Monetisation

Creators use the word two ways and they are worth keeping apart. The narrow use means acceptance into the YouTube Partner Program and a share of ad revenue. The broad use covers every route from an audience to money: sponsorship, memberships, affiliate links, your own products, licensing, live gifts, paid communities. Most channels that pay a wage run several at once, and the ad share is rarely the largest line.

The Partner Program has a lower tier and a full one. The lower tier opens fan funding features at 500 subscribers plus a watch time or Shorts views threshold, and the ad revenue share sits behind 1,000 subscribers and a higher bar again.