15 Best Ways to Make Money on YouTube 2025

In this article, we will present several ways that will enable you to earn money from YouTube. Perhaps you are considering starting to profit from this platform, or you might just be curious about one of the ways to make money online, which could benefit you in some way in the future.

For all these reasons and more, we’ll provide you with approximately 15 ways to earn money from the popular video platform, YouTube.

We have categorized these methods into three types based on the profit strategy involved. You can earn either by owning a YouTube channel or without having one, in addition to other methods that can also be utilized. These methods can also be divided into two main categories: direct and indirect profit methods. Direct methods allow you to earn money directly from your channel, while indirect methods help you earn through related opportunities.

How to make money on YouTube?

Content

– Profit from YouTube with owning a channel

To profit from owning your own YouTube channel, you will need to create your channel (😂😒), obviously based on the niche or topic you want to focus on. Then, you can start uploading and publishing content on the platform.

1. Open a channel and start publishing videos

Before diving into the methods listed below, you will need to create your channel. We recommend following a reliable tutorial, such as a YouTube course, to guide you through the process.

After creating the email address for your channel and setting up your channel, you can begin publishing videos on the topic you choose. For example, gaming, stories, horror stories, true stories, technology, cooking, reaction videos, and more (the best choice is something that people will want to watch and that you’ll enjoy creating).

Next, you’ll need to reach a specific number of subscribers and watch hours (1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours, as of the time of writing this article) to start earning through the first and second methods mentioned below.

However, before creating your channel, we recommend thoroughly understanding the field of YouTube monetization, YouTube’s policies, rules, and guidelines, as well as the types of videos that tend to receive higher views.

2. Profit from ads (Google Adsense)

Google AdSense is one of the most popular ways to earn money from YouTube, if not the most popular. It allows you to earn revenue from ads displayed on your channel’s videos.

You can start earning after meeting all YouTube monetization requirements, such as reaching 1,000 subscribers and accumulating at least 4,000 watch hours, as well as complying with their policies. After that, you can link your channel to your Google AdSense account, which you will also need to create.

Once you’ve met the monetization requirements and linked your channel to your AdSense account, you’ll start collecting and tracking your earnings. All the data and numbers you need will be available on your Google AdSense account. After reaching the minimum payout threshold, which is approximately $100, you’ll receive your earnings in the following month through the payment details you’ve provided.

3. Profit from ads (advertisers)

When you have a good or large number of subscribers who are engaged, and your videos get a decent or very high number of views, companies or individuals (mainly companies) may contact you to feature their ads in your videos.

You’ve probably seen a video where someone suddenly starts talking about a game (like popular games such as PUBG) or a certain app. Most likely, the owner of that app or product reached out to the creator to include an ad for it in the video (during its editing and production). Both the company and the channel owner agree on the ad details, and the channel owner gets compensated in return.

You can do this once you’ve built a solid base of subscribers and views, allowing you to earn through two methods: AdSense ads and direct sponsorships from advertisers. (Be cautious about the advertisers you work with.)

4. YouTube Premium

Google states in its Help Center: “YouTube Premium is all about giving fans more choice and giving creators another way to get paid for the content they’re creating.” and “Revenue from YouTube Premium membership fees is distributed to video creators based on how much members watch your content. As with our advertising business, the majority of the revenue will go to our partners.” What does this mean for you?

You’ll earn a portion of the revenue from membership fees, based on how much time members spend watching your videos. However, this service is only available in certain countries and regions. You can check which countries have access to YouTube Premium in a post on the Help Center.

5. Marketing of products and services

You can also earn money by selling and promoting your products or services. While this method might seem unconventional, it is entirely doable.

If you are quite famous thanks to your YouTube channel and social media platforms, you can create your own brand and display it printed on clothing or other products. You can establish your own online store to sell these items. Additionally, you can wear or showcase these products (like stickers or designs printed on a mug) during live streams or video recordings.

You can also add a link to your store on your channel or in the description box. This way, you can increase your earnings through your channel. This method will work well if your channel is very popular and you have significant fame on social media platforms as well.

Similarly, you can promote your services using your channel. For example, if you are a professional photographer and have created a channel discussing photography, you can offer your photography services to others and inform them about it through your channel description or by mentioning the service in the closing section of your videos.

The same applies if you are a professional designer (such as a video or logo designer), a chef, a cook, a programmer, etc.

6. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular methods of earning money online. You can also make a profit from it by leveraging your channel. Simply put, affiliate marketing involves registering or subscribing to a platform or website that sells products or services (or generating a unique referral link).

Through this website, you will receive a unique link (different from others’ links). Any person who purchases a product or service after clicking your link will earn you a commission from that purchase.

