Do you know what exactly popular youtubers and content creators make per month? It is a fortune right. It is one of the most sought passive incomes by professionals around the world. But what if we say that opportunity will now be accessible for micro and nano influencers. Yes, on June 13, 2023, YouTube lowered the bar or eligibility criteria to join its partner programme and rolled out a Youtube new monetisation policy for content creators. In order to monetize your YouTube channel, you typically need to meet certain eligibility requirements and adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines and Advertiser-Friendly Content Guidelines. 

Here are some key points to consider:

Table of Contents

Youtube New Monetisation Policy

Youtube new monetisation policy

What Necessitated the move

Content marketers are using video content more than ever. In 2022, 86% of businesses will use video as a marketing tool. But YouTube was too late to find out that the ground was slipping from under their feet.

The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for Chinese video marketing giant Tik Tok. At that time, YouTube was not even considering micro and nano influencers and intentionally overlooked their capabilities. But here, we say opportunities don’t knock on the same door twice. Tik Tok grabbed the short-form market space and started eroding YouTube’s organic traffic and revenue as a whole. Today, TikTok has over a billion monthly users, making it the most downloaded app worldwide in 2021.

Further, the rise of in-home YouTube alternatives like Twitch has significantly lower requirements for its affiliate programme. This started to threaten the sole foundation of YouTube if they had to follow the trends of the erstwhile Yahoo.com. Youtube started to understand that the patriotism cards would no longer work against Tik Tok, and they started to make changes in their monetization policy.

Further, YouTube discovered that it has no existence without creators and started to roll out new guidelines. It is evident in Youtube new monetization policy as well.

What Youtube New Monetisation Policy means to Individual stakeholders

For YouTube

  1. Make the platform more competitive and regain the space in the content market lost to Tiktok three years ago.
  2. Shorts are literally ruling the video market, whether it is YouTube, TikTok, or Twitch. Youtube is eyeing to dominate the short video market by creating a competitive space along with Tik Tok and Twitch.
  3. Youtube now understands the value of time. So they want to headstart early for new changes than its competitors.
    • TikTok’s creator fund has a minimum eligibility of 10,000 followers, compared to YouTube’s new 500 for monetization.
    • On YouTube’s main competitor in streaming, Twitch, monetization is primarily through donations and paid subscriptions.
  5. Increase YouTube ad revenue by encouraging nano influencers to make content and use their niche expertise, authenticity, and ability to connect with their audience on a personal level.

For Content Creators

  • Easier for newer content creators to earn youtube money. That means if you start a youtube channel having enough social base plus meeting certain criteria will make you eligible for an online income.
  • With local or regional influence, nanoinfluencers have the ability to connect with a specific community or geographic area. So they can promote products and services via influencer marketing and affiliate marketing.
  • Live Streamers tend to have a high watch time relative to the number of followers or subscribers they have. So they can get easy access to the creator support option on YouTube. Additionally, they will gain faster access to fan funding via super thanks, super chats, super stickers, and channel memberships.

For Shorts Creators

  • With the growth of YouTube Shorts’ popularity, YouTube has its eyes set on not just dominating long-form video.
  • Generally, short content creators tend to earn many views relative to their subscriber count but get a little less revenue than lengthy content creators.

The Pitfall

YouTube’s monetization policies have undergone several changes over the years to ensure a more transparent and sustainable ecosystem for creators. But YouTube intentionally avoided any amendments to its controversial June 2021 policy. It not only overlooked the demands of content creators but also made the rules stringent. It is listed below.

  1. Under its terms of service, YouTube essentially reserves the right to place ads on any content of its choice. YouTube will display ads even if a content creator specifically does not want ads to be displayed on his channel. Before this, ads were placed only when he or she was a part of the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP) with a certain number of subscribers and views.
  2. Additionally, creators who are not a part of YPP will not earn revenues from the ads curated by YouTube on their videos. A tactile reminder that creators merely rent digital space. They don’t own it.
  3. Furthermore, YouTube claims to be a free platform. But if YouTube starts to place ads on videos that are not authorised to do so, It could be considered an encroachment on our personal freedom and natural justice.
  4. Smalltime content creators have a small audience base. If YouTube starts displaying ads on their videos, chances are that it can potentially drive their viewers away.
  5. YouTube advertisements are on every video viewed on the site. It is annoying to watch long ads that you do not actually wish to watch. This has become so worrisome for content creators that their subscribers lose interest in watching their content in the first instance.

Wrapping Up

Anyway, the new YouTube monetization policy is a good gesture to keep the platform more engaging and promote small-scale influencers and content creators. In order to keep it creator-friendly and make them feel valued, YouTube should start shedding more light on the above-mentioned issue to bring more clarity.

So far, the new policy is applicable to content creators based in the UK, US, Canada, Taiwan, and South Korea. Others can expect those changes around September this year. 

Meanwhile, video will remain the hottest trend on the content market, and with a video marketing agency, you can reach the top of the ladder in no time. In order to stay on track and not be left behind, start investing in your business’s video marketing and stay on top of the market.