How long does it take to get monetized on YouTube?

Everybody starts a YouTube channel with big dreams. But after investing hours of effort, most creators get stuck. The 1,000-subscriber mark feels miles away. And the 4,000 watch hour milestone seems impossible to achieve. Most creators hit the same wall.

Well, in truth, YouTube monetization takes time. Some channels get it right in months, while others take years. But the good news is that you can accelerate the process with the right approach. 

So, how long does it really take? And more importantly, how can you speed it up? Let’s check it out. 😉

How Long Does It Take To Reach YouTube Monetization?

Well, the answer is pretty cliche: it takes time. The time it takes depends on your approach and content strategy. To break it down, let’s look at three common scenarios:

1. Fast-Track Monetization (1-6 months)

Certain creators reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in a few months through intense hard work. These channels usually:

• Choose a trending niche.
• Upload high-quality and search-engine-friendly content that works well with their audience. Some may even draw reach from their other established social media accounts. 
• Just one viral video can make the monetization happen within a few days (this is a pure luck case). 🤞

Cathrin built her channel from 0 to monetization in only 3 months by concentrating on YouTube growth tips (a popular niche). Her videos were SEO-friendly and consistently had branded thumbnails. That’s why professionalism right from the beginning matters a lot. Recently, many channels like Daily Dose of Internet have crossed the milestone in a short timeframe just through Shorts.

Remember, fast-track monetization won’t be an easy process. You need to post twice a week or more (preferably). Try to pick the most popular how-to videos in your niche using any SEO tool. Along with that, you may need to post Shorts also to attract more subscribers. 

And, you can’t just rely solely on the algorithm to do the work. Cross-promotion also matters a lot. You need a solid reach on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. 

Overall, you must aim for fast-track monetization only if you have the time and willingness to struggle. Otherwise, it could drain you mentally. It works mainly for creators who have time to search for trends and grind daily. 

2. Average Creator’s Pathway

The majority of YouTubers take 6 months to 2 years to become monetized. They concentrate on the following things:

• Uploads videos weekly or biweekly
• Develops an organic audience over time
• Relies on a content strategy that combines evergreen and trending topics
• Struggles with slow initial reach but gets better over time 👌

Ali Abdaal is a perfect example. He began his YouTube channel in 2017. It took him 6 months to reach 1,000 subscribers, and the channel picked up momentum only after 1 year of consistency.

This plan suits well for creators who view YouTube just as a side hustle but have the time to maintain consistency. The number of viewers may be too low at the beginning stage. Unfortunately, many give up at these stages.

As you don’t have a social media cross-promotion strategy in this plan, you must put some extra effort. First of all, optimize the thumbnails to attract the maximum number of viewers. You may need to try out different video structures to check out what works. 🔍

And when viewers come in slowly, don’t just sit back and watch. You must interact with them as much as you can in the comment section to build a strong audience base. Patience is what matters the most in this plan. Never give up. 

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3. Slow Growth (More Than 2 Years)

Some channels struggle really hard to hit monetization due to:

• Inconsistent posting without a schedule (may post twice in one week, but no videos for the next 2 weeks).
• Bad topic selection. Creators may not be picking topics that interest their target audience. 
• Low-quality audio or overstock clips. Lack of a proper presentation manner can also kill audience interest.

There are millions of little YouTubers trapped at 100–500 subscribers for years. Some may even keep switching the niches to know what works well. That creates more problems. The algorithm may become confused when finding the target audience for your channel. Soon, the reach will hit rock bottom. 

The best way to avoid this is with a content schedule. ✍️ Yes, experimentation is needed to find what your audience needs! But that doesn’t mean to switch niches every week. You must try out several topics under your specific niche framework. For instance, if you’re running a health-related YouTube channel, you can try out dieting, weight gain, and even beauty topics. Don’t go for home utility videos as an experiment. 

If possible, do proper keyword research on what your audience is looking for. Initially, post generic topics that have a high search volume. You can slowly shift to low-competitive topics that grab search engine traffic. 

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Plan	Timeline	Activities
Fast-track Monetization	1-6 Months	2 Videos Per Week + Consistent Shorts (social media reach and SEO optimization required)
Average Pathway	6 Months – 2 Years	1 video per week or biweekly
Slow Growth	More Than 2 Years	Inconsistent Posting

Factors That Affect Your YouTube Monetization Speed

Making it to YouTube monetization is not merely a matter of posting videos and waiting for the best. Multiple technical elements determine how quickly (or slowly) you reach the 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours threshold. Check out some factors that determines the speed of your YouTube monetization:

1. Video Retention Rate (VRR)

The number of views is not the sole kingmaker. What matters more is how long users watch your video. You can have a look at your Video Retention Rate (VRR) graph in the analytics section of YouTube Studio. The longer they watch, the more YouTube is likely to promote your content to others.

