How to Make Money on YouTube Without Ads: Six Proven Revenue Streams for Creators

This blog explores alternative ways to earn money, showing you how to make money on YouTube without ads through six proven revenue streams. While many creators earn directly through the YouTube Partnership Program (YPP), it’s not the only option. You can boost your income through opportunities beyond the platform. For a full breakdown of ways to earn on YouTube, check out our blog on getting started with monetization: How to Make Money on YouTube – Sound Royalties.

Whether you’re starting out or already established, this guide will help you explore new ways to earn from your YouTube audience.

1. Crowdfunding: Let Your Fans Support You Directly

Crowdfunding has been around for some time. The creator economy is no stranger to these types of platforms, which allow fans to support their favorite creators more directly than through YouTube AdSense.

Popular platforms include Patreon, Ko-Fi, and Substack, to name a few. Sites like these often work on a subscription or membership model, where fans can pay either monthly or per upload to support their favorite channels and content creators. Creators will, in turn, post their content early on these sites before the general public can view it on YouTube or offer exclusive content that only the most invested fans can watch. Some creators will even go as far as creating exclusive content for their members, giving them access to private Discord servers, community posts, and exclusive merchandise to purchase. The possibilities are only as limited as the creator’s imagination.

Patreon currently sits as the most recognizable of these types of membership platforms, as creators from various fields use it to offer their fans exclusive content. The site is used by YouTubers, musicians, game developers, and even film directors such as Quentin Tarantino, who hosts his very own film podcast through the platform.

Patreon’s multi-tier memberships let patrons choose their support level. Many creators even offer limited free memberships. Another platform, Ko-Fi, markets itself as “the best Patreon alternative,” offering one-time tips alongside memberships.

Different types of creatives have their pick of sites to choose from. Sites such as Substack, Kit, and Ghost are geared more towards writers, while platforms such as Kajabi and Thinkific are geared towards creators who design content for coaching and courses. The bottom line is that there are a multitude of platforms that creators can use to connect with their audiences and earn in the process.

2. Sell Merchandise and Branded Products

It may sound old-fashioned, but the reason this income stream has been used by rock bands and YouTubers alike is simple: it works! Merchandise and apparel are a tried and tested income stream for any creator.

T-shirts, hoodies, and vinyl stickers are some ways fans support their favorite creators. Even smaller channels can use merchandise to supplement income, helping bridge the gap between doing YouTube as a part-time gig and a full-time career.

Though YouTube offers a shopping feature through its platform, many creators still choose to sell items on their own self-hosted sites. Shopify is still tremendously popular in the creator economy as a place where people can create custom products to print, sell, and ship almost anywhere.

3. Affiliate Marketing and Brand Sponsorships

On YouTube, creators act as their own brands and businesses. However, they often promote more than just their own products. Companies pay influencers and creators to advertise their offerings and reach new audiences, most commonly through affiliate marketing and brand sponsorships.

Affiliate Marketing

If you’ve ever watched a YouTube video and thought, “I wonder what type of equipment they use,” be sure to check the video description to find that creator’s affiliate links. Affiliate marketing will often have creators adding shopping links to various products or services, where if a fan buys the product, they’ll receive a portion of those funds. More often than not, creators will apply or register for these programs in order to become an affiliate, meeting certain guidelines on audience size or engagement metrics.

This is usually a more passive income earner for creators, as the payouts vary wildly, with the popular Amazon Affiliate Program giving creators anywhere from 1-10% on items sold. However, channels that have a high number of subscribers can leverage this over time to build a robust payout system that, while not being a primary source of income, can definitely generate extra revenue.

For creators who operate in the technology, home and kitchen, beauty, and fitness niches of content creation, there is oftentimes more money to be made for providing links to higher ticket items and potentially earning higher commission checks.

Brand Sponsorship Deals

Sponsorship deals are a bit more direct. Companies will pay content creators directly or provide them with free services or products that they can then review or promote to their audience.

