Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Before you can monetize your YouTube channel with AdSense, you need 4,000 hours of watch time in a 12-month period and 1,000 subscribers. But how easy is it to monetize YouTube with Buy Me a Coffee without reaching those numbers?
It really comes down to how well you can engage an audience and what you offer. Theoretically, you could start making money from your YouTube channel with 0 subscribers by using Buy Me a Coffee links.
Here is my video from YouTube explaining how to add Buy Me a Coffee to your video descriptions. It’s a quick and easy process.
Adding Buy Me a Coffee to YouTube Videos
Adding a link to your Buy Me a Coffee page is relatively straightforward. And there are no minimum requirements to meet in order to start making money from videos immediately.
Log into your BMC dashboard.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Copy” button for your page.
Go to any video you have on YouTube and click the “Details” icon.
In the video details, paste the link from Buy Me a Coffee. Personally, I like to add a bit of text as an intro to the link. This way, people have an idea of what the link is for.
Once you’ve pasted the link to your page, just click the “Save” button on the top right of the screen in YouTube.
Your link will be live and ready for a viewer to click.
Set the Buy Me a Coffee Link as an Upload Default
Perhaps the best way to make sure all of your future YouTube videos have the Buy Me a Coffee link is to set it as an upload default.
From the YouTube Studio, click on the “Settings” option on the bottom left.
A new window will pop up with options to manage your channel. Click the “Upload defaults” option on the left.
Paste your URL in the Description box for your videos. Don’t forget to add a bit of text to let people know what the link is for.
Click the save button on the bottom right.
After the popup window closes, that description will now show as your default text on every future video. You can change the text around and customize it per video if you choose.
It’s best if you add the first couple of sentences for the video’s description above the Buy Me a Coffee link so that it shows in search results. Otherwise, people won’t know what your video is about and will only see the text or link.
Why Add Buy Me a Coffee for YouTube Channels?
When first starting out, it can be quite a pain to reach the minimum requirements for YouTube’s Partner Program. I’ve been uploading videos for three years and I still don’t have enough watch time.
Even though I am close to hitting 1,400 subscribers. This is because I am in an awfully narrow niche.
Anyway, adding your Buy Me a Coffee link lets supporters of your channel know they can tip you directly. If you create good content people want to consume, there is a good chance they’ll buy you that coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee also gives you a platform similar to Patreon. You can create special locked content for members only, share behind-the-scenes content, create posts, upload pictures, and otherwise engage your fan base.
The hardest part is coming up with something people find valuable enough to become a member. Every creator and audience is different, so it’ll take a bit of time to figure out what that is for yourself.
Regardless, using a Buy Me a Coffee link in your YouTube videos lets you start collecting money no matter how many subscribers or how much watch time you have.
7 Ideas for YouTube Content and Buy Me a Coffee
It takes more than simply adding your link to your video descriptions to make money from YouTube. You also need to give people a reason to tip, donate, or become members.
This is perhaps one of the hardest parts of the entire process. As I said before, every creator and audience is different. It may take a bit of experimentation to find the best rewards to entice your viewers.
What are some ideas to encourage people to become Buy Me a Coffee members?
1. Behind the Scenes Videos
I kind of like the idea of behind-the-scenes videos. Especially if you add a bit of a personal touch to them. It gives viewers more of an insight into who you are as a creator and builds a personal connection.
Of course, you don’t want to share too much. The last thing you want is a viewer showing up at your house in the middle of the night.
2. Upcoming Content
A lot of people like being able to see content that is in the pipe that you’re currently working on or getting ready to publish. This could be future videos, DOC files of something you’re writing, or talking about ideas for a book.
The idea behind this is to deliver something that is not found anywhere else on the Internet. Since YouTube lets you hide videos from public view, you can easily add them to Buy Me a Coffee posts to share with your members.
3. Personal Blog Posts
If you plan on writing a few articles every week on Buy Me a Coffee, make sure they are unique. I usually try to separate what I share on Buy Me a Coffee from things I blog about elsewhere.
For instance, I write a Tip Tuesday article that centers purely around tips to help people write. And these are only available for BMC members as I don’t share them anywhere else.
4. Member’s Only Videos
Sharing Member’s Only videos is akin to what I was talking about a minute ago with the behind-the-scenes content. Instead of a BTS, though, you can create just about any kind of video specifically for your members.
Or, perhaps you have an unedited version of an upcoming video that your audience would enjoy watching. Create kind of like a Director’s Cut of your content.
5. Periodic Freebies
Freebies are always nice to show your appreciation. Though, you want to be a bit careful to not hand out more than you’re bringing in.
For instance, if you only get a $5 per month donation from someone, handing out $15 worth of freebies every month defeats the purpose of monetizing and trying to pay your bills.
One of my freebies for the year is a personalized autographed copy of my book that I am sending to members. In fact, this is something I plan on doing for every book I publish.
6. Discounts or Coupons
If you have an eCommerce site, giving members discounts on goods is always a good option. In reality, a lot of businesses do something similar for members of their programs.
It’s merely an incentive to join, especially if you offer something people enjoy or want to have.
7. Mention the Memberships in Your Outro
Not everyone will notice the Buy Me a Coffee link in your video description on YouTube. You’ll probably need to mention it in your videos at some point. Usually, creators will do this during the outro.
I haven’t done much of this myself, personally. Mostly because I keep forgetting until long after I’ve rendered and uploaded the video.
In any case, a quick blurb about joining as a member and the perks you offer can go a long way.
Buy Me a Coffee Helps Monetize Your YouTube Content
YouTube can be a major pain in the ass when trying to monetize your channel. But keep in mind, AdSense will only do so much. Look at every major creator on the platform; none of them purely rely on AdSense alone.
Using Buy Me a Coffee in your YouTube videos simply helps you monetize your content before hitting the platform’s requirements.
Just make sure you’re offering something of value to your audience.
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