• If your videos retain a high percentage of viewers (50%+), YouTube favors promoting them.
• Algorithms downrank videos where viewers leave within the first 10–15 seconds.

Similarly, YouTube promotes your content more aggressively when someone watches multiple videos in your channel in a single session. That’s why the ‘related video’ linking is so important. It’s a free way to increase your reach.

2. CTR (Click-Through Rate)

You need to pass the click test before watch time is even an issue. YouTube always checks how many individuals click your thumbnail before promoting. 📣

• Aim for a 5-10% CTR to get maximum support from the YouTube algorithm. 
• Anything above 10% CTR has a high probability of going viral. 
• On the other hand, if the CTR goes below 5%, YouTube may not push your video to feeds. 

To get more click-throughs, you can set attractive thumbnails with surprise or shocking expressions. 😲 When in doubt, make use of the A/B testing feature in YouTube Studio. 

3. Upload Frequency

Consistency really matters a lot. Unpredictable uploads confuse the YouTube algorithm. You need to post at least once a week to show that your channel is still active. ✔️

But it doesn’t mean that simply posting videos ensures growth. Regular uploads only pay off if people actually watch the content and engage with it. 

YouTube calculates the engagement rate to check whether the audience interacts with your content. It even verifies the session watch time— how long users remain on the site. 

4. Video Length

Let’s get it right. Till now, YouTube has not officially stated an ideal length for videos. But one thing is for sure: shorter videos (less than 5 minutes) may find it hard to hit 4,000 watch hours unless they go viral.

You need lengthy videos to grab more watch hours. Even in post-monetization, longer videos bring in more revenue. 💵

But don’t just stretch your videos a lot for the sake of acquiring watch hours. If viewers drop off early, it damages retention (your reach, too). The sweet spot is 8-12 minutes. 

5. External Traffic

When Google search engine or social media visitors reach you, YouTube ranks your video higher due to two main reasons: 

• Realizes your content is worthy.
• To bring in new users to the platform. 

You can embed your videos in blogs, as views from there are also added to the watch hours. Beyond that, comment in subreddits related to your niche (but do not spam). You can also consider answering related Quora questions with your video link to bring in more external traffic.📈

6. Niche Saturation

All niches don’t grow equally fast. If you are planning to enter a highly competitive niche like Finance, Gaming, Tech, etc., you need exceptional quality and SEO to be noticed. It may take years to gain momentum.

Low-competitive niches with a fixed audience base must be your target. 🫵🏻😉 You can utilise Google Trends to find topics that interest users. Then, surf through tools like TubeBuddy and VidiQ to find competition in that niche. 

How to Get Monetized on YouTube (5 Simple & Fast Methods)

Tired of hearing the same ‘be consistent’ advice? Have a look at 5 smarter strategies how to get monetized on YouTube faster:

1. Utilise YouTube’s Suggested Video Section

Most new creators are too concerned with YouTube SEO (search ranking), believing that it’s the only means of getting discovered. But there is a quicker method of growing: getting your videos placed in the Suggested Video section. 🎞️

What is Suggested Video?

When you view a YouTube video, you will see a list of Suggested Videos on the right (desktop) or below (mobile). That’s called the Suggested Video section. YouTube’s algorithm recommends them based on what the viewer recently viewed.

In contrast to search results, Suggested Videos operate in real-time. So, you can get traction much quicker. Even small channels have a chance to get listed. ✅

Here’s how to make your videos appear in the Suggested Video section:

• Discover viral videos in your niche through filters (set to last 30 days) and search specifically for videos that are performing better over time. 
• Make a video on the same topic but with improved value. You can include some valuable topics that were missed in that video.
• Add similar keywords in your title and description so YouTube equates your video with the viral one. You can create an SEO-optimized video title for free here.
• Develop a clickable thumbnail that’s stylistically similar. 

2. Make Use of Playlists

4,000 watch hours is obviously the toughest obstacle in the monetization pathway. And here’s an easy way to crack it: playlists. 😄

As we all know, playlists auto-play the next video to keep viewers watching longer. You can make use of this feature to encourage people to binge-watch your content. YouTube algorithm, in turn, pushes channels with higher session duration. All you need to do is:

• Group similar videos together (e.g., “Beginner’s Guide to Video Editing”)
• The playlist titles and descriptions must be filled with many high-volume keywords.📝
• Link Playlists into your descriptions and pinned comments to drive in more viewers.
• Have cliffhanger endings that open into the subsequent video in the playlist.

3. Optimize End Screens

Even many experienced YouTubers still don’t know how to utilise the end screen feature effectively. If used properly, they keep people watching to dramatically increase the overall watch hours. 🤩

First of all, don’t link random videos just for the sake of end screen optimization. It works only if you recommend one that naturally follows up on the topic. Along with that, you must include a persuasive copy like “Don’t Miss This Next!” to drive clicks. 

