Many people start YouTube channels or video podcasts to get a share of the advertising revenue through YouTube. YouTube revenue is available for anyone who gets 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours. This might not seem like a significant challenge, but it can be. In this article, we look at whether YouTube Ads are worthwhile, and if there are other options that might be more lucrative.
Chances of Getting YouTube Partnership Status
The first thing to consider is whether or not it is easy to get YouTube partnership status to qualify for YouTube ads. Research has found that only 8% of channels tend to qualify for the partnership program, though there are other estimates that only about 5% of channels will qualify for the partnership program.
That doesn’t mean that it is useless. This covers all channels that publish content, with some publishing only one or two videos before giving up. And many channels give up because they don’t get results quickly enough.
Therefore, there is a limitation on how many people get accepted. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve it. Especially if you’re dedicated enough and your video podcast is a great opportunity to build a following and get enough views to achieve the status.
How Much Does YouTube Pay Creators?
On average, YouTube pays creators between $0.01 and $0.03 per view, with the average payment about $18 per 1,000 views. Estimates from Bloomberg on the top three percent of channels, is they earn approximately $16,800 per year from the advertising revenue. However, according to Zipplia, the average content creator earns roughly $1,269 weekly.
The amount that you earn will depend on numerous factors. These include CPM, location, niche, audience, and the number of subscribers. Therefore, if you have a low number of subscribers, the rate you’re going to be paid is going to be a lot less.
So, pay options from YouTube can be very limiting. However, the majority of YouTube creators don’t rely on the channels advertising for revenues.
What Other Ways Do YouTubers Earn Money?
There are numerous monetization options available to those releasing a video podcast on the platform. And whether these apply to your channel can vary. However, here are some of the options you might want to consider.
YouTube Membership
YouTube’s channel membership program is a unique way to build a community around your podcast. It is designed for those who primarily use YouTube for their content releases rather than it being a second platform.
The membership is like a Patreon and Twitch subscription in which audiences pay a monthly fee in exchange for membership-specific perks. These perks can be decided by you and can include:
- Exclusive content
- Chat badges
- Early Access
- Content free from adverts
You can offer tiers with additional payments and offer more exclusive benefits.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a tried and tested scheme to help content creators earn money. You can add links to partner websites with your affiliate code and earn a commission for each sale made.
While it can be lucrative, with some affiliate marketers earning more than YouTube advertising, you’re still reliant on getting high levels of traffic to watch your YouTube video.
In addition, you’ve got to convince the audience to make the purchase, which doesn’t always work. The conversion rate for affiliate marketing is approximately 1%. So you might only get a sale for every 100 clicks from a video, which might not happen every time.
Merchandise
Using print-on-demand merchandise is one of the key ways that influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms earn money. And it is certainly one way to increase revenues from your podcast. However, it can be relatively expensive to get started. You need to find a print-on-demand supplier and create designs. And if there are any issues with your merchandise, then it can affect your reputation.
In addition, you need high traffic levels to see significant returns.
But merchandise does have one advantage compared to some of the other options mentioned above: you can use them on multiple platforms including social media, websites, Spotify pages, etc. Therefore, the potential to earn can be much higher.
Patreon/Buy Me A Coffee
Using creator support systems like Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee can be a great way to attract regular revenues for your podcast. These are perfect for those podcasts that are targeting consumers or solopreneurs. They’re not that useful for those wanting to attract high-value CEOs.
Patreon is easy to set up and you offer patrons specific perks for sponsoring your show. For example, you could mention them in the show notes or on the end screen. You might also want to look at releasing episodes early for the podcast.
Money can be released on a monthly schedule, but these systems do take a cut, therefore, you will have to factor it in. And it can be relatively small amounts at a time, meaning you have to attract a large audience to build a sizable income.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is another useful quick income option. It is great when you want to raise funds for a specific project, like product prototyping, and you’re looking to speak to lots of people.
Those with large audiences and lots of patience can build an effective revenue stream like this.
But it isn’t the best option for regular income compared to other options. Plus, those who donate to these options, tend to want to see a project or good cause.
Crowdfunding is also hard to manage. You will need to spend a significant amount of time managing the project, in addition to your podcast and any other business ventures that you currently have on the go.
The number of crowdfunding projects that fail is significantly high. And if you don’t meet pre-specified funding targets, then you’re not going to get any of the payout. Which can mean you waste a lot of time and energy.
