YouTube Tests Invite-Only Monthly Bonuses for Shorts Creators in Six Countries

YouTube has begun testing an invite-only bonus program that pays select creators extra each month for publishing Shorts, the company's short-form video format, according to a new YouTube Help Center page and reports from MediaPost and Social Media Today. The test is open to invited creators in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Japan and South Korea.

How the bonus works

According to YouTube's help page for the Shorts bonus program, the program is "designed to give creators more ways to earn as they grow their channels on YouTube." There is no application process. YouTube says eligible creators are notified by email at their primary contact address or through a notification in YouTube Studio, and must accept the invitation and agree to the program's terms by a specified deadline.

The help page states that invitations accepted by the 15th of a month count toward that month's Shorts activity, while invitations accepted after the 15th count toward the following month. Creators opt in once for the full duration of a given bonus.

Under the published terms, payment has two parts. A minimum payment, which YouTube calls the "Promotional Offer Payment," is tied to uploading a minimum number of public Shorts specified in each creator's invitation within each calendar month. A separate "Promotional Bonus" may be paid based on "valid, engaged Shorts views (as determined by Google)," which the company says is calculated using typical earnings in the creator's country. YouTube states that the Promotional Bonus is not guaranteed and that the amount can change from month to month. To receive a payout, creators must still be monetizing at the end of the month in question.

YouTube says bonus payouts are added to a creator's finalized earnings and paid through AdSense for YouTube on the normal payment cycle, typically between the 21st and 26th of the following month. The terms also state that Google may change, cancel or suspend the program for any reason with 30 days' notice.

Reported targets and amounts

YouTube has not published a standard upload target or payout figure. MediaPost reported, citing a screenshot shared by an app researcher on X, that one invitation required at least 16 Shorts per month and offered between $300 and $2,000 per month. MediaPost described the test as a three-month program.

Social Media Today reported that the specific requirements may vary by creator and that the 16-per-month figure came from at least one example posted on X. The outlet also reported that YouTube Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie said the platform may invite more creators to the program in the coming months.

Shopping affiliate bonuses

Alongside the Shorts test, YouTube is testing bonus offers within its shopping affiliate program, according to Social Media Today. Ritchie said creators can review exclusive offers in YouTube Studio's Shopping Hub, including eligible products, bonus amounts, commission rates and active dates. To qualify, Ritchie said, a creator's Short or long-form video must tag the participating product, disclose paid promotion and remain public for at least 30 days. Social Media Today also reported that YouTube is rolling out updated shopping analytics covering sales driven by content, product clicks and impressions, and seller breakdowns.

Changes to Shorts revenue sharing

The test follows broader changes YouTube announced in August. In a YouTube Blog post dated Aug. 10, 2026, the company said that beginning Feb. 1, 2027, creators will need 10 million qualified Shorts views over the previous 90 days to be eligible for ads and subscription revenue sharing on Shorts. Channels below that threshold remain in the YouTube Partner Program and continue earning on long-form content, according to the post.

In the same post, YouTube said it would introduce "new incentive programs, rather than relying solely on ad revenue," for channels below the 10 million view threshold, including milestone-based bonuses for YouTube Shopping, incentives for brand deals and earnings boosts for starting and growing trends. The company also said it expects to pay more to creators in 2027 than it did in 2026.

MediaPost noted that the bonus test arrives after YouTube updated its Shorts algorithm earlier this month to reduce the reach of content re-uploaded from other creators without new additions, and after YouTube introduced a tool in September that lets creators organize Shorts into seasons and episodes across web, mobile and TV.