How to make money on YouTube

Here are 5 ways how YouTubers make money (Ads, Affiliate Links/Coupon Codes, Sponsored videos and more).

1. YouTube Ads 
2. Sponsored videos - Some companies may contact you directly or you can join FameBit (minimum 5,000 subscribers) or Grapevine (minimum 10,000 subscribers)
3. Affiliate links or Coupon Codes - MagicLinks is great way to generate affiliate links for most brands (Sephora, Boohoo, Missguided, etc)
4. Merchandise
5. Ebates (U.S. and Canada)

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YouTube Ads

I'd recommend signing up for Google Adsense even if you have one video because ad revenue is based on views and not subscribers. There is a payment threshold of $100 for Adsense. 

However, if you joined a network such as Style Haul, the payment threshold is $25 and payments can also be made through PayPal. Networks take 30% of your revenue though.

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Affiliate Links/Coupon Codes

I love using MagicLinks because they generate links for so many brands (Sephora, Sigma Beauty, Forever21, Boohoo, Missguided, Amazon, etc) but they do keep 30% of the commission. Also, there's a payment threshold of $50 (this applies to most other affiliate programs). Similarly, there are companies that provide unique coupon codes to YouTubers, so they can earn commission through each sale but the only difference is the buyers usually gets some money off.

I think it's always best to apply directly to an affiliate program to keep full commission. For example, I'm currently affiliated with Sigma Beauty and I've applied directly through their website.

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Sponsorships

Brands may contact you for a sponsored video and pay you for it. That is a direct way to get a sponsored opportunity but in my experience, it doesn't happen that often. 

There are websites such as Grapevine and FameBit that connect content creators with brands but charge a fee of 10%. I do think it's easier because you get to see a number of brands with the product details and if you're interested, you pitch a proposal and fee you'd like to charge. If they approve, then you film the video and show it to them and once approved, you can publish it and get paid. I usually get the payment through PayPal.