Is YouTube's New Monetization Update Going to HURT or HELP Creators?

Hey Creators,

YouTube has a NEW Monetization Update going into effect May 12, 2025, and it will effect EVERY monetized YouTuber. So we will be covering what creator NEED to know about it.

But if you wan to get the most out of Adsense here are the most profitable High RPM niches on YouTube right now.

Speaking of Monetization, you should never fully rely on Adsense alone when it comes to earning with your content. Brand Deals are on the best ways to make more money as a content creator and we have a full 20 Min breakdown for you here.

If you're wondering if YouTube is "over-saturated" or nervous about AI content, you need to watch my recent video on this.

Don't forget we are doing FREE Wednesday Workshops at 645PM ET on YouTube for creators under 20,000 Subscribers make sure you check out the first workshop of the next 12 weeks!

My BEST FREE WORKSHOPS on Becoming a Full-time Creator

New YouTube Monetization Update (2025) Explained

YouTube has a new monetization update that will go into effect May 12, 2025 regarding mid-roll ads on videos over 8 minutes.

Interruptive Ad: This type of Ad may appear mid-sentence or during a key moment in a video, and increases the likelihood of Viewers clicking off your video.

Non-Interruptive Ad: This type of Ad appears during Natural Breaks in your video, like Pauses or Transitions, it’s a better experience for Viewers.

YouTube wants less Interruptive Ads and More Non-Interruptive ones to increase watch time and improve viewer enjoyment on videos, and also curb abuse of the ad system.

Will this hurt your existing YouTube income and will this negatively impact your income going forward?

The biggest thing to understand about this change is that YouTube was already largely operating this way without you being fully aware of it and it not being as extreme.

Now you are also being made aware of it and have the opportunity to update the ad-placement on videos to ensure that non-interruptive ads exist in an area that can have them play and earn your more revenue going forward.

Screenshot of YouTube Message About Mid-roll Ads

If your old inventory had many interruptive ads and that back catalog was bringing in a lot of revenue for you, then you could see a decrease in revenue.

To help counter this YouTube is allowing you to opt-in for automatic placement of mid-roll ads, in addition to manual placements on your older videos published before February 2025.

If it can find non-interruptive ad placements, then it will place ads there and your revenue could even increase revenue as a result of this change, assuming there are natural pauses to place the ads.

When I spoke with YouTube they said the AI that handles ad placements should improve in the coming weeks and months.

WHAT EXACTLY YOU NEED TO DO FOR MID-ROLL ADS

For mid-roll ads going forward if you're looking for exact guidance on avoiding interruptive ads:

Include natural pauses 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 seconds in length, utilizing transitions such as wipes, or dip to black/white
Opt-in and allow YouTube to place Automatic Mid-Rolls on old inventory where you had manual placements
Plan for potential natural ad-breaks throughout your video in production and in editing, whether you want to do automatic or manual placements

Example of Interruptive Ad Placement in YouTube Studio

This will allow you to maximize the value and potential ad-revenue of your videos and increase your RPMs significantly if you follow those steps going forward.

My Final Thoughts on the Update
Creators have a right to feel confused or even frustrated with the communication around this update and this roll-out, but ultimately I think that the far majority of creators won't be effected.

Most creators do not use hyper-editing styles for retention and still have natural pauses within the content.

Additionally, most creator also allow the YouTube automated system to handle their ad placements for them. So it's unlikely that this will drastically or negatively effect more than a small portion of content creators for the worse, and very few who earn consistently from their back catalog of content, or rely on that for most of their earnings.

Change is always scary and often frustrating for creators who are looking for stability, but the best way to manage this is to have multiple streams of income as a content creator, and have off-platform revenue that doesn't rely on your view performance.

What Do You Struggle with the MOST as a Content Creator?

Finding Your Audience

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Key Takeaways for YouTube Monetization in 2025 for All Creators

YouTube is as easy or hard as you want it to be. Low Lift content isn't the same as "lazy content". You can make content that fits the available time you have, and still pay attention to details without getting carried away or obsessed with perfection.

When it comes to becoming a full-time content creator the truth is that you need to diversify your income portfolio and not fully rely on Adsense and YPP (the YouTube Partner Program), so that when changes like the recent monetization update happen, you can have less anxiety about them.

Direct Ways To Diversify Your Revenue as a Creator:

Adsense feels like the most convenient option for creators because it's passive and they don't have to ask their audience for support or worry about how to negotiate a pay rate with a brand or take rejection or backlash for promoting anything.

But that is not ideal, and just because it's easy doesn't mean its the best option. Creators leave an absurd amount of money on the table and make themselves vulnerable to platform changes by refusing to embrace these other income models.

The STRONGEST long-term strategies for earning a full-time income as a creator, are:

a large back catalog of evergreen content (education or entertainment content that is timeless).
a lifestyle brand on Instagram, separate from your YouTube channel, that can earn brand deals and UGC opportunities
a private membership ($9/month for entertainers $29-$99 for educators or utility content)
a product that you can sell directly and passively to your audience through e-commerce (print on demand or digital)
a long term relationship with at least 3 brands and recurring monthly or yearly contracts

These are some of the primary business models we focus on teaching and training on within the Awesome Creator Academy Pro Group.

The primary goal of my content is to help more creators go full-time and increase their reach, reputation and revenue.

If you're not ready to join the Awesome Creator Academy Pro Group or even an Academy Basic Membership, consider taking our FREE Creator Foundations Course so you can understand the principles of attracting your tribe and not just building an audience, and how to put value for the viewer first.

This course is a "pay what you can" course, which means you can pay $0 and get it completely FREE, but any contribution that supports the work of myself and my team is fully appreciated.