How to Get Monetized on YouTube in 2026!

[00:00] A lot of people think that getting

[00:01] monetized on YouTube takes years, but

[00:04] we've actually seen channels do it in as

[00:05] little as 30 days. And the difference is

[00:08] not luck, it's actually strategy. So, in

[00:11] this video, I'm breaking down exactly

[00:12] how to get monetized step by step in

[00:15] 2026. So, let's start with the basic

[00:17] requirements for enrolling in the

[00:19] YouTube partner program. Well, there's

[00:20] really two routes you can go with this.

[00:22] Route one is getting 1,000 subscribers

[00:25] and 4,000 public watch hours on your

[00:28] content in the last 12 months. And

[00:29] typically, this is the route that we

[00:31] recommend beginners strive for achieving

[00:33] because it's a lot more attainable than

[00:35] route two, which is getting 10 million

[00:38] shorts views in the last 90 days. That's

[00:40] usually a little bit too high of a

[00:42] barrier for most channels. So, we

[00:43] recommend focusing on getting your

[00:44] first,000 subs and 4,000 public watch

[00:47] hours. Now, right away, a lot of

[00:49] mistakes we see beginners making at the

[00:50] beginning is they start posting random

[00:52] content and their content doesn't feel

[00:54] cohesive and they have no real strategy

[00:57] or direction for their channel. Also, we

[00:59] see creators try to chase a bunch of

[01:01] trends and try viral reaction formats

[01:03] that don't actually end up landing with

[01:05] anybody because competition is so high

[01:07] for those kinds of viral videos. where

[01:09] creators go allin on short strategy and

[01:12] have a hard time breaking through the

[01:13] algorithm and their shorts will just

[01:15] kind of peter off after 24 hours and

[01:17] only do a couple hundred views. Now, if

[01:19] you want a super difficult path for

[01:21] getting monetized years down the road,

[01:23] then you could try that strategy out and

[01:24] see how it works. Instead, I actually

[01:26] recommend following these four simple

[01:28] steps that I'll outline in this video to

[01:30] set you up for success in getting

[01:31] monetized as quickly as possible. So,

[01:34] step one to getting monetized quicker is

[01:36] to start producing intentbased videos.

[01:38] And sometimes we call these high intent

[01:40] videos or searchbased content. And

[01:43] really these are just producing pieces

[01:44] of content that people are already

[01:46] searching for and have verifiable demand

[01:49] for. So for us at Think Media, it could

[01:50] be a video like best cameras for

[01:52] YouTube. Or if you're in a real estate

[01:54] niche, it could be how to buy your first

[01:56] home as a first-time home buyer. Or if

[01:58] you like give tours of Las Vegas, it

[02:00] could be best restaurants in the Las

[02:02] Vegas area. All of these kinds of videos

[02:04] have what we call high search intent

[02:06] where a viewer is coming to the platform

[02:08] to solve a specific question in their

[02:10] life and you can meet them with a

[02:12] specific answer to their specific

[02:13] question. One of the tactics we teach

[02:15] inside of our online course called video

[02:17] ranking academy is the tactic called ASQ

[02:20] or answering specific questions. And

[02:22] that's exactly what the strategy is that

[02:24] we're talking about. And a similar

[02:25] strategy to the ASQ method is what we

[02:27] call RSP which is reviewing specific

[02:30] products. So, no matter what kind of

[02:32] niche your channel is in, you probably

[02:34] have specific products that you use on a

[02:36] daily basis or even software that you

[02:38] might use that you'd be able to do

[02:40] reviews on to meet buyers or viewers who

[02:43] have a high intent to learn more about

[02:44] that product. You can meet them with

[02:46] specific answers to the questions they

[02:48] might have. And really, this kind of

[02:50] strategy, trying to reach people who are

[02:52] searching for content, is the best way

[02:54] to start getting your first views, first

[02:56] subscribers, and building real momentum.

