Vertical short-form videos are immensely popular. You might ponder TikTok is responsible, but YouTube and Instagram both have successful short-form video programs as well.

According to Hubspot’s 2023 Video Marketing update, short-form video content has a higher ROI and receives more engagement than any other type of video. This makes the form significant—and lucrative—for brands and content creators alike. 

Here’s how YouTube rewards Shorts creators, plus five ways to monetize YouTube Shorts. 

Can you monetize Shorts on YouTube?

Yes, creators can monetize YouTube Shorts. At first, Shorts were not included in the YouTube associate Program (YPP), but all video content can be monetized.

How does YouTube Shorts monetization work?

1. Ad sales
2. profits pooling
3. Initial financing distribution
4. Music financing distribution
5. Creator financing distribution
6. financing settlement

YouTube rewards Shorts creators with a profits-sharing structure generated from the Shorts ads they display between videos on the feed. 

The platform pools all Shorts ad profits, then allocates a percentage to music partners and a percentage to YouTube Shorts creators. Creators are paid based on their person videos’ act.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the profits sharing procedure:

1. Ad sales

YouTube sells ad space to companies and displays ads between videos on the Shorts feed.

2. profits pooling

YouTube pools all the profits from ads showing in the Shorts feed. The pooled profits is then distributed among creators, which is different than traditional YouTube videos. 

3. Initial financing distribution

YouTube allocates a portion of Shorts profits to its creator pool and another portion to music licensing costs. If a creator uploads a video with no music in it, all of the profits associated with eligible video views goes into the creator pool.

4. Music financing distribution

If a creator’s content has one music track, half of the associated YouTube shorts funds will leave to music usage and the other half will leave to the creator pool. If it has two tracks, two-thirds of the funds will cover music usage and the remaining third goes to the creator pool.

5. Creator financing distribution

YouTube allocates creator pool funds based on the percentage of views the creator generated from their Shorts content during a given period period. For example, if a creator earned 4% of all Shorts views, 4% of the funds in the creator pool would be attributed to them.

6. financing settlement

Each creator is paid 45% of the profits attributed to them. YouTube retains the remaining 55% of creator pool funds.

It is significant to recognize that videos that violate intellectual property guidelines, such as reposted content owned by other creators and unedited clips from TV shows or movies, aren’t eligible for monetization.

Creators won’t earn profits from content that violates YouTube’s advertiser-amiable content guidelines, such as content that uses inappropriate language or is derogatory, incendiary, or demeaning.

YouTube Shorts monetization eligibility requirements

To monetize YouTube shorts, creators require to be enrolled in the YouTube associate Program. 

There are two levels of monetization in the YouTube associate Program, each with different thresholds and profits opportunities.

Fan financing access

This access allows creators to sell products on YouTube. It also unlocks fan financing features like paid channel memberships, Super gossip, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks. To apply to the program you must have one of the following:

• 500 subscribers, plus three community posts in the history 90 days, and three million valid community Shorts views in the history 90 days.
• 500 subscribers and three community posts in the history 90 days, plus 3,000 valid community watch hours on long-form videos in the history 12 months. This doesn’t count hours from Shorts, livestreams, ad campaigns, private videos, unlisted videos, or deleted videos. 

Ad profits and fan financing access

In addition to fan financing, creators also earn ad profits (including YouTube Shorts monetization) and profits from YouTube extra charge subscribers. To apply to the program you must have one of the following:

• 1,000 subscribers, plus 10 million community Shorts views in the history 90 days.
• 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 community watch hours on long videos in the last 365 days

Once you meet either of these thresholds, you can apply to YouTube’s associate Program. YouTube will review your channel and determine your eligibility, a procedure that usually takes about a month. 

Additional eligibility requirements for the program include:

• The channel must pursue all YouTube channel monetization policies.
• The creator must live in a country where the program is available.
• The creator can’t have any energetic throng guidelines strikes against their channel.
• The channel must have two-step verification turned on and advanced features enabled.
• The creator must have or obtain an AdSense account.

