Behind the Scenes with YouTube’s Payment Policies for Creators

Video site YouTube, owned by Google, is one of the biggest money makers for the internet giant. YouTube has changed how content creators share their work, becoming a multi-billion dollar business.

So how does YouTube pay you? It’s simple. YouTube pays you when you watch videos, view ads, search, etc. YouTube also pays you when you are a part of a video’s revenue.

In this article, we’re going to walk you through our 4-step process to outline to illustrate exactly how youtube pays you. First, let’s see the minimum eligibility requirements to join Youtube Partner Program.

1. Emma Chamberlain - $12 million
2. Roman Atwood – $14.5 million
3. JJ Olatunji (AKA KSI) – $15 million
4. Stevin John (AKA Blippi) – $16 million
5. Sean McLoughlin (AKA Jacksepticeye) – $16 million
6. David Dobrik – $20 million
7. Anastasia Radzinskaya (AKA Like Nastya) – $20 million
8. Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal – $20 million
9. Lilly Singh – $20 million
10. Preston Arsement – $20 million
11. James Charles – $22 million
12. Evan Fong – $25 million
13. Jimmy Donaldson (AKA MrBeast) – $25 million
14. Daniel Middleton – $35 million
15. Mark Fischbach (AKA Markiplier) – $35 million
16. Felix Kjellberg (AKA PewDiePie) – $40 million
17. Logan Paul – $45 million
18. Dude Perfect - $50 million
19. Jake Paul – $60 million
20. Ryan Kaji – $100 million

• Alternative ways to earn more money from YouTube
• Hot FAQs on YouTube channel monetization

Part 1: When does youtube pay you [threshold to meet]

As a YouTuber, do you feel like you’re always struggling to reach some “threshold” where YouTube finally starts rewarding your efforts with some financial reward? You came to the right place; here’s a list of Youtube minimum criteria to reach the threshold.

1. 1K subscribers

The first requirement to monetize your channel is to increase your subscribers to at least 1000.

2. Follow all the YouTube channel monetization policies

These policies are a collection of documents containing all the policies, guidelines, and terms that apply to the YouTube Partner Program and advertising programs.

3. Availability in your region

It would be best if you were in the listed countries where Youtube Partner Program is available.

4. Strike free channel

Remember to avoid any strikes if you are planning to monetize your channel.

5. 4,000 watch hours

To qualify as a creator with a sustainable audience, you’ll need at least 4,000 public watch hours within 12 months in your channel.

6. AdSense account

You’ll need to ensure that you have a Google Adsense account set up and ready to go. Without an Adsense account, the video isn’t eligible to be monetized.

Part 2: How Do You Get Paid on YouTube?

We know that making money from YouTube can be challenging but not impossible. We’ll help you figure out how to get paid. Whether you want to create your videos and monetize them or you want to take advantage of the huge pool of talent. We’ll show you what the impact of the Youtube Partner program is on the revenue of YouTube channel owners:

Video length

One of the most noteworthy characteristics of a YouTube video is its length. A longer video provides a greater amount of information, which means a greater likelihood of the viewer actually watching it to completion.

Ad Quality

The two main qualities that differentiate high-quality YouTube ads are relevance and timeliness. It would be best if you tailored the ad to what’s happening within the video to be relevant. For instance, an ad about a new study may be relevant if the video is about health or science. The ad should also be timely. If you’re looking to get more revenue out of your channel, the quality of your ads should be high.

Number of clicks each ad receives

The number of times your video ad is shown is an important factor in how much it makes. You can increase your ads’ revenue potential by increasing the ad’s number of clicks. Advertisers use this metric to gauge the effectiveness of their campaigns, which is why optimizing the number of clicks your ads get is so important.

Ad Blockers

And there are two problems with ad blocking. The first is that it cuts off revenue. The second problem is that it reduces user engagement. Ad blocking decreases the amount of time that users spend watching videos. Youtube videos that rely on advertising to generate revenue may decrease their income.

Bonus: See how much you can get by YouTube Pay Calculator

Calculating your potential earnings from YouTube is a great way to see if it is worth your time to start a channel and create videos for certain niches. It can also help you set realistic expectations for the average earnings you can expect.

A YouTube pay calculator is a simple way to estimate how much money you can make from your YouTube channel. These calculators will help you better understand how much money your youtube channel is making. Based on your view count, engagement and various other factors, it can help you to calculate your earnings from a YouTube Video or Channel.

1.Daily Video Views

Drag the YouTube Video Views Slider right or left based on your daily video views. It’s important to set your Estimated Click-Through Rate based on your channels. All that combined, you can view your monthly estimated earnings potential in seconds.

2.YouTube Channel Analytics

This tool only requires your channel URL. Copy and paste the URL and click ‘Check.’ You’ll get a short report of your channel that includes your total subscribers, the last 90 days’ progress, and an estimated earning per video.

3.Youtube Money Calculator

The Youtube money calculator will show you the exact profit you are earning per day and will let you track your earnings daily, weekly and monthly. You can use the youtube money calculator to see if you should stop or continue your videos. You will also get to know how to improve your income.

How does YouTube send you money? Illustrate the mechanism

To receive money from Youtube, you must have an AdSense account linked with google and your Youtube channel. Let us find out how YouTube sends you money. Follow the steps mentioned below:

• Connect your AdSense account to your Google account and YouTube channel
• Make sure monetization is enabled.
• Check out the different kinds of video and ad formats you can monetize.

The videos and the ads you’ll put on your channel will get you money from Youtube in your AdSense account. When you have earned $10 in ads using your AdSense account linked to your Google account, Google will send you a confirmation email. Once all the verification has been done, Youtube will send you money in your AdSense account.

Part 3: Top YouTube Earners in 2022

When you think about the top YouTube earners, most name recognition is due to big-name influencers like PewDiePie and T-Series. Both these Youtubers, and the rest of the big names like Emma Chamberlain, Ryan Higa, Markiplier, and Hannah Hart, have significantly impacted the world of YouTube by becoming some of the best at what they do.

Now you must be wondering who the richest YouTubers are. We rounded up the top of the richest YouTubers in 2022. Read on to see which YouTube celebrities are worth the most.

20. Emma Chamberlain – $12 million

Emma Chamberlain, a vlogger and a social media personality, has a net worth of $12 million. Her personality has amassed over 11.8 million subscribers and over 1.5 billion views.

19. Roman Atwood – $14.5 million

Roman Atwood became famous with prank videos on his YouTube channel back in 2009. He started another channel, “RomanAtwoodVlogs”, which now has over 15.5 million subscribers and 5.5 billion views. Total of all his endeavors is a staggering net worth of $14.5 million.

18. JJ Olatunji (AKA KSI) – $15 million

KSI is number 18 on our list, with a net worth of $15 million. In 2009, he created a new channel under the name moniker KSI. Now his channel has about 23.7 million subscribers and over 5.8 billion views.

17. Stevin John (AKA Blippi) – $16 million

Blippihis is a fun character for kids who make educational videos for them. His channel is available in several languages and has over 16.4 million subscribers, leaving Stevin with a net worth of $16 million.

16. Sean McLoughlin (AKA Jacksepticeye) – $16 million

This Irish YouTube personality has a vlogging and video games channel. This year, he has over 28 million subscribers and makes about $300,000 per month, making his net worth around $16 million.

15. David Dobrik – $20 million

David, a viral social media star, has gathered 18.2 million subscribers and over 8 billion views. His combined followers from different social media platforms are over 45 million. David’s other business endeavors and social media success explain his worth of $20 million.

14. Anastasia Radzinskaya (AKA Like Nastya) – $20 million

Nastya is an eight-year-old Russian girl who, in just a few years, has become one of the known children’s YouTubers in the world. Nowadays, she has over 110 million subscribers combining her six channels with over 42 billion views. In 2017, she partnered with Yoolato to monetize the content. It was worth it – Radzinskaya is now worth a massive $20 million.

13. Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal – $20 million

They are Best known as the comedy duo Rhett and Link, one of the best comedy channels on youtube. Their YouTube channel has made them a combined $20 million fortune thanks to the success of their TV show Good Mythical Morning, which currently has around 17.5 million subscribers and over 7.8 billion views.

12. Lilly Singh – $20 million

Lilly Singh has comedic sketches featuring other YouTubers and celebrities in her YouTube videos. She released his first YouTube video in 2010, and his comedy sketches have attracted more than 14 million subscribers. Her total worth is $20 million.

11. Preston Arsement – $20 million

Preston Arsement has made it to Forbes magazine as one of the most paid internet entrepreneurs of 2022. His channel PrestonPlayz has attracted 21 million subscribers; now, he has a net worth of $20 million.

10. James Charles – $22 million

James Charles is a makeup artist who started by making YouTube videos about makeup tutorials and has since made a career. His makeup collection and clothing line business, along with youtube tutorials, made him a fortune of $22 million.

