Have you ever thought about what YouTube membership is? Say for example you go to a concert using VIP tickets. The difference between a general and a VIP ticket is that a VIP ticket gives you added perks like meet & greet with the celebrity extra food and beverages or even merchandise. Like that, YouTube channel membership gives you perks like badges, emojis, and other goods.
What is a YouTube Channel Membership
YouTube channel membership lets top followers and subscribers support their favorite content creator. One can set up several membership tiers in exchange for distinct members-only benefits.
Benefits include early access to content, live streaming, personalized emojis, badges, and exclusive additional stuff for members only.
YouTube Channel Membership Eligibility
- You must be at least 18 years old.
- The channel should be a part of the YouTube partner program (YPP).
- You must reside in a location where channel membership is available.
- You must have more than 1000 subscribers.
- Your channel cannot be set as “made for kids”.
- Your videos cannot have claimed music.
- You have to follow YouTube’s guidelines.
You must meet certain qualifications once you turn on YouTube channel memberships to remain active.
How Do YouTube Channel Memberships Work
With a monthly subscription, YouTube channel memberships let users support their favorite content providers. Members receive access to special advantages and bonuses in return depending on the selected tier. Most channels offer multiple membership tiers which can be usually from 2 to 5. Here, each tier has its own set of perks, you check the following list that contains some of the benefits available to offer.
- Loyalty badges: This badge is displayed next to your name in comments and live chats and highlights your commitment as a member.
- Shoutouts on Instagram: Some creators might give occasional shoutouts or acknowledge members in videos.
- Direct chat access: You may have the chance to interact with the creator through private messages or exclusive live chats.
- Members-only content(videos): This will help you enjoy exclusive videos, streams, or early access to future content before it goes public.
To turn on the YouTube channel membership go to the “Monetization page” in YouTube Studio, then click on the Memberships tab. From here, you can follow the step-by-step process as mentioned by YouTube. You’ll need to define your desired tier structure, pricing levels, and specific perks associated with each tier.
Each YouTube membership channel will look slightly different but everyone starts by setting up membership offers. Your offer will include different perks for each tier. You can add up to five tiers, and you can pick your name, offering, and price point for each.
If a member wants to join your YouTube channel membership then, there will be a “join” button on the channel page or below your videos. Based on their interest they can choose their tier and complete the payment. That’s all, now they get access to your membership.
Benefits for YouTube Channel Members
You can customize your YouTube channel membership as long as they fall under YouTube’s guidelines. The perks depend on the tier chosen. The price of these tiers is decided by the creator itself and it varies for different creators.
Perks include:
- Early access to videos for members
- Live chats
- Custom emojis
- Custom badges
- Live streams
- Milestone chats
- Members-only community posts and videos.
- Member Recognition
YouTube Channel Memberships Costs
The cost of membership varies from channel to channel. The pricing also depends on the tier you want to choose, how many subscribers the creator has, what tier level you pay for, and how much the creator charges for a particular tier.
The price can range from INR ₹29 – INR ₹39,999 i.e. USD 0.99 – USD 499.99
However, YouTube takes a 30% cut of your earnings which is a huge amount as compared to other membership platforms.
4 Membership Tiers
With the use of YouTube’s 4-tier membership structure, content creators can charge subscribers every month for varying degrees of access to exclusive material and other benefits. Usually, each tier extends the benefits of the one before it, providing more value and encouraging users to upgrade.
The creators have established four unique tiers, each with different costs and benefits. These tiers are typically given imaginative names that correspond to the escalating rewards provided.
The audience can choose as per their interest and avail the benefits that the creators offer.
4 Membership Tiers
3 Tier Memberships
It is almost similar to 4 tier membership however, it has a different structure. Mostly, the pricing and benefits of each tier will be different for different YouTubers. The content creators choose what they want to offer for each tier to their audience and decide the price.
Creators choose from the variety of options that YouTube gives them to offer their audience membership. It is not mandatory to select all, it depends on what the creator wants to offer.
3 Tier Memberships
What kind of creators should use YouTube channel members
- YouTube channel membership is helpful for creators with a large YouTube fan following which means a huge number of subscribers.
- A supportive audience motivates creators to create more interesting content for their subscribers.
