[0:00] A lot of people think that getting
[0:01] monetized on YouTube takes years, but
[0:04] we've actually seen channels do it in as
[0:05] little as 30 days. And the difference is
[0:08] not luck, it's actually strategy. So, in
[0:11] this video, I'm breaking down exactly
[0:12] how to get monetized step by step in
[0:15] 2026. So, let's start with the basic
[0:17] requirements for enrolling in the
[0:19] YouTube partner program. Well, there's
[0:20] really two routes you can go with this.
[0:22] Route one is getting 1,000 subscribers
[0:25] and 4,000 public watch hours on your
[0:28] content in the last 12 months. And
[0:29] typically, this is the route that we
[0:31] recommend beginners strive for achieving
[0:33] because it's a lot more attainable than
[0:35] route two, which is getting 10 million
[0:38] shorts views in the last 90 days. That's
[0:40] usually a little bit too high of a
[0:42] barrier for most channels. So, we
[0:43] recommend focusing on getting your
[0:44] first,000 subs and 4,000 public watch
[0:47] hours. Now, right away, a lot of
[0:49] mistakes we see beginners making at the
[0:50] beginning is they start posting random
[0:52] content and their content doesn't feel
[0:54] cohesive and they have no real strategy
[0:57] or direction for their channel. Also, we
[0:59] see creators try to chase a bunch of
[1:01] trends and try viral reaction formats
[1:03] that don't actually end up landing with
[1:05] anybody because competition is so high
[1:07] for those kinds of viral videos. where
[1:09] creators go allin on short strategy and
[1:12] have a hard time breaking through the
[1:13] algorithm and their shorts will just
[1:15] kind of peter off after 24 hours and
[1:17] only do a couple hundred views. Now, if
[1:19] you want a super difficult path for
[1:21] getting monetized years down the road,
[1:23] then you could try that strategy out and
[1:24] see how it works. Instead, I actually
[1:26] recommend following these four simple
[1:28] steps that I'll outline in this video to
[1:30] set you up for success in getting
[1:31] monetized as quickly as possible. So,
[1:34] step one to getting monetized quicker is
[1:36] to start producing intentbased videos.
[1:38] And sometimes we call these high intent
[1:40] videos or searchbased content. And
[1:43] really these are just producing pieces
[1:44] of content that people are already
[1:46] searching for and have verifiable demand
[1:49] for. So for us at Think Media, it could
[1:50] be a video like best cameras for
[1:52] YouTube. Or if you're in a real estate
[1:54] niche, it could be how to buy your first
[1:56] home as a first-time home buyer. Or if
[1:58] you like give tours of Las Vegas, it
[2:00] could be best restaurants in the Las
[2:02] Vegas area. All of these kinds of videos
[2:04] have what we call high search intent
[2:06] where a viewer is coming to the platform
[2:08] to solve a specific question in their
[2:10] life and you can meet them with a
[2:12] specific answer to their specific
[2:13] question. One of the tactics we teach
[2:15] inside of our online course called video
[2:17] ranking academy is the tactic called ASQ
[2:20] or answering specific questions. And
[2:22] that's exactly what the strategy is that
[2:24] we're talking about. And a similar
[2:25] strategy to the ASQ method is what we
[2:27] call RSP which is reviewing specific
[2:30] products. So, no matter what kind of
[2:32] niche your channel is in, you probably
[2:34] have specific products that you use on a
[2:36] daily basis or even software that you
[2:38] might use that you'd be able to do
[2:40] reviews on to meet buyers or viewers who
[2:43] have a high intent to learn more about
[2:44] that product. You can meet them with
[2:46] specific answers to the questions they
[2:48] might have. And really, this kind of
[2:50] strategy, trying to reach people who are
[2:52] searching for content, is the best way
[2:54] to start getting your first views, first
[2:56] subscribers, and building real momentum.
[2:59] And we actually literally believe in
[3:00] this method so much that we have an
[3:02] online course called video ranking
[3:03] academy where we teach you how to rank
[3:05] videos in search results on YouTube. And
[3:07] we have thousands of students who are
[3:09] adopting these same principles every
[3:11] single week. So if you want to get
[3:12] monetized quicker, start producing
[3:14] content that has really high search
[3:16] traffic with high viewer intent. Now the
[3:18] second thing I would do is add a layer
[3:20] of broad appeal videos into my content
[3:23] strategy. So after I already have ranked
[3:25] some videos and are ranking in search
[3:26] results, I do want to add some content
[3:29] that can reach a wider audience. So an
[3:31] example for us would be how to start a
[3:33] YouTube channel in 2026 because this
[3:36] literally applies to any single person
[3:38] on the YouTube platform who is wanting
[3:40] to create a channel. Not just people
[3:41] interested in YouTube strategy or
[3:43] growth, but literally anyone at all. If
[3:45] you want a YouTube channel, you could
[3:46] watch this video. Another great example
[3:48] is from Dr. Mike. He makes a ton of
[3:51] great videos, but this one right here is
[3:52] specifically targeting broad appeal.
