let's talk about Channel Memberships

a feature that lets your most loyal fans support you

by joining your channel for a monthly membership fee.

They can help you earn more money

and in return, you can offer exclusive member-only perks

like badges, emoji, members-only videos, and more.

We've seen all types of creators be successful with memberships

no matter what type of content they create

how big their subscriber base is, or where they're located.

Remember, that turning on memberships doesn't mean you need to change your channel

or your relationship with your viewers.

It's just an extra benefit for your fans

who most want to support you and your awesome content.

So, let's walk through how to set up and manage Channel Memberships

and some best practices for using them.

First, how can you set up Channel Memberships for your channel?

To set up Channel Memberships, your channel first has to become eligible.

You must have over 1,000 subscribers, be in the YouTube Partner Program

be over 18 years old, be in an eligible country

and your channel cannot be made for kids.

You can check out the full list of eligible countries and requirements

in the Help Center article linked in the description.

Once you're eligible, you can turn on Channel Memberships

by going to the monetization page in YouTube Studio

then Memberships

where you'll be led through a Getting Started flow.

What do you need to set up Memberships?

First, you'll need to set up your membership offer

with the levels and perks that will be available for your members.

You can add up to five levels with different names

and each level will have a different monthly price that you set.

We recommend having at least three price-point options

for potential members

low, middle, and high, but the choice is really up to you.

Be sure to pick your lowest price carefully.

For example

would you attract twice as many members at $2.99 as you would at $5.99?

If not, you may earn more revenue by setting the price at $5.99.

Within each level you set

you'll need to have between one and five perks.

Note, that perks build on each other

meaning the highest level members will have access to the perks available

from previous levels as well.

For perks, you can offer things like exclusive videos and live streams

members-only community posts, live chats, or polls

member milestone chats, and shout-outs.

You can also get creative with third-party platform integrations

who offer members-only perks, like members-only chat rooms

or tools to engage with your members.

Just keep in mind that you're responsible for delivering on the perks that you offer

so consider what's feasible for you and still valuable for your fans.

Many creators start off slow

and then add new perks based on the feedback from their community.

Your levels and their perks will need to be reviewed before going live

which takes about a day.

Once the review is done

you'll see it update in the Memberships Tab in Studio

and you'll receive an email confirmation.

Keep in mind that once your levels are approved

you won't be able to change their pricing.

Instead, you'll need to create a new level.

Note, that you can delete levels

but doing so will cancel all existing memberships at that level.

With memberships, you can also create custom badges and emoji

that only your members can use.

Badges show up next to members' usernames

and help them stand out in comments and live chats.

You can add up to six personalized ones

that will update depending on how long they've been members for.

Custom emoji are a great way for members to express themselves.

They're exclusive for your members

and can be used in video comments, posts, or live chats.

The more members you have, the more emoji you can upload.

When designing badges and emoji, choose visuals that are personalized

and relatable to your audience

that will make members feel more connected to you.

Visual consistency also helps

so think about having them designed by the same artist.

If you're not sure where to start with designing

services like Fiverr, Upwork, or Freelancer can help connect you to design experts.

Once everything is set up and ready to go

we suggest you promote your memberships on your channel.

You can create a dedicated announcement video

to raise awareness of your offerings, and get your fans excited about joining.

Or you can mention memberships in your regular uploads

add it to the description of your videos, talk about it in the Community tab

or promote it across your social media.

We found that creators who regularly talk about their memberships

to their audience, do a better job of getting viewers to become members.

Even thanking your current members

helps promote Channel Memberships to your audience.

You can also add /join to the end of your channel URL

to create a link to your membership offer window.

As a final step

we encourage you to create a few members-only community posts

that fans can see as soon as they join.

You can thank your new members for joining

or post a behind-the-scenes, or sneak-peek photo you think they'll enjoy.

These posts will give new members a warm welcome

and will help show the value of their membership right away.

Once you're all set up, you can turn on Memberships.

Your viewers will now see a "Join" button at the top of your channel

and members will be directed to the dedicated Memberships tab

on your channel homepage, once they sign-up

where they can keep track of their exclusive perks.

Now that you know what's required for set-up

let's go through some best practices for Channel Memberships.

First, make sure your offering is scalable.

Getting more members is great

but not if it means you can't deliver your perks.

So, be sure to dedicate some time to properly design and plan your offerings

and avoid offering perks that will take too much of your time

to deliver as you get more members.

Next, make sure your offering is valuable.

Think about what would motivate your viewers to become members.

For example

if a viewer's motivation is to feel closer to you

they might find members-only Q&As or personal shout-outs and videos valuable.

Or, if they just love your content, consider giving them early access to videos

or, exclusive videos just for members.

Knowing your viewers' motivations will allow you to design the most relevant

and valuable perks for your channel members.

Next, remember that perks are recurring.

Members pay every month and can cancel at any time

so, make sure you keep them happy for the long-term.

Be sure to use existing YouTube Community features

and think about how your perks can sustain members' interest and satisfaction

while making sure they can be delivered on time

on a monthly basis.

And finally, don't be afraid to experiment.

Members-only videos won't affect the performance of your regular videos

so, don't be afraid to experiment and get feedback from your members.

You can also do members-only polls to ask them what they want to see more of

and get their thoughts on things you've never tried before.

Finally, let's walk through some basics on how to manage Channel Memberships.

Once memberships are turned on for your channel

you can manage them and track their performance in YouTube Studio.

On the monetization page in Studio

the dedicated Memberships tab

will allow you to manage your memberships program.

Here, you can update your membership offering at any time.

You can also choose to add an intro video

which shows with your membership offer when viewers click "Join".

With your intro video, you can give viewers a quick overview

of what they'll get to access when they join your channel.

Remember, lots of viewers might only click the "Join" button out of curiosity

so make sure to grab their attention

get them excited

and let them know why they should become members.

With this Management tab

you'll also get a quick glance at how your memberships are performing.

You'll see your revenue over the last billing period

and its growth rate

see your total number of members

and see recent sign-ups and cancellations in the last billing period.

If you want a more in-depth look at your memberships' analytics

click to see more.

You can also see the number of members per level you set.

With this tab

we'll also show you some information about your members.

You'll see videos that members joined on, and you'll see recent comments by them.

And if you click to see more, you'll be led to the Comments Page in Studio

that will be filtered by member status.

For even more information about memberships

check out all the links in the description below.

Thanks for watching!