[02:59] And we actually literally believe in

[03:00] this method so much that we have an

[03:02] online course called video ranking

[03:03] academy where we teach you how to rank

[03:05] videos in search results on YouTube. And

[03:07] we have thousands of students who are

[03:09] adopting these same principles every

[03:11] single week. So if you want to get

[03:12] monetized quicker, start producing

[03:14] content that has really high search

[03:16] traffic with high viewer intent. Now the

[03:18] second thing I would do is add a layer

[03:20] of broad appeal videos into my content

[03:23] strategy. So after I already have ranked

[03:25] some videos and are ranking in search

[03:26] results, I do want to add some content

[03:29] that can reach a wider audience. So an

[03:31] example for us would be how to start a

[03:33] YouTube channel in 2026 because this

[03:36] literally applies to any single person

[03:38] on the YouTube platform who is wanting

[03:40] to create a channel. Not just people

[03:41] interested in YouTube strategy or

[03:43] growth, but literally anyone at all. If

[03:45] you want a YouTube channel, you could

[03:46] watch this video. Another great example

[03:48] is from Dr. Mike. He makes a ton of

[03:51] great videos, but this one right here is

[03:52] specifically targeting broad appeal.

[03:54] This is doctor reacts to Family Guy

[03:57] medical scenes. So, you don't even know

[03:58] who this doctor is or what he's doing.

[04:00] But if you have any interest in Family

[04:02] Guy or just comedy television shows,

[04:04] then you would have a wide interest for

[04:06] this kind of content and you're kind of

[04:08] curious like what is actually the

[04:10] medical advice that Family Guy is

[04:12] giving. And you could watch Dr. Mike's

[04:14] video to get that kind of reaction style

[04:15] format. So, when you make these sorts of

[04:17] broad appeal videos, you're really

[04:18] trying to increase your impressions by

[04:21] reaching more and more people. So, when

[04:23] you increase your impressions, you'll

[04:25] end up getting more clicks on your

[04:26] video, and more clicks equal more views.

[04:29] And we really need to increase our views

[04:31] and our watch time if we want to hit

[04:33] that 1,000 subscriber mark and 4,000

[04:35] watch hours. And if you're not sure how

[04:37] to come up with these viral video ideas,

[04:39] a tool that I use all of the time and

[04:41] really wish I started using a lot sooner

[04:43] in my YouTube career is Vid IQ. Vid IQ

[04:46] is a software that you can actually add

[04:48] to your YouTube studio if you want to

[04:50] manage your channel a little bit better

[04:51] and have better analytics and insights,

[04:54] but it's also a great research tool for

[04:56] finding great video ideas. My favorite

[04:58] tool from Vid IQ is their outlier tool.

[05:01] And an outlier is essentially a video

[05:03] that performs significantly better than

[05:06] a channel's average performance. And by

[05:08] studying those patterns, you can

[05:09] actually completely revolutionize the

[05:12] kinds of videos that you're targeting

[05:13] and creating by studying what is

[05:15] actually working on the platform. So, we

[05:17] can see I just searched right here for

[05:19] best camera for YouTube. And I can see

[05:21] all of these different videos that have

[05:23] outlier. Like this one right here is a

[05:25] 61x outlier on this person's channel. or

[05:27] this one right here by PSS Creative Mind

[05:30] with 100,000 subscribers. This video is

[05:33] doing a 7.3x outlier. That means it's

[05:36] performing seven times better than this

[05:38] person typically would perform on any

[05:40] given video. You can use an outlier tool

[05:42] to verify interest before you just come

[05:44] up with an idea and think, "Hey, I think

[05:46] this is a really viral idea that's going

[05:48] to get a ton of views." You can verify

[05:50] ideas by looking for outliers that

[05:52] actually are getting real-time views.

[05:54] This is truly a tool I wish I would have

[05:56] started using from day one. And if you

[05:58] want to try out Vid IQ for as little as

[06:00] $1, I'll link it down in the description

[06:02] below. So, step number three is you need

[06:04] to optimize your content for longer

[06:06] watch time. So, to get monetized, you

[06:08] don't just need views, you also need

[06:11] really long watch time. You've got to

[06:12] reach that 4,000 hours of watch time.

[06:14] So, producing longer videos will help

[06:16] you hit that watchtime goal a lot

[06:18] quicker. So, I like to tell creators to

[06:20] target creating videos that are a

[06:22] minimum of 8 minutes in length, upwards

[06:25] of like 15 minutes or even like 30 plus

[06:27] minutes if you think you can swing it.

[06:29] And why we say 8 minutes minimum is

[06:31] because YouTube really loves videos that

[06:33] are over 8 minutes in length because you

[06:35] can actually run multiple ad spots on

[06:37] videos that are longer than 8 minutes.