9. Evan Fong – $25 million

Evan Fong started the channel VanossGaming, which produces gaming videos on YouTube. His channel was launched in 2011 and now has over 25 million subscribers and over 7 billion views. His career as a star in computer animated series and directory in games made him an estimated worth of $25 million.

8. Jimmy Donaldson (AKA MrBeast) – $25 million

Jimmy’s YouTube career started in 2012 at the age of 13. With over 100 million subscribers and more than 22.5 billion views on his multiple channels, this social media king is in a league of his own. MrBeast, who can afford to give away $1 million in a single video, has a net worth of $25 million.

7. Daniel Middleton – $35 million

Daniel Middleton has made millions from his gaming YouTube channel DanTDM. He’s got 26 million subscribers and 10 billion views. This man also amassed a fortune of more than $35 million and set many world records in the most popular games.

6. Mark Fischbach (AKA Markiplier) – $35 million

Mark’s channel is one of the top 100 most subscribed Youtube channels. His career as a writer, actor, director and producer made him a fortune of $35 million.

5.Felix Kjellberg (AKA PewDiePie) – $40 million

Pewdiepie channel is often among the most subscribed channels on YouTube, and today it has around a whopping 111 million subscribers and over 28.2 billion views. Despite some setbacks, he still earned a staggering net worth of $40 million.

4. Logan Paul – $45 million

Logan is one of the most popular YouTubers of today’s generation. His channel of 23.6 million subscribers, along with successful merchandise and boxing career, make a total worth of $45 million.

3. Dude Perfect - $50 million

Dude Perfect is an entertainment, sports, and comedy brand that creates high-quality entertainment content that makes a whopping net worth of $50 million. Their channel boasts over 58 million YouTube subscribers.

2. Jake Paul – $60 million

Logan’s little brother Jake Paul started his content creation career at 16. His Youtube channel got hit early, and now he boasts over 20.4 million subscribers and 8.1 billion views.

1. Ryan Kaji – $100 million

You don’t normally meet a 10-year-old with a $100 million fortune, but Ryan Kaji is a rare exception. Ryan’s toy reviews have attracted more than two million subscribers and more than 50.7 billion views.

Part 4: Alternative ways to earn more money from YouTube

Some people think they can’t make money from YouTube…but that’s not true. You can make good money from YouTube, even as a newbie. It just takes some persistence and hard work to make that happen. We’ll show you some alternative ways to make more money on YouTube.

Make Good Content Continuously

Making good content that people love to watch repeatedly is a great way to earn more money. The key is improving the content continuously every week, month, or year.

Creating content that is both entertaining and informative helps people to make decisions. An audience can get a lot of information from the video, but if it is not of good quality, it will not have a good impression.

Bonus: Spice up your videos with Wondershare Filmora

A powerful video editing software can help you a lot. With an impactful editor software like Filmora, it allows you to add titles, music, and transition effects to give your video more visual appeal.

The current most popular video editing software application on the market is, hands down, Wondershare Filmora. Editing is incredibly easy with Filmora. Even the most inexperienced user can create a compelling, professional-looking video with Filmora in minutes. With Filmora’s video creation tools, anyone can easily edit, add effects, change text, and even make voiceovers. Filmora’s intuitive interface is a dream for non-experts as well. Some of its unique features include:

Stock Media

A royalty-free stock media, smart templates, and visual effects plug-ins will help you add more variety to your videos.

AI Portrait

Remove backgrounds from photographs with great accuracy, plus includes 80+ artificial intelligence portraits and photo editing stickers.

Green Screen

The green screen doesn’t just change your background but creates special effects, too.

Keyframing

It helps your videos look more energetic with smooth animation.

Color Correction

Add or make your own stunning 3D LUTs with color correction.

Join Affiliate

Affiliate marketing is a relatively easy way to turn YouTube viewers into customers. You can join many successful affiliate programs, but if you’re looking for the most money, go for the ones that offer a recurring commission.

Get Brand sponsorships

If you’re wondering if getting brand sponsorships for Youtube is worth the money, the answer is a resounding yes. Sponsorships on Youtube generate tons of views and even more engagement than ads do.

But brands tend to sponsor only content deemed relevant to the brand. So if you want to be a sponsored content creator, you must get to know your audience first and then build out your social media strategy around the products you sell and the messages you want to communicate.

Hot FAQs on YouTube channel monetization

1. What if I don’t meet the program threshold?

While trying to meet the threshold, focus on making content that will stand out from the competition and build your channel.

2. If I meet the threshold, do I automatically get into the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)?

No, the Youtube team will review every channel that passes the threshold. You cannot apply to join the YPP if your account has any active Community Guidelines strike. Plus, your channel must follow Youtube policies and guidelines.

3. How much money does 1 million views make?

For every one million views a YouTube video gets, a YouTuber can make upwards of $5000, based on Forbes’s estimated pay rate of $5. However, these are estimates, and the amount YouTubers earn from Youtube varies wildly.

Final Words

This article is a pretty good overview of the “how” of YouTube monetization, though we would also add that it can take a while to build up a following on YouTube if you’re starting. You’ll want to ensure that you put enough time and effort into your videos.

Your content must be unique so your viewers will want to stick around and engage with you. And lastly, if you’re looking to monetize your YouTube channel, focus on building your channel and growing your audience.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Part 1: When does youtube pay you [threshold to meet]

As a YouTuber, do you feel like you’re always struggling to reach some “threshold” where YouTube finally starts rewarding your efforts with some financial reward? You came to the right place; here’s a list of Youtube minimum criteria to reach the threshold.

1. 1K subscribers

The first requirement to monetize your channel is to increase your subscribers to at least 1000.

2. Follow all the YouTube channel monetization policies

These policies are a collection of documents containing all the policies, guidelines, and terms that apply to the YouTube Partner Program and advertising programs.

3. Availability in your region

It would be best if you were in the listed countries where Youtube Partner Program is available.

4. Strike free channel

Remember to avoid any strikes if you are planning to monetize your channel.

5. 4,000 watch hours

To qualify as a creator with a sustainable audience, you’ll need at least 4,000 public watch hours within 12 months in your channel.

6. AdSense account

You’ll need to ensure that you have a Google Adsense account set up and ready to go. Without an Adsense account, the video isn’t eligible to be monetized.

Part 2: How Do You Get Paid on YouTube?

We know that making money from YouTube can be challenging but not impossible. We’ll help you figure out how to get paid. Whether you want to create your videos and monetize them or you want to take advantage of the huge pool of talent. We’ll show you what the impact of the Youtube Partner program is on the revenue of YouTube channel owners:

Video length

One of the most noteworthy characteristics of a YouTube video is its length. A longer video provides a greater amount of information, which means a greater likelihood of the viewer actually watching it to completion.

Ad Quality

The two main qualities that differentiate high-quality YouTube ads are relevance and timeliness. It would be best if you tailored the ad to what’s happening within the video to be relevant. For instance, an ad about a new study may be relevant if the video is about health or science. The ad should also be timely. If you’re looking to get more revenue out of your channel, the quality of your ads should be high.

Number of clicks each ad receives

The number of times your video ad is shown is an important factor in how much it makes. You can increase your ads’ revenue potential by increasing the ad’s number of clicks. Advertisers use this metric to gauge the effectiveness of their campaigns, which is why optimizing the number of clicks your ads get is so important.

Ad Blockers

And there are two problems with ad blocking. The first is that it cuts off revenue. The second problem is that it reduces user engagement. Ad blocking decreases the amount of time that users spend watching videos. Youtube videos that rely on advertising to generate revenue may decrease their income.

Bonus: See how much you can get by YouTube Pay Calculator

Calculating your potential earnings from YouTube is a great way to see if it is worth your time to start a channel and create videos for certain niches. It can also help you set realistic expectations for the average earnings you can expect.

A YouTube pay calculator is a simple way to estimate how much money you can make from your YouTube channel. These calculators will help you better understand how much money your youtube channel is making. Based on your view count, engagement and various other factors, it can help you to calculate your earnings from a YouTube Video or Channel.

1.Daily Video Views

Drag the YouTube Video Views Slider right or left based on your daily video views. It’s important to set your Estimated Click-Through Rate based on your channels. All that combined, you can view your monthly estimated earnings potential in seconds.

2.YouTube Channel Analytics

This tool only requires your channel URL. Copy and paste the URL and click ‘Check.’ You’ll get a short report of your channel that includes your total subscribers, the last 90 days’ progress, and an estimated earning per video.

3.Youtube Money Calculator

The Youtube money calculator will show you the exact profit you are earning per day and will let you track your earnings daily, weekly and monthly. You can use the youtube money calculator to see if you should stop or continue your videos. You will also get to know how to improve your income.