Similarly, position the End Screen sooner (at 10–15 sec) so that viewers don’t exit before clicking.

4. Recreate Old Videos

Old videos rank well on YouTube. But most of them have poor quality due to technical limitations. If you recreate them with better quality, you can yield their traffic. Here’s how to do it:

• Use any tool like Ahrefs YouTube Keyword Tool to discover high-search yet low-competitive keywords. 📝
• Sort for videos with less than 100K views but more than 50% retention. That shows that the audience is craving better content.
• Recreate the video with better content and visuals.

5. Use YouTube Premiere

YouTube experiments with new videos in front of a small audience first. If they click and watch, it gets pushed harder. Most creators blow this test phase by going public too early. In fact, YouTube itself gives you a feature to gain maximum initial engagement— Premiere.🎬

Rather than simply posting a video, Premiere books it as a live experience, where others can view together and interact in real-time. That obviously raises the engagement level to make the algorithm push your video to more feeds. In fact, YouTube inherently favors premier videos due to their active engagement.

Check out how to make the most out of this feature:

• Schedule important videos as a Premiere.
• Promote them ahead of all your social media accounts. 
• You can offer some free giveaways to attract more users to watch and engage in the live premiere.

Mostly, film channels make use of this feature effectively to generate hype, so that their video gets maximum engagement during the initial few hours.

Yet another option to raise the initial engagement level is publishing them as ‘unlisted’. You must share the video link only with your most die-hard fans through Email, Discord, WhatsApp groups, etc. Let the CTR and engagements rise. After 48 hours, make it public. Your organic reach will fly high! ✈️

How Many Views Do I Need?

YouTube actually doesn’t have a concrete view count threshold for monetization. What actually counts is watch time—that is, the aggregate amount of hours your viewers spend watching your content. You must have 4,000 hours of public watch time in the last 12 months.

Even though both views and watch hours are related, both are not the same. For instance, 100,000 views for a series of 15-second videos may yet fall short of the 4,000-hour threshold. On the other hand, maybe some long-form clips with a handful of thousand hits each will satisfy the requirement. ✔️

Wondering how close you are to reaching that mythical 4,000-hour milestone? Check out our YouTube video watch hour calculator tool for free!🤗

Common Reasons That Delay Monetization

Even after reaching the criteria, most creators face delays before they get monetized. Some stalls for weeks or even months, with no explanation as to why their application is pending. So, what’s holding everything up? Let’s check it out.

1. Peak Time

Remember, your channel is reviewed manually by an actual human—not an algorithm. Too many submissions can delay the review process. During peak times, the delay could be as long as 2 months.

Here, you don’t need to do anything specifically. Just keep posting content while waiting. If your channel remains active, it is a symbol of trust to YouTube’s review team. 🤝

2. Niche Sensitivity

Certain niches are slower to review because of strict YouTube policies. These are general in niches like:

• Finance & Crypto (to avoid scams).
• Health & Medical Advice (to ensure accuracy).
• True Crime & News (to ensure against misinformation).
• Children’s Content (to comply with COPPA laws).

If your content is within these niches, be prepared for additional scrutiny. 🤓 Make sure your content complies with YouTube’s guidelines, as the review will be stricter.

3. Ineligible Watch Hours

YouTube counts only public watch hours. If most of your views come from ads or private videos, those hours disappear from your total.

When the same users view your videos repeatedly, YouTube picks up on it and subtracts those hours. Even external watch hours from blogs are not counted if there’s no valid engagement. 

In such cases, the delay may take as long as you gain 4,000 legitimate watch hours once more.

Frequently Asked Questions❓

Q: How many subscribers do you need to get monetized on YouTube?

A: You need at least 1,000 subscribers to get your channel monetized on YouTube.

Q: How many views to get monetized on YouTube?

Views are not a determining factor for monetizing long-form videos. All that matters is watch hours. But when it comes to Shorts, you need 3 million views from the past 90 days.

Q: How many hours to get monetized on YouTube?

A: You need at least 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months to get monetized on YouTube.

Q: How old do you have to be to get monetized on YouTube?

A: You need to be at least 18 years of age to make money from YouTube. However, if you are above 13 years, you can still join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) through a parent. The guardian will set up the AdSense account and handle payments for you. 

Q: How to get monetized on YouTube Shorts?

A: To monetize on YouTube Shorts, you require:

• 3 million public Shorts views over the past 90 days
• Abide by YouTube’s policy & advertiser-friendly terms. 

Conclusion

In a nutshell, YouTube monetization is all about creating a system that continues to grow. The real challenge starts once you’ve passed the monetization. 💸

If your content isn’t keeping people watching, your earnings will remain low even though you’re in the YouTube Partner Program. And guess what? Failure to post for more than 6 months can take back your monetization.

So, don’t just aim to get monetized—try to keep it going and make the most out of it.👍