How To Make Money With Rain Videos On YouTube (5 Methods That Don’t Need the Partner Program)

You have probably seen the headlines: “Make $3,000 a day with rain videos.” “Earn $10,000 a month uploading 10-hour storms to YouTube.” The numbers sound ridiculous, but the underlying question is real. Rain videos and relaxation content get millions of views every month, and a lot of that traffic is just sitting there, generating nothing for the person who uploaded the clip. There is a reason for that, and there is a fix.

YouTube has been demonetizing or outright refusing to monetize channels that post reused ambient content. If you built a rain channel expecting the YouTube Partner Program to write you a check, you may already know how that story ends. The good news is that you never needed the Partner Program in the first place. There are five concrete ways to turn a rain or relaxation YouTube channel into a real income source, and every single one of them is available to you from day one, before you hit 1,000 subscribers or 4,000 watch hours. This post walks through all five.

What You’ll Walk Out With

A clear picture of why the YouTube Partner Program is not the right goal for a rain channel
How to sign up for Amazon Associates and which product categories make sense for a relaxation audience
The Udemy course math: what 22,000 students paying $9.99 actually looks like, and how to model that for your own course
How to create and sell digital products through ClickBank or ClickFunnels without needing a big following
A practical script for landing your first brand deal with a relaxation or wellness company
How ShoutCart works and why selling shout-outs is one of the fastest ways to get paid before you have scale
A free tool to find which of these income streams fits your skills best: finder.platformproof.com

Why Rain Videos and the YouTube Partner Program Don’t Mix

The YouTube Partner Program requires 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours before you can even apply. Once you’re in, you earn money from ads shown on your videos. That model works well for channels with original, editorial content: tutorials, commentary, storytelling, reviews. Rain and ambient relaxation videos exist in a different category.

YouTube has been flagging large volumes of ambient content as “reused” because the videos themselves are often sourced from the same pool of recordings. Channels that built their growth on that content have found their videos demonetized, sometimes without warning. Even if your channel does eventually qualify for the Partner Program, the ad rates on ambient content tend to be low. Advertisers pay a premium for high-engagement audiences, and someone playing a rain video to fall asleep is not clicking ads.

The smart operators in this space treat the Partner Program as a bonus, not a plan. The income methods below work regardless of your subscriber count, your monetization status, or how YouTube feels about ambient content this week. You set them up once, put the links in your video descriptions, and they work 24 hours a day.

Method 1: Amazon Associates Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing means recommending someone else’s product, dropping your unique link in the video description, and earning a commission when a viewer buys through that link. Amazon Associates is the most accessible affiliate program on the planet. There is no approval threshold based on subscriber count. You can sign up on the day you upload your first video.

To join, go to Amazon, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click “Become an Affiliate.” The application process is straightforward. Once approved, you can generate affiliate links for any product on Amazon.

For a rain or relaxation channel, the product alignment is obvious. Search for white noise machines, relaxation sound devices, sleep aids, aromatherapy diffusers, blackout curtains, or guided meditation books. Products in this space typically run between $20 and $54. Amazon Associates pays between 3% and 5% commission on most categories.

Here is the part that makes Amazon a particularly good fit for this type of channel: you earn a commission on everything in the buyer’s cart during the cookie window, not just the product you linked to. Someone clicks your white noise machine link and then adds an air fryer, a basketball, and a sound bar before checking out. You earn a commission on all of it. The commission rates are modest, but the basket size at Amazon is large.

The practical move: find four or five products that are genuinely congruent with what your audience is searching for, generate your affiliate links, and drop them into every video description. People watching a rain video at midnight are not in a buying frenzy, but someone who clicked over from your channel looking for a better sleep setup absolutely is.

Method 2: Selling or Affiliating a Meditation Course

There are two versions of this approach. The first is affiliate marketing for an existing course. The second is creating your own. Both are worth understanding.

