A Complete Guide to Joining YouTube's Partner Program

The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is YouTube's content monetization program, which every YouTube creator wants to be part of.

To become a YouTube partner, creators must meet the requirements of the YouTube Partner Program.

Here is a comprehensive breakdown of how to become a YouTube partner if you are new to YouTube or unsure about how it works:

What is the YouTube Partner Program?

The monetization of your content can take many forms, including advertising, subscriptions, and selling merchandise.

By enrolling in the YouTube Partner Program, creators can enable ads on their videos, and if someone watches these ads, the creator earns a split of the ad revenue from Google.

Therefore, it's important to understand the YouTube Partner Program requirements so that you can join sooner rather than later.

How Does the YouTube Partner Program Work?

YouTube Partner Program follows a revenue-sharing model and uses the channel of partner creators as an advertising platform.

All ads that are used on a YouTube partner’s video are from Google Ad bidders. Whenever the ad is viewed or clicked, the advertisers pay Google and then Google in turn pays the creator for offering their channel as a platform for ads.

However, a creator does need to qualify the YouTube Partner Program requirements in order to be eligible to start earning money from the ads that play on their YouTube channel.

The minimum requirements for joining the YouTube Partner Program are as follows:

The YouTube channel must have at least 1000 subscribers.
The YouTube channel should have at least 4000 hours of public watch time within 12 months.
The YouTube channel must not have any community guideline strikes.
The YouTube channel must have two-factor authentication turned on.
The YouTube channel must have a Google AdSense account linked.
The YouTube channel must be based out from a country/region where the YouTube Partner Program is available.

If you are a creator who has achieved these minimum requirements to join the YouTube Partner Program, you can apply for the YouTube Partner Program from the e-mail account that is registered to your YouTube account.

Based on the revenue-sharing model of YouTube, whenever a viewer watches an ad, YouTube and the creator both earn revenue which is split in a 55% - 45% ratio. The creator gets 55% and YouTube gets 45%.

As a result, creators with the most subscribers get more money as they have more chances of people watching and clicking on ads that show on their YouTube videos.

How to Join the YouTube Partner Program?

If you have a YouTube account that meets the minimum YouTube partner requirements, you are eligible to join the YouTube Partner Program.

It is relatively straightforward to become a YouTube partner.

However, creators are required to send an application, that will then be reviewed by a team at YouTube, and approved to be officially enrolled in to the YouTube Partner Program.

Here is a checklist of YouTube partner requirements that you need to check before applying:

1. Enable Two Factor Authentication

As the YouTube Partner Program is a monetization program, YouTube requires creators to have maximum security from phishing scams and possible attempts of hacking your account.

To ensure that this objective is achieved, YouTube now requires creators to enable 2-Step Verification (2FA) on their YouTube account.

By having the 2FA enabled, your account will be protected by a password and a second form of verification.

Whenever YouTube recognizes a suspicious login or attempt to log in from a new device, the account will get locked out and you will need to enter a code that is sent to your registered phone number to get further access to the YouTube account.

This ensures the maximum security of your YouTube account and prevents hacking attempts to a great extent.

2. Achieve the Minimum Threshold

The YouTube Partner Program is restricted to creators who have crossed the threshold of having at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours.

As anyone with a valid phone number and email-id can register an account and start sharing videos on YouTube, they consider this threshold to determine eligible content creators who have proven that their content adds value to a viewer on YouTube.

This also makes it easy for YouTube to determine if a creator is serious about their YouTube account and making quality content.

Once you cross the threshold, you are eligible to send the application.

3. Adhere to YouTube Policies and Guidelines

As with any prominent social media networking platform, there are strict community guidelines and policies that a creator must follow in order to retain their profile.

YouTube also has a dedicated community guidelines and policies that make it clear on what’s allowed, what’s legal, and what’s not allowed on YouTube.

As a creator, you are required to follow these community guidelines and policies, and failure to which will result in receiving community guideline strikes. It should also be noted that receiving three community guideline strikes will result in your YouTube account being terminated.

From a monetization perspective, channels that have at least one community guide strike will not be eligible to join the YouTube Partner Program until the community strike is withdrawn by the person who filed it or YouTube (in the case of YouTube issuing the community strike).

4. Sign the YouTube Partner Policy Terms

If you meet all the YouTube Partner Program requirements that are covered above, you only need to sign the YouTube Partner Policy terms and link a Google AdSense account to submit your application.

Here are the steps you need to follow to sign the YouTube Partner Policy terms:

Sign in to your YouTube account.
Now look for the profile picture icon on the top right corner.
Tap the YouTube Studio option from the drop-down.
Now scroll through the menu tab on the left side of the screen.
Click on the ‘Monetization’ tab from the menu option.
If you qualify the YouTube partner requirements, you will see a “Start” option on the Review Partner Program terms card.
Tap the “Start” button and mark the step with a green ‘Done’ sign on the “Review Partner Program Terms” card.

