Creating a YouTube membership channel is pretty straightforward, but there’s a catch: you only get access to the feature once your channel is eligible.
Here’s the clean step-by-step process.
1. Check if your channel is eligible
To enable YouTube Memberships, your channel must:
Be part of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)
Have at least ~500 subscribers (YouTube has lowered thresholds in some regions/features, but YPP is still required for most monetisation tools)
Be in a country where memberships are available (South Africa is supported)
Not be set as “Made for Kids”
If you’re not in YPP yet, you’ll need to apply via:
YouTube Studio → Monetisation
2. Turn on Memberships in YouTube Studio
Once eligible:
On desktop:
Go to YouTube Studio
Click Monetisation (left menu)
Select the Memberships tab
Click Get Started
Accept terms and conditions
3. Create membership tiers
YouTube lets you create multiple paid levels.
Example structure:
Tier 1 – Supporter
R29/month (or your currency equivalent)
Loyalty badge in comments/live chat
Early access to videos
Tier 2 – Member
R99/month
Members-only videos
Monthly live coaching session
Tier 3 – Elite
R299/month
Exclusive content
Priority Q&A / coaching clips
You define:
Name
Price
Benefits
Emojis/badges
4. Set up perks (this is where value is created)
YouTube lets you add:
Perks you can include:
Members-only videos
Live streams
Community posts
Badges (appear next to names)
Emojis in comments/live chat
Early access to content
👉 Important: YouTube memberships work best when they feel like a club, not just paywall content
5. Create members-only content
When uploading:
Select Visibility → Members only
Or choose “Early access” (members see it first, public later)
You can also:
Post exclusive Shorts
Run private live streams
Share community posts only for members
6. Promote your membership
This is where most people fail.
You need to actively sell it:
Simple promotion structure:
“Join the channel for deeper breakdowns and coaching”
End screens on videos
Pinned comment
CTA in videos
Community posts
7. Payment + revenue
YouTube handles everything:
Monthly recurring payments
Revenue split (YouTube takes a % cut)
Payout via AdSense
8. What actually makes memberships successful
Most creators think it’s about content.
It’s not.
It’s about identity + access.
People join because they want:
Access to you
A group they belong to
Deeper insight than public content
Faster transformation
If you connect this to your coaching business (important)
For something like Level123 Coaching, your membership could be structured like:
“Level123 Inner Circle”
Tier 1: Awareness Club
Weekly mindset breakdown videos
Public + private content mix
Tier 2: Transformation Members
Monthly live coaching
Access to 9A framework training content
Tier 3: Business / Coaching Elite
Case study breakdowns
Client problem solving
Strategy sessions
This turns YouTube into:
top-of-funnel audience + recurring revenue engine