Are you interested in making money on YouTube?

The internet provides a host of opportunities for ordinary individuals with Information Technology (IT) skills to generate income. Only recently, some British parents published a 57-second video of their children on YouTube and ended up making over $150, 000 from that video alone. Firstly, you make money on YouTube by becoming a YouTube partner. This would ultimately allow you to display ads on your videos, and then you earn a percentage of the revenues generated by clicks on those ads, much like with AdSense. As for how much money you can actually make, I heard numbers anywhere from $3 up to $10 per 1,000 video views. I know the question on your mind right now is how to become a partner.

Not to worry, just read on. I will deal with that in the last sub-heading of this article. Besides, Google Incorporated launched YouTube in Nigeria lat year to showcase the best and brightest local talent. This launch of the platform however now offer some of the most informative and entertaining video content from around the world through a local interface, www.youtube.com.ng, to promote content that is most relevant to Nigerians. However, the process of becoming a YouTube partner is not as trivial as becoming an AdSense publisher. Below you’ll find the basic steps you need to go through:

 Make Sure You Have an AdSense Account

While the process to be able to display ads on your YouTube videos is a separate one, your earnings and stats will go together with your AdSense account, so you need to have one. In theory you could apply to become a YouTube partner before having an AdSense account, and in case you get accepted you would then follow up with an AdSense application. I believe the other way around is much simpler, though.

 Grow your audience on YouTube

One of the most important criteria the YouTube guys will bring into play when evaluating your application is the audience you reach on the platform. They don’t really spell out the requirements, but I’ve heard many people say these are the estimated numbers you need to have before getting accepted: At least 1,000 subscribers, at least 1,000 views on all your videos, at least 10,000 channel views. These are the very minimum though, if you want to make sure you’ll get accepted I would aim for 5,000 subscribers, 50,000 channel views and over 1, 000, 000 upload views total.

 Get videos out there regularly

 If you only have one or two videos uploaded your chances of getting accepted are low, even if those videos went viral. That’s because YouTube is looking for people who are planning to work with them over the long term. The more regularly and frequently you upload new videos, the better. For instance, someone who uploads a new video every day will have a better chance of getting accepted than someone who uploads one every couple of weeks. You also want to make sure you have at least 100 uploaded videos before applying to become a partner (though some people say 50 will be enough).

 Develop a brand around your videos

 This step is not crucial, but I think it helps a lot on getting approved. You need to remember that, once you meet the technical guidelines, it will be a person on the other site deciding on whether you are a good fit for becoming a YouTube Partner or not. In other words, the more professional you look the higher your chances.

Make sure your content has zero copyrighted material

 If there’s one thing that will get your application rejected on the spot is copyright infringement, so make sure you have zero copyrighted material on your videos. This includes images, graphics, logos, video clips and audio. It is imperative to stress that by simply using a song on the background without requisite permission could get your application rejected.

 Apply to become a YouTube partner

 After you followed all the previous steps you are ready to apply. You can do that via the official YouTube Partner Program page. It might take a while to get your application considered due to the load of people applying, but once you get accepted you’ll be able to start displaying ads on your videos right away. Here’s the link to submit your application, http://www.youtube.com/yt/creators/partner.html. Now, what are you waiting for? Log on and get busy!

 Practical tips include:

·         Create a website to host your videos and give your audience more ways to interact

·         Create a nice logo and use it everywhere

·         Use a watermark on your videos with your logo

·         Consider getting a professional intro made for your videos

·         Customize your YouTube channel to make it look professional