[3:54] This is doctor reacts to Family Guy
[3:57] medical scenes. So, you don't even know
[3:58] who this doctor is or what he's doing.
[4:00] But if you have any interest in Family
[4:02] Guy or just comedy television shows,
[4:04] then you would have a wide interest for
[4:06] this kind of content and you're kind of
[4:08] curious like what is actually the
[4:10] medical advice that Family Guy is
[4:12] giving. And you could watch Dr. Mike's
[4:14] video to get that kind of reaction style
[4:15] format. So, when you make these sorts of
[4:17] broad appeal videos, you're really
[4:18] trying to increase your impressions by
[4:21] reaching more and more people. So, when
[4:23] you increase your impressions, you'll
[4:25] end up getting more clicks on your
[4:26] video, and more clicks equal more views.
[4:29] And we really need to increase our views
[4:31] and our watch time if we want to hit
[4:33] that 1,000 subscriber mark and 4,000
[4:35] watch hours. And if you're not sure how
[4:37] to come up with these viral video ideas,
[4:39] a tool that I use all of the time and
[4:41] really wish I started using a lot sooner
[4:43] in my YouTube career is Vid IQ. Vid IQ
[4:46] is a software that you can actually add
[4:48] to your YouTube studio if you want to
[4:50] manage your channel a little bit better
[4:51] and have better analytics and insights,
[4:54] but it's also a great research tool for
[4:56] finding great video ideas. My favorite
[4:58] tool from Vid IQ is their outlier tool.
[5:01] And an outlier is essentially a video
[5:03] that performs significantly better than
[5:06] a channel's average performance. And by
[5:08] studying those patterns, you can
[5:09] actually completely revolutionize the
[5:12] kinds of videos that you're targeting
[5:13] and creating by studying what is
[5:15] actually working on the platform. So, we
[5:17] can see I just searched right here for
[5:19] best camera for YouTube. And I can see
[5:21] all of these different videos that have
[5:23] outlier. Like this one right here is a
[5:25] 61x outlier on this person's channel. or
[5:27] this one right here by PSS Creative Mind
[5:30] with 100,000 subscribers. This video is
[5:33] doing a 7.3x outlier. That means it's
[5:36] performing seven times better than this
[5:38] person typically would perform on any
[5:40] given video. You can use an outlier tool
[5:42] to verify interest before you just come
[5:44] up with an idea and think, "Hey, I think
[5:46] this is a really viral idea that's going
[5:48] to get a ton of views." You can verify
[5:50] ideas by looking for outliers that
[5:52] actually are getting real-time views.
[5:54] This is truly a tool I wish I would have
[5:56] started using from day one. And if you
[5:58] want to try out Vid IQ for as little as
[6:00] $1, I'll link it down in the description
[6:02] below. So, step number three is you need
[6:04] to optimize your content for longer
[6:06] watch time. So, to get monetized, you
[6:08] don't just need views, you also need
[6:11] really long watch time. You've got to
[6:12] reach that 4,000 hours of watch time.
[6:14] So, producing longer videos will help
[6:16] you hit that watchtime goal a lot
[6:18] quicker. So, I like to tell creators to
[6:20] target creating videos that are a
[6:22] minimum of 8 minutes in length, upwards
[6:25] of like 15 minutes or even like 30 plus
[6:27] minutes if you think you can swing it.
[6:29] And why we say 8 minutes minimum is
[6:31] because YouTube really loves videos that
[6:33] are over 8 minutes in length because you
[6:35] can actually run multiple ad spots on
[6:37] videos that are longer than 8 minutes.
[6:40] This is especially important if you
[6:41] unlock monetization later and you have
[6:43] videos that are longer than 8 minutes.
[6:45] YouTube can then run midroll ads in the
[6:48] video, which is how YouTube makes money.
[6:50] They love serving ads on content, and
[6:51] the longer the content is, the more ads
[6:54] they can run. I know us as viewers and
[6:55] creators, it's kind of annoying to deal
[6:57] with ads, but that's just the reality of
[6:58] the YouTube platform and how YouTube
[7:00] makes money. And if you want to start
[7:01] making money from the YouTube partner
[7:03] program, you make money from ads being
[7:05] served on your videos. When your videos
[7:07] are only a couple minutes in length,
[7:08] it's going to take you much longer to
[7:10] get monetized, to rack up those
[7:12] watchtime hours. So just ask yourself,
[7:14] how could I go deeper on this topic and
[7:17] explain it more thoroughly without
[7:19] though leading to a drop in retention?
