Yes, it is possible to make money on YouTube with featured channels, although the concept of making money through them works indirectly. Featured channels are those that you highlight on your YouTube profile in the “Channels” section, often as a way to cross-promote other creators or your own secondary channels. 

Key Ways to Make Money on YouTube with a Features Channel

Here’s how featuring channels can help you generate income:

1. Cross-Promotion for Multiple Channels

If you have multiple YouTube channels, you can use the featured channels section to cross-promote them. For example, if you have a main channel that’s already monetized, you can use it to send traffic to your other channels, helping them grow faster and meet YouTube’s monetization criteria (1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time). This helps you monetize more channels, thus increasing your overall revenue.

How it Generates Money:

• Ad Revenue: More channels mean more opportunities to earn from YouTube ads.
• Affiliate Marketing: You can run affiliate promotions across all channels, multiplying potential earnings.
• Sponsorships: Having a network of channels makes you more attractive to brands that are looking for broader exposure.

2. Featuring Channels for Collaborations

Creators often feature other YouTubers as part of collaborations. By featuring someone else’s channel on your page, you might build a relationship where you cross-promote each other’s content. As your audience grows, more viewers will discover and subscribe to your featured channels. Collaboration and cross-promotion can lead to:

• Shared audiences: Expanding your reach into other creators’ audiences can bring in more views, higher watch times, and faster growth.
• Increased engagement: Featured channels can help build a community around certain types of content, leading to higher engagement (likes, comments, shares) which boosts video performance.
• Higher Monetization Opportunities: Increased views and subscribers lead to more ad revenue, sponsorships, and potential affiliate marketing deals.

3. Featured Channels to Build Networks

Some creators establish a network of channels that are owned by different people or creators but are part of the same brand or network. You can monetize a network of channels by:

• Selling Advertising Packages: Offering brands a bundled deal where their products are promoted across all featured channels in the network.
• Affiliate Programs: Running affiliate promotions across your network of featured channels can lead to collective earnings.
• Sponsorship Deals: Larger networks can attract bigger brands that want exposure across multiple channels, leading to lucrative sponsorship deals.

4. Driving Traffic to Monetized Content

You can feature educational or tutorial channels that teach specific skills and drive traffic from one channel to paid content on another platform. For instance:

• If you feature a channel related to an online course, you can drive viewers to purchase the course through links in your featured channels or video descriptions.
• Feature channels related to products you are affiliated with or selling. This indirect promotion can lead to more clicks on affiliate links, driving revenue.

5. Building a Fan Base for Memberships and Merchandise

As you grow your network of featured channels, you can funnel viewers to your main monetized content, like memberships, merchandise, or live streams. If fans discover more of your content through featured channels, they are more likely to subscribe, purchase merchandise, or become members of your channel, increasing revenue streams.

6. Networking and Collaborations

Featuring other creators’ channels helps build relationships within the YouTube community. These relationships can lead to collaborations that boost both channels’ views and subscribers, potentially leading to:

• Co-branded sponsorships: Brands are more likely to sponsor content that reaches a combined audience.
• Joint affiliate marketing: Promoting affiliate products together can result in higher conversions.
• Audience sharing: Collaborations can drive your featured channels’ audiences to subscribe to your content, increasing overall views and monetization potential.

7. Curating Featured Channels for Niche Authority

By curating featured channels related to your niche (for example, fitness, tech, or fashion), you position yourself as an authority within that niche. This can attract sponsorships or brands that want to partner with a trusted figure within the industry. When your niche-focused content becomes valuable to brands, they are more likely to pay for promotions or collaborations.

Summary of How Featured Channels Can Make You Money:

• Direct Monetization through Growth: Featuring your own secondary channels helps grow their subscriber base, leading to more monetized channels and more income streams.
• Collaboration Opportunities: Featuring other creators’ channels can lead to mutually beneficial relationships, sharing audiences, and increasing ad revenue, sponsorships, and affiliate sales.
• Expanded Revenue Streams: Featuring channels relevant to your audience’s interests helps build a network, offering more opportunities for sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and paid promotions.
• Networking and Joint Ventures: Featuring channels in the same niche can help build networks that generate income through joint advertising and sponsorship deals.

In conclusion, while you may not directly earn money just from “featuring” channels, using the featured channels section strategically can lead to increased exposure, higher engagement, and overall growth, which eventually translates into multiple revenue streams on YouTube.

Popular Creators that make money on YouTube with Featured Channels

Here are 10 popular creators who make money on YouTube with featured channels as part of their strategy:

1. MrBeast – He features channels like MrBeast Gaming and MrBeast Shorts, helping grow his brand and increase ad revenue across multiple channels.
2. PewDiePie – PewDiePie has used his featured section to highlight other creators and his secondary channels like PewDiePie Highlights.
3. The Try Guys – Featuring their own spin-off channels, like Try DIY, helps them monetize multiple content streams and grow their audience.
4. Markiplier – By featuring his gaming content alongside charity live streams and projects like Unus Annus, he diversifies his revenue.
5. Dude Perfect – Featuring sister channels and collaborations boosts the visibility of their brand and earns ad and sponsorship income.
6. Linus Tech Tips – Linus features multiple channels like TechLinked and Channel SuperFun, which all generate separate revenue streams.
7. Jenna Marbles – Her partner Julien’s channel is featured prominently, helping both channels grow and earn.
8. Philip DeFranco – Features his podcasts and other news-related channels, diversifying content and ad revenue.
9. James Charles – Featuring other beauty-related channels and collaborations helps expand his brand and income.
10. Jacksepticeye – Featuring his secondary content and collaborations expands his monetization potential through ads and brand deals.