Can You Youtube Your Way To Regular Income?

It's not uncommon to come across individuals aspiring to make YouTube videos and earn a living through them. On the face of it, that may sound simple, but it needs single-minded focus and a lot of effort before it becomes lucrative for you

- Versha Jain

Have a query? YouTube it and it's likely you will get an answer, whether it's about the right way to marinate chicken, a do-it-yourself (DIY) art project, or yoga for shoulder pain. From educational videos to spiritual content to historical facts to funny cat shorts, you can find just about anything on YouTube. Behind all the information are hundreds and thousands of YouTubers, some of whom create content regularly.

According to Statista, a data gathering and visualisation platform, online video is a popular digital activity, and 27 per cent of Internet users across the world watched over 17 hours of videos every week in 2023.

More and more people are now consuming information primarily through videos. As a result, platforms such as YouTube today are not just about entertainment or information and putting yourself out there, but are also being considered as a source of income by the young and the old alike.

The question then is whether it is as easy to earn money from YouTube as it sounds? We spoke to some YouTubers to understand how this works and whether one can rely on it for regular income.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

If you plan to monetise your YouTube channel, you will have to register for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) (see How To Get Started?) and choose a monetisation programme (see How Does Monetisation Work?).

This will largely depend on the number of subscribers you have. The earning percentage is based on the monetisation module one selects (see How Much Does It Pay?).