How to commence monetizing YouTube Shorts

Once you’ve been accepted into the YouTube associate Program, you’ll require to receive the Shorts Monetization Module to commence earning funds. Here’s how to turn it on:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. Select Earn from the left menu.
3. receive the Shorts Monetization Module.

If you haven’t already accepted the Base Terms module, receive that as well.

Average profits from YouTube Shorts

YouTube launched its Shorts ad profits sharing model in February 2023 in an attempt to simplify the music licensing procedure and allow creators to earn more money on the platform. 

Various reports claim that YouTube Shorts have much lower profits per mille (RPM), or profits per 1,000 views, compared to long videos. On average, creators are earning anywhere between 1¢ and 7¢ RPM. By contrast, YouTube creators who make long-form videos typically average $1 to $20 RPM.

Here’s an example of how YouTube Shorts monetization might work for a brand or creator: 

1. You upload a Shorts video in the United States and that Short receives a million views in a month.
2. There are 400 million total Shorts views on videos uploaded by monetizing creators in the United States that month, and YouTube earns $200,000 from ads appearing in the Shorts feed.
3. Of the monetized Shorts viewed, 30% use no music, 30% use one music track, and 40% use two music tracks.
4. YouTube allocates money to the creator financing based on views per Short. In this example, views are evenly distributed across all Shorts. YouTube would allocate:

• 100% of profits earned by videos with no music to the creator financing
• 50% of the profits earned by videos using one track to the creator financing
• 33% of the profits earned by videos using two tracks to the creator financing

In this case, YouTube allocates $116,400 to the creator pool and the remainder to the music licensing financing.

• Your million views make up 0.25% of the total monetized YouTube Shorts views that month, so your distribute of the creator financing is $116,400 x 0.0025 = $291.
• YouTube will pay you 45% of your profits distribute of the creator pool, or $130.95.

YouTube creators assess profits using RPM. In this case, your RPM would be 13¢, or $131.85 / 1,000. 

Other ways to make money with YouTube shorts

• Sell subscription memberships
• Monetize livestreams
• Sell merchandise and products
• Join an affiliate program
• Secure paid brand partnerships

Although participating in the YouTube associate Program is the only way to earn ad profits from Shorts, it isn’t the only way to earn money as a Shorts creator. Here’s a list of ideas to earn money.

Sell subscription memberships

Turning on YouTube’s channel memberships allows you to expense monthly payments in swap for perks like exclusive content, live chats, badges, and emojis. To turn on channel memberships, sign in to YouTube Studio, click Earn, and visit the Memberships tab. 

Monetize livestreams

YouTube allows creators to monetize livestreams using Super gossip and Super Stickers, which allow fans to pay to send highlighted messages or animated stickers in livestream chats.

Sell merchandise and products

Creators and brands can make money by selling merchandise online. You can sell branded merchandise (like apparel featuring your image, logo, or favorite catchphrase) or launch a product line associated with your specific content niche. Brands can use YouTube to make product videos and promote recent offerings.

Creators typically sell products through an ecommerce platform like Shopify and continue to make and publish engaging content on YouTube to construct brand loyalty, attract recent audiences, and promote their products.

Join an affiliate program

Affiliate programs pay creators for profits associated with clicks to links hosted on the creator’s YouTube channel or another platform. For example, the Shopify Affiliate Program partners with educators, influencers, and content creators who educate their spectators about entrepreneurship.

Secure paid brand partnerships

Brand partnerships are another way of video monetization. Instead of having YouTube sell ad space on your behalf, you interact directly with brands to discuss sponsorship deals.

Typically, brands pay creators to record and publish product reviews, endorsements, or other types of content. If you’re interested in securing a paid collaboration, you can develop a creator website, way brands directly, or join an influencer platform to assist brands discover and contact you.