How do you get Approved for the YouTube Partner Program

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Should you join the YouTube Partner Program?

How do you join it?

How much can you expect to earn from the YouTube Partner Program?

If you’re new around here, I do a lot of content about online business, how to grow it, and how to keep it sustainable and simple.

It honestly doesn’t have to be that complicated to make money online.

Today we’re going to talk about YouTube.

How to Get Approved for the YouTube Partner Program and Monetise

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Why should you even join the YouTube Partner Program?

If you don’t know much about it, I’ll let you in on the deets.

Once you become a partner with YouTube, they will start paying you for ads displayed on your videos.

For every single view that you get on your video, you will start earning a little bit of something.

Now, it’s not necessarily a lot; it depends on a lot of factors which we will get into.

But it can add up and be another source of income to your monthly earnings.

Once you are eligible for this, I would definitely recommend joining the Youtube Partner Program.

Some people say, ‘Well, I don’t want ads on my videos.’

But here’s the thing.

YouTube will put ads on your videos (at the beginning, in the middle etc.), whether you are a partner or not. The only difference is you don’t get paid for the ads if you’re not a partner.

Is that fair?

Probably not.

It’s good to know that people who come to watch your videos will see ads anyway.

But you only get paid for those ads yourself when you become a partner with YouTube.

So you might as well join the Partner Program to make some money off the effort you’re putting into your YouTube channel.

Feel free to watch the video or keep reading below.

Prefer to listen to the podcast? Here you go:

Is it worth joining the YouTube Partner Program?

Yes, it is absolutely worth joining the YouTube Partner Program.

I will share with you exactly how much I made for my first paycheck from YouTube on this channel (which has 4k subscribers).

I also have another main YouTube channel, which has got 17,000 subscribers – this one is more minimalism, motherhood, lifestyle-oriented.

I’ve been a partner on that main channel for years, and the paychecks definitely differ from month to month.

It depends on how many views you get, how much engagement there is, how long people watch your videos, the season and so many more things.

But on my business channel (with 4k subscribers), I actually only recently became a YouTube partner. I believe it was in November of last year (2022).

It actually took me a little bit of time to get to those requirements to become eligible.

I’ll share with you exactly how you can speed up that process so you can get there faster.

I will say, though, I wouldn’t rely just on the YouTube Partner Program for monetising my YouTube channel. Why?

Firstly because that can take quite a bit of time to meet the requirements.
Secondly, once you meet the requirements, it’s not like you’re gonna make your full-time income from YouTube AdSense alone in the beginning.

Which is why I recommend you look into other ways of monetising your channel alongside the YouTube Partner Program.

This way, you can start turning your channel into a proper business and generate a good income from it, even if you’re not a partner yet.

To help you with this, I have a free YouTube masterclass.

It’s completely free for you to watch, and I share a lot of tips there on how to get your first $1,000 from YouTube, and not just from the YouTube Partner Program.

I’m giving you real stats, real numbers from both of my channels’ case studies, and I think you will get a lot of value from this free masterclass.

Is it hard getting into the YouTube Partner Program?

Yes and no.

It’s hard in the sense that you have to be consistent.

You have to put out valuable content.

You can’t expect to just put up three vlogs here and there and be able to join and make a whole lot of money, because it doesn’t work like that.

You do need to have a bit of an audience built up, and there are certain requirements that YouTube has for you to get approved.

Here are the exact requirements below.

How do you get accepted into the YouTube Partner Program?

These are the main requirements – and I’ll get into more detail on how to achieve each of these below:

1,000 subscribers
4,000 watch hours within the last 12 months
Two-Factor Authentication must be on
No strikes on your channel
Live in a country where the program is available

Requirement #1: 1,000 subscribers

You need to have over 1,000 subscribers on your YouTube channel.

I would say I actually got 1,000 subscribers quite quickly on my second YouTube channel.

But I didn’t meet the other requirements yet.

So, even though I had 1,000 subscribers, I wasn’t eligible to join for a little while.

It actually took until I was about 3,000 subscribers to meet the other requirements as well.

If you’re struggling to reach this requirement, then I highly recommend this post on how to reach those first 1,000 YouTube subscribers fast,

I share how to speed up the process, how to create an audience that really cares about your content, how to become bingeable, and all of that good stuff.

Requirement #2: 4,000 watch hours

The second requirement, which actually took me the longest to meet, is to get 4,000 watch hours within the last 12 months on your channel.

I did have to put in more effort and wait a bit longer until I could actually join the Partner Program and reach those 4,000 watch hours.

Here’s what I would do to reach those watch hours faster.

Tip #1: Create longer videos

I would recommend creating longer videos.

Now, longer doesn’t have to mean 40 minutes long.

But the thing is, if you’re posting 2-minute videos, it will take you a long time to meet those 4,000 watch hours.

People come to your video and they watch maybe one minute of that short video.

So obviously, you need a lot of views in order to meet those watch hours.

That’s why I recommend creating videos that are around 10 minutes long, if you can.

It can be a bit more or less depending on the kind of content you create.

On my lifestyle YouTube channel, I actually create videos that are longer – most of the time they’re about 20 minutes long – and that works really well for that kind of content.

On my business YouTube channel, I try to keep it between 10 and 15 minutes. But again, it depends on the type of video.