How does YouTube send you money? Illustrate the mechanism

To receive money from Youtube, you must have an AdSense account linked with google and your Youtube channel. Let us find out how YouTube sends you money. Follow the steps mentioned below:

• Connect your AdSense account to your Google account and YouTube channel
• Make sure monetization is enabled.
• Check out the different kinds of video and ad formats you can monetize.

The videos and the ads you’ll put on your channel will get you money from Youtube in your AdSense account. When you have earned $10 in ads using your AdSense account linked to your Google account, Google will send you a confirmation email. Once all the verification has been done, Youtube will send you money in your AdSense account.

Part 3: Top YouTube Earners in 2022

When you think about the top YouTube earners, most name recognition is due to big-name influencers like PewDiePie and T-Series. Both these Youtubers, and the rest of the big names like Emma Chamberlain, Ryan Higa, Markiplier, and Hannah Hart, have significantly impacted the world of YouTube by becoming some of the best at what they do.

Now you must be wondering who the richest YouTubers are. We rounded up the top of the richest YouTubers in 2022. Read on to see which YouTube celebrities are worth the most.

20. Emma Chamberlain – $12 million

Emma Chamberlain, a vlogger and a social media personality, has a net worth of $12 million. Her personality has amassed over 11.8 million subscribers and over 1.5 billion views.

19. Roman Atwood – $14.5 million

Roman Atwood became famous with prank videos on his YouTube channel back in 2009. He started another channel, “RomanAtwoodVlogs”, which now has over 15.5 million subscribers and 5.5 billion views. Total of all his endeavors is a staggering net worth of $14.5 million.

18. JJ Olatunji (AKA KSI) – $15 million

KSI is number 18 on our list, with a net worth of $15 million. In 2009, he created a new channel under the name moniker KSI. Now his channel has about 23.7 million subscribers and over 5.8 billion views.

17. Stevin John (AKA Blippi) – $16 million

Blippihis is a fun character for kids who make educational videos for them. His channel is available in several languages and has over 16.4 million subscribers, leaving Stevin with a net worth of $16 million.

16. Sean McLoughlin (AKA Jacksepticeye) – $16 million

This Irish YouTube personality has a vlogging and video games channel. This year, he has over 28 million subscribers and makes about $300,000 per month, making his net worth around $16 million.

15. David Dobrik – $20 million

David, a viral social media star, has gathered 18.2 million subscribers and over 8 billion views. His combined followers from different social media platforms are over 45 million. David’s other business endeavors and social media success explain his worth of $20 million.

14. Anastasia Radzinskaya (AKA Like Nastya) – $20 million

Nastya is an eight-year-old Russian girl who, in just a few years, has become one of the known children’s YouTubers in the world. Nowadays, she has over 110 million subscribers combining her six channels with over 42 billion views. In 2017, she partnered with Yoolato to monetize the content. It was worth it – Radzinskaya is now worth a massive $20 million.

13. Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal – $20 million

They are Best known as the comedy duo Rhett and Link, one of the best comedy channels on youtube. Their YouTube channel has made them a combined $20 million fortune thanks to the success of their TV show Good Mythical Morning, which currently has around 17.5 million subscribers and over 7.8 billion views.

12. Lilly Singh – $20 million

Lilly Singh has comedic sketches featuring other YouTubers and celebrities in her YouTube videos. She released his first YouTube video in 2010, and his comedy sketches have attracted more than 14 million subscribers. Her total worth is $20 million.

11. Preston Arsement – $20 million

Preston Arsement has made it to Forbes magazine as one of the most paid internet entrepreneurs of 2022. His channel PrestonPlayz has attracted 21 million subscribers; now, he has a net worth of $20 million.

10. James Charles – $22 million

James Charles is a makeup artist who started by making YouTube videos about makeup tutorials and has since made a career. His makeup collection and clothing line business, along with youtube tutorials, made him a fortune of $22 million.

9. Evan Fong – $25 million

Evan Fong started the channel VanossGaming, which produces gaming videos on YouTube. His channel was launched in 2011 and now has over 25 million subscribers and over 7 billion views. His career as a star in computer animated series and directory in games made him an estimated worth of $25 million.

8. Jimmy Donaldson (AKA MrBeast) – $25 million

Jimmy’s YouTube career started in 2012 at the age of 13. With over 100 million subscribers and more than 22.5 billion views on his multiple channels, this social media king is in a league of his own. MrBeast, who can afford to give away $1 million in a single video, has a net worth of $25 million.

7. Daniel Middleton – $35 million

Daniel Middleton has made millions from his gaming YouTube channel DanTDM. He’s got 26 million subscribers and 10 billion views. This man also amassed a fortune of more than $35 million and set many world records in the most popular games.

6. Mark Fischbach (AKA Markiplier) – $35 million

Mark’s channel is one of the top 100 most subscribed Youtube channels. His career as a writer, actor, director and producer made him a fortune of $35 million.

5.Felix Kjellberg (AKA PewDiePie) – $40 million

Pewdiepie channel is often among the most subscribed channels on YouTube, and today it has around a whopping 111 million subscribers and over 28.2 billion views. Despite some setbacks, he still earned a staggering net worth of $40 million.

4. Logan Paul – $45 million

Logan is one of the most popular YouTubers of today’s generation. His channel of 23.6 million subscribers, along with successful merchandise and boxing career, make a total worth of $45 million.

3. Dude Perfect - $50 million

Dude Perfect is an entertainment, sports, and comedy brand that creates high-quality entertainment content that makes a whopping net worth of $50 million. Their channel boasts over 58 million YouTube subscribers.

2. Jake Paul – $60 million

Logan’s little brother Jake Paul started his content creation career at 16. His Youtube channel got hit early, and now he boasts over 20.4 million subscribers and 8.1 billion views.

1. Ryan Kaji – $100 million

You don’t normally meet a 10-year-old with a $100 million fortune, but Ryan Kaji is a rare exception. Ryan’s toy reviews have attracted more than two million subscribers and more than 50.7 billion views.

Part 4: Alternative ways to earn more money from YouTube

Some people think they can’t make money from YouTube…but that’s not true. You can make good money from YouTube, even as a newbie. It just takes some persistence and hard work to make that happen. We’ll show you some alternative ways to make more money on YouTube.

Make Good Content Continuously

Making good content that people love to watch repeatedly is a great way to earn more money. The key is improving the content continuously every week, month, or year.

Creating content that is both entertaining and informative helps people to make decisions. An audience can get a lot of information from the video, but if it is not of good quality, it will not have a good impression.

Bonus: Spice up your videos with Wondershare Filmora

A powerful video editing software can help you a lot. With an impactful editor software like Filmora, it allows you to add titles, music, and transition effects to give your video more visual appeal.

The current most popular video editing software application on the market is, hands down, Wondershare Filmora. Editing is incredibly easy with Filmora. Even the most inexperienced user can create a compelling, professional-looking video with Filmora in minutes. With Filmora’s video creation tools, anyone can easily edit, add effects, change text, and even make voiceovers. Filmora’s intuitive interface is a dream for non-experts as well. Some of its unique features include:

Stock Media

A royalty-free stock media, smart templates, and visual effects plug-ins will help you add more variety to your videos.

AI Portrait

Remove backgrounds from photographs with great accuracy, plus includes 80+ artificial intelligence portraits and photo editing stickers.

Green Screen

The green screen doesn’t just change your background but creates special effects, too.

Keyframing

It helps your videos look more energetic with smooth animation.

Color Correction

Add or make your own stunning 3D LUTs with color correction.

Join Affiliate

Affiliate marketing is a relatively easy way to turn YouTube viewers into customers. You can join many successful affiliate programs, but if you’re looking for the most money, go for the ones that offer a recurring commission.

Get Brand sponsorships

If you’re wondering if getting brand sponsorships for Youtube is worth the money, the answer is a resounding yes. Sponsorships on Youtube generate tons of views and even more engagement than ads do.

But brands tend to sponsor only content deemed relevant to the brand. So if you want to be a sponsored content creator, you must get to know your audience first and then build out your social media strategy around the products you sell and the messages you want to communicate.

Hot FAQs on YouTube channel monetization

1. What if I don’t meet the program threshold?

While trying to meet the threshold, focus on making content that will stand out from the competition and build your channel.

2. If I meet the threshold, do I automatically get into the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)?

No, the Youtube team will review every channel that passes the threshold. You cannot apply to join the YPP if your account has any active Community Guidelines strike. Plus, your channel must follow Youtube policies and guidelines.

3. How much money does 1 million views make?

For every one million views a YouTube video gets, a YouTuber can make upwards of $5000, based on Forbes’s estimated pay rate of $5. However, these are estimates, and the amount YouTubers earn from Youtube varies wildly.

