1. Take Control of Your Mid-Roll Ads

If you’re letting YouTube automatically place your ads, you’re leaving thousands of dollars on the table. YouTube doesn’t even show every ad you place (it’s in the fine print!), which means you need to strategically overload your ad placement.

My proven formula:

• Place your first ad at the one-minute mark
• For videos under 12 minutes: Add an ad every 2-4 minutes
• For videos over 12 minutes: Add an ad every 3-5 minutes

Don’t worry about annoying viewers—they’re used to ads as part of the YouTube experience, and the algorithm adjusts frequency based on viewer behavior.

2. Create Longer Videos or Upload More Frequently

It’s simple math: More watch time equals more ad opportunities equals more revenue. Every extra minute of content provides additional monetization potential. Aim for videos longer than 8 minutes (the minimum for mid-roll ads) and consider adding one extra video per month to your schedule.

3. Leverage YouTube Shopping

For creators with 10,000+ subscribers, YouTube Shopping is a gold mine! The platform is heavily incentivizing early adopters with generous commission splits and bonus perks you won’t find with other affiliate programs. This feature is particularly valuable for lifestyle, beauty, fashion, and wellness channels.

4. Maximize Your Community Tab and Comments

Would you believe some creators generate up to 35% of their affiliate sales just from their community tab? This underutilized space can dramatically boost conversions when used strategically for promotions.

Similarly, pinning a comment with your relevant affiliate links on every video provides viewers with another opportunity to access your links, increasing conversion rates.

5. Reconsider Your Shorts Strategy

Unless you fall into specific categories, Shorts might be stealing time from your money-making content. Consider creating Shorts only if:

• You have a team repurposing content with zero involvement from you
• You’re cross-posting content you’ve already created for other platforms
• You’re getting paid through direct sponsorships
• You’re doing specific product reviews with YouTube Shopping links

Otherwise, redirect that energy toward creating more long-form content that actually generates revenue.

Remember, you deserve every penny of success that YouTube has to offer. Don’t let limited thinking hold you back from maximizing your channel’s income potential!

Resources

• Register for my FREE Masterclass
• CLICK HERE to get the Audience Attraction System
• Add your name to the YouTube Bootcamp waitlist so you are notified when space becomes available!
• Add your name to the 1:1 Coaching waitlist!

YOUTUBE OPTIMIZATION PLUG-IN I RECOMMEND

TubeBuddy [Use the code ErikasBuddy to get 20% off]

MY FAVORITE BUSINESS TOOLS

Course Creation: Looking to create a course? Kajabi is the BEST platform hands down. I use this for my course after extensive research on all the other platforms.

Live Calls and Interviews: I use Ecamm for my podcast interviews, both audio and for YouTube that you see here on YouTube. It makes it super easy to share my screen and create the split-screen with my guest. I’m not super techie and this software is really easy to use!

Webinars and Live calls: I use Zoom.us for my group coaching calls in my private membership group for female YouTube creators. It’s also the software I use to record my Road to 100k YouTube Subscribers Masterclass!

THE BEST YOUTUBE/PODCASTING EQUIPMENT

After interviewing HUNDREDS of successful YouTube creators, and being asked all the time what equipment I recommend for YouTubers, I created a list! Click here to see all my recommended equipment for YouTubers!