How to Start a Successful YouTube Channel

Want to start a YouTube channel? My husband and I each have YouTube channels, with his growing much faster than mine. While he was a fully paid YouTuber after only six months of making videos, it took me over two years to qualify for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP.) For that reason, I can be honest and share the insider details that no one tells you about starting a YouTube channel.

Having a YouTube channel is a form of passive income that you can start from anywhere. It’s very hard to build up, and it takes a lot of commitment to get to the point where you’re monetized – but it can be well worth it in the end, once your channel is monetized for earning money. The reason I say ‘can be’ is because the amount you earn from YouTube ads (once you qualify to be paid for them) depends on your niche. Some niches pay much better than others.

When I worked as a teacher, I used to have so many students say that they wanted to become YouTubers when they grew up, and its wild to think that now my husband and I are now actual ‘YouTubers,’ and bringing in a side income from making videos of our hobbies and passions. So, let’s jump in – how to become a paid YouTuber, with an engaged following and earning the passive money from your videos!

Steps to Becoming a PAID YouTuber

Earning money from a YouTube channel is pretty straightforward. It’s not easily done and can take many months or even years of consistent uploading of quality videos. But the steps to a monetized YouTube channel are quite basic when you break them down:

• #1: Create the channel account. Have a name, cover photo, a bio that explains who you are and your mission statement, plus any relevant links (to your website, instagram, etc)
• #2 Start creating and uploading decent-quality videos. Sometimes this takes a while as your videos improve over time. (My earliest videos were garbage compared to the videos I’m making now.)
• #3 Keep doing step #2 until you reach enough subscribers and views that YouTube will pay you. They send you an email once you’re qualified for monetization, and automatically start sending money for the ads displayed on your videos. (The ads are displayed long before you’re monetized; they just start sharing the revenue once you qualify for monetization!

Step 1 and 2 are easy to do. Many people start this step, without making it to step 3 because, depending on your niche, you may need a lot of good-quality videos before YouTube will start paying you. The sad thing is that your videos can be really good, but it can still take a while for your subscriber account to catch up to what you actually deserve as a creator. That’s just the reality of building a passive income – you put in the work, without knowing if or when exactly the money wil come.

Reaching a point where you have enough subscribers and viewers to be monetized can take anywhere from 6 months to several years. It takes patience and dedication to get to a point where your channel qualifies for monetization – and this is why many people give up before they reach this point.

How long it will take your channel to qualify for monetization really depends on your niche. My husband’s YouTube channel was monetized after 6 months. But, I was still patiently waiting (and creating) after two years. After over 150 videos and decent watch hours, I wondered how many more videos I’d have to make before I could finally start receiving some compensation for all the hard work.

How Long Does it Take to Get Monetized on YouTube?

The short answer: it takes anywhere from 6 months to YEARS to get monetized. The majority of channels out there aren’t making a dime from YouTube – sad but true.

Most channels on YouTube aren’t monetized (in fact, only 2.5% of all channels are); this isn’t because its nearly impossible to get monetized but because not everyone who starts a channel is dedicated to making money from it, and depending on your niche, it can take a lot of time and dedication to reach the 1,000 subscribers you need for monetization. (This requirement is for long-form only, for shorts, the requirements are even higher.)

As I mentioned, my husband’s YouTube channel qualified for monetization very quickly. His niche is in retro handheld gaming and there are very view other creators out there doing the same as him. People found his channel and were relieved to see someone providing advice and guidance on something they found complicated to figure out. He has so many comments from people saying he’s a lifesaver. (I should add that gaming is a very oversaturated niche in general, but my husband’s channel is unique because he teaches people how to set up and configure handheld devices which is different from being a regular gaming channel.

If you have a channel topic that is more saturated, then it will likely take you much longer to get monetized. Oversaturated topics on YouTube are gaming, tech reviews, travel, cooking, and beauty and fashion. To be clear, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t start a channel on one of these topics if you’re passionate about it. It just means that it will probably take longer for your channel to get discovered, and to get the views and subscribers you need in order to be paid for your efforts.

Tips to Get People to Subscribe

My YouTube videos for example, were very watched; they were (and still are) ranking well on YouTube search and on Google. The subscribe rate, however, is very, very low compared to the number of watch hours and viewers I have.

I tried to find out if there were any reasons why, by asking on the NewTubers subreddit on Reddit. (I don’t recommend this as I didn’t get a lot of helpful feedback. I will share the bits of good I did get from there with you here.) As I sorted through the answers on the NewTubers subreddit, which had an undertone that my channel may not be good quality (I know that isn’t true) I did come up with a few tips from there to implement:

• Start asking people to subscribe. In my shorts, and videos, from then on, I was sure to mention “If you find this helpful, I’d appreciate a subscribe,” or “please consider a subscribe.” Inviting people to subscribe
• I started making more shorts. Shorts are very hard to monetize, but they’re pretty good for bringing in followers. Many new users discover you through your shorts.

As someone who struggled initially to build momentum on YouTube, but then was able to turn things around, here are my tips for creating good YouTube videos that rank well, and bring you watch hours and subscribers.

5 Tips for Creating Good Quality Videos That Will Rank

1. Have your words sink with related video

It really helps with engagement and shows the watchers that the video is well-organized. It’ll inspire them to keep watching. I can’t always do this perfectly depending on the footage I have on hand, but I do it as much as possible.

2. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through

People often subscribe to channels because of the channel’s unique voice, personality, focus, and other things that make it different. Just like you wouldn’t want to read a boring, predictable and generic magazine every week, the same goes for watching a video!

I’m a shy, soft-spoken person who has been told that I have a calming voice. So, I let this show in my videos. I don’t try to sound loud, funny and extroverted because that isn’t me (at least not around strangers.) I be who I am, and I believe that people who like me as a creator have subscribed to me.

3. Make lots of shorts!

My husband and I looked through my subscriber stats and this is what we found: while my watch rate is WAY higher on my long form content, my shorts were bringing it more subscribers percentage wise. So, shorts are more bang for my buck if I’m looking at subscribers only. I recommend posting at least one short per week.

4. Avoid use of AI

AI-generated content ruins the integrity of the creative process, and its also a form of plagiarism. Not only that, but even though its only been a few years since AI became common place, people are already getting tired of AI slop.

5. Use the law of attraction.

Most people are successful because they believed that they could be. If you think you can, then you can. I’m not saying that believing is the only piece when it comes to success, but it is a MAJOR piece that is very hard, if not impossible, to succeed without. See my books I recommend on the law of attraction

Final Thoughts on Starting a YouTube Channel

I hope that this little guide on best practices for delving into YouTube are helpful. Remember to have fun with it, and be creative. YouTube is a really fun online business idea that you can do from home.

You’ll be using a blend of many skills – editing, speaking, social media management, marketing, and SEO – it can take a long time to take off, and it can be discouraging at the start. Don’t be discouraged. Your ideal audience will benefit from seeing your videos, and you will benefit from having a creative outlet, and potentially one day being self-employed!