Getting paid for your videos can be challenging. With so many different streaming services and revenue share models, it can be difficult to know where to focus your efforts. That’s why focusing on key metrics like watch hours is so important. As a creator, you need to understand how many people watch your videos and how often they watch them in order to gauge their popularity and see if there’s a market for your content. If you’re not monetizing yet, creating more watch hours is one of the best ways you can get noticed by potential advertisers who may want to sponsor your content in the future. After all, viewers expect to find ads when they watch ads on YouTube, as well as when they watch ad-free videos from creators like themselves. In this blog post, we will outline everything you need to know about getting free YouTube watch hours so that you can start earning money from your videos once you’re ready.

What are watch hours?

As we discussed above, one of the best ways to get more views and increase your revenue from YouTube is by boosting watch hours. Watch hours refers to how long people watch your videos before exiting and clicking away. People will watch a variety of different content on YouTube, and this depends on your channel. The type of content you create and the way you present it can influence how long people watch your videos. For example, if you create the perfect recipe, people will watch the video over and over again, eating the food and learning from it each time. On the other hand, if you make a video about a random topic that no one cares about, viewers will most likely skip your video within a few seconds. The thing to remember about watch hours is that the longer people watch your videos before clicking away, the more revenue you earn from advertising.

How to get free watch hours on YouTube

There are several ways to boost watch hours on YouTube, but the simplest is to make longer videos. This is because people generally watch longer content than short, attention-grabbing clips. If you’re planning on making a video that lasts more than 10 minutes, you need to keep in mind that people often get bored and click away after just a few seconds. You can combat this by using strong visuals and a well-written script that keeps your viewers engaged. If you want to get even more views, you can also add annotations and subtitles. These text options can be found under the Viewer options tab in YouTube’s annotation settings. You can also add annotations to your videos using third-party apps like Annotate It. You can find more tips like these in our blog post on how to make money with annotations for YouTube.

Key metrics to focus on for monetization

- Views - The more views your videos have, the more chance you have of earning money from ads. This is because more views mean more people who will see the ads you have placed in your video. - Engagement - The number of times a viewer watches a video is called engagement. This is an important metric because the more times you watch a video, the more likely you are to click on the ads. - Completion - This is just like engagement, but it focuses on how long viewers actually watch your videos. If a user skips a video but doesn’t click away, this is called completion.

Watch ad suggestions and earn money with ads

The more watch hours you get on your videos, the more you have the opportunity to earn. YouTube tracks how long your viewers spend watching your videos, and it uses this data to serve you ads that may interest you. If you have a video with a lot of watch hours, YouTube may suggest that you play ads like these: 

- A video that’s related to your video’s topic. 

- A video about a product you may be interested in. 

- A video about a product that’s close to your price. 

This is how you earn money from ads on YouTube: When you see one of these suggested ads and it interests you, you have the choice to play the ad or not. If you choose to watch the ad, it will be counted as one play and you can earn money from it. For example, let’s say you made a video about books. The next time you see a suggested advertisement about books, you may be interested in buying one. When you see this ad, you may want to click on it and buy the book. This play will then count as one monetization play, and you will earn money from it.

Create original videos with valuable content

If you want to earn more money from YouTube ads and boost your watch hours, you need to create videos that people want to watch. The best way to do this is to create original content with strong visuals, a well-written script, and a unique topic. When creating these types of videos, think about what your channel is about and what your viewers want to see. For example, if your channel is about cooking, you may want to create a video about healthy recipes. If you have a gaming channel, you may want to create a tutorial for game guides that are easy to follow. Do your research and think about what content your viewers want to see from your channel. The more valuable content you have on your channel, the more likely people are to watch it.

Earn money from merchandise sales

One of the best ways to earn money from your YouTube videos is to sell merchandise like T-shirts, hats, and other items with your logo on it. If you have a popular channel with a large fanbase, you may be able to sell these items on platforms like Merch by Amazon or Society6. You can choose to sell other types of merchandise like posters, mugs, and other items that are related to your channel’s content. This is an effective way to make money from YouTube because you don’t have to create new videos. Instead, you can use graphics, music, and other media that you have on your channel to create these items and sell them on these websites.

Other ways to earn money on YouTube

One of the best ways to make money from YouTube is to partner with brands and advertisers to create sponsored videos. These types of videos are completely original and don’t feature any of your other content. Essentially, you just talk to the brand and tell them a few key story points that you want to cover. To make these videos as attractive as possible to brands, think about what the video would look like if it was sponsored. How would the video be edited, what would the title be, and what would be in the description? By making these changes, you’re making your video completely sponsored and you’ll be in good shape to earn money from ads.

Stay safe while earning money on YouTube

As we mentioned earlier, one of the best ways to boost watch hours and earn money from YouTube is to make longer videos. This is because people will spend more time watching videos of this length than short clips. But what you don’t want is for your viewers to get bored and click away from your channel. This is especially true for channels that are just starting out because you don’t want to discourage viewers from watching your videos. To stay safe, you should consider the following when creating your videos: - Make sure your videos have strong visuals and a well-written script. - Use annotations and subtitles to keep your videos interesting and engaging. - Use strong copyright tags to protect your content.

Take-away

Watching videos on YouTube is a great way to relax. With so many different channels to choose from, you will find something that appeals to your interests and tastes. If you want to make money from these channels, it’s important to know how many people watch them and how often. Along those lines, boosting watch hours on your videos and earning money by playing ads is one of the best ways to get noticed by YouTube creators and advertisers.