5. Connecting Your Account to Google AdSense

Now that you have signed the terms, all that’s left to do in order to start the review process is to connect a Google AdSense account to your YouTube account.

Please note that you must only have one AdSense account connected to your YouTube account to start generating revenue from your content.

You can set up a Google AdSense account by following these steps:

Head over to Google AdSense and log in to your account.
If you don’t have an AdSense account, create a new account.
Now click the “Start” option on the “Sign up or Google AdSense” card.
Once you are connected, Google will mark the step with a green “Done” sign on the “Sign up for Google Adsense” card.

Now you only need to wait until YouTube reviews your application and gets back to you to complete the joining process.

6. Review Process

The review process is carried out by a team at YouTube and can take a few days at times, and faster at other times. Regardless of whether you get accepted or rejected to the YouTube Partner Program, you will receive an official confirmation from YouTube.

If you are accepted, the message will read as:

Congratulations! You can now set up ad preferences and enable monetization on your uploads.

However, if your application is rejected, the message will be like this:

Our reviewers have found that a significant portion of your channel doesn’t meet our policies and guidelines.

But, don’t feel dejected if you get rejected on your first try to join the YPP. Make sure that you qualify the YouTube partner requirements and re-apply 30 days after your application got rejected.

What are the YouTube Partner Program Requirements?

Initially, YouTube only required creators on their platform to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours to get your content monetized through the YPP.

However, recently they changed the policy and added further requirements to get your channel monetized.

Now, in addition to these requirements, creators also need to have two-factor authentication enabled, along with the channel having no community guideline strikes active to be eligible for applying to the YouTube Partner Program.

Apart from these criteria, YouTube also requires creators to have a valid Google AdSense account that is connected to the YouTube account to start getting paid.

What are the Benefits of Being a YouTube Partner?

There are several benefits of being a YouTube Partner and this is not restricted just to monetary benefits. Monetization is just the tip of an iceberg among the many other benefits you get to enjoy by enrolling on the YouTube Partner Program.

Some of the major benefits of YPP are as follows:

1. Copyright Protection

While copyright protection is available to everyone on YouTube, channels that qualify YouTube partner program requirements to get better copyright protection.

Members of the YouTube Partner Program can make use of the Copyright Match tool and get in touch with a dedicated customer support team that is exclusive to YouTube partners.

Copyright infringement has continued to be a really big problem for creators on the platform. Many YouTubers also fail to make the most out of their videos because of content theft and users resorting to stealing videos published by the original creator without their consent.

That’s where YouTube’s Content Match Tool comes into play!

In the event of a duplicated video being reported or recognized by YouTube, they will support a report to the creator about the duplicate content. Creators can tackle the issue of copyright infringement much faster this way!

2. Monetization

Monetization of the content a creator posts on YouTube is one of the top priorities for any user on the platform.

For that, it is absolutely important to get your content across the YouTube Partner requirements.

Once you qualify and complete the objective, you can apply for YPP, and start earning money from the content you create.

Even though ads will run on your channel before you join the YouTube Partner Program, you will only start earning money from these ads running after joining the YPP.

3. Access to Better Tools

The YouTube Analytics feature is available for every creator.

However, by joining the YouTube Partner Program, you can get further useful insights and analytics like tracking your revenue per mille (RPM), revenue per 1000 views, cost per mille (CPM), estimated revenue, ad revenue and much more.

You also get access to a huge library of tools, and guides that are dedicated to helping you create better content on YouTube

4. Multi-Channel Advertising

YouTube values all of its partners and considers creators as an extension of YouTube.

That’s why they give plenty of value-added benefits and even more freebies to all members who are part of the YouTube Partner Program.

Among these benefits, a multichannel advertising program is a cool feature that lets you improve your online exposure at ease.

Creators can make really good use of this free advertising feature to get their content across to a wider global audience.

5. YouTube Customer Support

By joining the YouTube Partner Program, you also get access to dedicated YouTube customer support.

The YouTube creator support team is a dedicated team of qualified, experienced content creators that provide real-time, high-quality and relevant solutions to all the creator problems and concerns.

In addition to a customer support team that can be contacted in real-time, members also get access to a massive online store of videos and articles that provide answers to almost every query a creator has.

When you become a YouTube partner, you also get access to a help forum that lets you get in touch with other content creators and administrators to discuss concerns or issues, technical updates, and much more.

You can also get in touch with partner managers to get one on one interactions on almost every niche. You can get their help to unlock interesting strategies that can help you grow faster on YouTube.