareness for their product or service.
Normally, you should let viewers know that you have a promoted product on your video. Some still hide this promotion with smart tactics like just using brandable products without a mention. However, being open and honest will get you far in life in general so I’d recommend just trying to make the promotion visible. If you want to make it sound not a promotion, just like too funny. For example, Peter McKinnon does this perfectly by promoting Squarespace with a funny cameo role.
So how much can you earn from brand deals? You may be able to earn anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per sponsorship. I’ve heard that some of the biggest YouTubers charge over a million per video!
Become an Affiliate Partner
Making money with affiliate programs on YouTube is a great way to monetize your channel and start earning some extra cash. There are a few things you need to do in order to get started:
First, you need to find a good affiliate program to work with. There are many different programs out there, so be sure to do your research and find one that fits your niche.
Next, you need to create a video promoting the affiliate program. This video should be high quality and informative, and it should explain why viewers should sign up for the program.
Finally, you need to add links to the affiliate program’s website in your videos and in your channel description. When viewers click on these links, they will be taken to the affiliate program’s website where they can sign up.
If you follow these steps, you can start making money with affiliate programs on YouTube!
Crowdfund
Crowdfunding is a way of raising money from a large number of people, typically through the internet. People who donate money are often called “backers” or “crowdfunders”.
Making money with crowdfunding is a great way to get your project or product off the ground. There are a few things you should keep in mind, however, if you want to be successful. Here are four tips to help you make the most of crowdfunding:
1. Plan your campaign carefully. Make sure you have a detailed plan for your crowdfunding campaign, including what you will use the money for and how you will promote it.
2. Set a realistic goal. It’s important to set a goal that is both achievable and inspiring. Shoot for the stars, but make sure your goal is something you can actually reach.
3. Create a great video. A video is one of the most important elements of a successful crowdfunding campaign. Make sure your video is creative, informative, and tells a story that will capture people’s attention.
4. Build a community around your project. Invite friends, family, and others to join your crowdfunding campaign and help spread the word. The more people you have supporting your project, the more likely you are to reach your goal.
With careful planning and a little hard work, you can make money with crowdfunding. Just remember to set a realistic goal, create a great video, and build a supportive community around your project.
Create a Fan Page (Patreon)
A fan page is a website where people can purchase limited content that can be only accessed by paying customers.
If you want to create a fan page, there are a number of platforms you can use. Patreon is one of the most popular platforms, but there are others as well.
When setting up your fan page, make sure to be transparent about how the money will be spent. This will get your fanbase invested in your content and encourage them to donate.
Also, offer enticing rewards for better pledges. The more donors feel like they’re getting something exclusive for their support, the more likely they are to donate.
Keep your page updated with fresh content. If you can keep your fans engaged, they’ll be more likely to continue donating.
Conclusion
Making money on YouTube in 2024 is going to require a bit more than just creating great content. You’ll need to find ways to monetize your channel beyond traditional advertising methods.
In this article, we’ve outlined 7 different ways that you can make money on YouTube in the coming year. Some of these methods, like selling merchandise or online courses, are time-tested and continue to be popular options for generating revenue from a YouTube channel.
Others, like sponsorships and crowdfunding, are newer trends that could offer significant opportunities for those who are able to capitalize on them. Keep in mind that not all of these strategies will work for everyone, so it’s important to tailor your approach based on your unique strengths and audience preferences.
What method do you plan on using to make money on YouTube in 2024? Let us know in the comments!
Mats-Peter Forss
Mats-Peter Forss is a full-time website tycoon and digital product creator with years of experience in different software products. Along with writing to forssinc.com, Mats-Peter is running multiple different websites and selling digital products (vectors, fonts, and logo templates).