Fed up of YouTube?

If you are starting a YouTube channel in 2021 then getting noticed on the platform can be very difficult. Tens of thousands of creators are signing up every day and it seems like everything has already been done on YouTube. If you are starting a channel with the purpose of getting monetized then be warned, growth on the platform can take years and even when you reach those golden numbers of 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time, you are still not guaranteed to get your content monetized.

Recently, some creators that have been on the platform for years have had their accounts demonetized or deleted due to YouTube changing their stance on what they allow on the platform. For example, they have restricted and even deleted channels that mention cryptocurrency. With this in mind, putting all your eggs into the YouTube basket is not a good idea.

I have had a YouTube channel for about five years but I have never really felt comfortable on the platform. I find that there is a lot of hate and bullying on YouTube, which they seem to ignore and allow. Whilst YouTube had made examples of some of their larger influencers, like Shane Dawson, in reality, it feels like this was more for more marketing purposes and to prove that no one is untouchable.

Whilst at the moment YouTube are by far the largest and most popular platform, alternatives to the site are slowly emerging. At the moment, these smaller sites do definitely not get the same amount of traffic as YouTube, the more creators that start to upload their content to these sites, the more it will help them grow. In addition, if you are a mew creator and worry that you have missed the YouTube bubble, getting yourself on new platforms early is a good move, even if the platform does not take off.

Below are some alternative sites to YouTube.

Odysee/ Lbry

I have only read positive things about Odysee and everything that I have read and watched has said that this site is YouTube’s biggest competitor. The great thing about this site is that you can sync your YouTube channel if you have one. Odysee does have right-wing content, but it is very diverse and many YouTubers have already synced their sites on Odysee.

Can You Make Money?

Yes, but you are paid in cryptocurrency.

Dailymotion

Dailymotion is a French video-sharing site that is primarily owned by Vivendi. Dailymotion partner with BBC News, Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media.

Can You Make Money?

Yes and unlike YouTube, you do not need the 1000 subscribers and the 4000 watch hours. Many videos on DailyMotion are served ads that appear before, during, or after videos.

Vimeo

Free accounts can only upload 500MB of content a month before you have to pay. This is more of a hosting site.

Can You Make Money?

Yes, Vimeo has three types of monetization model:

Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) — Subscribers pay a recurring fee, usually monthly or annually, to enjoy unlimited access to premium content.

Transactional Video On Demand (TVOD) — Allow consumers to gain permanent access to a piece of content with a one-time payment. Through download to rent, where customers can access a piece of content for a smaller fee, but for a limited time

Ad-Supported Video On Demand (AVOD) — This is like what you see on YouTube.

Rumble

Rumble was created in 2013 and is a Canadian online video platform. Again, the site is popular with conservatives that have moved away from YouTube.

Can You Make Money?

Yes and Rumble allows creators to decide how they want to licence their content.

Video Management (exclusive)

Assign the video rights to Rumble and creators can earn up to 90% of what the video makes on YouTube as well as another 60% of what the video makes if Rumble places it on other platforms.

Video Management (excluding YouTube)

Assign the video rights to Rumble which excludes YouTube. Creators receive 60% of the revenue if Rumble places it on other platforms.

Rumble Only (non-exclusive, similar to YouTube)

The creator is in full control and will receive 60% of net advertising revenue.

Personal Use (not monetized)

Bit.Tube

Bittube is a Peer to peer type of website. As a small YouTuber, I found that my videos received many more views on Bittube in their first few days of upload than they received on YouTube.

Can You Make Money?

YouTube uses a CPC revenue model, which means creators earn revenue generates based on the clicks. Bit.Tube pays creators based on the views and has a unique cryptocurrency wallet and the unit is Tube.

TikTok

I personally have been creating a lot more content on TikTok. It is very easy and you can do everything in the app. The downside is that you can only create one minute of video, so it is not for every creator

Can You Make Money?

Yes, you need 10,000 followers and to live in one of the countries on their list to join their creator fund. However, the average payment per 1000 views is $0.2.

Facebook

Facebook is a great way for content creators to share their work. Despite what you think about Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, the platform has been around a long time and has over 2.7 billion monthly active users. The platform, whilst not completely free of bully and propaganda seem to take hate and negative speech more seriously than YouTube.

Can You Make Money?

Yes. However, like YouTube, Facebook has certain criteria before you can start running ads. Your videos must be published from a Page, not a profile, to be eligible for in-stream ads. Your page must have over 10,000 followers to be able to run ads. Additionally, your videos must have been viewed for 600,000 total minutes in the last 60 days (600,000 minutes is 10,000 hours) and your page must have at least five active videos. There are also country restrictions that can be found here.

OnlyFans

Ok, hear me out on this one. Even though OnlyFans is classed as ‘adult’. You do not have to create adult content on the site. I personally think the site is genius because as a creator, you have control of your pricing and you are not relying on third-party ads. Indeed, it can feel like begging (similar to Patreon) and getting a following is hard, but if you can overlook the stigmatism attached to the site then this is a great option.

Can You Make Money?

Of course, the main purpose of OnlyFans is for creators to make money. You can upload pictures, videos and statuses and you can make money from subscriptions, pay per view posts, pay per view messages, custom content creation and tips.

Conclusion

I have signed up to all of the above sites and so far my favourite is Bittube. I like the layout of the site, it feels nice and clean and uploading to the platform is easy. My second favourite is Odysee simply because of the YouTube sync function. Thank you for reading and good luck.