Beyond AdSense: 5 Smart Ways New YouTubers Can Make Money

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Beyond AdSense: 5 Smart Ways New YouTubers Can Make Money

Starting a YouTube channel is an exciting journey, but the path to monetization through the traditional AdSense route can feel long and challenging. The requirements – 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours or 1,000 subscribers and 10 million valid public Shorts views – can take time to achieve, leaving many new creators feeling the pressure to earn income sooner.

The good news? You absolutely can start making money on YouTube even with a small channel, long before you’re eligible for AdSense. By exploring alternative monetization strategies, you can create income streams that provide value to your audience and financial support for your channel's growth from day one.

This article explores five smart ways new YouTubers can make money without relying on AdSense, helping you turn your passion into a profitable venture sooner. We'll dive into strategies that are accessible even if you only have 100 subscribers, focusing on building a sustainable income alongside your audience.

1. Affiliate Marketing: Recommending Products You Love

Affiliate marketing is consistently highlighted as one of the best and most accessible ways for new YouTubers to start earning money. It involves recommending products or services you genuinely use and believe in. When someone clicks your unique affiliate link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission on the sale at no extra cost to them.

This method is powerful because it allows you to monetize your content based on audience actions (purchases) rather than just views (like AdSense). You don't need a massive following to be successful; you need an engaged audience interested in the products or services relevant to your niche.

How to Get Started with Affiliate Marketing:

1. Identify Relevant Products: Think about the tools, gear, software, books, or resources you use and recommend within your content. What problems do these products solve for your audience?
2. Join Affiliate Programs: Sign up for affiliate programs related to those products. Amazon Associates is a popular starting point, offering commissions on a vast range of products. Many individual companies and platforms (like software providers or online course marketplaces like DigiStore24 and ClickBank) also have their own programs, often with higher commission rates, especially for digital products or recurring subscriptions.
3. Integrate Recommendations Naturally: Don't make every video a sales pitch. Weave product recommendations seamlessly into valuable, informative content. For example, in a tutorial video, mention and link to the specific software or equipment you're using. Create dedicated "favorite tools" or "best products for X" videos.
4. Place Affiliate Links Strategically: Include your unique affiliate links in your video descriptions, pinned comments, and potentially even on a dedicated resources page linked from your channel. Make it easy for viewers to find and click the links.
5. Be Transparent: Always disclose that you are using affiliate links. A simple disclaimer like "Links marked with * are affiliate links" or a verbal mention in the video is crucial for maintaining trust with your audience and complying with regulations.

Maximizing Affiliate Earnings on a Small Channel:

• Focus on a Specific Niche: The more targeted your audience, the more likely they are to be interested in specific product recommendations. Brands and affiliate programs value this targeted reach.
• Promote High-Ticket or Recurring Commission Products: Earning a percentage on a $1,000 sale or a monthly commission from a subscription service can generate significant income even with fewer sales compared to promoting low-cost items.
• Create "Review Specific Product" (RSP) Videos: Videos reviewing or comparing specific products (e.g., "Best Budget Microphones for YouTube," "Software Review: [Product Name]") directly align with commercial search intent and can drive affiliate sales.
• Build an Email List: Encourage viewers to sign up for your email list (perhaps offering a free guide or checklist as a lead magnet). This allows you to communicate directly with your audience and promote affiliate products multiple times, increasing potential sales. Services like Subscribr's Research Assistant can help you identify what kind of lead magnets your audience would find most valuable.

Affiliate marketing is a proven method for new channels. Examples like a channel earning over $4,000 in a year from Amazon commissions alone, even without AdSense, demonstrate the potential. By providing genuine value and recommending products that solve your audience's problems, you can build a meaningful income stream.

2. Selling Your Own Digital Products: Leveraging Your Expertise

If you have knowledge or skills that can help others, creating and selling your own digital products is a highly scalable and profitable monetization strategy, even with a small audience. Digital products have high-profit margins because there are no manufacturing, shipping, or inventory costs. Once created, you can sell unlimited copies.

Digital products can include:

• Ebooks or Guides (e.g., "Beginner's Guide to [Your Niche]")
• Templates or Presets (e.g., video editing presets, graphic design templates)
• Online Courses or Workshops
• Checklists, Worksheets, or Planners
• Software or Apps

How to Create and Sell Digital Products:

1. Identify Your Audience's Needs: What specific problems can you solve for your viewers? What additional resources or in-depth training do they ask for that goes beyond your free YouTube content? Subscribr's audience intelligence features can help you understand your viewers' pain points and content preferences.
2. Create a Valuable Product: Develop a high-quality digital product that directly addresses those needs. It should offer new, distinct value compared to your free YouTube content.
3. Choose a Selling Platform: Use platforms like Gumroad, Kajabi, or Digistore24 to host and sell your digital product. These platforms handle payment processing and delivery.
4. Promote on Your Channel: Create videos that discuss the topic your digital product covers. Naturally mention your product as a solution for viewers who want to go deeper or get specific tools. Include links to your sales page in your video descriptions and pinned comments.
5. Build Authority: Consistently providing valuable free content on your channel builds trust and establishes you as an expert in your niche, making viewers more likely to purchase your paid products.

Selling digital products can be incredibly lucrative for small channels. There are examples of creators with less than 2,000 subscribers generating over $70,000 by selling their own course. The key is having a targeted audience genuinely interested in your specific area of expertise. While creating a digital product requires upfront effort, it becomes a passive income stream once it's done.

3. Fan Funding: Direct Support from Your Biggest Fans

Fan funding allows your most dedicated viewers to support your channel directly through voluntary payments. While some fan funding options are tied to YouTube's Partner Program, some are available earlier or through external platforms.

