%% date:: [[2022-04-07]], [[2022-08-14]], [[2024-01-22]] %% # [[Monetization]] Whether you're [[Publishing and distribution]] or making videos on [[YouTube]], you'll need to consider monetization options sooner or later if you want to make your hobby sustainable. Monetization means getting revenue from your activities, but there are different avenues of monetization. On this page, they're arranged in order of effort required from the lowest effort to the highest. ## Donations and [[Membership programs]] Donations are the easiest way to monetize, because you just need to set up an account with a provider, and there are no requirements as to when you can do this. You can sell memberships to your audience in exchange for anything from gratitude, to special members-only perks, and even to products. I'm putting these two in one section because most of these services do both. - YouTube channel memberships are open to members of the [[YouTube Partner Program]] - [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/) - membership site geared towards creators giving patreons special products or benefits - [Ko-Fi](https://ko-fi.com/): Like Patreon, but with no commission - [Buy Me a Coffee](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/): Like Patreon, but with no commission - [GitHub Sponsors](https://github.com/sponsors): Used predominantly by developers or those making contributions to [[Git]] repositories - [[WordPress]] has a membership plugin that you can also use to jury-rig your own membership site, if you use WordPress. - [[Ghost]] also offers memberships. ## Affiliates When you become an affiliate of a company, you agree to help promote their product or service in exchange for receiving a significant benefit. This benefit could be a free product, access to the service, or financial compensation. You can start an affiliate account anytime, but it might take a while before you get a payout if you don't have a large audience yet. - [Amazon Affiliate Program](https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/) is a popular one because of the variety of products that Amazon sells. - [Share a Sale](https://www.shareasale.com/) is another broad affiliates program with 39 different consumer categories. Beyond these two, it's best to think about what products or services actually make sense for your niche and either look for existing affiliate programs that they might have or contact the brands directly to ask for a special affiliate relationship. Then, you can share your unique affiliate link or discount code to your audience, who typically would get a benefit from using your link/code as well. ## Ads You can make money by allowing advertisers to place ads in your site or YouTube videos. The best and easiest way to do this is by signing up for [[Google AdSense]]. This is the easiest source of income, because you don't have to do anything but turn on monetization when you can, but it's not very lucrative, and very swingy since it's dependent on the algorithm. Ads on a website don't have a restriction, but to turn on ads on YouTube, you do need to be part of the [[YouTube Partner Program]]. After reaching the requirements, however, it's usually just a matter of enabling ads and linking your AdSense account. Ads are intrusive to your audience, but they are a low-effort way to monetize. ## Brand work A sponsorship can be considered an extension of the affiliate relationship. While an affiliate may promote a brand, they do so with minimal direction from the brand, sometimes without even any contact. A sponsorship is different in that the brand directly compensates a creator for work that is clearly defined and agreed upon. Sponsorships and paid promotions are usually one of the biggest slices of a YouTuber's income, but they require work and being comfortable with promoting products/services in your work. ## Digital products Digital products require some work up front, but they do make you money passively after that, making them a good income source to cultivate. Digital products could include: - Paintings or artistic work - Ebooks - Downloads or templates (such as Notion templates) - Apps or access to web apps - [[Tabletop Roleplaying Games|TTRPG]] maps, adventures, character art, or other sourcebooks - Online courses ### Courses Below are some popular platforms for hosting your courses: - [Skillshare](https://www.skillshare.com/): If you don't yet have an audience, this is the easiest place to start! - [Teachable](https://teachable.com/): Best if you have an audience and intend to make/sell enough digital products to make up for the monthly fee. Doesn't have a native community product (they use Circle, see below). - [Podia](https://www.podia.com/): Products, memberships, and community, all in one - [Kajabi](https://kajabi.com/): Like Podia. - [Circle](https://circle.so/): Community, done in the worst way possible. Can you tell I hate Circle? ## Consultation services Inevitably, you'll get requests to do 1:1 consultation. if you're not offering this as a perk on one of your membership sites, here are some platforms that may help you: - [SuperPeer](https://superpeer.com): Charge by the hour %%[[Gift Egwuenu]] and [[Lindie Boates]] are using this%% - [Xip](https://www.xip.co/): Charge by the question, currently in early access %%Used by [[Teppo Haapoja]]%% ## Real YouTubers' income ### Nathaniel Drew [Source video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPY7dG2nMs0) (2022) - 55% on working with brands and sponsorships - 30% from online courses - 10% from AdSense, but it's very inconsistent - 3% from Patreon - 2% from other sources (including affiliate links) ![[youtuber-income-nathaniel-drew.png]] [^drew] ### Ali Abdaal [Source video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toz7XEsSH_o) (2021 figures) - Twitch: $92.27 - Working as a doctor: $640 - Mentor for BASB course: $1,000 - Real estate (rental): $3,068 - Nebula: $6,478 - Podcast sponsorships: $19,500 - Stocks and shares: $101,750.26 - Book: $200,000 - Crypto: $132,377 - Affiliate income: $208,201 - YouTube AdSense: $391,135.30 - Sponsorships and brand deals: $432,000 - Skillshare (courses and affiliate link): $716,691 - PTYA (course): $2,500,000 [^ali] [^davella]: D'Avella, M. (2020). *Master YouTube*. Retrieved from https://slowgrowth.com [^drew]: Drew, N. (2022). *How I bought an apartment in Paris at age 24 (the price + my income - Ep.03)*. [On YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPY7dG2nMs0). [^ali]: Abdaal, A. (2021). *How I Made $4,790,000 in 2021 💰*. [On YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toz7XEsSH_o).