On Udemy, there are hundreds of meditation and relaxation courses. One example from the transcript is a featured course with nearly five stars and over 22,000 students enrolled. At a price of $9.99 per student, that course has generated roughly $219,000 in gross revenue. The creator does not keep the entire amount because Udemy takes a revenue share, but even at half, you are looking at over $100,000 for a one-hour course.

If you want to affiliate for courses like this, Udemy has an affiliate program. You embed your affiliate link in your video description, someone buys the course, you earn a cut. It is a passive setup that takes about 20 minutes to put in place.

If you want to go a step further, create the course yourself. A one-hour guided relaxation or meditation course is not a massive production. You need a decent microphone, a script, and a platform to host it. Teachable and ClickFunnels both work well for selling courses outside of Udemy, which means you keep a larger percentage of every sale.

There is also a middle option the transcript mentions: buying resale rights to an existing course from the original creator, then reselling it under your own brand. This approach requires some upfront investment, but it can significantly cut the content creation time if the course is already well-produced and matches your audience’s needs.

Method 3: Digital Products on ClickBank and ClickFunnels

Digital products are a natural fit for a meditation and relaxation audience. An MP3 guided meditation, a downloadable relaxation audio pack, an ebook on sleep hygiene, an audiobook on mindfulness practice: these are all things someone watching your rain videos at 2 a.m. might actually pay for.

ClickBank is a marketplace where creators list digital products and affiliates promote them. You can go in two directions here. First, you can find existing products on ClickBank in the meditation and relaxation category, grab your affiliate link, and put it in your video description. Someone buys the product, you earn a commission. Second, you can list your own digital product on ClickBank and let other affiliates help sell it for you.

ClickFunnels is a tool for building sales pages. If you create your own guided meditation MP3, you set up a simple landing page on ClickFunnels, collect payment, and deliver the download automatically. The buyer clicks a link in your video description, lands on your page, pays, and gets the file in seconds. You do not need customer support infrastructure, a team, or a warehouse. The transaction is fully automated.

The key principle here is congruence. The product you promote or sell must match what your audience already wants. Someone watching a rain video to help them sleep is not a good candidate for a “start a business” offer. They are, however, a very good candidate for a 20-minute guided deep-sleep audio program or a relaxation protocol they can download and use tonight.

Method 4: Brand Deals and Sponsorships

You have heard the phrase at the start of a YouTube video: “This video is brought to you by X.” That is a brand deal. The creator agreed with a company in advance on a dollar amount for including a short sponsor mention in the video. The company gets in front of the creator’s audience. The creator gets paid regardless of how many people click.

For a rain or relaxation channel, the sponsorship targets are obvious: sleep companies, white noise app developers, aromatherapy brands, herbal supplement companies focused on stress and sleep, meditation app platforms. These companies spend money on influencer marketing because it reaches an audience that is already proven to care about relaxation.

The outreach process is not complicated. Write a short email that describes your channel, your topic, your view counts, and what you are offering. A typical pitch includes a short pre-roll or mid-roll mention, a link in the description, and a fixed fee agreed upon before the video goes live. You might also negotiate a performance bonus if you exceed an agreed number of clicks or conversions.

Brand deals are especially attractive because the payment is not dependent on affiliate commissions or product sales. You negotiate the dollar amount upfront. If your channel is getting 10,000 views per day across its library, that is a real audience a wellness brand wants access to, and you do not need to be in the YouTube Partner Program for any of that to work.

The practical move for a smaller channel is to target smaller brands first. A local sound machine company, a niche meditation app, a sleep supplement startup: these companies often have marketing budgets but are not being pitched by large creators. Getting in early at a reasonable rate builds your track record for larger deals later.

Method 5: Selling Shout-Outs on ShoutCart

ShoutCart is a marketplace where creators list their channels and audiences for paid shout-outs. Other creators or brands pay you to mention them at the beginning, middle, or end of your video. You say something like: “Check out this channel for daily relaxation tips,” or “Today’s video is supported by this Instagram account.” You get paid. They get exposure.

