TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Aspiring YouTubers looking to become a YouTube Partner have a big task ahead of them. Knowing the ins-and-outs of program requirements can help. Two established YouTubers sat down with KGUN 9 to share some of their success stories.
Becoming a YouTube Partner is far and away easier now than it was at the start of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) in 2007, when one still had to be invited to participate.
In 2017, YouTube began allowing anyone to apply for its YPP with two conditions: Applicants' channels must have 1,000 followers and 10,000 overall lifetime views. But in 2018, YouTube shifted to its current YPP requirements, meaning those that didn't meet these new requirements would be booted from the program.
Current YPP requirements:
- Get 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or
- Get 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days\
For those looking to get started on the path to partnership, I got to talk with widely successful YouTubers Jerami and Toeknee. They share their success stories, and tips for YouTube partnership newcomers.
Jerami, a UArizona alum, has Melee'd' his way to a partnership within the YouTube platform:
Why’d you start making videos on YouTube?
I have always wanted to do YouTube. Ever since I was a little kid it was the dream to do YouTube as a job/passion. When I was little, I would watch videos all the time and was even inspired to recreate some of the most popular YouTube videos at the time copying channels such as Smosh and Nigahiga. My Brother and I would set up a webcam and recreate their biggest hits and have a blast doing it.
How long did it take you to achieve the requirements for the YPP?
I started posting at the end of January in 2022 for my new channel. I was accepted into the YPP on November 7, 2022.
Do you do this Part-time or Full-time?
I do this full-time. I am lucky enough to have supportive parents who allowed me to move back home this past July 2022 and to stay with them to attempt my dream. I had some money saved up, and I am giving it my all through my channel. Posting at least once a week a long form video, as well as YouTube shorts.
Do you have any other platforms people can view your videos or do you plan on having any other platforms?
As of now I am mostly posting on YouTube. However I am using other social media’s to promote my YouTube channel. Such as TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. I also have a Patreon for people to support me on my journey as well as covering these big tournaments in person as they are not cheap!
Where do you see yourself in a year?
I hope to see myself grow as a content creator. Constantly improving on my projects, making them bigger and better. I do have some numerical goals that I wrote down for the new year, but I would love to be self sustainable through content alone. Whether I hit that this year or not, it is still something I am trying to achieve. Or if I could work with sports or esports as a videographer, that would be incredible.
What advice do you have for others who would want to do this as a career?
It’s cliche and many other content creators say the same thing, but just start. Your first videos are going to be bad, but there will be so much to grow from.
It’s not easy work, but just like starting any business it’s rewarding and you’ll learn a ton.
Worst comes to worst, you learn great skills, advertising, editing, marketing, networking along the way. It has taught me a part of business that I didn’t see coming either.
Overall, don’t be afraid to start. There are so many free tools and information out there to be successful. Find something you love, and make content about it. Do it because you love it, and not for the money.
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Different from YPP is the Twitch Partner Program (TPP). Partners in this program will not lose their status and can remain a Partner for as long as they want, given they don’t break Twitch's Terms of Service or break the contract themselves.
That's not the only major difference from the YPP: If you have a big audience on YouTube or Twitter, you can apply for the program this way.
TPP requirements:
- Stream for 25 hours
- Stream on 12 different days
- Average of 75 viewers (concurrent viewership excluding views from suggested, raids and embeds)
Of course, those starting out on YouTube more often than not have a follower base that catches your content on Twitch as well.
I reached out to a full-time Partner on both platforms; Toeknee, (aka Twoknee) who got his start on YouTube.
Why’d you start making videos on YouTube?
I was playing CSGO at the time with friends and thought the games were funny so I made highlights from them.
How long did it take you to achieve the requirements for the YPP and TPP?
(YPP) It took like only a couple months but the requirements were much easier back then. (~2017)
(TPP) I actually got invited to the Twitch Partner Program because I was streaming on YouTube at the time. That was when i had around 30k subs on my Toeknee channel but I didn't end up switching over to Twitch until I had about 60k.
What was the initial reasoning to switch from streaming on YouTube to streaming on Twitch?
It was more a not having all your eggs in one basket scenario. Content creation is a very volatile industry. It'd be pretty extreme, but people could just completely stop watching you. I just wanted to diversify my content platforms in case that ever happened.
What advice do you have for others who would want to do this as a career?
Honest opinion, probably don't. It's a largely attributed to luck or people you know in the industry. If you go into it with a mindset of wanting to make it a career you'll probably just be miserable.
And it's stressful as s**t even when you find success.
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Hannah Winter is Graphic Design Tech II at KGUN 9. She graduated from UArizona with a bachelor's in general studies with an Emphasis in Arts, Media and Entertainment along with an Associates in Digital Film and Television and certificate for Digital Animation from Pima Community College. Share your story ideas and important issues with Hannah by emailing hannah.winter@kgun9.com or by connecting on LinkedIn or Facebook.