[06:40] This is especially important if you

[06:41] unlock monetization later and you have

[06:43] videos that are longer than 8 minutes.

[06:45] YouTube can then run midroll ads in the

[06:48] video, which is how YouTube makes money.

[06:50] They love serving ads on content, and

[06:51] the longer the content is, the more ads

[06:54] they can run. I know us as viewers and

[06:55] creators, it's kind of annoying to deal

[06:57] with ads, but that's just the reality of

[06:58] the YouTube platform and how YouTube

[07:00] makes money. And if you want to start

[07:01] making money from the YouTube partner

[07:03] program, you make money from ads being

[07:05] served on your videos. When your videos

[07:07] are only a couple minutes in length,

[07:08] it's going to take you much longer to

[07:10] get monetized, to rack up those

[07:12] watchtime hours. So just ask yourself,

[07:14] how could I go deeper on this topic and

[07:17] explain it more thoroughly without

[07:19] though leading to a drop in retention?

[07:21] You don't want to add just a bunch of

[07:22] meaningless filler. You do want to

[07:24] prioritize having a lot of value in your

[07:26] content. But if you can get it to that 8

[07:28] to 15 minute target length, that's

[07:30] really going to speed up your path

[07:32] towards monetization. Now, step four is

[07:34] easy. It's just to double down on what's

[07:36] working as you're running these

[07:37] experiments. And we often say here at

[07:39] Think Media, success leaves clues. Make

[07:41] part twos. If you have content that's

[07:43] performed really well and has been

[07:45] successful for you, you're going to

[07:47] start to notice those trends as you post

[07:49] more and more videos and you can always

[07:51] make a part two to a video that

[07:52] performed well. Make a spin-off or even

[07:55] a series of videos that relate to each

[07:57] other is way better than just a one-off

[07:59] piece of content. What's better than one

[08:01] video? A full series of five videos that

[08:03] relate to each other and somebody could

[08:04] binge in a longer viewing session. Those

[08:07] kinds of ideas are great for views and

[08:09] watch time. So, if you're somebody who

[08:11] really wants to grow on YouTube and

[08:12] leverage monetization, you're going to

[08:14] have to get good about learning how

[08:16] viewers are interacting with your

[08:18] content. What are your click-through

[08:20] rates? How many people are clicking on

[08:21] your video and at what percentage? Also,

[08:24] looking at your retention graphs, where

[08:25] are viewers dropping off? Are your

[08:27] hooks, like your first 30 seconds of

[08:29] your video, is that retaining viewers or

[08:31] are people leaving early? These are all

[08:33] things you'll eventually want to study

[08:35] and understand so you can learn how to

[08:37] double down on what is actually working

[08:39] in your videos. So, those are really the

[08:41] four main steps that I would apply to my

[08:43] channel if I was trying to get monetized

[08:44] as quickly as possible. But what about

[08:46] like timeline for this? How long is all

[08:48] of this going to take to reach

[08:50] monetization? Well, a fast timeline for

[08:52] a creator would be anything around 30 to

[08:55] 90 days. So, 1 to 3 months to reach

[08:57] monetization is actually super fast. But

[08:59] a more normal rate would be about 6 to

[09:02] 12 months. And this is for creators who

[09:04] are really consistent with their

[09:05] uploads. You're uploading one piece of

[09:08] content per week. And then a slower pace

[09:10] would be anything between like 1 and 2

[09:12] years. And if this has taken you

[09:14] multiple years to get monetized on

[09:16] YouTube, I think your strategy really

[09:18] needs some adjustments. And something

[09:20] you can do is actually visit this link

[09:21] right here, mycreatorquiz.com,

[09:24] where you can take a free two-minute

[09:26] assessment about what kind of creator

[09:28] you are, what stage of your YouTube

[09:29] journey you're in, and get some

[09:31] practical next steps from our team of

[09:33] how to approach your YouTube journey.

[09:34] So, I'll link my creator quiz down in

[09:36] the description below, which could

[09:37] really help you out. A key encouragement

[09:39] though to you creators out there who are

[09:41] struggling to reach monetization is that

[09:43] you truly are only one video away from

[09:46] reaching monetization. I made one random

[09:48] reaction video to an NF music video that

[09:51] actually took off, did tens of thousands

[09:53] of views, and that one video got me all

[09:54] of the watch time and subscribers needed

[09:56] to monetize my channel in about 48

[09:58] 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.