---
title: 'How to Get Monetized on YouTube in 2026!'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=9Ldxq4Zgilg'
video_id: '9Ldxq4Zgilg'
date: 2026-07-30
duration_sec: 670
---

# How to Get Monetized on YouTube in 2026!

> Source: [How to Get Monetized on YouTube in 2026!](https://youtube.com/watch?v=9Ldxq4Zgilg)

## Summary

This video outlines a strategic approach to YouTube monetization, debunking the myth that it takes years. The presenter shares four key steps: creating intent-based search content, adding broad appeal videos, optimizing for longer watch time, and doubling down on what works. Realistic timelines range from 30 days to 2 years.

### Key Points

- **Monetization Requirements** [00:17] — Two routes: 1,000 subscribers + 4,000 public watch hours (recommended for beginners), or 10 million shorts views in 90 days.
- **Common Beginner Mistakes** [00:49] — Posting random content, chasing trends, and relying solely on shorts without a cohesive strategy.
- **Step 1: Intent-Based Videos** [01:34] — Create content people are actively searching for (e.g., 'best cameras for YouTube'). Use ASQ (Answer Specific Questions) or RSP (Review Specific Products) methods.
- **Step 2: Broad Appeal Videos** [03:18] — After ranking search videos, add content that reaches wider audiences (e.g., 'how to start a YouTube channel' or reaction videos).
- **Tool: VidIQ** [04:39] — Use VidIQ's outlier tool to find videos performing significantly better than a channel's average, helping verify viral ideas.
- **Step 3: Longer Watch Time** [06:04] — Target videos 8+ minutes (ideally 8-15) to accumulate watch hours faster and enable mid-roll ads for future monetization.
- **Step 4: Double Down on What Works** [07:34] — Analyze click-through rates and retention graphs. Make part twos, spin-offs, or series of successful videos.
- **Timelines** [08:46] — Fast: 30-90 days. Normal: 6-12 months (consistent weekly uploads). Slow: 1-2 years. One viral video can accelerate the process.
- **6-Month Plan** [10:06] — Lock in niche, make 4 videos/month (3 search-based, 1 broad appeal), review analytics monthly, double down on what works.

### Conclusion

Monetization is achievable with a strategic, consistent approach. Focus on search intent, optimize for watch time, and iterate based on data. One viral video can change everything.

## Transcript

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