Final Words

This article is a pretty good overview of the “how” of YouTube monetization, though we would also add that it can take a while to build up a following on YouTube if you’re starting. You’ll want to ensure that you put enough time and effort into your videos.

Your content must be unique so your viewers will want to stick around and engage with you. And lastly, if you’re looking to monetize your YouTube channel, focus on building your channel and growing your audience.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Secrets of the Pros: YouTube Live Mastery Techniques

The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Live Streaming

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to get more engagement from your audience, even if you do not have a huge following. As long as you have some reliable subscribers leaving comments on your videos you should be able to schedule a live stream and know it will have an audience. People feel a personal connection with their favorite vloggers so if you give your subscribers a chance to interact with you in real time they will probably plan to join in. The key to a good live streaming is to respond to comments and questions from people who are watching. Besides watching the live chat of your video you can create a hashtag for your stream and monitor it on twitter.

Table of Contents

• Why Livestream?
• Type of Content to Livestream
• What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
• 4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
• 8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
• How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube

Why Livestream?

You have grown your audience, and now you want to take your channel to the next level and diversify your content.

Whether you are vlogging, gaming, or running tutorials on YouTube, there is potential to host a live broadcast. It’s not limited to any genre, you simply need to create content that people are interested in watching.

Before we get started into the How, let’s start with a few reasons Why you should be live streaming your content.

Connect and engage with your audience

When a viewer leaves a comment during a livestream you will be able to see it right away and respond. Having an instantaneous conversation with a viewer while they are watching your video will encourage more engagement and establish a ber relationship with your viewers — and you will know that these viewers are not bots.

Increase watch time and session watch time on your channel

If you are making YouTube videos on average 10 minutes long, and the viewer only watches half of it, that’s only 5 minutes of watch time, which is fine… But if you are live streaming for 45 minutes, and you are able to hold the viewer’s attention, you can surpass what your regular videos can do.

Make videos faster

As a YouTuber, you are always striving to be more efficient. Live streaming allows you to do that as you can set up and go. The content you end up creating during the duration of your livestream can then also be condensed into a highlight reel or a recap.

With a bit of planning before you go live, you can create a week’s worth of content in one go, instead of having multiple schedules for livestream content and your standard publishing videos.

Type of Content to Livestream

Live streaming has a lot of value, but what type of content should you be streaming?

Here are a few popular ideas for content that will attract viewers to your livestream:

Q&A session

Unboxing

Game or challenge

Sneak preview or review

Live events (just make sure the Internet can support it)

A demo or a tutorial

A live commentary or (if you are a gamer) Let’s Play video

What You Need to Livestream On YouTube

A Plan or Outline

It’s good to know what your livestream is going to be about before you start. Is there a key message you want to hit, an action you want your viewers to take, or a structure you want to follow.

Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it all has to be improvised. If you go in without a plan, you might end up feeling flustered or getting stressed out. Allow for spontaneous comments or events to take you off your initial plan, but always return to your outline so you know how to wrap up your livestream when you have to.

Stable Internet Connection

You cannot conduct a quality livestream, if your Internet is bad. When evaluating your internet connection for live streaming on YouTube, look at the Upload speed. Depending on the quality of your video, these are the minimum upload speed rates your Internet will need to perform:

480p = 1.5 mbps

720p = 3 mbps

1080 = 5 mbps

In addition, be aware of external causes that may be slowing down your internet such as someone else using it, a poorly performing router, or a damaged cable.

Camera

If you have a smartphone or a laptop with a webcam built in, that is the best camera for you to get started live streaming. It’s good to have a milestone and work towards a more advanced camera, but until then, don’t feel discouraged because you don’t have expensive gear. If you have a smartphone, a laptop, or a basic webcam, that’s perfectly fine.

Microphone

You don’t need a great microphone for live streaming, you only need a good one. If you do want to spend several hundred to a thousand dollars for a professional studio microphone, nobody will stop you, but know this, a mic that is easy to use is as important as the audio quality as you develop a consistent live streaming schedule.

Streaming Software (For Higher Quality Streams)

Once upon a time, to livestream on YouTube, you needed additional software to capture content from desktop, camera, microphone, etc, called encoding software — but not anymore.

Those encoding software, such as OBS , Wirecast , and VMix , are required if you are producing content that requires a high frame rate such as gaming, but not mandatory if you are simply vlogging or running a tutorial.

If you are using Chrome, you canstream live on YouTube without using an encoder .

A Capture Card (For Higher Quality Streams)

You will need a capture card when you are capturing footage from a different PC or console. If you are a gamer and you are using one PC to stream and one PC to play your game, then you should consider getting a capture card.

4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube

There are 4 main ways you can start live streaming on YouTube. The one that works best for you depends on the content you are going to be streaming.

1. Camera/Go Live (Chrome Browser)

By accessing www.youtube.com/webcam on the Google Chrome browser, you can start streaming immediately through your connected webcam. This way is best for a simple Q&A or letting your viewers know your thoughts in a timely situation. This method does not require an encoder.

There are 3 ways to access livestream this way:

1. Click here to connect to your YouTube channel

2. You can access it from the top menu on YouTube

3. You can access it by clicking Camera under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio

2. Google Hangouts On Air (Quick)

Another way to livestream without an encoding software is by using the Google Hangouts On Air feature.

This is great if you want the feel of your livestream to be similar to a board meeting, where you can invite people, split screen, and share screen to illustrate your point.

Here’s how you can access this Google Hangouts On Air:

Step 1: Go to Events under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio

Step 2: Click New Live Event button on the top right corner

Step 3: Enter the event’s Info and Setting page. Fill out the details of your Livestream, and under Type, select Quick (using Google Hangouts On Air).

Step 4: You can schedule your livestream or Go Live immediately by clicking one of the blue buttons on the left-hand side.

3. Mobile

Live streaming via your mobile device gives you a lot more freedom to maneuver. You can walk around and give your viewers a tour — but remember to stay within the WiFi or LTE range. That means you still won’t be able to livestream well inside an elevator.

Here’s how you can livestream on mobile:

Step 1: Access the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to livestream from.

Step 2: At the top, click on the camera icon

Step 3: Click on Go Live

Pro Tip: When live streaming, always hold your smartphone horizontally. This allows your video to be oriented as a landscape, instead of a portrait.

4. Custom Encoder

The fourth way of live streaming on YouTube is with encoding software. This is the recommended method if video quality is essential, such as gaming videos.

Step 1: Download and install an encoding software. In this example, we’ll be using OBS .

Step 2: Open OBS

Step 3: Go to YouTube Creator Studio and enter the Stream Now page

Step 4: Under Encoder Setup, copy Stream name/key (Warning: DO NOT share this key with anyone)

Step 5: Return to OBS and enter the Setting menu on the lower right-hand side of the application

Step 6: Click into the Stream tab

a) Under Stream Type, select Streaming Services

b) Under Service, select YouTube/YouTube Gaming

c) Under Server, select Primary YouTube ingest server

d) In Stream Key box, paste the Stream Key you copied from YouTube

e) Click Apply and then OK

Step 7: Plug in your webcam

Step 8: In the main OBS dashboard, under the Sources menu, click the + icon and add Video Capture Device. You should now see visuals from your Webcam.

Step 9: Select the Resolution you want for your video and click OK

Step 10: Return to your YouTube Streaming Page and fill out the details of your livestream

Step 11: Go back to OBS and click Start Streaming

Step 12: See on YouTube Streaming Page at the top that you are Live. You are officially streaming. Once You are finished streaming, return to OBS and click Stop Streaming to end the stream.

8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube

Do Speed Test

Before you start your livestream, do a speed test of your Internet. Check out from here.

Have Good Lighting

Be aware of your surroundings when you are about to livestream. You don’t need the top-notch lighting kit, you can simply sit beside a window and allow natural lights to illuminate your stream.

Shoot A Live Test (Unlisted)

Have a technical rehearsal by doing a livestream test, then rewatching it, and evaluating the quality of the audio and visual.

You don’t have to worry about your audience logging in and seeing your test if you set the Privacy of the stream to Unlisted.

Look at the Lens, Not the Screen

If you are streaming with the selfie camera on your smartphone or using your camera’s viewfinder to make sure you are in the frame, remember that you need to be looking at the lens — not the image of yourself.

Eye contact is important in building trust, and if you are looking at yourself, it will appear as if you are looking past your viewers instead of at them.

Show It To Your Viewers

Whatever you are talking about, if you can, show it to your viewers. YouTube is a visual medium, and that means your viewers can become disinterested if there’s nothing visual holding their attention.

In the beginning, you probably won’t have a multi-camera setup, so you cannot cut away from your livestream. However, you can share the screen and you can bring physical objects into a frame.

If you are talking about your dog, show her on camera. If you’re presenting something with a lot of steps, create a Powerpoint slideshow.

