YouTube channels are so much about engagement. The right engagement on a channel lets the audience know that you care about them, and value their opinion enough to provide them with a safe and creative space to express themselves.
Most of YouTube's features are designed around building engagement, and Super Chat is one of them. Super Chat helps creators make money out of their YouTube videos while making the entire process fun and engaging.
This article will look at what Super Chat is all about and how you can use this exciting YouTube feature to drive engagement to your channel and make some more money.
YouTube rolled out the Super Chat feature in January 2017. The feature lets viewers pin or highlight their comments on a video that is live streaming. Depending on how much money the viewer puts into the feature, the Super Chat will change the chat comment color and the duration of how long it's going to be pinned on the chat window.
The Super Chat features provide the viewers a really cool way to express their opinions (especially if there are many viewers on the video) while also providing an opportunity for creators to make some additional money out of it.
This feature is highly accessible and easy to use, and sometimes it spreads like a domino effect — one super chat attracts the other, and it goes on. It is motivating and fun to make money on YouTube with Super Chat.
For the audience, the YouTube Super Chat feature is a great way to get the creator's attention so that they get to know what the audience wants to express and talk about. Super Chat basically highlights a comment so that it is more visible to the audience and even pins it for some time for others to take notice.
Super Chat appears on both smartphone apps and PCs. However, they are not available if viewers are browsing YouTube on a mobile browser.
It's effortless for viewers to use Super Chat, all they have to do is make a payment to YouTube, and then their comment remains pinned to the top of the YouTube chat window for up to five hours. However, it is up to creators to blacklist certain words and even ban users who are harassing.
There's a cash symbol when someone goes live on YouTube. Viewers can use that button to select the amount of money they'd like to send to the creators. The more they pay, the longer their comment gets pinned to the top of the chat section. For additional money, viewers also get more characters for their comment, which even gets highlighted in a different color so that everyone gets to notice that.
Even if the comment gets pushed off to the bottom of the chat, creators still have the option to click on their Super Chat and see all the comments.
Super Chat on YouTube is a great feature that every YouTuber would want to implement on their channel. However, YouTube has some policies and requirements that it would like YouTubers to follow and meet.
First and foremost, your channel needs to be monetized to use Super Chat, which means that it should be a part of the YouTube Partner Program. As a channel owner, you need to be at least 19 years old and belong to one of the available locations listed by YouTube.
The Super Chat feature isn't available on channels that are age-restricted, unlisted, or have private videos. It also won't be available if you have live chat turned off.
You also need to follow YouTube's community guidelines to avoid spam, privacy-violation, and abuse on the platform.
Before we get into the step-by-step instructions to turn on Super Chat for your channel, we also need to understand what Super Stickers are. Super Stickers are animated or digital images that let your audience express support and emotions, congratulate, and greet you while presenting your live video. Super Stickers are integrated into Super Chat and can be pinned as part of the chat stream.
Below are the step-by-step instructions to enable Super Chat for your YouTube Channel.
Step 1: Sign in to studio.youtube.com. You will be presented with your dashboard.
Step 2: Click Monetization on the left menu
Step 3: Head over to the menu at the top of the main dash and then click on Supers
Step 4: Follow the on-screen instructions
Once you have followed all the steps mentioned above, you will notice that the Super Chat status is on (there's a blue toggle next to it). You will also see the Super Stickers status as on.
Now that you have this interesting YouTube feature all setup, it's time to look at some of the best practices that you can have for your channel to ensure that you are making the best out of Super Chat and earning more money.
Your channel and video quality is an essential factor in making the best out of Super Chat. With good content comes excellent support, which will drive audience engagement and motivate more people to use the Super Chat feature the way it should be. The more they like what you have to offer, the better are their chances to pay YouTube to use the Super Chat feature.
Mention in your live videos that you have the Super Chat feature and would love your audience to use it if they have something special to share. However, do not overdo it as you might come off as needy. Once someone starts using it, others might follow the course, and you will get more responses in your live video. Feel free to answer any questions (if needed) that your audience might have during the live video about Super Chat.
Ensure that you thank your viewers for paying you with Super Chat. Acknowledge their comment and send a sweet thank you — they will really love to hear back from a favorite YouTuber and will probably use the feature again for your next videos. If some viewers frequently use this feature, make it a point to remember their names and thank them repeatedly for being a supporter.
While setting up Super Chat, ensure that you have good sound effects and creative graphics in place, as this will make the experience more fun for your audience.
Make it truly unique to your channel so that your audience feels that it means something to you, and they acknowledge your effort by using the feature. Set up milestones for raising funds so that they have more reasons to purchase Super Chats and Super Stickers.
Consider giving a written credit to those who have used this feature most during the stream at the end of your video. You could also try to include the name of those you could not thank for their contribution while you were streaming the video. A little note of thanks and gratitude goes a long way in building a healthy relationship between the audience and the creator.
Here are some of the widely asked questions around YouTube Super Chat and the answers to them.
Super Chat payments range between $1 and $500. So the money you make with Super Chat depends on how much your audience has paid for this feature. The key to growing your YouTube Super Chat revenue is to maximize your subscriber-base and to get more people on your live videos. Having a higher engagement on your channel and videos also increases the chances of maximizing Super Chat revenue.
YouTube's cut on Super Chat is 30% of the money your audience pays on Super Chat. There are no other YouTube Super Chat fees associated with it.
You can use a debit or credit card to send payments to Super Chat. You also get access to other payment options such as Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in some countries.
Super chat refunds are not possible, as the terms state that these payments are voluntary.
The answer to whether you should use Super Chat on your channel depends on your channel's content and the monetization plans you have with it. If you do not host live videos and just post random videos on your channel, you might not make the best out of this feature. If you do not monetize your channel or post videos that do not need constant audience engagement (like a news channel), then it is best to avoid it for your live videos.
It is best to use Super Chat when you have a high engagement on your channel and an active subscriber base. That way, you can ensure that you can drive engagement while making money with it. You can also use it with other revenue sources such as ads, donations with PayPal, and sponsored content.
YouTube Super Chats are fun, interactive, and easy to use. As a new content creator in 2021, it can be highly motivating to work towards implementing Super Chats on your channel, as it is a lucrative extra monetization method that maximizes revenues and earning stats along with other monetization options.
If you are a regular YouTuber with an exciting community, then Super Chats can be a great way to add constant income to your channel. Suppose you are an established YouTuber or see your channel growing. In that case, you will have enough revenue to motivate you for another exciting video and consequently grow your channel after you pay the YouTube Super Chat percentage (30%) off and save the remaining for you. Your audience will also love it.
However, ensure that you keep up with your channel quality to keep on growing it organically, thus increasing the revenue to earn with Super Chat.
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