How I Got Monetized on YouTube with Under 3,000 Subscribers
When most people think about YouTube monetization, they imagine viral videos and massive subscriber counts. But I hit monetization with under 3,000 subscribers, and I want to show you exactly how I did it. No shortcuts. No viral hits. Just strategy, consistency, and a mic I really like.
I’ll share exactly how I reached monetization, how much I made from watch ads in the first month, and how I started earning from my YouTube channel before I was monetized.
Money is an Uncomfortable Subject
I know, it’s weird to talk about money. And I don’t want to be cringey. But before I was monetized on YouTube, I had no idea what to expect. I thought it would take a video going viral just to make it to monetization, but slow and steady worked fine for me.
And when I did get monetized, I thought it would be a negligible payout. In fact, I was convinced my first month would be enough to buy a fancy coffee, and that’s it. But I was shocked at how much ad revenue my channel generated, and I wish there had been more resources out there so I’d have known what to expect.
So that’s why I’m sharing this post. If I can do it, so can you. And while the numbers change all the time (and I’ll continue to share them), I want to give you an idea of what to expect when your channel becomes monetized.
My Setup is Simple
This is important… I don’t have a fancy studio or a team editing my videos. It’s just me, and the production quality is what I’d generously call “good enough”.
🎤 I record with a Shure MV6 mic, which I bought specifically for YouTube
💡I use an inexpensive Ring Light
💻 I use my existing Mac Studio and Mac Studio Display with the built-in webcam
✂️ I record and edit videos in Descript, which has made the process so much easier
🎥 Keyword research, easy tags, and more with TubeBuddy (the $6/month plan is fine to start, and what I’m still currently using)
I do all the editing myself. Aside from the mic and my Descript subscription, I didn’t invest in any extra gear (I already had the ring light). If you're holding off because of equipment, know that you can start with what you already have.
The Turning Point: Weekly Videos and Watch Time Goals
I posted my first video back in 2019, but it wasn’t until February 2024 that I committed to showing up consistently. At that point, I had around 1,000 subscribers from occasional posts over the previous five years, and decided it was time to take YouTube seriously as part of my business strategy.
I’d been relying on Google Search to drive traffic to my site since 2019, and in late 2023, I saw the writing on the wall… AI search results would be taking over, and I knew my website traffic would drop. And by April 2024, it was down considerably. I was a tiny bit ahead of that curve since I started posting weekly videos at the beginning of February, but I wasn’t getting much in the way of watch hours, and very little traffic to my site from YouTube. But you have to start somewhere!
The real challenge with YouTube monetization for me was hitting 4,000 watch hours. My videos are typically short! This took me 14 months of consistent effort. I’ll be honest, in the beginning it felt really hard… even with my simple “how to” videos, I was trying to get into a rhythm of recording and also figure out how to edit the videos. But each month it got easier and easier. And in April 2024, I hit the requirement for monetization: 4,000 watch hours in the past 365 days. With less than 3,000 subscribers.
Here’s what helped:
Consistent weekly uploads, and sometimes two videos a week
Occasional longer live videos, which naturally increased engagement and watch time
Content that aligned with a lead magnet on my website (more on that below)
How I Grew My Email List Along the Way
I had a lightbulb moment talking with my friend LaShonda Brown in July 2024, when she asked me, “What are you doing to get people from YouTube onto your email list?” And I realized until that point, I was doing nothing! Then I started thinking about how I could create a system to not only get YouTube viewers on my email list, but also encourage my list to watch more of my YouTube videos.
I decided to loop in my lead magnet. I have a free resource for my audience called the Squarespace Prelaunch Checklist, and it has performed well for me over the years. So, to create a feedback loop from YouTube to my email list, I started creating a series of videos, one for each checklist item.
At the beginning of each of those videos, I encourage viewers to grab the checklist and link it in the video description. Even though I don’t have exact numbers, I know it has worked because people email me to say they found me through YouTube. And my email signups are almost back at the level they were pre-AI search results! (Hooray!!!)
This approach helped me turn simple video views into something even more valuable: real connections and long-term email subscribers.
Today, as I post this, I’ve still got a few more videos to complete the checklist, but it’s almost done! That’s about 50(!!!) videos.
You Can Earn Before You’re Monetized
This was something I hadn’t even considered when I started posting weekly videos to YouTube. Before I hit monetization, a brand I like and use reached out to me to ask if I’d create a sponsored video for them, so I said yes. I created a video that got around 420 views over the first three months, so not that many. But guess what? The brand was thrilled because that video led to a solid number of signups.
That made me realize I don’t need a huge audience to provide value. I just need the right people watching - people who find what I’m sharing helpful.