- A well-known personal brand helps gain popularity which in turn increases audience engagement and it becomes easy to gain followers for your membership.
- A creator with a desire to monetize and increase the revenue of his channel should use channel membership.
How to Join a YouTube Membership
Step 1: Open the YouTube
Open the Youtube on your desktop or Mobile Device as desired.
Open the YouTube
Step 2: Go to the channel
You should know that not all YouTubers have opted to offer YouTube membership. Therefore, you need to check first, if your favourite YouTube channel has any options for membership.
You will see a join button on their channel or below their video. For example, you can see the join button appearing on this YouTube channel as shown in the image.
Go to the channel
Step 3: Click or tap Join
While the video is playing you can click on Join button.
Click or tap Join
Step 4: Enter your details
When you click on Join, you need to first decide which membership tier you’d like to choose and then click on the respective join button. You need to enter basic details like name, address, city, pincode, etc.
Enter the details
Step 5: Click or tap Buy
Once you have entered all the details correctly, you can click the Buy button. Then you will be asked for the payment method. You can pay from Google Play balance or using a credit/debit card. Choose according to your requirements.
Click or tap Buy
How to Cancel a YouTube Membership
Open the membership management screen by clicking on See perks on a channel homepage > click on settings> click End membership and perks.
Step 1: Go to your YouTube account
You can sign in to your YouTube account if you haven’t done it yet. Simply go to the YouTube home page that appears below.
Go to your YouTube account
Step 2: Select Purchases and Memberships
You will see your profile in the right corner of the YouTube page. Simply click on that profile and you will see a list of multiple options. From that list, choose Purchases and Memberships.
Youtube Profile
Step 3: Click on Manage Memberships
When click on Purchases and Memberships, you will see all the YouTube channels that you have access to as a member. You can navigate to the same page also by directly going to https://www.youtube.com/paid_memberships page. Now, you can choose which membership you want to cancel and then click on that particular channel’s Manage Memberships button.
Manage membership
Step 4: Click on Deactivate
You can simply click on the deactivate button present in the dropdown of the membership you want to cancel. There is also a see perks option in case you want to rethink your decision.
Deactivate button
Step 5: Click on End Membership
Finally, you will see a pop-up after clicking on Deactivate. Here, you can click on the end membership button. When you click on this button you will get a final confirmation message of the cancellation.
End Membership Button
Conclusion
This article would help solve all your doubts regarding YouTube channel membership. It will provide insight into how YouTube channel membership works and how it benefits the creators as well as their communities.
FAQs on What Are YouTube Channel Memberships
What are the different types of YouTube memberships?Is membership in YouTube free?
There are different tiers in a channel membership with different perks offered at each tier. The number of tiers are decided by the YouTube Channel owner.
The channel membership is not free. Viewers have to pay a monthly fee to access the perks offered by each tier. The monthly fee is decided by the channel owner and it can range from INR ₹29 – INR ₹39,999.
What is the benefit of membership in YouTube?
YouTube Channel Membership allows the viewers to support their favourite content creators while accessing different member-only perks like custom badges,emojis and exclusive additional stuff.
From the channel membership,the creator gets added revenue and a way to connect with the community.
What is the difference between YouTube subscription and membership?
YouTube subscription is different from YouTube membership. When you subscribe to a channel you just add new videos from that channel to your feed.It is just like when you following someone on instagram.
YouTube channel membership is a way to support a creator by committing to monthly payments in exchange of exclusive member-only perks.
How do I start a YouTube membership?
If you want to use a computer to turn on channel memberships follow the steps given below:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- In the left menu, click on Earn.
- Click the Memberships tab which will only be visible if your channel is eligible.
- Click on Get started and follow the on-screen instructions.
- If it’s your first time in the Memberships section, follow the instructions given on screen to sign the Commerce Product Module (CPM).
If you want to use your mobile device to turn on channel memberships follow the given steps:
- Open the YouTube Studio mobile app.
- At the bottom of the screen you will see “Earn”,tap on it.
- Tap the Memberships card and follow the instructions given on the screen. If a Memberships card isn’t visible, tap on Get started in the “Memberships” section.
- If it’s your first time turning on memberships, follow the instructions given on screen to sign the Commerce Product Module (CPM).