So after a little while (it’s taken over two years of creating short book review content), I get this notification from YouTube that I’ve reached enough to monetise my channel. They invite you to join the YouTube Partner Program which entitles you to receive resources and monetisation features which allow you to have a share in the revenue from ads on your content.

I was neither here nor there about it but when I saw that YouTube had placed ads into my content already (I thought I had to opt-in whether I wanted them to do this – I was wrong), I figured that if I’m spending my time creating these videos, I may as well as have something back in return even if it’s a poompteenth of a one cent.

In other words, look at the gif below and guess who I am.

In all honesty, I was a bit miffed when I saw the ads on my content.

I was hoping for my videos to be clean of these nasty interruptions but I needn’t have worried. The average view time of one of my videos is about 3 or 4 minutes. Of course, YouTube tells me that I need to make my videos more exciting and offer a range of tips and ideas…I must perform… but in all honesty, I can’t be bothered.

If the need for creativity overtakes me, I’ll make them interesting. If not, the viewer gets what I create. It’s their choice whether or not to view it.

I don’t care either way.

How Do You Become Eligible Into the Matrix Program ?

There are tons of videos on YouTube explaining it and I’m glad to say that I’ve seen none of them so all this is a bit new for me.

Instead, I received a message that you need to reach at least 1000 subscribers PLUS have 4000 public watch hours in the last 12 months of 10 million public Shorts views.

In all honesty, it was Watch Hours for me that took the longest near two years of doing these reviews.

Getting the subscribers wasn’t hard as this increased over time especially with the following popular videos such as:

• Men Without Women (Haruki Murakami)
• Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• Gentleman of Moscow
• How I Learned French using the Practice Makes Perfect Books
• How to Take Smart Notes
• Perfume by Patrick Susskind

(I was amazed at the How To videos such as note taking and French which jumped subscriptions considerably)

Reviews of current new books also increased subscriptions.

However, that’s not how I roll. I prefer to have books that I like to read – classics and literature – not what’s popular. I think it’s what got me an eclectic group of people (a good mix of men and women of all ages) who comment. I’m more interested in that element.

Some people comment to me and ask that I read certain books but when I explore these, they turn out to be books that they’ve written or are pushing some agenda. Those comments are ignored. Others just write nasty comments about the way I look which I just shrug off and delete. Meh. However, most have given me some awesome book recommendations that have introduced me to new writers I would never have come across.

Once you sign up to the YouTube Partner program, you have to create an AdSense account which again, doesn’t sit well with me but as this is the Matrix that we’re living in and under, it’s hard to survive or create outside it.

Anyway, that aside, I signed up and now waiting for YouTube to review my application. (See what happens when you buy off Amazon? It’s all downhill from now on with me. Next I’ll be using Ubers…sheesh).

I’m doing all this all half-heartedly, to see where it takes me in all honesty. I enjoy creating the videos but I enjoy the reading process a lot more and then sharing my lessons.

Whether this makes me into a millionaire overnight, remains to be seen (doubt it strongly) but if they’re paying me peanuts for them adding their ads into my content, I may as well get something for it.

Besides, I need a new dishwasher and an air conditioning unit so I need to save some money for it somehow because I’m not going back to working in an office anytime soon. I’ve tasted life outside of corporate work and it’s so much more interesting but the pay is crap. (Well, there is none hence the need to materialise some in this way without going full grinder’s monkey).