Consider what visuals or props you can add to your livestream to enhance your performance.

Find A Way to Make it Evergreen

Evergreen content refers to content that is relevant for a great length of time. Talking about an event isn’t evergreen, because the event will soon pass and become old news. However, giving some tips for how to plan an event would be evergreen content.

Since your livestream will be saved on YouTube and your viewers can replay and watch it. They’re more likely to enjoy it if the content is relevant and interesting.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Long

A livestream doesn’t need to be 40 minutes long. It only needs to be long enough for you to get your story across — and if you want to answer some questions and engage with your audience. As soon as your story is over, even if it’s only 5 minutes, that’s okay. Don’t stress about the length of your stream, it’s not an endurance competition.

Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes

Another thing you shouldn’t worry about at all is making mistakes. When you are doing livestreams pretend you are engaging with someone in real life. In real life, you aren’t able to edit out your mistakes, whether it’s a word mispronounced or coffee spilling. Roll with it and laugh it off.

How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube

Let People Know When You Are Streaming

Give people enough time to schedule it in, don’t spring it on them in the last minute. Share it on social media, your website, and any other means.

Create a Streaming Link 2 Days Before

Share your livestream link via social media to remind everyone to tune in when you go live. Looking for your link? It should look something like this: <www.youtube.com/user/\[channelname\]/live>

Reach Out To the Communities Most Interested

If you are going to be live streaming about a specific topic, such as photography, you should reach out to those who are interested in the topic. Highlight what aspect of photography you are going to be streaming and attract new viewers to your content.

Be Aware of Time Difference

If you have an international audience, find time to livestream where you can get the optimal amount of viewers.

You can find the location of your main demographic in your YouTube analytics .

Create a Channel Trailer to Promote Livestream

Make a video and host it as your channel trailer, that way anyone who lands on your YouTube page will see the promo for your livestream.

Promote Through Feature Content and Channel

YouTube has a feature that enables you to use your existing content to promote your upcoming livestream.

Here’s how to set it up:

Key Takeaways

1. Live streaming will help you make more videos, engage with your audience, and grow your channel.
2. You don’t need expensive equipment to livestream on YouTube, you only need a webcam and a microphone.
3. YouTube has made live streaming as easy as a few clicks, no additional software needed unless you are gaming.
4. Always do a test run of your livestream to ensure the internet, audio, and visual are all working properly.
5. Create content and reach out to communities to promote your livestream.

Have you encountered any obstacles when setting up your livestream on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below, we are happy to help!

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to get more engagement from your audience, even if you do not have a huge following. As long as you have some reliable subscribers leaving comments on your videos you should be able to schedule a live stream and know it will have an audience. People feel a personal connection with their favorite vloggers so if you give your subscribers a chance to interact with you in real time they will probably plan to join in. The key to a good live streaming is to respond to comments and questions from people who are watching. Besides watching the live chat of your video you can create a hashtag for your stream and monitor it on twitter.

Table of Contents

• Why Livestream?
• Type of Content to Livestream
• What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
• 4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
• 8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
• How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube

Why Livestream?

You have grown your audience, and now you want to take your channel to the next level and diversify your content.

Whether you are vlogging, gaming, or running tutorials on YouTube, there is potential to host a live broadcast. It’s not limited to any genre, you simply need to create content that people are interested in watching.

Before we get started into the How, let’s start with a few reasons Why you should be live streaming your content.

Connect and engage with your audience

When a viewer leaves a comment during a livestream you will be able to see it right away and respond. Having an instantaneous conversation with a viewer while they are watching your video will encourage more engagement and establish a ber relationship with your viewers — and you will know that these viewers are not bots.

Increase watch time and session watch time on your channel

If you are making YouTube videos on average 10 minutes long, and the viewer only watches half of it, that’s only 5 minutes of watch time, which is fine… But if you are live streaming for 45 minutes, and you are able to hold the viewer’s attention, you can surpass what your regular videos can do.

Make videos faster

As a YouTuber, you are always striving to be more efficient. Live streaming allows you to do that as you can set up and go. The content you end up creating during the duration of your livestream can then also be condensed into a highlight reel or a recap.

With a bit of planning before you go live, you can create a week’s worth of content in one go, instead of having multiple schedules for livestream content and your standard publishing videos.

Type of Content to Livestream

Live streaming has a lot of value, but what type of content should you be streaming?

Here are a few popular ideas for content that will attract viewers to your livestream:

Q&A session

Unboxing

Game or challenge

Sneak preview or review

Live events (just make sure the Internet can support it)

A demo or a tutorial

A live commentary or (if you are a gamer) Let’s Play video

What You Need to Livestream On YouTube

A Plan or Outline

It’s good to know what your livestream is going to be about before you start. Is there a key message you want to hit, an action you want your viewers to take, or a structure you want to follow.

Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it all has to be improvised. If you go in without a plan, you might end up feeling flustered or getting stressed out. Allow for spontaneous comments or events to take you off your initial plan, but always return to your outline so you know how to wrap up your livestream when you have to.

Stable Internet Connection

You cannot conduct a quality livestream, if your Internet is bad. When evaluating your internet connection for live streaming on YouTube, look at the Upload speed. Depending on the quality of your video, these are the minimum upload speed rates your Internet will need to perform:

480p = 1.5 mbps

720p = 3 mbps

1080 = 5 mbps

In addition, be aware of external causes that may be slowing down your internet such as someone else using it, a poorly performing router, or a damaged cable.

Camera

If you have a smartphone or a laptop with a webcam built in, that is the best camera for you to get started live streaming. It’s good to have a milestone and work towards a more advanced camera, but until then, don’t feel discouraged because you don’t have expensive gear. If you have a smartphone, a laptop, or a basic webcam, that’s perfectly fine.

Microphone

You don’t need a great microphone for live streaming, you only need a good one. If you do want to spend several hundred to a thousand dollars for a professional studio microphone, nobody will stop you, but know this, a mic that is easy to use is as important as the audio quality as you develop a consistent live streaming schedule.

Streaming Software (For Higher Quality Streams)

Once upon a time, to livestream on YouTube, you needed additional software to capture content from desktop, camera, microphone, etc, called encoding software — but not anymore.

Those encoding software, such as OBS , Wirecast , and VMix , are required if you are producing content that requires a high frame rate such as gaming, but not mandatory if you are simply vlogging or running a tutorial.

If you are using Chrome, you canstream live on YouTube without using an encoder .

A Capture Card (For Higher Quality Streams)

You will need a capture card when you are capturing footage from a different PC or console. If you are a gamer and you are using one PC to stream and one PC to play your game, then you should consider getting a capture card.

4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube

There are 4 main ways you can start live streaming on YouTube. The one that works best for you depends on the content you are going to be streaming.

1. Camera/Go Live (Chrome Browser)

By accessing www.youtube.com/webcam on the Google Chrome browser, you can start streaming immediately through your connected webcam. This way is best for a simple Q&A or letting your viewers know your thoughts in a timely situation. This method does not require an encoder.

There are 3 ways to access livestream this way:

1. Click here to connect to your YouTube channel

2. You can access it from the top menu on YouTube

3. You can access it by clicking Camera under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio

2. Google Hangouts On Air (Quick)

Another way to livestream without an encoding software is by using the Google Hangouts On Air feature.

This is great if you want the feel of your livestream to be similar to a board meeting, where you can invite people, split screen, and share screen to illustrate your point.

Here’s how you can access this Google Hangouts On Air:

Step 1: Go to Events under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio

Step 2: Click New Live Event button on the top right corner

Step 3: Enter the event’s Info and Setting page. Fill out the details of your Livestream, and under Type, select Quick (using Google Hangouts On Air).

Step 4: You can schedule your livestream or Go Live immediately by clicking one of the blue buttons on the left-hand side.

3. Mobile

Live streaming via your mobile device gives you a lot more freedom to maneuver. You can walk around and give your viewers a tour — but remember to stay within the WiFi or LTE range. That means you still won’t be able to livestream well inside an elevator.

Here’s how you can livestream on mobile:

Step 1: Access the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to livestream from.

Step 2: At the top, click on the camera icon

Step 3: Click on Go Live

Pro Tip: When live streaming, always hold your smartphone horizontally. This allows your video to be oriented as a landscape, instead of a portrait.

4. Custom Encoder

The fourth way of live streaming on YouTube is with encoding software. This is the recommended method if video quality is essential, such as gaming videos.

Step 1: Download and install an encoding software. In this example, we’ll be using OBS .

