Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Jul 25, 2025

How to make money on YouTube: find a niche, interact with your audience, collaborate with others and more tips

You might not make US$26 million like eight-year-old Ryan Kaji did last year, but you could pull in extra income with a successful YouTube channel. Barbara MacDonald, a product manager at YouTube, helps new and existing video makers grow their channels and find success. Here are her tips

Google recently announced that YouTube had a US$15 billion year in 2019, based on advertising sales, showing the world just how huge a business the video network has become.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, which hold on to the lion’s share of ad revenues and don’t share with the people who upload content, Google takes a different approach in splitting YouTube ad revenues with video creators.

That means millions of people are profiting from their relationship with YouTube by making videos and pulling in either extra income or actually making a living from their YouTube revenues.

According to American business magazine Forbes, eight-year-old Ryan Kaji from toys review channel Ryan’s World earned a cool US$26 million in 2019 from his YouTube ad revenues and sponsorship deals.

The chances of something like that happening for you is rare, but there’s no denying that the opportunity is there.

Maybe you don’t get to tell your boss you quit and turn a new chapter by churning out videos tomorrow, but perhaps you can make a little extra income through your YouTube passion? It’s not too late to get started.

That’s the word from Barbara MacDonald, a product manager at YouTube who serves as one of the co-hosts of its “Creator Insider” video series, which looks to help new and existing video makers grow their channels and find success.

“If you have a subject you’re passionate about, give it a try,” she says.

How can you cash in on YouTube fame? MacDonald has several key points to consider before getting started.


1. Go niche

Follow your passion, and start your channel devoted to your special interest. The topic? Go small, MacDonald says, and you’ll have an easier time finding an audience.

For instance, instead of a channel devoted to food, a pretty broad category, she says some video creators have found great success focusing on one particular genre – like the latest new treats at Disney resorts.

“I don’t necessarily like to go to Disney parks, but I love to eat, so this gets my attention,” she says.


2. Don’t worry about expensive gear

You don’t need a fancy, expensive digital single-lens reflex camera, MacDonald says. Many YouTube creators make their videos on smartphones.

MacDonald shoots on a lower-priced Canon EOS M camera, which sells for under US$500, and Tom Leung, who also hosts the Creator Insider video series, shoots on a Google Pixel 4 smartphone.

“It’s all about the content, not the gear,” MacDonald says. “Don’t let your equipment be a barrier.”


3. Build a following

You’ll need to attract subscribers to your channel if you want YouTube to share ad revenues as part of its Partner Programme. Requirements: 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time during a 12-month period.

How do you get subscribers when you’re just starting out? “Start with family and friends, and go from there,” MacDonald says.


4. Interact with your audience

YouTube wants to see that the community is responding to your videos. “Interact” with your new viewers in the comments section, and send out polls and photos on the community page of your channel “to start a dialogue”.


5. Be consistent

“Have a consistent upload schedule, so the audience knows when to come back to see new videos,” MacDonald says.

This doesn’t have to be a daily upload or even a weekly upload. But if you say new videos every Tuesday, or on the first day of each month, “stick to it”.


6. Label YouTube videos accurately

YouTube likes videos with good, interesting titles and descriptions. They need to “accurately reflect the content of video”, and tell viewers what to expect.

Thumbnails, the little visual you see pop up on the YouTube homepage, are usually bright, with pictures of people in them because people are drawn in by seeing the eyes, MacDonald says.


7. Collaborate with other YouTubers

Once you get going, start making videos with other YouTubers to expand your audience and get your work seen in front of theirs.

The Creator Insider video series posts new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Other places on YouTube to learn about successful best practices include the YouTube Creators (formerly known as Creators Academy) and Team YouTube channels.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
×