From free fans to paid subscribers: Why creators should monetize content beyond YouTube

YouTube is essential for many content creators, enabling them to make money doing something they love. As the second-most highly visited website on the internet, YouTube has unparalleled reach, which is why it’s such a great place to find and build an audience. 

But it’s not without limitations. Ultimately, YouTube is an advertising channel, not an owned platform. It can be difficult for many creators to truly own the relationship with their audience and, equally as important, to generate predictable revenue. 

Here’s why you should think about monetizing your content beyond YouTube. 

Monetizing content with YouTube

There’s no doubt that YouTube remains a great platform to build viewership and fan engagement, and there are several ways to monetize content there. The primary way creators earn money on YouTube is through advertising. Creators who have over 1,000 subscribers, at least 4,000 watch hours in the past twelve months, and meet other criteria can join the YouTube Partner Program in order to make money from ads that run on their videos and live streams.  

Here’s why that’s an imperfect solution:

• Lack of ownership: YouTube owns the relationship with viewers and the associated data. If you don’t know who your viewers are, it can be hard to engage with them outside of YouTube. 
• Unpredictable revenue: Advertisers pay for ads based on CPMs (cost per mille, or per thousand people who view the ad) which can vary widely based on factors like content relevance, location of your audience, video length, and how many views your channel gets. Plus, YouTube takes 45% of all ad revenue. 
• Lack of control: The YouTube algorithm dictates what content viewers see and what advertisers pay for. This means there is limited control over the ad-based revenue you can get from your content. 
• Hard to stand out: There are over two million members in the YouTube Partner Program competing for ad revenue. That makes it really hard to stand out. 

Advertising is not necessarily a lucrative or predictable way to make money on YouTube unless your channel earns hundreds of thousands of views and you’re making content within a specific, high-CPM niche. Even for those who are able to make money this way, it’s wise to diversify your revenue streams. 

The most successful creators monetize their content using a variety of models, such as advertising, brand sponsorships, crowdfunding, donations, merchandising, and membership fees. You can do most of this with YouTube, including channel membership (if you’re part of the YouTube Partner Program and meet certain criteria). However, you still won’t have full ownership of your channel. YouTube takes 30% — that’s almost a third! — of your membership revenue, no matter what you charge.

Given how limited the revenue potential is with YouTube, it’s worth considering your own subscription service. 

Why creators should consider a subscription beyond YouTube

In the last few years, we’ve seen the rise of the online subscription industry, which is expected to reach $1.5 trillion in revenue by 2025. As consumers, you’re probably paying a recurring monthly or annual subscription fee to a handful of companies, whether it’s a streaming service like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime, or some other software or app — think Spotify, Apple, New York Times, or Canva. It’s basically the new norm for tech pricing.

Why is the subscription model so prevalent, and how can it add value for creators specifically?

• By launching your own subscription or membership service, you can build a direct relationship with your most loyal fans without an intermediary like YouTube. 
• You own the data on your audience. 
• Unlike advertising, membership and subscription models drive predictable recurring revenue. You get a steady influx of cash through monthly or annual payments. 
• You can also make incremental revenue with your own subscription. It’s another revenue stream from which YouTube won’t take a cut. 

When you launch your own subscription or membership platform, you’ll have the ability to test new content without worrying about the algorithm; ownership over audience data; a path to build and engage your community directly; and the potential to make more incremental and predictable revenue. There are several vendors you can use for this. Patreon is a popular one but doesn’t specialize in video. 

Launching a video subscription business with Vimeo 

Top YouTube creators such as Dropout, Sidemen, Watcher Entertainment, and Taskmaster rely on Vimeo OTT to run their subscription business and to provide incremental revenue on top of their YouTube presence. 

Dropout found that working with Vimeo to launch its own Netflix-style subscription video on demand (SVOD) app experience allowed it to have a dedicated space to engage and monetize its most avid fans while still maintaining its YouTube presence to build brand and content awareness. Vimeo is also known for offering the highest quality, ad-free video experiences on the internet.