YouTube requires 4,000 hours of viewing before you can access your channel’s monetization features, which has caused a lot of criticism. But if you look at the numbers, it is a small stepping stone to earn a living on the platform.
It is still often the first significant milestone that any new YouTube content creator will pay attention to. So, how to successfully reach 4,000 viewing hours on YouTube? What can you do to make your mark on YouTube?
Like many self-operated businesses, this is not easy. However, according to the recommendations compiled from our experience on the platform, you can reach this number if you are still determined.
Why shouldn’t you focus on losing 4,000 profitable viewing hours on YouTube?
Keep in mind, 4,000 hours will not create enough income. Take a look at the statistics below. These are based on our experience on YouTube. The average viewing time of our channel in a year is 4 minutes and 7 seconds. This means that to reach the 4,000-hour mark, we need to accumulate 60,000 views on the channel.
During the year, the channel’s average cost per thousand impressions was $7.16, and about half of the views will be achievable through profitable broadcasts. YouTube has also cut 45%, so the 60,000 views on the Youtube channel will earn us $117. Of course, this is a significant change, but it’s not a big deal.
So what does all this mean? Well, you will lose about $117 after YouTube asks to enable the new 4,000 hours of viewing time. If you want to make something on your YouTube channel, it’s worth worrying.
But I want 4,000 viewing hours now. What should I do?
Here is an excellent strategy, which will help you stand out and attract thousands of viewers. This is a long-term task that will take you far, far exceeding the 4,000 hours of viewing time on YouTube.
However, if you wish to reach the 4,000-hour mark with your current audience, here are three methods that are helpful to increase the view time:
- Create a 20-60-minute podcast:
You can consider starting your podcast. In this way, you can reduce each viewer’s viewing time, but it also allows you to publish the video with less editing work. You can press record to start a podcast, press end, and then publish the original video.
- Increase your regular video duration:
Longer videos are becoming the norm on YouTube, so please don’t be shy to upload a 10-minute video or longer; also, you need to avoid posting too short videos if possible.
- Real-time streaming
Real-time streaming doesn’t need to edit; this is another way to increase viewing time; it can count 4,000 hours. You can estimate the viewing time by multiplying the average number of viewers by the video stream’s length. Therefore, a 4-hour video stream has an average of 50 viewers, which is approximately equal to 200 hours of viewing time. Update: Unfortunately, live-streaming watch time is no lounger counter for YouTube monetization!
- Buy watch hours
Buying watch hours is another popular method used by content creators to quickly reach 4000 hours. In fact, it is probably the fastest since you can reach the 4000 in just a couple days. The disadvantage is that, unfortunately, it is not cheap. On average, buying YouTube watch time will cost you more than $300. But if you think the investment is worth it, then go ahead. There are a bunch of reliable companies providing safe watch time, such as Lenos.
All of these methods can obtain a longer viewing time, but instead of focusing on the 4,000-hour mark, focus on larger goals. Work hard and invest time, this number will be reached, and more significant milestones will soon become your goal.
Also read: Top 5 Ways to Earn on YouTube (Other Than AdSense)
How to reach 4,000 YouTube viewing hours and above?
4,000 hours is not enough to pay the bill, so let’s see how to bring enough viewing time and number of views to make money. To start from scratch, we need to do a lot to attract ourselves.
To this end, your most significant obstacle is that thousands of other creators have already made themselves famous across thousands of market segments. It merely means that a new YouTuber content is not recommended at all as compared to established competitors in your niche. You may publish videos without a strategy, and over time you may see some success. However, without a well-thought-out method, it will take years.
You need to become an expert in a niche market and pay close attention to trends. Your task will be to make videos on popular topics before everyone else. In this way, your content may be recommended to others even for a short time because you will be the only authoritative source for the trending news topic. If you want further guidance, simply help YouTube support centre