[7:21] You don't want to add just a bunch of
[7:22] meaningless filler. You do want to
[7:24] prioritize having a lot of value in your
[7:26] content. But if you can get it to that 8
[7:28] to 15 minute target length, that's
[7:30] really going to speed up your path
[7:32] towards monetization. Now, step four is
[7:34] easy. It's just to double down on what's
[7:36] working as you're running these
[7:37] experiments. And we often say here at
[7:39] Think Media, success leaves clues. Make
[7:41] part twos. If you have content that's
[7:43] performed really well and has been
[7:45] successful for you, you're going to
[7:47] start to notice those trends as you post
[7:49] more and more videos and you can always
[7:51] make a part two to a video that
[7:52] performed well. Make a spin-off or even
[7:55] a series of videos that relate to each
[7:57] other is way better than just a one-off
[7:59] piece of content. What's better than one
[8:01] video? A full series of five videos that
[8:03] relate to each other and somebody could
[8:04] binge in a longer viewing session. Those
[8:07] kinds of ideas are great for views and
[8:09] watch time. So, if you're somebody who
[8:11] really wants to grow on YouTube and
[8:12] leverage monetization, you're going to
[8:14] have to get good about learning how
[8:16] viewers are interacting with your
[8:18] content. What are your click-through
[8:20] rates? How many people are clicking on
[8:21] your video and at what percentage? Also,
[8:24] looking at your retention graphs, where
[8:25] are viewers dropping off? Are your
[8:27] hooks, like your first 30 seconds of
[8:29] your video, is that retaining viewers or
[8:31] are people leaving early? These are all
[8:33] things you'll eventually want to study
[8:35] and understand so you can learn how to
[8:37] double down on what is actually working
[8:39] in your videos. So, those are really the
[8:41] four main steps that I would apply to my
[8:43] channel if I was trying to get monetized
[8:44] as quickly as possible. But what about
[8:46] like timeline for this? How long is all
[8:48] of this going to take to reach
[8:50] monetization? Well, a fast timeline for
[8:52] a creator would be anything around 30 to
[8:55] 90 days. So, 1 to 3 months to reach
[8:57] monetization is actually super fast. But
[8:59] a more normal rate would be about 6 to
[9:02] 12 months. And this is for creators who
[9:04] are really consistent with their
[9:05] uploads. You're uploading one piece of
[9:08] content per week. And then a slower pace
[9:10] would be anything between like 1 and 2
[9:12] years. And if this has taken you
[9:14] multiple years to get monetized on
[9:16] YouTube, I think your strategy really
[9:18] needs some adjustments. And something
[9:20] you can do is actually visit this link
[9:21] right here, mycreatorquiz.com,
[9:24] where you can take a free two-minute
[9:26] assessment about what kind of creator
[9:28] you are, what stage of your YouTube
[9:29] journey you're in, and get some
[9:31] practical next steps from our team of
[9:33] how to approach your YouTube journey.
[9:34] So, I'll link my creator quiz down in
[9:36] the description below, which could
[9:37] really help you out. A key encouragement
[9:39] though to you creators out there who are
[9:41] struggling to reach monetization is that
[9:43] you truly are only one video away from
[9:46] reaching monetization. I made one random
[9:48] reaction video to an NF music video that
[9:51] actually took off, did tens of thousands
[9:53] of views, and that one video got me all
[9:54] of the watch time and subscribers needed
[9:56] to monetize my channel in about 48
[9:58] hours. So, it's really just about
[10:00] consistency and waiting for that one
[10:02] video that really resonates with a lot
[10:04] of people so you can reach monetization.
[10:06] So, if I started today, like what is my
[10:08] six-month plan? The first thing I'm
[10:10] doing on day one is I'm locking in my
[10:11] niche. I'm getting laser focused and
[10:13] sharp about who I am speaking to, what
[10:15] is my channel topic, and what kinds of
[10:17] videos am I going to make? Then I'm
[10:19] making four videos per month, and I
[10:21] would target three of those being
[10:23] searchbased or viewer intent type videos
[10:25] where I'm answering specific questions
[10:27] or reviewing specific products. And then
[10:29] one of those would be a more
[10:31] experimental, broad appeal video, trying
[10:33] to reach a wider population of
[10:35] listeners. After those four uploads, I
[10:37] would review the month's worth of
[10:38] content and start measuring analytics
[10:40] and seeing what's actually working. And
[10:42] then I would double down on what works.
[10:44] And then I would do this for 6 months
[10:46] straight. And at the end of 6 months,
[10:47] you have about 30 long form videos that
[10:49] are all working for you. And I bet if
[10:51] you do this, you'll be so close to
[10:53] monetization, if not already there. And
[10:55] if you're serious about growing on
[10:56] YouTube this year and making money
[10:58] online, you've got to check out our free
[11:00] 2minute assessment at mycreatorquiz.com.
[11:03] I'll link it right here in this end
[11:04] card, as well as another strategy video
[11:07] that you can check out right here on
[11:08] screen.