YouTube’s New “Viewer Applause” Feature Provides Revenue for Bloggers

Viewers can now pay to “clap” for their favorite YouTube content creators. The video-sharing platform released a new feature earlier this year about a “viewer applause” feature. Originally announced in 2019, this is a new feature YouTube presented to help with the monetization of influencers. The video-sharing platform wanted to provide a new means for viewers to interact with their favorite YouTubers and give-back not just from watching ads but by directly donating onto the channel. This feature was actually released by YouTube (as a Beta) in February of 2020. After months of successful experimentation, the new feature is now ready to roll out in more YouTube channels and in more countries.

The applaud button one of the multiple attempts from YouTube to provide tools for alternative monetization. There are other similar features like Super Chat and Super Stickers that provide alternative sources of monetization. However, it is important to remember that this is separate from YouTube’s premium version. In the YouTube premium, viewers could pay to download exclusive content and videos. Not only that, but premium viewers could also get ad-free viewing.

How does the Viewer Applaud Button work – for users?

Viewers often reach out to help influencers through not skipping ads, watching more videos, interacting through comments, and sending likes. A YouTube channel could be monetizable if it has thousands of hours of views and thousands of subscribers. Now, YouTube enables the viewers to send donations to influencers directly to their Google Adsense accounts.

Clapping animation could be bought from YouTube and the amount paid, in turn, will be sent over the content creator’s account. This clapping animation is shown only to the buyer as it may affect the quality of the video if too many viewers purchase the feature. The applause button could be seen in between the dislike and the share button below YouTube videos. When the applaud button is selected, a dialogue box will appear with the following statement:

“Buy applause and show support. Buy fun, animated applause for 2 Dollars. The creator earns a share of the purchase”.

If the viewer chooses to buy a clap, then they will be lead to a new page where they would need to state their payment details and other pertinent information. Take note that not all countries have this feature yet. This kind of feature is very helpful for pages that are created for a cause. For instance, there are pages whose advocacies feature compelling issues like illiteracy, climate change, poverty, child protection, and more. YouTube content creators could use this feature to really do some good. Viewers can be motivated to purchase claps if they know that the money would go to charity.

What can YouTubers get from the Viewer Applause Button?

Through the years, YouTube has released multiple tools and features for monetization. There are Super Chats, Super stickers, and now there is the applaud button. In all of these viewer purchases, both the content creator and Youtube earn. This means that it is beneficial not only for the content creator but for YouTube as well. For every dollar donated by viewers, YouTube channels will get 70% and the remaining 30% will be deducted by YouTube (in terms of fees). What is interesting about this is that purchasing an animated clap is not a one time deal. Viewers can repeatedly purchase and donate to a single video and spend hundreds of dollars in support.

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Monetization of content on YouTube has provided additional career options for the younger generation. In fact, a lot of younger people would prefer to create content on social media than find another office job. This is because the average income of a content creator can be a few thousand to tens of thousands in a month. Now, the addition of the applaud button and super feature can provide additional monetization for YouTubers. This is highly motivating and could potentially increase competition on the platform.

How can Influencers get access to this Viewer Applause Button?

The most important requirement to get access to this YouTube Applause feature is a google partner program verified YouTube channel. Simply, a YouTube channel can get a viewer applause button if it is a monetizable platform. This entails agreeing with YouTube monetization policies, having an AdSense account, have more than 1,000 subscribers, and have 4,000 valid watch hours in the span of a year. Or in much simpler terms, you must have a YouTube channel that is Google Adsense verified. A monetization approved YouTube channel could easily access the Viewer Applause Button.  Simply follow the steps below:

  • Open YouTube on desktop mode (for mobile) or simply open the app on a desktop or laptop.
  • Go to YouTube Studio and select Monetization. 
  • Select the Super option from the list and simply enable the YouTube Applaud Button.

These are pretty easy steps. After a day or two, the page will have an activated clap button. Remember, this feature does not work on regular YouTube channels and only works for monetization approved channels.

Also Read: Taiwanese Instagram Grandparents Prove Blogging and Social Media is For Everyone

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Sangalang Kristine

Civil Engineer by profession, Writer by passion. Serving readers since 2014 on different niches like Science, Current Events, Tech, and Travel.

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