And just a hint here.

Even after you get accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, this helps you get more money from your videos.

The longer people watch your video, the more you’re going to get paid by YouTube through the Partner Program.

And again, it helps reach those 4,000 watch hours faster, because people will have a longer time to watch.

I don’t mean just make fluffy videos so that people stick around and watch.

Try to make sure you add more value, more content and make it interesting for people to actually want to watch through the video.

It’s pointless to put out a 10-minute video if people are just going to watch 30 seconds and drop off, because it’s not what they were looking for.

Tip #2: Create bingeable videos

I have a whole course about how to become a bingeable YouTube creator, my course Youtubeflix.

I cover how to create that really engaged audience, how to monetise it and how to actually turn your YouTube into a proper business.

Creating bingeable videos starts with optimising your videos, so that people can actually find you on YouTube.

That’s through YouTube search and getting suggested on YouTube.

Tip #3: Create a series of videos

For becoming bingeable, it’s really helpful if you can create a series of videos on the same topic or a similar topic.

They kind of spin off of each other.

Let’s say somebody finds you through search and they watch a video they really like.

If they go to your channel and they don’t have any other related videos to watch, they’re going to be like, ‘Well, I’m probably not going to subscribe. I’m probably not going to watch anything else.’

And that’s it.

That’s the last time you’ll see them on your channel.

But if they see that video and they’re like, ‘Oh, this is a cool topic,’ and they go to your channel and you have 20 other videos in the series, then they are very likely to go and watch those other videos.

This adds to your watch hours and your subscriber base.

And this creates a snowball effect of growth on your YouTube channel.

Tip #4: Create a community feel

Creating a community feel really helps.

You want to make them feel like they’re a part of something.

The community that we have on my YouTube channel includes people like myself.

When I started this channel, I had in mind myself from 7 years ago (or however long when I first started my YouTube and my blog).

When I first started my whole online business, I was lost.

I had no idea what I was doing.

I didn’t know if I should focus on my blog, write long blog posts, short ones, or make YouTube videos this way or that way.

I had no idea, so I just kind of tested things out.

I had so many fears around the online space, like the fear of judgement from others, what people would think when they found out about my channel.

So when I created my channel, I had that “7-years ago me” in mind.

I thought, ‘How could I help somebody who’s in that position right now? Somebody trying to start an online business, trying to get more time freedom and passive income? How can I help them get there faster than I did?’

That’s how this whole channel started.

If you want to create a community feel for your audience, then you need to get clear on this first. You want to create that kind of place where a specific type of person can come and find helpful advice or a sense of belonging.

They find comfort in your content or entertainment, depending on what type of channel you have.

It’s also helpful to create a sense of familiarity that people can come back to.

This goes hand in hand with becoming a bingeable creator.

For example, back then, I used to think I had to constantly have new branding and new songs in my videos, just to keep it interesting, right?

I thought I shouldn’t make it too repetitive.

But the thing is, people do like familiarity.

It’s like when you go to watch your favourite TV shows.

Like ‘Friends,’ for example – the moment you hear that intro song, you’re instantly in that relaxed mode. You know you’re going to have a chill time watching your favourite show.

That’s what you want people to feel like when they come to your channel.

When they hear your intro music or even your outro music, or those little bits you add throughout your video, your voice, or simply your presence – they’re going to associate all of that with you and your personal brand.

So don’t be afraid to have that familiarity going throughout your videos, because that’s really going to help you build that engaged audience.

Requirement #3: Two-Factor Authentication On

In order to join the YouTube Partner Program, you also need to have two-factor authentication on.

That means when you log in, you have to use either an email address, a phone number, or one of those authentication apps on your phone.

This adds an extra layer of security.

To be honest, you should have this set up regardless of whether you want to join the Partner Program or not.

You should have this on pretty much any platform where you log in, because it adds security and keeps your account safe.

Requirement #4: No strikes on your channel

You also need to follow the YouTube Community Guidelines and have no strikes on your channel.

I would say this is pretty easy to do as long as you have decent content and not very controversial or sensitive topics.

Requirement #5: Live in an eligible country

Lastly, you need to live in a country where the YouTube Partner Program is available.

I believe it’s available in a lot of countries, but you can find the full list of countries eligible for the YouTube Partner Program.

How do you join the Youtube partner program?

So what happens when you meet all of these requirements?

Your next step is to apply.

Once I reached all of these requirements, I had a button to apply to become a partner with YouTube. They will then guide you through a few simple steps.

You will either need to connect your existing Google Adsense account or create a new one, if you don’t already have one.

At that point, they will start to review your channel.

I think they say it takes up to 21 days.

But it actually only took a few days for my channel to get approved.

Then, that’s it.

You will start earning from every single view that you get on your videos.

How much does Youtube pay in the partner program?

For my first month being a YouTube partner on my business channel, I earned about £20 (British pounds).

It was definitely not a lot.

But this was just my first month. I found that it kind of stabilised a bit more throughout the next few months, so my earnings increased even though maybe my views weren’t necessarily super high compared to that first month.

I do hope you found this helpful if you’re trying to join the YouTube Partner Program.

Let me know where you are at with your requirements in the comments.

Have you met 1,000 subscribers?

Have you reached 4,000 watch hours?

I would love to hear from you and how I can further help you out.