I made my first income from YouTube (at 300 subscribers). Here is how:

So, I only have 318 subscribers at the moment, but they seem to be genuinely supporting my work. I know many people here are creating YouTube channels and making videos with the hope that one day they will be monetized and start making money, but let me tell you, you don't necessarily need to go by the rules if you use this strategy right from the beginning.

Note: I am not some big YouTuber offering you growth advice, this is to help you reach your final goal of making money strategically.

Btw, you can visit my YouTube channel in my profile. You need to ensure that you have a product in your mind. This can be anything. For example, if you are making arts, you can sell art or maybe brushes or something. The first thing is to find a product/service, you can sell to your viewers/subscribers.

  1. Come up with something you can sell. In my case, I create notes of tutorials I am recording, and I keep the tutorials free of cost, and sell the notes at a reasonable price. I was not expecting people to buy initially but it seems like this strategy worked, people are buying it. Not all of them but yeah the ones who found value in my content.

  2. Create some value for your viewers. It means help them out. Make them laugh or teach them something. You can then ask your viewers to get the product you have created. Offer genuine value to them, and they will come.

  3. Don't wait for monetization, or sponsors. Use your mind, and think of what you can sell that offers value to people.

My approach is very simple. I ask my viewers to join my newsletter, that way I have their email address for future, and I also ask them to buy my product. A few of them just start to join. You will see. Don't forget to collect their emails using some newsletter platform like ConvertKit. Once you have their emails, you can send video updates or posts.

Use this strategy maybe this will help some of you use your existing audience effectively.

If you struggle to come up with a product idea, let me know I can help you out based on your content. I am really good at figuring out new product ideas.