Learn how to generate income on YouTube before hitting the Partner Program milestone
When I first started my YouTube journey, like many creators, I was laser-focused on reaching the YouTube Partner Program. I thought that once I hit 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours, the money would start rolling in through ads. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that waiting for ads isn’t the only way to make money on YouTube—and honestly, it’s not even the best way.
What if I told you that you don’t have to wait for monetization to start earning on YouTube? In fact, you can build passive income streams that bring in money while you sleep, long before ads are even on the table. That’s what I did, and today I’m going to share with you how I earned passive income on YouTube before I was even eligible for monetization.
Why Waiting for Monetization Isn’t Enough
The YouTube Partner Program is a great milestone to aim for, but it’s not the finish line. If you’re relying on ads alone, you might be waiting a long time before you start seeing any significant income. Ads are based on your CPM (cost per thousand views), and unless you’re getting thousands of views every day, the income can be pretty modest.
Plus, it can take a long time to reach YouTube’s requirements of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours, and even then, there’s no guarantee that ads will be a steady source of revenue. But here’s the good news: you don’t need to wait for monetization to start earning. There are ways to generate passive income even as a small YouTuber.
What Is Passive Income?
Let’s clear something up first: passive income isn’t instant, and it isn’t “set it and forget it”—at least not at the beginning. It’s income that comes in regularly after you’ve done the initial work. The beauty of passive income is that once you’ve set up the right systems, it can keep generating money for you without needing constant attention.
Here’s how I built my passive income on YouTube before I was eligible for monetization.
Affiliate Marketing: The First Step to Earning Without Ads
One of the most effective ways I started making passive income on YouTube was through affiliate marketing. Here’s why affiliate marketing works so well: you don’t need thousands of subscribers to get started, and it doesn’t rely on YouTube ads at all.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
Affiliate marketing is simple: you recommend products or services in your videos and include affiliate links in your description. Whenever someone clicks on that link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission. It’s that easy.
The best part? Once you’ve created a video with affiliate links, it can keep generating income for you over time. As long as people continue to watch the video and click on the links, you’ll keep earning commissions.
Finding the Right Affiliate Programs
The key to successful affiliate marketing is finding products that are relevant to your audience. You want to promote items or services that your viewers will actually find useful. Some great affiliate programs for YouTubers include:
- Amazon Associates: This is one of the most popular affiliate programs and lets you promote almost anything on Amazon. Whether you’re reviewing products or creating tutorials, you can include links to the items you talk about.
- ShareASale: This platform gives you access to a wide variety of affiliate programs across different niches, making it perfect for almost any YouTube channel.
- CJ Affiliate: Another great option with a huge variety of brands and products to promote.
Affiliate link idea: Want to start earning money through affiliate marketing? Join Amazon Associates and begin recommending products you already love!
How I Made It Work
When I started, I knew I had to focus on products that aligned with my content. My channel is all about helping people create digital products and use tools to make content creation easier, so I promoted tools, software, and gadgets that I genuinely used and loved. Every time I mentioned a product in a video, I’d include my affiliate link in the description.
And here’s the secret to making affiliate marketing passive: evergreen content. If you create videos that remain relevant over time, people will keep watching and clicking your links months, or even years, after you upload the video. That’s how I managed to turn affiliate marketing into a passive income stream.
Selling Digital Products: Create It Once, Sell It Forever
Another way I earned passive income before I was monetized was by creating and selling digital products. If you’ve never thought about selling digital products on YouTube, I’m here to tell you it’s one of the easiest ways to generate passive income.
Why Digital Products Are Perfect for Passive Income
The beauty of digital products is that you create them once, and you can sell them over and over again. There’s no inventory, no shipping, and no hassle. You just need to create something that provides value to your audience.
Here are a few ideas for digital products you could sell:
- eBooks: If you’re an expert in your niche, you could write a short eBook and sell it to your audience.
- Online courses: Teaching something valuable? You can create an online course that your audience can buy and learn from at their own pace.
- Templates and printables: If you’re in a creative niche, you could sell templates or printable resources that help your audience with their projects.
How I Got Started
I created a simple digital product—a guide that walked people through how to create digital products quickly and easily using the tools I was recommending. I sold it through Gumroad, which is an easy platform for selling digital products. Once the product was live, I simply added a link to my YouTube videos and mentioned it when relevant.
Here’s the great thing: as more people watched my videos, more people bought my guide, and the income started to come in without me having to do anything extra. The work was already done, and now I was just reaping the benefits.
Crowdfunding and Fan Support: Building a Loyal Community
Another fantastic way to build passive income before monetization is by tapping into crowdfunding platforms like Patreon or Ko-Fi. These platforms allow your fans to support your content by contributing financially. It’s perfect if you have a loyal audience, even if your channel is small.
Why Crowdfunding Works
People who love your content are often more than willing to contribute to help you create more of it. Platforms like Patreon allow you to offer exclusive content or perks to your supporters, while Ko-Fi lets people donate small amounts like buying you a “coffee” to support your work.
What’s great about crowdfunding is that it creates a consistent income stream. Supporters often contribute monthly, which means you can count on regular income to help fund your YouTube efforts.
The Power of Sponsorships: Earning Big Without Ads
One of the biggest surprises I encountered was how easy it can be to get sponsorships, even if your channel isn’t huge. Sponsorships allow you to partner with brands and get paid to promote their products or services in your videos.
Here’s the key: you don’t need to wait until you have thousands of subscribers to land sponsorship deals. Brands care more about the engagement and trust you have with your audience than your subscriber count. If you can prove that your viewers trust your recommendations, brands will want to work with you.
How I Got Started with Sponsorships
I started small by reaching out to companies whose products I was already using. I simply asked if they would be willing to sponsor one of my videos in exchange for a mention. To my surprise, many brands were open to it, and I landed my first sponsorship deal early on in my YouTube journey.
Sponsorships don’t have to be complicated. You can start with smaller deals like free products, and as your channel grows, you can negotiate for paid sponsorships. And the best part? Sponsorships can pay far more than ad revenue ever could, especially if you’re promoting high-quality products that align with your audience’s needs.
Conclusion: Start Earning Passive Income on YouTube Today
You don’t need to wait for YouTube ads to start earning real money. In fact, some of the best ways to generate income on YouTube are available to you before you’re even monetized. Whether it’s through affiliate marketing, selling digital products, crowdfunding, or sponsorships, there are multiple ways to build passive income streams that work for you, day and night.
The secret is to diversify your income streams and tap into multiple sources of revenue. This not only gives you more control over your earnings but also helps you build a sustainable business that doesn’t rely on the ups and downs of YouTube’s ad revenue.
If you’re serious about making money on YouTube, start implementing these strategies today and watch your passive income grow, even before you reach the Partner Program.
