2020 Jul 16
“YPP is the YouTube Partner Program, it’s rolled out country by country. That is what allows people to earn money. Until YPP is rolled out to a country, no one can earn money legally from YouTube.”
– Janeeth Rodrigo –
If you are here, reading the second edition of this series of articles, you might be saying “Hey guys, welcome back to my YouTube channel” very soon! Now, before you start imagining success on YouTube, gaining knowledge on how to monetize via YouTube is of paramount importance.
We explored this topic while in conversation with General Manager of IdeaHell, Head of the Digital arm of Derana Macroentertainment, Janeeth Rodrigo, to provide you with all the information you’ll need.
How can a content creator in Sri Lanka monetize via YouTube?
As explained by Janeeth, for a content creator to monetize through YouTube, they must join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). YPP is rolled out to different countries, however, YPP is not officially enabled in Sri Lanka as of yet, because the internet-using population in Sri Lanka is small, compared to other countries like Australia and the United States.
Now, don’t get discouraged, as there’s still a way for you to earn money legally, on YouTube. You could go through these organizations called Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs); these are entities that are beyond geographic borders and anyone can monetize their content on YouTube, through MCN’s.
There are currently around 4 or 5 Indian and Bangladeshi companies that are MCNs, who are operating in Sri Lanka. However, we also have our very own Sri Lankan entity, that received an MCN status in 2018, which is IdeaHell. There are currently more than 100 YouTubers who have signed up with IdeaHell, to obtain help from them in conquering their journey on YouTube.
What does IdeaHell offer?
“IdeaHell, in terms of the YouTube algorithm, we are not a country, we are our own entity. Anyone can monetize through us. IdeaHell will give you resources, everything free of charge. Membership is also free of charge. All we do is, we retain a revenue share so that we can pay our bills.”
IdeaHell, located down Alwis place, is a 20,000 sqft studio that is solely dedicated for the creation of content. Becoming a member at IdeaHell will bring about the following benefits, making it so much easier for you to monetize through your YouTube channel:
- Resources – IdeaHell encompasses industry-level equipment for the use of content creation, the biggest fixed green screen for the production of composite videos, an ideation room, an editing room to aid the production of high-quality videos.
- Market your name or brand – The beginning stages of being a YouTuber might not bring about large amounts of revenue through YouTube, hence, the marketing team at IdeaHell aids in reaching out to different brands that might be interested in advertising or marketing their products and services through your videos, in form of product placements, unboxing and reviews, sponsorships etc.
- Drive views – It is always difficult to be discovered on YouTube in the beginning, hence when a new creator publishes a new video, the IdeaHell team suggests those videos at the end of all the existing YouTuber’s content, to drive visibility and views.
- Creating a community – Most content creators signed up with IdeaHell come to the studio and brainstorm ideas together and support each other in obtaining success on YouTube. So, new creators can obtain advice and suggestions in growing on YouTube from more experienced and established YouTubers.
What to look out for when signing up with an MCN?
The deal with all MCNs is that they help you monetize for the content that you create on YouTube and in exchange, you will share a part of your revenue with the MCN entity. However, there is a possibility for some MCNs to conduct malpractice, thus, do keep a lookout for the following, to prevent yourself from falling into a trap when signing up with an MCN.
- Read the contract carefully – Prior to signing up with an MCN, do read the contract very carefully, word to word. Avoid going into time-bound contracts, as you will not be able to leave, whenever you want to. Make sure to look out for MCNs that might block you from viewing your revenue reports, as they might fabricate a revenue report and send it to you.
- Avoid giving away your content rights to the MCN – Some MCNs have a clause in their contracts that states that whatever content you create during the time that you are in partnership with that MCN, will be owned by the MCN and not by you. In such a case, the content you put your heart and soul into will not be owned by you.
Apart from these basic details, if we have piqued your interest, you could read up on the technicalities of earning money on YouTube and how revenue is calculated via the articles below, personally written by Janeeth Rodrigo.
Sri Lankan guide to earning money on YouTube: Part 1 – http://www.themorning.lk/brunch-page-4-disruptech-column/
Sri Lankan guide to earning money on YouTube: Part 2 – http://www.themorning.lk/brunch-page-4-disruptech-column-4/
This is not all, folks! Do stay tuned to the third part of this article, where we explore and learn about the “10 fundamentals of a creative strategy”, to obtain help on some strategies that can be utilized by you, to maintain and grow your YouTube channel.
