If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a YouTube Partner, then you’ve stumbled into the right article! “Inside Partnership” is a new series I’m making to give anyone interested an insight into the extra features of being a YouTube Partner.
In the first episode, I’ll be going over how to apply to become a YouTube Partner, and I give you my opinion on what “criteria” you should have.
Applying :
Applying for YouTube Partnership is easy, it’s the click of one button once you’re signed into your YouTube account. However, it’s the “criteria” that people get confused about. How many views do you need to qualify for partnership? How many subscribers do you need?
The truth is, the folks over at YouTube don’t have a set number of views, subscribers or channel views for reviewing Partnership applications. They look at everything from video views, subscriber counts, how active your subscribers are (sub4sub is not going to help you in any way), your channel views, your video content, and also how you interact with your viewers.
YouTube’s Criteria:
- You create original videos suitable for online streaming – Your videos are original, they are fairly unique AND they are “suitable”. Anything with very vulgar language/sexual content/endorsing bullying/drug use/etc. will cause you to be declined from Partnership.
- You own or have permission to use and monetize all content you upload – You cannot upload video/audio that you don’t have the right to upload. This means, you record your own footage, your own audio. No TV Shows, no songs, no movies, you get the picture. If you are using music in the background, make sure it’s Royalty Free or you have written permission from the artist to use it.
- You regularly upload videos that are viewed by thousands of YouTube users – If you upload once every 2 months, you are not going to be accepted to the program. YouTube are looking for people who are active, uploading regularly and who are gaining subscribers from their videos!
- Your videos do not violate YouTube’s terms of use or community guidelines – This ties in with your videos being “suitable”. You cannot endorse drug use/alcohol/use very vulgar language/sexual references/etc.
- Meet all of YouTube’s Criteria listed above
- Hit an average of 1,000 views or more per video
- Try to post regularly to keep your subscribers “active”. This term refers to how many of your subscribers actually watch your videos. If you participate in “sub4sub” interactions you will be left with “dead subs”, subscribers who will never watch your videos. It doesn’t matter if you have 20,000 subscribers, if they aren’t watching your videos, YouTube won’t bring you into the Partnership program.
- Interact with your Audience – YouTube also looks at how you interact with your viewers. Do you reply to comments, have you befriended other users. If you’re involved in any bullying or discrimination your account will be declined.
- Post videos on something you enjoy – This is a huge point. If you are posting videos on something you don’t enjoy, you won’t put 100% effort into it. It will be evident that you are not enjoying what you’re doing, you’re only doing it to become popular on YouTube. Don’t try and fit in with the trend if you don’t enjoy that topic. Create videos on topics you like, and then adapt your videos to suit what people enjoy, try to constantly listen to your audience to see what they want.