YouTube creators are ditching unpredictable ad revenue for sustainable income through seven proven strategies, including merchandise, digital products, sponsorships, and content licensing.
7 ways to make money on YouTube without ads
Bring sustainability to your growing creator income on YouTube by branching out.
It’s difficult to imagine a creator economy without YouTube. From viral cat videos to in‑depth tutorials, there’s truly something for everyone. This tremendous reach is why so many talented creators flock to the platform. According to a study on professional content creators, nearly half of those surveyed cited YouTube as their primary platform.
One of the reasons for this dominance is that YouTube began paying its users early on through the creation of a Partner Program. YouTube partners earn money through ad revenue from the advertisements shown across their videos. The simplicity of this model attracted millions of makers and led to several success stories. However, creators soon realized the dangers of relying solely on ad revenue.
The money generated from ads fluctuates wildly, without channel owners getting any say in the matter. Moreover, YouTube decides who can and cannot monetize their content. This means that many gifted video creators have poured hours into videos only for them to be demonetized or taken down entirely.
Fortunately, there are alternative ways to make money on YouTube. In fact, the most successful creators rely on ad revenue the least. Below are seven additional income streams real creators use to earn money without depending on ads.
1. Physical merchandise
Merch is often the first alternative revenue stream creators add to their channels. With the rise of tools like Spring, it’s easy to print a channel’s logo on a wide range of products such as t‑shirts, hoodies, mugs, and more. YouTube has also streamlined the process with its merch shelf, which lets certain platforms—Spreadshop, Spring, and Suzuri—integrate directly so creators can display products beneath their videos.
Offering a tangible product deepens the relationship with an audience while giving fans a way to advertise the brand. A notable example is TeamRICHEY, a fitness vlogging channel run by Craig Richey and Jasmine Cabourn. They turned their online audience into a brand called HSTL, selling everything from t‑shirts to barbells. To ensure quality, they work directly with a manufacturer and host periodic launches instead of using the always‑on drop‑shipping model most creators rely on.
Every revenue stream has pros and cons; creators should weigh factors such as inventory, fulfillment, and profit margins when deciding on merch.
2. Digital products
A natural evolution from physical goods is digital offerings, which usually take the form of information products—e‑books, online courses, or paid private communities. YouTuber Gillian Perkins exemplifies this model. Perkins creates free videos about productivity, creativity, and online business, then offers members additional learning through paid products.
Digital products aren’t limited to education. Creators also sell templates, printables, recipes, music, fonts, preset filters, and similar items.
3. Direct support from viewers
Direct support is one of the fastest‑growing areas of creator revenue. Patreon popularized the concept, allowing fans to fund creators with a monthly contribution in exchange for extra content or access. The channel Gone with the Wynns, for instance, has over 1,400 patrons paying between $2 and $250 per month to support their videos.
YouTube entered the direct‑support space with two options. The first is memberships, which gives subscribing viewers perks during live chats; Graham Stephan’s channel demonstrates this feature. The second is applause, a tip‑jar built into the platform, as shown on the channel Psych IRL.
Fees are a major caveat for many platforms, which is why some creators turn to services like Ghost that charge 0 % so makers can keep more of their earnings.
4. Repurposing content
Repurposing content maximizes ROI on each creation. Authors turn book chapters into SEO‑friendly articles, while artists repost images with different edits on multiple platforms. Video creators can transform their footage into written articles and podcasts.
Shelby Church, known for house tours and Tesla videos, transcribed a popular video and posted the article on Medium; that single piece earned over $6,000. Repurposing expands reach beyond YouTube and taps monetization opportunities elsewhere.
Tools such as Descript simplify the process by automatically generating podcast‑ready audio and written transcripts from video files.
5. Affiliate marketing
When an audience trusts a creator’s expertise, that trust can be monetized through affiliate marketing. Creators recommend products they use and earn a commission on sales generated from their links.
Nick Nimmin excels at this approach, providing content for aspiring video creators. Each video description includes 5‑8 links to recommended tools, and Nimmin also produces tutorials on how to use those tools effectively.
Creators in any niche can audit the products and services they regularly use, then explore whether those items have affiliate or referral programs to join.
6. Brand deals and sponsorships
Partnerships build on the same trust but differ because businesses pay creators up front rather than relying on audience clicks. Sponsored videos allow creators to promote a brand directly, without interrupting the viewer with a traditional ad.
Professional photographer and YouTuber Peter McKinnon generates the bulk of his income through brand collaborations with companies such as Adobe, Epidemic Sound, Squarespace, Skylum, and more. A standout deal was a partnership with Nomatic, a producer of camera‑gear accessories.
While large brands typically seek creators with substantial followings, micro‑influencers (10 k–100 k followers) and nano‑influencers (1 k–10 k followers) are increasingly attracting sponsorship offers.
7. Licensing your video content
Licensing allows creators to sell footage to larger media groups, similar to how stock images operate. Creators submit videos to aggregators, which may pay a one‑time fee for full ownership or a smaller fee for editorial‑use rights.
Fail Army, a subsidiary of Jukin Media, illustrates this model. The channel curates viral fail clips, arranges them into themed collections, and licenses the content to third parties.
If your channel produces niche material or contains segments with viral potential, licensing can provide an additional revenue stream and elevate production quality.
Key takeaways
It’s possible to earn money on YouTube without depending on unreliable ad dollars. This article highlighted at least seven channels that are building sustainable businesses around alternative income streams. Remember that making money on YouTube requires strategy, creativity, and perseverance. Every successful creator you admire once started exactly where you are today.