Starting a YouTube channel can be fun, and vlogging your life and journey as you age is one of the reasons you might want to continue to upload videos for you to look back on in your 20s. 

But, high living expenses in Singapore can be daunting as rent prices continue to soar and you do not have the time to spend on making videos every single day as your upcoming rent is due and you have a family to care for. The typical monthly cost of living in Singapore can range from $2,000 to $12,000, depending on your lifestyle – which is extremely costly for a graduate entry-level job paying $2,500 to $3,300 per month.

Well, you can change that and start earning additional income from your videos that may even help you retire early. So how can you start earning money?

How can you become qualified to earn from your YouTube?

You’re currently uploading videos but haven’t received a single paycheck? That’s because you’re not a member of the YouTube Partner Program right now (YPP).

So, how do you become a member of the YPP? Well, you must meet certain requirements, which may take some time for you to meet, but once you do, you will begin to generate some revenue from several YPP provided mediums.

• 1,000 subscribers
• 4,000 watch hours by your viewers in the last year.
• Availability in your country (It’s available in Singapore)
• Follow all the YouTube monetization policies
• Have a linked AdSense account

How much can you earn from YouTube?

To know how much you can earn from YouTube, let’s take a look at one of the most popular Singaporean YouTubers – Jianhao Tan.

According to Social Blade, Jianhao Tan has currently amassed 5.1 million subscribers. In the last 30 days, he has made $19.6K  –  $315.4K from Adsense alone!

This can only be possible with a lot of hard work, creativity and frequent uploads to your YouTube channel.

Revenue streams

To maximize your profit from your YouTube videos, strive to incorporate as many different kinds of revenue streams as possible. This will allow you to continue to grow as you progress further down your YouTube path. You can increase your revenue by doing the following for your YouTube channel:

Adsense

Once you are qualified to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), you can now enable monetization for your videos. This means that you permit YouTube to display ads around your YouTube video and run video ads inside your videos.

Anytime someone engages the ad by watching and/or clicking the ads, you earn a percentage of the ad revenue based on what the advertisers paid for ads to run on YouTube.

Product Sales

Once you’ve passed 100,000 subscribers, it’s important to start providing value to your audience.

You can start selling particular products and services to your audience that they might be interested in buying, by delivering material that will help establish their trust in you.

This might be an eBook in which you illustrate and display real-life outcomes on how to make a six-figure wage to your audience.

If you have 100,000 subscribers, converting 1% of them into customers by selling them a $30 eBook can net you $30,000 in profit.

Crowdfunding

Ask for support from your subscribers by creating a crowdfunding page, such as on Patreon, by creating monthly membership tiers as cheap as $3, $6, and $9.

Provide some personalized content to your patrons by including personal consultations, behind-the-scenes footage, and other benefits that will help you retain them in the long run.

Having at least 100 loyal subscribers joining your Patreon can help you significantly with your content creation budget and make better videos for your audience that will grow over time.

Sponsorship

As your YouTube channel grows in popularity, brands will contact you from all directions, asking if you would like to advertise their products in one of your videos in exchange for a 4 or 5 figure financial agreement.

You can talk about how much you enjoy the product, persuading your viewers to try the brand/services out for themselves.

Affiliates

When your channel has below 100,000 subscribers, it may be difficult to attract sponsors to your channel. However, you can easily have an informal partnership with certain brands by signing up for their affiliate program, where you may promote their products and include an affiliate link in your description.

The viewers will be tracked once they click on the link, and if they decide to purchase anything, you will receive a commission.

LiveStream

Go live on YouTube and show your viewers your games in real-time. Going live has the added benefit of allowing your viewers to donate to you as you enjoy your time playing video games.

YouTube has added a feature that allows members to “Join” a channel and become part of your community. Similar to Twitch subscribers, they pay a monthly subscription fee for chatting privileges during live streams, as well as a host of other benefits.

Also, once your viewers are glued into your live stream,  and will not skip them or risk missing out on the action, you may place brief ads throughout your live broadcast to generate more revenue.

The Bottom Line

Making money on YouTube is a dream come true for those who have been fortunate enough to build a huge following for their channel.

While your subscriber count is below 100,000, I recommend adding the alternative revenue streams indicated above to assist pay your utility bills, feeding your family, or even upgrading your video equipment and software.
You should anticipate an increase in your monthly revenue as long as you continue to work hard on your Youtube channel. However, the competition is intense, and reaching 100,000 subscribers could take years, so if you’re not ready to take a chance – keep your 9 to 5 job!