How to Make Money on YouTube Without Making Videos (TUTORIAL 2023)

(Last Updated On: March 19, 2023)

Making money might not be the reason for starting a YouTube channel, but opportunities to earn a significant amount of money are a pleasant surprise once you realize how many of them there are.

But for many people, money can still be the number one reason why they are starting a YouTube channel. 

And it is nothing wrong. 

YouTube should be approached like a business.

But some people want to have a YouTube channel, but don’t want to get attention. They don’t want to show their face.

Luckily, it is quite easy to start a faceless cash cow YouTube channel.

What’s more, you can create a channel without even making your own videos. 

But, how do you make money on Youtube without making videos? 

In this article, I will show you how easy it is to create an entire channel that is using other people’s content. 

So, let me explain it.

What Are Faceless YouTube Channels

There is an entire segment of channels on YouTube where the owners are not showing their faces.

And they are making tons of money from YouTube ads and not only ads. 

Because Google Adsense is just a part of their income.

These faceless channels are also called cash cow YouTube channels and when done correctly they can be a lucrative business.

And a lot of these channels are just using other people’s videos and creating something original from them. 

In other words, such a YouTube channel functions on a simple principle. Download videos from YouTube, create a compilation of top 10 type videos, add a voice-over, and then upload the result on the channel and monetize it with ads. 

But is this legal?

The answer is YES. You can use content from other creators, but it needs to fall under fair use. Fair use allows you to reuse copyright-protected material, without getting permission from the copyright owner. This means, you can use just a short clip, around 7 seconds, but you also need to create something unique from this.

This is why you are seeing so many top 5 or top 10 channels, or TikTok compilations on YouTube. They are using short clips, but they also credit the creator, to be sure. 

The most important step in creating a channel is finding the right niche. You need to choose a niche with a good audience, but it also needs to be a category that is paying well on YouTube. 

The easiest way to make money is to create a top 10 channel in the highest paying niches like crypto, luxury, technology, and psychology of financial niches.

Yes, the competition here is horrifying, but you can make tons of money here.

How Can You Make Money on YouTube?

To make money with YouTube ads, you need to get monetized by joining the YouTube Partner Program. When you get accepted, then YouTube will automatically put ads on your videos.

There are two main things you need to get monetized. You need to have 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours.

And this is the hardest part.

To meet these requirements, it needs time and tons of content. It can be 3 months, 6 months, or one year. Who knows. 

It depends on the quality of your videos. 

But when you finally get monetized in high-paying niches, you can easily generate significant income. And earning  $1000 a month can be just the beginning. 

But if you ask yourself where you can get content, then there are two ways that are completely free. 

Where to Find Videos for Your Channel

The first is using YouTube and searching for some videos in your niche. Go to the filter and sort the list of videos by views and by date. The best practice is to use last month’s filter. The next step is to click on Creative Commons. 

This is a license that allows you to use the content on your videos without consequences.

The next place to get content to use in your videos is free stock footage websites like Pexels or Pixabay. 

However, there is another secret way to get content. When you have a YouTube channel and you are creating top 10 product videos, then you can download the product video from the manufacturers, but just a video, no audio, and then add your voice-over to it. 

Find 10 products, download 10 videos, put them together, and add a voice-over.

This type of content will get monetized. I have such a channel, so I know it. In most cases, it is free promotion for brands, but sometimes it happens and you get a copyright strike.

Not often, but it happens.

And what is best about these types of videos, is that you are promoting products and then putting affiliate links into the description of the video.

So, when the viewer likes the product, it can click on the link and you get a commission. And the best program you can use is the Amazon Associates affiliate program.

While it pays only around 2-4% commission for a single product, you get a 24-hour cookie for all products. This means, that when someone uses your link and gets to Amazon, anything purchased within 24 hours with this customer will get you a commission. 

This is a way many top 10 product channels are making big money. 

And you can too. 

Find a niche, create a channel around it, find content and then upload the result on your channel. 

To be honest, it sounds easy, but it is not. 

In the beginning, it is hard daily work without decent results. But be patient, and consistent, and you can succeed. 

There is a saying… every video counts. This means you don’t know which video will get viral. But when it happens, it can change everything.