Step 2: Open OBS

Step 3: Go to YouTube Creator Studio and enter the Stream Now page

Step 4: Under Encoder Setup, copy Stream name/key (Warning: DO NOT share this key with anyone)

Step 5: Return to OBS and enter the Setting menu on the lower right-hand side of the application

Step 6: Click into the Stream tab

a) Under Stream Type, select Streaming Services

b) Under Service, select YouTube/YouTube Gaming

c) Under Server, select Primary YouTube ingest server

d) In Stream Key box, paste the Stream Key you copied from YouTube

e) Click Apply and then OK

Step 7: Plug in your webcam

Step 8: In the main OBS dashboard, under the Sources menu, click the + icon and add Video Capture Device. You should now see visuals from your Webcam.

Step 9: Select the Resolution you want for your video and click OK

Step 10: Return to your YouTube Streaming Page and fill out the details of your livestream

Step 11: Go back to OBS and click Start Streaming

Step 12: See on YouTube Streaming Page at the top that you are Live. You are officially streaming. Once You are finished streaming, return to OBS and click Stop Streaming to end the stream.

8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube

Do Speed Test

Before you start your livestream, do a speed test of your Internet. Check out from here.

Have Good Lighting

Be aware of your surroundings when you are about to livestream. You don’t need the top-notch lighting kit, you can simply sit beside a window and allow natural lights to illuminate your stream.

Shoot A Live Test (Unlisted)

Have a technical rehearsal by doing a livestream test, then rewatching it, and evaluating the quality of the audio and visual.

You don’t have to worry about your audience logging in and seeing your test if you set the Privacy of the stream to Unlisted.

Look at the Lens, Not the Screen

If you are streaming with the selfie camera on your smartphone or using your camera’s viewfinder to make sure you are in the frame, remember that you need to be looking at the lens — not the image of yourself.

Eye contact is important in building trust, and if you are looking at yourself, it will appear as if you are looking past your viewers instead of at them.

Show It To Your Viewers

Whatever you are talking about, if you can, show it to your viewers. YouTube is a visual medium, and that means your viewers can become disinterested if there’s nothing visual holding their attention.

In the beginning, you probably won’t have a multi-camera setup, so you cannot cut away from your livestream. However, you can share the screen and you can bring physical objects into a frame.

If you are talking about your dog, show her on camera. If you’re presenting something with a lot of steps, create a Powerpoint slideshow.

Consider what visuals or props you can add to your livestream to enhance your performance.

Find A Way to Make it Evergreen

Evergreen content refers to content that is relevant for a great length of time. Talking about an event isn’t evergreen, because the event will soon pass and become old news. However, giving some tips for how to plan an event would be evergreen content.

Since your livestream will be saved on YouTube and your viewers can replay and watch it. They’re more likely to enjoy it if the content is relevant and interesting.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Long

A livestream doesn’t need to be 40 minutes long. It only needs to be long enough for you to get your story across — and if you want to answer some questions and engage with your audience. As soon as your story is over, even if it’s only 5 minutes, that’s okay. Don’t stress about the length of your stream, it’s not an endurance competition.

Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes

Another thing you shouldn’t worry about at all is making mistakes. When you are doing livestreams pretend you are engaging with someone in real life. In real life, you aren’t able to edit out your mistakes, whether it’s a word mispronounced or coffee spilling. Roll with it and laugh it off.

How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube

Let People Know When You Are Streaming

Give people enough time to schedule it in, don’t spring it on them in the last minute. Share it on social media, your website, and any other means.

Create a Streaming Link 2 Days Before

Share your livestream link via social media to remind everyone to tune in when you go live. Looking for your link? It should look something like this: <www.youtube.com/user/\[channelname\]/live>

Reach Out To the Communities Most Interested

If you are going to be live streaming about a specific topic, such as photography, you should reach out to those who are interested in the topic. Highlight what aspect of photography you are going to be streaming and attract new viewers to your content.

Be Aware of Time Difference

If you have an international audience, find time to livestream where you can get the optimal amount of viewers.

You can find the location of your main demographic in your YouTube analytics .

Create a Channel Trailer to Promote Livestream

Make a video and host it as your channel trailer, that way anyone who lands on your YouTube page will see the promo for your livestream.

Promote Through Feature Content and Channel

YouTube has a feature that enables you to use your existing content to promote your upcoming livestream.

Here’s how to set it up:

Key Takeaways

1. Live streaming will help you make more videos, engage with your audience, and grow your channel.
2. You don’t need expensive equipment to livestream on YouTube, you only need a webcam and a microphone.
3. YouTube has made live streaming as easy as a few clicks, no additional software needed unless you are gaming.
4. Always do a test run of your livestream to ensure the internet, audio, and visual are all working properly.
5. Create content and reach out to communities to promote your livestream.

Have you encountered any obstacles when setting up your livestream on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below, we are happy to help!

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to get more engagement from your audience, even if you do not have a huge following. As long as you have some reliable subscribers leaving comments on your videos you should be able to schedule a live stream and know it will have an audience. People feel a personal connection with their favorite vloggers so if you give your subscribers a chance to interact with you in real time they will probably plan to join in. The key to a good live streaming is to respond to comments and questions from people who are watching. Besides watching the live chat of your video you can create a hashtag for your stream and monitor it on twitter.

Table of Contents

• Why Livestream?
• Type of Content to Livestream
• What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
• 4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
• 8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
• How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube

Why Livestream?

You have grown your audience, and now you want to take your channel to the next level and diversify your content.

Whether you are vlogging, gaming, or running tutorials on YouTube, there is potential to host a live broadcast. It’s not limited to any genre, you simply need to create content that people are interested in watching.

Before we get started into the How, let’s start with a few reasons Why you should be live streaming your content.

Connect and engage with your audience

When a viewer leaves a comment during a livestream you will be able to see it right away and respond. Having an instantaneous conversation with a viewer while they are watching your video will encourage more engagement and establish a ber relationship with your viewers — and you will know that these viewers are not bots.

Increase watch time and session watch time on your channel

If you are making YouTube videos on average 10 minutes long, and the viewer only watches half of it, that’s only 5 minutes of watch time, which is fine… But if you are live streaming for 45 minutes, and you are able to hold the viewer’s attention, you can surpass what your regular videos can do.

Make videos faster

As a YouTuber, you are always striving to be more efficient. Live streaming allows you to do that as you can set up and go. The content you end up creating during the duration of your livestream can then also be condensed into a highlight reel or a recap.

With a bit of planning before you go live, you can create a week’s worth of content in one go, instead of having multiple schedules for livestream content and your standard publishing videos.

Type of Content to Livestream

Live streaming has a lot of value, but what type of content should you be streaming?

Here are a few popular ideas for content that will attract viewers to your livestream:

Q&A session

Unboxing

Game or challenge

Sneak preview or review

Live events (just make sure the Internet can support it)

A demo or a tutorial

A live commentary or (if you are a gamer) Let’s Play video

What You Need to Livestream On YouTube

A Plan or Outline

It’s good to know what your livestream is going to be about before you start. Is there a key message you want to hit, an action you want your viewers to take, or a structure you want to follow.

Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it all has to be improvised. If you go in without a plan, you might end up feeling flustered or getting stressed out. Allow for spontaneous comments or events to take you off your initial plan, but always return to your outline so you know how to wrap up your livestream when you have to.

Stable Internet Connection

You cannot conduct a quality livestream, if your Internet is bad. When evaluating your internet connection for live streaming on YouTube, look at the Upload speed. Depending on the quality of your video, these are the minimum upload speed rates your Internet will need to perform:

480p = 1.5 mbps

720p = 3 mbps

1080 = 5 mbps

In addition, be aware of external causes that may be slowing down your internet such as someone else using it, a poorly performing router, or a damaged cable.

Camera

If you have a smartphone or a laptop with a webcam built in, that is the best camera for you to get started live streaming. It’s good to have a milestone and work towards a more advanced camera, but until then, don’t feel discouraged because you don’t have expensive gear. If you have a smartphone, a laptop, or a basic webcam, that’s perfectly fine.

Microphone

You don’t need a great microphone for live streaming, you only need a good one. If you do want to spend several hundred to a thousand dollars for a professional studio microphone, nobody will stop you, but know this, a mic that is easy to use is as important as the audio quality as you develop a consistent live streaming schedule.

Streaming Software (For Higher Quality Streams)

Once upon a time, to livestream on YouTube, you needed additional software to capture content from desktop, camera, microphone, etc, called encoding software — but not anymore.

Those encoding software, such as OBS , Wirecast , and VMix , are required if you are producing content that requires a high frame rate such as gaming, but not mandatory if you are simply vlogging or running a tutorial.

If you are using Chrome, you canstream live on YouTube without using an encoder .

A Capture Card (For Higher Quality Streams)

You will need a capture card when you are capturing footage from a different PC or console. If you are a gamer and you are using one PC to stream and one PC to play your game, then you should consider getting a capture card.

4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube

There are 4 main ways you can start live streaming on YouTube. The one that works best for you depends on the content you are going to be streaming.