Sponsorship
Podcast sponsorship allows hosts to generate revenue from a show and is an effective way to monetize the episodes whether they’re a new show or an established podcast. It is a fantastic way to earn passive income through the show and with a strong marketing strategy, podcast sponsorship recruitment and retention are easy.
To help you work with the right sponsorship group, you need to align with the right partner. Spend time seeking out advisors with a proven track record to help navigate the challenges of many aspects of podcast sponsorship, which include pricing, negotiating, and detailing sponsorship packages to help improve the chances of success.
The PYP team has helped many branded podcast hosts to secure lucrative sponsorships for 9 years. The best aspect of sponsorships is that they’re suitable for all podcasts. And it is a myth that a podcast requires a certain subscriber count to secure sponsorships. We’ve helped podcast shows to secure sponsorship and leverage their benefits.
How Do Podcast Sponsorships Work?
At Produce Your Podcast we teach you sponsorship strategy and a key aspect of this is to make your podcast the focus. It is an asset and medium that sponsors can benefit from significantly. The podcast can see their brand being publicized without having to spend time or resources on developing the audience.
Being clear on the target audience will help identify potential sponsors. Then you need to identify who will benefit the most from show sponsorship. If, for example, you’re well-known for business insider knowledge, then your audience will be business leaders looking to increase revenue and grow their business. If you’re an expert in your field and have years of experience, then the show will be very attractive.
You might also attract a smaller audience of start-up entrepreneurs. So identifying different groups of listeners can attract a range of high-paying sponsors. One way of determining the listeners is through age, location, gender, title, etc.
What Should Podcast Sponsors Know About Your Show?
Podcast sponsorship is possible for shows at all stages of their existence. However, you must be able to demonstrate the benefits of aligning with your show and paying for a sponsorship spot. But that is where an expert from Produce Your Podcast can support you with communication and conversions with sponsorship prospects.
When prospecting, it is critical to consider providing the show concept, audience demographics,
and listener numbers. Provide them with statistics and data that support the opportunities available to the potential sponsors. For example, if you have an audience base of HR professionals, then you can prospect HR software providers about the audience so you can demonstrate you have a hyper-focused customer base for them.
If you’ve got a local audience, you can market the opportunities to local companies.
Then you will need to work out how you can connect the audience to the sponsor. There are numerous opportunities for this and the team at Produce Your Podcast can advise on the best options. For instance, you might introduce the sponsor and they can talk about their products.
You might also want to feature the sponsor’s products/services by doing a live-read advertisement within the podcast.
Consider how you can naturally fit talking about your sponsor into the show. Make the product/service relevant to the audience. Not correctly fitting the sponsor in is one mistake that often happens with new, inexperienced hosts.
You can mention your sponsor in the show notes and other marketing avenues. For instance, you can add them to social media content and email marketing campaigns. To improve the potential revenues or boost the conversion rates, you need to communicate these additional benefits and outline them in proposals.
To help you write proposal packages, you can use the templates written by Produce Your Podcast that have been proven to attract and recruit podcast sponsors. The team can help you customize your proposals to help you attain better results and make the proposals more relevant to your specific show.
FAQs: Are YouTube Ads Worthwhile? Are Sponsors Better?
Are YouTube ads the most profitable way to earn revenue on YouTube?
Technically speaking YouTube ads are not a very effective way to earn revenue on video podcasts. There are lots of other options for earning revenue including podcast sponsorship.
Can you have different sponsors for video and audio?
You don’t need to have different sponsors for video and audio podcasts. Instead, market that you have both formats and you reach a wide audience in numerous formats for them to reach.
Can I use other marketing avenues to boost the valuation of sponsorship?
You should consider all the benefits of working with you and include that in your sponsorship proposal. This can increase conversions and the revenue you can earn making you a more valuable prospect.
Final Word: Are YouTube Ads Worthwhile? Are Sponsors Better?
For those looking to build both a video and audio podcast, YouTube ads might look like a valuable option for building a revenue stream. However, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to offer you a great return on your time. There are numerous other options, which can run concurrently with your YouTube ads to help you earn a more effective revenue stream from video podcasts.
Above are some of the options, with ways that podcast sponsorships can help you earn the most from your content.
Produce Your Podcast is a full-service podcast production, editing, and marketing agency specializing in helping brands launch, grow, and monetize successful podcasts that impact their bottom line. With 30+ years of experience in both broadcasting and business development brought to every project we work on, our team of experts is a reliable partner to help you achieve your goals with your show.
Click here to schedule a conversation with our team today and let’s bring your show to life!