This is a straightforward monetization path that is well-suited to channels that are still growing. The audience size requirements on ShoutCart are lower than what major brand deal platforms demand. You list your channel, describe your audience, set your price per shout-out, and wait for buyers to come to you.

The shout-out itself takes about 30 seconds of effort at the start or end of your video. You mention the sponsor in whatever format you agreed on, include their handle or link, and move on. There is no separate upload, no extra production, and no revenue split with a platform the way there would be with ad revenue.

This method works particularly well in the early stages of a channel when you are not yet making serious affiliate commission volume. A few shout-outs per month at even $50 each adds up quickly, and it builds the habit of treating your channel as a business asset from the beginning.

Not sure which of these five methods fits your situation?

Answer a few questions and get a personalized recommendation at finder.platformproof.com.

Honest Drawbacks: What Nobody Tells You About Rain Channel Monetization

These five methods are real and they work. But there are specific limitations worth understanding before you build your plan around any one of them.

Amazon Associates commissions are low. At 3% to 5% on items priced between $20 and $54, you are earning roughly $0.60 to $2.70 per sale. To earn $500 a month from Amazon affiliate alone, you need somewhere between 185 and 835 clicks that result in a purchase. That is achievable over time, but it requires consistent traffic and well-placed links, and it is not going to happen in your first week.

Creating your own course takes real work upfront. A one-hour guided meditation course sounds simple, but you need a script, a recording setup, audio editing, and a sales page. The Udemy example with 22,000 students is a best case result. Most courses do not achieve that scale without marketing effort behind them. Affiliating for existing courses is lower effort, but the commissions are also smaller.

Digital products require a landing page and a payment processor. ClickFunnels works, but it has a monthly cost. Free alternatives exist, but the setup takes time. This is not a reason to avoid digital products, but it is worth knowing that there is more friction here than dropping a link in a description.

Brand deals require outreach, and outreach takes time and gets a lot of rejection before it works. Most companies you email will not respond. Some will say no. A few will say yes at a rate that feels too low. Getting a deal done in your first month is possible but not guaranteed. The channels that land consistent brand deals have usually been at it for a while.

ShoutCart shout-out rates are modest at the small-channel level. You are not going to price yourself at $500 per mention with 2,000 subscribers. Starting rates for smaller channels tend to be in the $20 to $75 range. That is meaningful income when you are starting out, but it is not a full-time income on its own.

The best approach is to stack these methods. Start with Amazon Associates because it is the lowest barrier to entry. Add a course affiliate link from Udemy as soon as you find a well-reviewed course that fits your audience. Pitch one or two brands per month as your view counts grow. List your channel on ShoutCart early so buyers can find you before you even think to ask. Over time, these income streams compound.

A Step-by-Step Starting Plan

Sign up for Amazon Associates at amazon.com, scroll to the bottom and click “Become an Affiliate.” Complete the application. It is free and does not require a subscriber threshold.
Search Amazon for products directly relevant to your audience: white noise machines, sleep sound devices, relaxation aids, aromatherapy tools. Generate affiliate links for your five best matches.
Go to Udemy and search for meditation and relaxation courses. Find one with strong reviews and a significant enrollment number. Sign up for the Udemy affiliate program and generate your link for that course.
Drop all affiliate links into your video descriptions. Write a short, honest description of each product or course so viewers understand what they are clicking. Update every existing video description to include these links.
Create a free account on ShoutCart and list your channel. Describe your audience, your niche, and what a shout-out on your channel looks like. Set a starting price and adjust based on what gets traction.
Write a brand deal outreach email. Keep it to five sentences: who you are, what your channel covers, your current view numbers, what you are offering, and a call to action. Send it to three or four relevant companies this week.
Explore creating a simple digital product. A 20-minute guided sleep audio recorded on a quality microphone is a realistic first product. Research hosting it on Teachable or selling it through a simple ClickFunnels page.

