How to make money on YouTube below the monetisation threshold

You make money on YouTube before monetisation by selling your viewers the pieces from your videos, through a free shop on FanShop.

YouTube's routes and the threshold in front of them

YouTube pays creators through ads in the Partner Program, channel memberships, Super Chat during streams, the merch shelf, sponsorships and affiliate links. The Partner Program asks for 1,000 subscribers plus a watch time requirement before ads switch on, and memberships and the merch shelf sit behind the same door. Sponsors and affiliate programmes look at your numbers before they look at you. Below the threshold, the platform itself pays nothing.

FanShop works from the first viewer. The hoodie in your thumbnail and the sneakers in your vlog are pieces your viewers already know, and in a free shop on FanShop they can buy them.

Why long-form viewers know your wardrobe

A YouTube viewer spends twenty minutes at a time with you, episode after episode. By the end of a series they know your jacket better than their own, and the hoodie from a 40-video playlist is something they have looked at for hours. That familiarity is what makes the sale on FanShop easy: the listing just names the video, and the viewer already knows the piece.

What a channel's wardrobe holds

Pull up your most watched uploads and look at what you are wearing.

• The hoodie or shirt from your thumbnails
• The jacket from a travel or vlog series
• Sneakers from a challenge or a daily vlog
• A jersey from your match day or sports content
• The backpack or bag from a long trip
• Gear from a build, a test or a collaboration

List each piece with the video it belongs to. A viewer searching your channel for that episode is already halfway to your shop.

How you get in

1. Apply in the browser. A person reads your application.
2. You get your invitation by email and set up your shop.
3. You verify your identity once (18 and over).
4. You list your pieces, each one is approved by a person.
5. On a sale you download your prepaid label, pick a parcel shop and drop the parcel off. FanShop is the sender on the label, your name and address stay private.

FanShop is in pre-launch. Creators apply now and build their shops, buyers arrive at launch. Your next upload can carry the shop link in the description from day one.

What a sale pays and when

You enter the amount that should land with you, the shop price is calculated from it, and FanShop keeps 30 percent of the shop price. The buyer pays shipping at checkout, parcels ship across the EU, and returns go to FanShop.

Payouts go out once a month to your bank or Stripe account. A sale becomes due 14 days after confirmed delivery, which covers the buyer's statutory right of withdrawal. The minimum payout is 10 euros, and smaller amounts roll into the next month.

Common questions

Do I need 1,000 subscribers for FanShop?

No. FanShop has no follower minimum, no monthly fee and no joining cost. Your shop is open to your first viewers.

Can I mention my shop in videos?

Yes. Your shop has its own address under your name, and it belongs in your description, your pinned comment and the moment in the video where the piece appears.

Do I have to pay tax on this?

For most creators this is relaxed. Selling things from your everyday life is usually treated as a private sale, and the rules depend on the country you live in. Under EU platform rules, FanShop reports nothing to the tax office as long as you stay under 30 sales and 2,000 euros per year. If you sell regularly, a quick word with a tax adviser settles it. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Full details are on our Notes and FAQ page.

What can I sell, and what stays out?

Pieces you have personally worn, used or owned: clothing, shoes and gear. New merchandise, reselling and underwear stay out, nothing sexual is listed, and presentation is always clean.