Fan Funding Options for New Channels:

• Patreon: This external platform allows you to offer monthly membership tiers with exclusive perks for paying subscribers. You can offer bonus content, early access to videos, private community access, Q&A sessions, or digital downloads. Patreon gives you more control than YouTube's native features and typically takes a smaller percentage of earnings (5-10%).
• YouTube Channel Memberships: Once you meet the lower eligibility threshold for monetization features (currently 500 subscribers, 3 videos in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours in the past year or 3 million Shorts views in the past 90 days), you can offer Channel Memberships directly on YouTube. This allows fans to pay a monthly fee for member-only badges, custom emojis, and exclusive content. While convenient for viewers, YouTube takes a significant 30% cut.
• Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks: Also unlocked at the lower monetization threshold, these features allow viewers to make one-time payments during live streams (Super Chat/Stickers) or on regular uploads (Super Thanks) to show appreciation or highlight their messages.

While fan funding can provide a predictable income stream and build a stronger community, it's generally recommended to build some initial audience momentum before heavily promoting it. Focus on creating content that resonates and builds a base of "super fans" who are eager to support you. Don't be afraid to set reasonable membership prices on platforms like Patreon; dedicated fans are often willing to pay more for valuable exclusive content or closer interaction.

4. Sponsorships and Brand Deals: Partnering with Companies

Many creators believe you need millions of subscribers to get sponsorships, but brands are increasingly working with micro (10k-100k subscribers) and nano (1k-10k subscribers) influencers. It's even possible to land your first sponsor with under 1,000 subscribers if you have a highly Specific Niche audience that aligns perfectly with a brand's target market.

Brands value smaller creators for their often more engaged and passionate communities. A highly targeted audience, even if small, can be more valuable to a brand than a large, general one.

How to Attract Sponsorships with a Small Channel:

1. Define Your Niche and Audience: Clearly understand who your viewers are and what they are interested in. This allows you to identify brands that would benefit from reaching your specific audience.
2. Create High-Quality Content: Focus on producing well-made videos that provide value and demonstrate your ability to engage an audience.
3. Build a Portfolio: Create high-quality, unsponsored review or content videos featuring products you genuinely like and use. Optimize these videos for search and engagement. Once they perform well, you can use them as examples of the content you can create for brands.
4. Identify Relevant Brands: Look for companies whose products or services align with your niche and audience.
5. Craft a Compelling Pitch: When reaching out to brands, focus on the value you can provide to them. Highlight your specific audience demographics and engagement metrics. Offer value beyond just a sponsored video, such as allowing the brand to use your content on their website or social media.
6. Network: Connect with brands on social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter/X. Attend industry events where you can meet brand representatives.

While sponsorships might not be the first monetization method you implement with a tiny channel, by focusing on a Specific Niche and creating high-quality content that demonstrates your audience's interest in relevant products, you can position yourself for paid collaborations sooner than you might think. Sometimes, brands are less interested in your subscriber count and more interested in accessing your unique audience or repurposing your authentic content for their own marketing.

5. Offering Services: Monetizing Your Skills

Your skills as a content creator are valuable. Even with a small YouTube channel, you can leverage your expertise in video production, editing, scriptwriting, graphic design, or your Specific Niche topic to offer services to clients.

Services You Can Offer:

• Video Editing: Edit videos for other creators or businesses.
• Scriptwriting: Write video scripts for others.
• Thumbnail Design: Create compelling thumbnails for YouTube videos.
• Channel Consulting: Offer advice to others based on your experience growing your channel.
• Services Related to Your Niche: If your channel is about fitness, offer coaching; if it's about graphic design, offer design services.

How to Offer Services:

1. Showcase Your Skills: Your YouTube channel serves as a portfolio demonstrating your abilities.
2. Mention Your Services: Include a brief mention of the services you offer in your video descriptions or on a dedicated "Hire Me" page linked from your channel.
3. Network: Connect with other creators and businesses who might need your skills.
4. Start Small: Offer your services at a reasonable rate initially to build testimonials and a client base.

Offering services allows you to generate income directly from your skills while you continue to grow your channel. This can provide a stable income stream that funds your content creation efforts without relying on unpredictable ad revenue or viral success.

Tools & Resources for Early Monetization

Navigating the world of YouTube monetization can be complex, especially when you're just starting out. Tools designed specifically for creators can provide valuable support.

Subscribr is an AI-powered platform built for YouTube creators. While it offers advanced features for larger channels, its research and planning tools can be incredibly helpful for new creators exploring early monetization. For example, Subscribr's Research Assistant can help you research potential affiliate products in your niche or identify the types of digital products your audience is looking for. Its script-building pipeline can assist you in structuring videos that naturally integrate product recommendations or promote your own services.

By using tools to understand your audience better and streamline your content creation process, you can focus your energy on building valuable content that supports your chosen monetization strategies.

Conclusion: Building a Sustainable Channel from Day One

You don't have to wait for AdSense to start making money on YouTube. By exploring alternative strategies like affiliate marketing, selling digital products, fan funding, sponsorships, and offering services, new YouTubers can create diverse income streams from the beginning of their journey.

Focus on providing immense value to your audience, understand their needs, and choose monetization methods that align with your niche and content. Building a strong, engaged community is key to success with any of these strategies. By diversifying your income, you create a more sustainable and resilient channel, allowing you to continue creating content you love while building financial independence. Start experimenting with these methods today and unlock your channel's earning potential long before you hit that AdSense threshold.