Since then, I’ve reached out to a couple of brands I already use and love and pitched sponsored videos. Promoting tools that can actively help my audience has made sponsorships a natural fit.
In 2025, before my YouTube was monetized, I published three sponsored videos and earned a total of $1800. This is something I expect to continue, as long as the brand is one that I love, use, and happily recommend.
In addition to sponsorships, I saw YouTube move the needle in how many folks were purchasing my digital products. A few of my students in The Web Designer’s Playbook™ told me that they bought the course after feeling aligned with my teaching style on my YouTube channel.
The Steady Growth to 4000 Watch Hours
By fall 2024, I realized that if I kept going, I’d likely hit 4000 watch hours and be eligible for monetization in early 2025. I would see my watch hours over the past 365 days steadily grow, and that encouraged me to keep going. In reality, I hit monetization at the end of April 2025, 14 months after I started regularly posting weekly videos. That was 90 uploaded videos, 6 lives, and a handful of shorts. (I don’t know what I’m doing with shorts and they have been negligible so far in terms of moving the needle, so that’s why I’m not mentioning them more.) Did I obsessively check YouTube Studio every morning when I got close to 4000 watch hours? Maybe. The worst part was waiting for YouTube’s verification after I hit that number, which took a little over a week, to become monetized.
My First Month of Monetization: $682 in May 2025
Once I hit the YouTube Partner Program requirements, I earned $682 in ad revenue in my first month. For a small channel, it's proof that monetization can work with a targeted audience and strategic content. And, as I mentioned earlier, I was expecting more along the lines of $10, so this was a very welcome surprise.
My first day of monetization was April 29, and I earned $15.60. Over that first 28-day period, my highest earning day was $38.95 (a day where I did a YouTube live AND posted a recorded video), and my lowest earning day was $10.65, the Sunday before Memorial Day in the US, when I imagine people had better things to do than watch Squarespace tutorials.
One big shock was the amount advertisers were paying. For Playback-based cost for every 1K views (CPM), it was $160. I don’t have anything to compare this to, but it seems really, really high. I’m curious to see if this is something that changes wildly over time, or maybe you just get a boost in your first month? I’ll keep you posted! Importantly, I’m not expecting to consistently generate this level of revenue, and I’m not relying on it to continue. I’m treating it like a nice bonus.
It’s also interesting to see which videos brought in the most revenue. It’s a mix of older and newer videos, with one video from 2020 and the rest from 2024, with a range of 2-10 minutes in length. I’m seeing newer videos from 2025 taking off a bit more slowly, with one barely making it into the top 10 earners. Each of these is a how-to video, not surprising since those make up the majority of my channel. Evergreen content is still working for me long after I hit publish, but at lower views.
Here’s a quick breakdown of where my income related to YouTube is coming from:
| Income Source | Notes |
|---|---|
| YouTube Ads | $682 in the first month |
| Sponsorships | Inbound and outreach to aligned brands; $1800 in early 2025 |
| Digital Products & Services | Templates, Two Day Websites, and courses; I wish I had an exact number! |
What’s Next: Long-Form Content and Better Repurposing
Now that I’ve hit monetization, I’m doubling down on what’s working. More How-To videos for Squarespace, tools that are helpful in my business, and YouTube lives. I’m also planning to explore some other things:
More long-form videos
Sharing the behind-the-scenes of being a web designer
Talking more openly about income streams
Making my videos look better with a better camera and more professional lighting.
Repurposing videos into a blog post and sharing in my email newsletter
Note: I use RightBlogger to help me generate the first pass of blog posts from YouTube transcripts, saving me tons of time. It does a lot more, too. If you try it out and like it, use code christyprice for a discount.
Final Thoughts: You Don’t Need a Massive Channel to Monetize
If you’re showing up consistently and offering helpful content, your small channel can absolutely become a revenue-generating platform. How much revenue? That remains to be seen. I’d love if it stays the same or grows each month, but I’m not counting on that. Here’s what you need to know about monetizing your channel:
You don’t need viral views.
You don’t need a production team.
You just need a plan and the patience to follow through. I had several false starts, but when I committed to posting at least every week, that’s when things started paying off.
🎯 Focus on watch time, not just views or subscribers
🧩 Build a business around your channel
📬 Grow your email list with every video
If you’re in the Squarespace world and want to streamline your site build (and make sure you’re not forgetting anything!), check out my free Prelaunch Checklist. It’s what led me to create 50+ videos and grow my list alongside my channel.
👉 Download the Free Squarespace Prelaunch Checklist
And, of course, I’d love for you to check out my YouTube channel. Every subscribe, like, and comment helps!