These sponsorship deals get inserted into videos in ways not unlike a traditional commercial break. Usually, a creator will take a moment out of the video to thank their sponsor and tell the audience about the product or service they provide.

That being said, companies typically approach creators only after they’ve built a following worth advertising to. Payouts for these deals vary wildly and depend on the contract the creator signs with the company.

In both cases, whether it’s affiliates or sponsorships, content creators typically need to already have an established audience.

4. License Your Viral Videos for Profit

Some channels don’t need to meet the subscriber threshold for the YPP to make money. Sometimes, all you need is a well-timed viral video.

Even if YouTube won’t allow you to monetize the video due to the size of your channel, there are companies like Jukin Media that will pay to license viral videos to the likes of TV networks, advertising agencies, and media industries.

Companies like Jukin are constantly on the hunt for viral memes, heartwarming clips, or eye-popping fan reactions to things. Even non-established creators can take advantage of these sorts of services. These clips circulate through news broadcasts, clip shows, and online ads to the point where their reach extends even further than the original post, leading to more popularity and increased profits.

5. Get Cash Advances on YouTube with Sound Royalties

A more unique means of funding that’s entered the scene recently is cash advances on YouTube AdSense through a company such as Sound Royalties.

For creators who are already earning money on AdSense but need upfront cash faster than they might accrue through the YPP, Sound Royalties provides custom options for funding. Their service gives creators the money they need when they need it, for whatever they need it for.

Current YouTubers who want to explore their options for YouTube financing to help grow their channel should click here: Sound Royalties YouTube Financing.

6. Consider Posting on Websites Other Than YouTube

Yes, this blog focuses on creators who want to earn money through YouTube videos, but we’d be remiss not to mention alternative platforms to YouTube. As the digital landscape continues to change and evolve, so too does the way that creators make money online.

Live Streaming

Live streaming has become an incredibly popular avenue for creators who want an even more direct experience with their fans. And while YouTube Live is a tool many creators use, there is arguably no bigger player in the space than the Amazon subsidiary, Twitch. What started as a platform popular with video game streams has become a site that hosts all manner of content, from music to sports, to even an entire subsect of content labeled “Just Chatting” for casual listening.

The appeal of streaming lies in the fact that streamers can be on camera for as long as they like, most often with a chat feature that allows for direct communication with viewers. Over the years, streaming content has garnered millions of views and has been both a supplement to YouTube creators looking to expand their content as well as a viable career in its own right, as some creators only stream and don’t create any other form of video content.

Alternative Video Platforms

Another avenue popular among established creators is exclusive hosting sites such as Nebula. This subscription-based platform is particularly popular among creators who want to expand their work into topics that might be unsuitable or unappealing to advertisers on YouTube, giving them more creative freedom without the worry of a video not performing as well on YouTube. Like other membership platforms, creators on Nebula will actively create content exclusively for the fans willing to sign up here.

Nebula touts itself as “Creator-owned and operated.” In addition to the massive amount of exclusive content, it also claims to look out for the well-being of the creators who occupy the space. Many creators who create for Nebula praise the platform for allowing them to express themselves in ways that might not have been possible on YouTube.

Diversifying Your Income Strategy as a Creator

The appeal of content creation as a career option is the freedom to set your own working hours, run your own brand, and express yourself creatively. You can achieve almost anything on YouTube, so why limit your income sources? Often, creators who are able to sustain their channels over the course of decades are those who diversify their revenue streams as times change.

It’s not uncommon to see creators take advantage of YouTube’s partner program and also take on sponsorship deals or do affiliate marketing. Creators on YouTube will also post videos on Patreon or Nebula, maximizing both their creative freedom and earning potential.

YouTube has the potential to be a life-changing career for people who are able to garner an audience, and part of the longevity of somebody’s career on the platform is being able to leverage all the ways to generate revenue both on and off the platform.