YouTube is testing a new way for creators to make money through gifts

One big reason why so many people post videos on platforms like YouTube is that it helps them earn money during the process. From video ads and channel memberships to Super Chat and paid stickers, the Google-owned video-sharing platform offers multiple monetization options. Many creators have managed to build their entire career making videos on YouTube full-time.

In its latest move, YouTube announced that it has started testing a new monetization feature called Gift Goals. It's currently available with vertical live streams on mobile devices for creators based in the US.

For the uninitiated, YouTube has a feature called Gifts that allows viewers to send interactive digital gifts to their favorite creators, which then appear during a live stream in real-time. Viewers can send these animated gifts by purchasing a virtual currency called Jewels.

On the other hand, creators are paid in Rubies, where one Ruby equals one cent. So, a creator earns $1 for every 100 Rubies they receive from viewers. Note that Gifts are different from paid Super Stickers because they appear as an overlay on vertical live streams, whereas Super Stickers appear in the live chat.

Gift Goals combines another feature called Goals for Super Chats, where creators can set public goals during live streams and premieres to engage with the audience and earn faster. For instance, they can decide how many Super Chats they want to receive during a live stream.

Creators can also share how they plan to celebrate when they reach their goal. Users who send a Super Chat are highlighted at the top of the live chat during a stream alongside the goal progress.

The new experimental feature also allows creators to "set a target gift amount and pick a timeframe to achieve the goal before sharing it with their viewers," YouTube explained. While the feature is currently limited to the US, the video-sharing platform will share details about its expansion plans in the future.