Making money on YouTube involves building an engaged audience and leveraging monetization features like the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and selling your own products. You can start earning without hitting the large ad-revenue thresholds by selling digital products, offering services, or using affiliate links in your descriptions right from day one.

1. YouTube Partner Program (YPP)

The YPP allows creators to earn money directly from YouTube through ads, channel subscriptions, and fan funding features. The program has two tiers:  

• Early Access (Fan Funding): 

Requires 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 public watch hours (on long-form videos) in the past year or 3 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days. This unlocks Channel Memberships, Super Chats, Super Stickers, and YouTube Shopping.

• Early Access (Fan Funding): 

Requires 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 public watch hours (on long-form videos) in the past year or 3 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days. This unlocks Channel Memberships, Super Chats, Super Stickers, and YouTube Shopping.

2. Affiliate Marketing

You can earn commissions by recommending products or services to your audience. When viewers buy through your custom link (placed in your video description or pinned in comments), you get a percentage of the sale. Popular programs include the Amazon Associates program or digital product hubs like ClickBank.

3. Brand Deals & Sponsorships

Companies will pay you to promote their products or apps in your videos. Even with a smaller following, you can secure brand deals by pitching to relevant companies or joining creator networks like FameBit.

4. Sell Digital Products or Merchandise

Create and sell your own digital assets (e.g., e-books, online courses, presets, or consulting services). You can integrate platforms like Gumroad or Teachable in your video descriptions and channel layout to turn your viewership into direct sales.