Okay, ad revenue is the most obvious way to make money on YouTube. But at the same time, hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute. So you already know this article is not going to be about how easy it is to buy a Swiss watch with the ad revenue from your YouTube views. Though if you have millions of views, you could probably at least rent one. And now for some step-by-step instructions for making money on YouTube. Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals the exact steps one creator took to gain more than 23, views on YouTube with no budget and no expensive gear. To join the program, you need a minimum of 1, subscribers and 4, watch hours in the previous 12 months.