YouTube plans a Subscription Sales Tool for publishers

YouTube is working on a Subscription Sales Tool that would let publishers sell subscriptions from their YouTube channel.

Reportedly, publishers who are a part of the beta phase have been briefed by YouTube in (around) April, and they plan to start testing the Subscription Sales Tool by the end of this year, as a part of the Google News Initiative program launched in March 2018, according to Digiday.

There has been no official announcement by YouTube yet, but the tool has been touted to offer a combination of on-platform perks such as access to especial videos or live sessions and the subscription publisher's own digital offerings such as exclusive articles or newsletters.

More information on the tool such as YouTube's cut on the subscriptions, access to the tool, the rollout in India, and more are unclear as of now. The Subscription Sales Tool holds great potential for publishers to monetize their presence on YouTube and gain direct conversion from their marketing efforts on the platform.

Also Read: Testing: YouTube’s ‘Products In This Video’

With a massive chunk of the thoroughly populous country now on the platform, India is the second-largest market for YouTube and 93 percent of video watchers in India are on the platform.

Reportedly, YouTube now accounts for 265 million monthly active users in India and from 300 plus channels with a million subscribers last year to more than 1,200 Indian channels crossing milestone.

Readership in India recently in 2019 also saw a small jump, and paying habits are slowly changing too. Exclusivity seems to be the key to attract paying subscribers. If you are offering what no one else is, it is not difficult to pull paying subscribers.