Additionally, you might receive a discount coupon or promo code, and if anyone uses this code to buy something, you will earn a commission from the transaction.

You can promote your link using the aforementioned methods of marketing products or services or display it in your videos if you are explaining a particular website and have a referral link or coupon for it.

7. Marketing of paid courses

You can create a paid online course on one of the platforms dedicated to offering courses online, such as Udemy and others.

Afterward, you can mention this course in your videos or even provide a limited-time discount code to your viewers to encourage them to enroll in your course. Naturally, anyone who registers for your course will need to pay before they can access it.

8. Increase your website’s profits and visitors

In many cases, you may find that YouTubers also have their own websites or blogs. You might already know that it’s possible to generate income from a website or blog as well.

In this case, the videos you publish on YouTube, which you can embed on your website, will help keep visitors on your site for longer. This will reflect positively on search engines, as they will consider your website more engaging due to the increased visitor retention time. Moreover, the longer visitors stay on your site, the higher your chances of earning revenue.

– Without having a channel

Although owning a YouTube channel is typically the primary source of income, it’s possible to generate profits even without owning a channel. But how?

In the following four methods, you will publish content on other people’s channels, meaning you will spend money to do so. However, this expenditure will be an investment to generate revenue elsewhere. The very act of pursuing these methods indicates your goal of achieving a profit.

9. Advertising via Google

You can promote whatever you wish through Google Ads on YouTube. You’ve likely noticed various advertisements everywhere—on TV, on the streets, on websites, on social media platforms, and even on YouTube itself. These ads are created by companies or individuals who invest money in them to achieve some form of gain.

You can do the same if you want to reach as many people and potential customers as possible.

10. Advertising on channels videos

In a similar manner to ads through Google AdSense mentioned earlier, you can reach out to channel owners related to your niche and offer them advertisements to display in their videos. However, if you target large, well-known channels, you’ll need to spend more money, though your potential profit could also be greater.

11. Marketing of products and services

You can also market products or services, whether your own or others’, through affiliate links (commission-based marketing). This can be done using methods 2.1 and 2.2, aiming to drive traffic to the product or service’s purchase page.

Additionally, if the product is wearable, you can provide it to a channel owner and request they wear it during their livestream or video. If it’s a sticker or another item, you could ask them to place it next to them during the recording.

12. Increase your website’s profits and visitors

Yes, you can do this again, but this time, you’d advertise your website or articles on other channels, either by using AdSense ads or by directly advertising on a channel.

Similarly, visitors coming from these ads can increase the revenue you earn through the monetization methods you use on your website or blog. This can be referred to as AdSense arbitrage.

– Other possible ways

While we’ve discussed several popular methods, there might be other approaches you can explore. Here are some additional possibilities:

13. Publish and talk about other channels

If you run a channel focused on a specific niche, you can receive offers from other channels. You would then talk about or mention their channel in one of your videos and include a link to it in the video description. Before proceeding, you’d agree on the terms and what you both stand to gain. For instance, you could talk about their channel in exchange for payment, or in return, they could talk about your channel on theirs.

Alternatively, you could collaborate on a joint video, posting the first part on your channel and the second part on theirs. This would encourage your viewers to visit their channel to watch the rest and their viewers to visit yours to see the other part. This strategy could help you gain more subscribers.

14. Profit from watching videos (survey sites)

There is also a way to earn some money by accessing websites or platforms that pay for watching videos. You will be sent a link to a video on YouTube or another platform to watch it for a specified duration, and in return, you will earn a certain amount of money.

This method is one of the ways to make some money, but in my opinion (which might be wrong), I don’t think you can make enough money from it to sustain your life. For this reason, I don’t favor or recommend this method. I’ve never heard of anyone becoming rich or earning a significant income just from watching videos. (This is just my opinion.)

15. Montage and editing other people’s videos

I also think it’s possible to work for others by editing their videos and earning money for your work. Alternatively, you could offer video editing services on microservice platforms like Fiverr or similar sites. People might request your services, and of course, they would pay you for them.

Sell channels

I’m not sure if this is a legitimate method or if YouTube allows it, but here’s an idea: you could sell channels that you’ve created and grown to a specific number of subscribers. You can create a channel, work on increasing its subscribers, and then sell it to earn money. However, before proceeding, you should ensure that this does not violate YouTube’s rules to avoid any problems.

If you have any doubts about this method, even slightly, it’s better to avoid it altogether.

– Other indirect ways to earn

Increase your followers on social media

If you become famous thanks to your channel or your popularity increases, you will need to create accounts or pages on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others. This will help you grow your audience and followers on these platforms, which can bring several benefits in the future.