How to make money on YouTube Shorts (run the math first)

YouTube Shorts has the most clearly documented monetization of the big three short-video platforms — and some of the smallest checks. Before you build a plan around Shorts ad revenue, run the math on what it commonly pays. Then build the plan that pays sooner.

The Shorts money math, up front

Shorts ads pay out of a shared revenue pool, and the resulting rate — the RPM — is commonly reported well under $0.10 per 1,000 views. Put that against real view counts and the shape of the problem is obvious:

And that table only applies after you qualify. Ten million views over ninety days is a bar most channels never clear — which means most Shorts creators are working for a rate of exactly zero.

What it takes to see any of that money

• Join the YouTube Partner Program. The Shorts route needs 1,000 subscribers plus 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days; the long-form route needs 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in the last year.
• Clear the standard account requirements. An AdSense account, no active strikes, and living in an eligible region. Under 18, you will need a parent or guardian’s AdSense.
• Accept the pool model. Shorts ad money is pooled, music licensing is paid out of it first, and what remains is split by view share. It is a system built for enormous scale, which is why small channels see small numbers.

How to earn from Shorts before (and while) you qualify

None of this means Shorts is a bad place to post — it means ad revenue is the wrong thing to optimize first. The money that works at a small size comes from what the video does, not what YouTube pays per impression: UGC programs that pay per video, affiliate links that pay per sale, or a product of your own that the channel promotes. Of those, UGC is the only one with a floor — the others pay nothing until something converts.

That floor is exactly what the program we run provides, so here are its real terms for comparison against that RPM table.

Getting paid to make short videos: the Write It creator program

Write It — the AI writing extension a lot of students already use in Google Docs — runs a creator program that pays you for short videos about the product on TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts. It is the rare version of "get paid to post" with a floor, not just a lottery ticket:

• 10 free AI uses per approved video. Once a video passes review, the uses land in your Write It account automatically — even if the clip gets almost no views. A guaranteed floor while you learn what performs.
• $1.50 per 1,000 views in cash. Views keep paying after you post, uncapped. A clip that does 50,000 views earns about $75 in view pay.
• No follower minimum, no application. You post from your own account, paste the link in the creator dashboard, and the views start counting. Proven video formats with reference clips are provided, or run your own idea.
• Cash out from $20, paid through Stripe. Around 13,000 views at the standard rate reaches the cashout minimum. Payouts go to your bank or debit card.

The two-track plan

1. 1

   Get paid per view now.

   Make your Shorts UGC-shaped: short product videos a program pays per view for — $1.50 per 1,000 with Write It, plus 10 free AI uses per approved video. The grind toward Partner Program thresholds stops being unpaid.

2. 2

   Cross-post every clip.

   The same vertical video works on TikTok and Reels unchanged. One filming session, three feeds, and every extra view adds to per-view pay.

3. 3

   Treat the Partner Program as a milestone, not the plan.

   If the channel grows into YPP eligibility, ad revenue becomes a bonus layered on money you were already making. If it never does, you were never working for free.