YouTube will now allow shorter videos to be eligible for mid-roll ads! As of July 2020, YouTube will automatically add mid-roll ads to videos 8 minutes or longer. Before this change, YouTube only allowed mid-roll ads on 10-minute videos. Why are they making the shift?

There’s some speculation that they’re doing so because advertising rates on YouTube have dropped by nearly 50% since February—even though viewership increased during COVID-19 lockdowns. YouTube is likely trying to increase ads to boost their lost revenue. Learn more about what the change means for you in this Monday Marketing Minisode!

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• YouTube

When you upload a video that is 8 minutes or longer, you have the option of manually placing the mid-roll ads or having YouTube automatically place them. But if you aren’t happy with where they’re dropped, you have the freedom to move them around. Don’t want ads on your videos? No problem. You always have the option to turn off mid-roll ads if you feel it won’t be appropriate in your video content. You can set it so that any video 8 minutes or longer get an ad OR turn midroll ads off and on for each individual video. 

Even better, YouTube is essentially paying YOU to run those ads. You simply need at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours on your channel to monetize your videos. Thanks to YouTube’s update, you can exercise monetization options even if your YouTube video is shorter than 10 minutes. So if you have the required subscribers and watch hours—cha-ching. 

As mentioned earlier, YouTube has seen decreasing numbers of ads on their platform as businesses have scaled back on their marketing dollars. Secondly—as more platforms like Instagram and TikTok are starting to add monetization options—YouTube may be trying to ensure that their creators stay on their platform. 

Previously, to generate revenue, creators were forced to produce longer videos—whether or not they had enough content to support it. By reducing the timeframe to 8 minutes, content creators are under less pressure to stretch out their content. This makes it easier for designers to meet the minimum mid-roll ad requirements and grow their audience. 

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