1. Camera/Go Live (Chrome Browser)

By accessing www.youtube.com/webcam on the Google Chrome browser, you can start streaming immediately through your connected webcam. This way is best for a simple Q&A or letting your viewers know your thoughts in a timely situation. This method does not require an encoder.

There are 3 ways to access livestream this way:

1. Click here to connect to your YouTube channel

2. You can access it from the top menu on YouTube

3. You can access it by clicking Camera under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio

2. Google Hangouts On Air (Quick)

Another way to livestream without an encoding software is by using the Google Hangouts On Air feature.

This is great if you want the feel of your livestream to be similar to a board meeting, where you can invite people, split screen, and share screen to illustrate your point.

Here’s how you can access this Google Hangouts On Air:

Step 1: Go to Events under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio

Step 2: Click New Live Event button on the top right corner

Step 3: Enter the event’s Info and Setting page. Fill out the details of your Livestream, and under Type, select Quick (using Google Hangouts On Air).

Step 4: You can schedule your livestream or Go Live immediately by clicking one of the blue buttons on the left-hand side.

3. Mobile

Live streaming via your mobile device gives you a lot more freedom to maneuver. You can walk around and give your viewers a tour — but remember to stay within the WiFi or LTE range. That means you still won’t be able to livestream well inside an elevator.

Here’s how you can livestream on mobile:

Step 1: Access the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to livestream from.

Step 2: At the top, click on the camera icon

Step 3: Click on Go Live

Pro Tip: When live streaming, always hold your smartphone horizontally. This allows your video to be oriented as a landscape, instead of a portrait.

4. Custom Encoder

The fourth way of live streaming on YouTube is with encoding software. This is the recommended method if video quality is essential, such as gaming videos.

Step 1: Download and install an encoding software. In this example, we’ll be using OBS .

Step 2: Open OBS

Step 3: Go to YouTube Creator Studio and enter the Stream Now page

Step 4: Under Encoder Setup, copy Stream name/key (Warning: DO NOT share this key with anyone)

Step 5: Return to OBS and enter the Setting menu on the lower right-hand side of the application

Step 6: Click into the Stream tab

a) Under Stream Type, select Streaming Services

b) Under Service, select YouTube/YouTube Gaming

c) Under Server, select Primary YouTube ingest server

d) In Stream Key box, paste the Stream Key you copied from YouTube

e) Click Apply and then OK

Step 7: Plug in your webcam

Step 8: In the main OBS dashboard, under the Sources menu, click the + icon and add Video Capture Device. You should now see visuals from your Webcam.

Step 9: Select the Resolution you want for your video and click OK

Step 10: Return to your YouTube Streaming Page and fill out the details of your livestream

Step 11: Go back to OBS and click Start Streaming

Step 12: See on YouTube Streaming Page at the top that you are Live. You are officially streaming. Once You are finished streaming, return to OBS and click Stop Streaming to end the stream.

8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube

Do Speed Test

Before you start your livestream, do a speed test of your Internet. Check out from here.

Have Good Lighting

Be aware of your surroundings when you are about to livestream. You don’t need the top-notch lighting kit, you can simply sit beside a window and allow natural lights to illuminate your stream.

Shoot A Live Test (Unlisted)

Have a technical rehearsal by doing a livestream test, then rewatching it, and evaluating the quality of the audio and visual.

You don’t have to worry about your audience logging in and seeing your test if you set the Privacy of the stream to Unlisted.

Look at the Lens, Not the Screen

If you are streaming with the selfie camera on your smartphone or using your camera’s viewfinder to make sure you are in the frame, remember that you need to be looking at the lens — not the image of yourself.

Eye contact is important in building trust, and if you are looking at yourself, it will appear as if you are looking past your viewers instead of at them.

Show It To Your Viewers

Whatever you are talking about, if you can, show it to your viewers. YouTube is a visual medium, and that means your viewers can become disinterested if there’s nothing visual holding their attention.

In the beginning, you probably won’t have a multi-camera setup, so you cannot cut away from your livestream. However, you can share the screen and you can bring physical objects into a frame.

If you are talking about your dog, show her on camera. If you’re presenting something with a lot of steps, create a Powerpoint slideshow.

Consider what visuals or props you can add to your livestream to enhance your performance.

Find A Way to Make it Evergreen

Evergreen content refers to content that is relevant for a great length of time. Talking about an event isn’t evergreen, because the event will soon pass and become old news. However, giving some tips for how to plan an event would be evergreen content.

Since your livestream will be saved on YouTube and your viewers can replay and watch it. They’re more likely to enjoy it if the content is relevant and interesting.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Long

A livestream doesn’t need to be 40 minutes long. It only needs to be long enough for you to get your story across — and if you want to answer some questions and engage with your audience. As soon as your story is over, even if it’s only 5 minutes, that’s okay. Don’t stress about the length of your stream, it’s not an endurance competition.

Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes

Another thing you shouldn’t worry about at all is making mistakes. When you are doing livestreams pretend you are engaging with someone in real life. In real life, you aren’t able to edit out your mistakes, whether it’s a word mispronounced or coffee spilling. Roll with it and laugh it off.

How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube

Let People Know When You Are Streaming

Give people enough time to schedule it in, don’t spring it on them in the last minute. Share it on social media, your website, and any other means.

Create a Streaming Link 2 Days Before

Share your livestream link via social media to remind everyone to tune in when you go live. Looking for your link? It should look something like this: <www.youtube.com/user/\[channelname\]/live>

Reach Out To the Communities Most Interested

If you are going to be live streaming about a specific topic, such as photography, you should reach out to those who are interested in the topic. Highlight what aspect of photography you are going to be streaming and attract new viewers to your content.

Be Aware of Time Difference

If you have an international audience, find time to livestream where you can get the optimal amount of viewers.

You can find the location of your main demographic in your YouTube analytics .

Create a Channel Trailer to Promote Livestream

Make a video and host it as your channel trailer, that way anyone who lands on your YouTube page will see the promo for your livestream.

Promote Through Feature Content and Channel

YouTube has a feature that enables you to use your existing content to promote your upcoming livestream.

Here’s how to set it up:

Key Takeaways

1. Live streaming will help you make more videos, engage with your audience, and grow your channel.
2. You don’t need expensive equipment to livestream on YouTube, you only need a webcam and a microphone.
3. YouTube has made live streaming as easy as a few clicks, no additional software needed unless you are gaming.
4. Always do a test run of your livestream to ensure the internet, audio, and visual are all working properly.
5. Create content and reach out to communities to promote your livestream.

Have you encountered any obstacles when setting up your livestream on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below, we are happy to help!

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to get more engagement from your audience, even if you do not have a huge following. As long as you have some reliable subscribers leaving comments on your videos you should be able to schedule a live stream and know it will have an audience. People feel a personal connection with their favorite vloggers so if you give your subscribers a chance to interact with you in real time they will probably plan to join in. The key to a good live streaming is to respond to comments and questions from people who are watching. Besides watching the live chat of your video you can create a hashtag for your stream and monitor it on twitter.

Table of Contents

• Why Livestream?
• Type of Content to Livestream
• What You Need to Livestream On YouTube
• 4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube
• 8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube
• How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube

Why Livestream?

You have grown your audience, and now you want to take your channel to the next level and diversify your content.

Whether you are vlogging, gaming, or running tutorials on YouTube, there is potential to host a live broadcast. It’s not limited to any genre, you simply need to create content that people are interested in watching.

Before we get started into the How, let’s start with a few reasons Why you should be live streaming your content.

Connect and engage with your audience

When a viewer leaves a comment during a livestream you will be able to see it right away and respond. Having an instantaneous conversation with a viewer while they are watching your video will encourage more engagement and establish a ber relationship with your viewers — and you will know that these viewers are not bots.

Increase watch time and session watch time on your channel

If you are making YouTube videos on average 10 minutes long, and the viewer only watches half of it, that’s only 5 minutes of watch time, which is fine… But if you are live streaming for 45 minutes, and you are able to hold the viewer’s attention, you can surpass what your regular videos can do.

Make videos faster

As a YouTuber, you are always striving to be more efficient. Live streaming allows you to do that as you can set up and go. The content you end up creating during the duration of your livestream can then also be condensed into a highlight reel or a recap.

With a bit of planning before you go live, you can create a week’s worth of content in one go, instead of having multiple schedules for livestream content and your standard publishing videos.

Type of Content to Livestream

Live streaming has a lot of value, but what type of content should you be streaming?

Here are a few popular ideas for content that will attract viewers to your livestream:

Q&A session

Unboxing

Game or challenge

Sneak preview or review

Live events (just make sure the Internet can support it)

A demo or a tutorial

A live commentary or (if you are a gamer) Let’s Play video

What You Need to Livestream On YouTube

A Plan or Outline

It’s good to know what your livestream is going to be about before you start. Is there a key message you want to hit, an action you want your viewers to take, or a structure you want to follow.

Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it all has to be improvised. If you go in without a plan, you might end up feeling flustered or getting stressed out. Allow for spontaneous comments or events to take you off your initial plan, but always return to your outline so you know how to wrap up your livestream when you have to.

Stable Internet Connection

You cannot conduct a quality livestream, if your Internet is bad. When evaluating your internet connection for live streaming on YouTube, look at the Upload speed. Depending on the quality of your video, these are the minimum upload speed rates your Internet will need to perform:

480p = 1.5 mbps

720p = 3 mbps

1080 = 5 mbps

In addition, be aware of external causes that may be slowing down your internet such as someone else using it, a poorly performing router, or a damaged cable.

Camera

If you have a smartphone or a laptop with a webcam built in, that is the best camera for you to get started live streaming. It’s good to have a milestone and work towards a more advanced camera, but until then, don’t feel discouraged because you don’t have expensive gear. If you have a smartphone, a laptop, or a basic webcam, that’s perfectly fine.

Microphone

You don’t need a great microphone for live streaming, you only need a good one. If you do want to spend several hundred to a thousand dollars for a professional studio microphone, nobody will stop you, but know this, a mic that is easy to use is as important as the audio quality as you develop a consistent live streaming schedule.

Streaming Software (For Higher Quality Streams)

Once upon a time, to livestream on YouTube, you needed additional software to capture content from desktop, camera, microphone, etc, called encoding software — but not anymore.

Those encoding software, such as OBS , Wirecast , and VMix , are required if you are producing content that requires a high frame rate such as gaming, but not mandatory if you are simply vlogging or running a tutorial.

If you are using Chrome, you canstream live on YouTube without using an encoder .

A Capture Card (For Higher Quality Streams)

You will need a capture card when you are capturing footage from a different PC or console. If you are a gamer and you are using one PC to stream and one PC to play your game, then you should consider getting a capture card.

4 Ways to Setup Your Livestream On YouTube

There are 4 main ways you can start live streaming on YouTube. The one that works best for you depends on the content you are going to be streaming.

1. Camera/Go Live (Chrome Browser)

By accessing www.youtube.com/webcam on the Google Chrome browser, you can start streaming immediately through your connected webcam. This way is best for a simple Q&A or letting your viewers know your thoughts in a timely situation. This method does not require an encoder.

There are 3 ways to access livestream this way:

1. Click here to connect to your YouTube channel

2. You can access it from the top menu on YouTube

3. You can access it by clicking Camera under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio

2. Google Hangouts On Air (Quick)

Another way to livestream without an encoding software is by using the Google Hangouts On Air feature.

This is great if you want the feel of your livestream to be similar to a board meeting, where you can invite people, split screen, and share screen to illustrate your point.

Here’s how you can access this Google Hangouts On Air:

Step 1: Go to Events under the Live Streaming tab in your Creator Studio

Step 2: Click New Live Event button on the top right corner

Step 3: Enter the event’s Info and Setting page. Fill out the details of your Livestream, and under Type, select Quick (using Google Hangouts On Air).

Step 4: You can schedule your livestream or Go Live immediately by clicking one of the blue buttons on the left-hand side.

3. Mobile

Live streaming via your mobile device gives you a lot more freedom to maneuver. You can walk around and give your viewers a tour — but remember to stay within the WiFi or LTE range. That means you still won’t be able to livestream well inside an elevator.

Here’s how you can livestream on mobile:

Step 1: Access the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to livestream from.

Step 2: At the top, click on the camera icon

Step 3: Click on Go Live

Pro Tip: When live streaming, always hold your smartphone horizontally. This allows your video to be oriented as a landscape, instead of a portrait.

4. Custom Encoder

The fourth way of live streaming on YouTube is with encoding software. This is the recommended method if video quality is essential, such as gaming videos.

Step 1: Download and install an encoding software. In this example, we’ll be using OBS .

Step 2: Open OBS

Step 3: Go to YouTube Creator Studio and enter the Stream Now page

Step 4: Under Encoder Setup, copy Stream name/key (Warning: DO NOT share this key with anyone)

Step 5: Return to OBS and enter the Setting menu on the lower right-hand side of the application

Step 6: Click into the Stream tab

a) Under Stream Type, select Streaming Services

b) Under Service, select YouTube/YouTube Gaming

c) Under Server, select Primary YouTube ingest server

d) In Stream Key box, paste the Stream Key you copied from YouTube

e) Click Apply and then OK

Step 7: Plug in your webcam

Step 8: In the main OBS dashboard, under the Sources menu, click the + icon and add Video Capture Device. You should now see visuals from your Webcam.

Step 9: Select the Resolution you want for your video and click OK

Step 10: Return to your YouTube Streaming Page and fill out the details of your livestream

Step 11: Go back to OBS and click Start Streaming

Step 12: See on YouTube Streaming Page at the top that you are Live. You are officially streaming. Once You are finished streaming, return to OBS and click Stop Streaming to end the stream.

8 Tips to Improve Your Livestream on YouTube

Do Speed Test

Before you start your livestream, do a speed test of your Internet. Check out from here.

Have Good Lighting

Be aware of your surroundings when you are about to livestream. You don’t need the top-notch lighting kit, you can simply sit beside a window and allow natural lights to illuminate your stream.

Shoot A Live Test (Unlisted)

Have a technical rehearsal by doing a livestream test, then rewatching it, and evaluating the quality of the audio and visual.

You don’t have to worry about your audience logging in and seeing your test if you set the Privacy of the stream to Unlisted.

Look at the Lens, Not the Screen

If you are streaming with the selfie camera on your smartphone or using your camera’s viewfinder to make sure you are in the frame, remember that you need to be looking at the lens — not the image of yourself.

Eye contact is important in building trust, and if you are looking at yourself, it will appear as if you are looking past your viewers instead of at them.

Show It To Your Viewers

Whatever you are talking about, if you can, show it to your viewers. YouTube is a visual medium, and that means your viewers can become disinterested if there’s nothing visual holding their attention.

In the beginning, you probably won’t have a multi-camera setup, so you cannot cut away from your livestream. However, you can share the screen and you can bring physical objects into a frame.

If you are talking about your dog, show her on camera. If you’re presenting something with a lot of steps, create a Powerpoint slideshow.

Consider what visuals or props you can add to your livestream to enhance your performance.

Find A Way to Make it Evergreen

Evergreen content refers to content that is relevant for a great length of time. Talking about an event isn’t evergreen, because the event will soon pass and become old news. However, giving some tips for how to plan an event would be evergreen content.

Since your livestream will be saved on YouTube and your viewers can replay and watch it. They’re more likely to enjoy it if the content is relevant and interesting.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Long

A livestream doesn’t need to be 40 minutes long. It only needs to be long enough for you to get your story across — and if you want to answer some questions and engage with your audience. As soon as your story is over, even if it’s only 5 minutes, that’s okay. Don’t stress about the length of your stream, it’s not an endurance competition.

Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes

Another thing you shouldn’t worry about at all is making mistakes. When you are doing livestreams pretend you are engaging with someone in real life. In real life, you aren’t able to edit out your mistakes, whether it’s a word mispronounced or coffee spilling. Roll with it and laugh it off.

How to Grow As A Livestreamer on YouTube

Let People Know When You Are Streaming

Give people enough time to schedule it in, don’t spring it on them in the last minute. Share it on social media, your website, and any other means.

Create a Streaming Link 2 Days Before

Share your livestream link via social media to remind everyone to tune in when you go live. Looking for your link? It should look something like this: <www.youtube.com/user/\[channelname\]/live>

Reach Out To the Communities Most Interested

If you are going to be live streaming about a specific topic, such as photography, you should reach out to those who are interested in the topic. Highlight what aspect of photography you are going to be streaming and attract new viewers to your content.

Be Aware of Time Difference

If you have an international audience, find time to livestream where you can get the optimal amount of viewers.

You can find the location of your main demographic in your YouTube analytics .

Create a Channel Trailer to Promote Livestream

Make a video and host it as your channel trailer, that way anyone who lands on your YouTube page will see the promo for your livestream.

Promote Through Feature Content and Channel

YouTube has a feature that enables you to use your existing content to promote your upcoming livestream.

Here’s how to set it up:

Key Takeaways

1. Live streaming will help you make more videos, engage with your audience, and grow your channel.
2. You don’t need expensive equipment to livestream on YouTube, you only need a webcam and a microphone.
3. YouTube has made live streaming as easy as a few clicks, no additional software needed unless you are gaming.
4. Always do a test run of your livestream to ensure the internet, audio, and visual are all working properly.
5. Create content and reach out to communities to promote your livestream.

Have you encountered any obstacles when setting up your livestream on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below, we are happy to help!

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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