Find Your X

The five methods in this post all work, but they don’t all work equally well for every person. Someone with teaching experience will find the course creation path much easier than someone who has never recorded audio before. Someone with a strong email list from another project will find digital product sales faster than someone starting from scratch. The right starting point depends on what you already have.

The Finder at finder.platformproof.com asks you a few questions about your current situation, your skills, and what you want your income to look like, then tells you which method makes the most sense to start with. It takes about two minutes and gives you a specific recommendation instead of a list of options to figure out on your own.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a certain number of subscribers to make money with a rain channel?

No. The YouTube Partner Program requires 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours, but none of the five methods in this post require you to be in that program. Amazon Associates, Udemy affiliate links, ClickBank, brand deals, and ShoutCart are all available to channels with zero subscribers. The income scales with your views and traffic, but you can start day one.

Why is YouTube demonetizing rain videos?

YouTube’s content policy flags videos that are considered “reused” content, meaning videos that were not originally produced by the channel uploading them or that lack meaningful added value. Many ambient and rain sound channels pull recordings from shared sources. YouTube has applied the reused content label broadly in this category, which has cut off ad revenue for a significant number of channels. This is not a new policy, but enforcement has been more consistent in recent years.

What kind of products should I promote as an Amazon affiliate for a rain channel?

Look for products that your audience is already likely to buy. White noise machines, sleep sound speakers, blackout curtains, eye masks, aromatherapy diffusers, essential oils for sleep, and guided meditation books are all solid fits. Search Amazon for “relaxing sounds,” “white noise,” and “sleep aid” to see what is trending and what has strong reviews. Products with high review counts tend to convert better because the social proof is already built in.

How much can I realistically earn from Amazon affiliate links on a small channel?

At 3% to 5% commission on products in the $20 to $54 range, you are earning roughly $0.60 to $2.70 per sale. If your channel is getting 1,000 views per day and 2% of those viewers click a link and buy something, that is 20 sales and somewhere between $12 and $54 per day. These numbers grow as your library grows and as you refine which products you promote. It is not fast money, but it is genuinely passive once the links are in place.

How long does it take to create a meditation course worth selling?

A one-hour course is a realistic first project. The transcript points to a Udemy course that is exactly one hour long and has generated over 22,000 enrollments. Planning and scripting the content takes a few days. Recording and editing takes another weekend depending on your comfort with audio tools. Building the sales page and uploading to a platform like Teachable takes a few hours. From idea to live course, a motivated first-timer can get it done in two to three weeks.

What is ShoutCart and how do I get started?

ShoutCart is a marketplace where content creators sell promotional mentions inside their videos or posts. You create a listing that describes your channel, your audience size, your niche, and what you will deliver for the buyer. Buyers browse listings and purchase the mentions they want. Once the deal is made, you include the mention in an upcoming video. ShoutCart handles the payment processing. Getting started means creating a free account, setting up your listing, and pricing your shout-outs based on your current audience size and engagement.

Is it possible to sell digital products without any technical experience?

Yes, within reason. Creating an MP3 guided meditation requires a microphone, a free recording app, and a few hours of work. Hosting it for sale is the part that takes more setup. Platforms like Gumroad, Payhip, or Teachable let you upload a file and generate a purchase link without coding. ClickFunnels has a monthly cost but offers more customization. If you start with a simple platform like Gumroad, you can be selling a digital product in an afternoon once the audio itself is recorded.

How do I approach a brand for a sponsorship deal if my channel is still small?

Small channels win brand deals by targeting small brands. A company with five employees selling a niche sleep supplement does not need a million-subscriber YouTube channel. They need a relevant, engaged audience at a price that fits their budget. Your pitch email should be short: describe your channel and topic in one sentence, share your current daily or monthly view numbers, explain what you would deliver (a 30-second pre-roll, a description link, a dedicated section), and name a price or invite them to discuss. Send this to companies you genuinely use or respect. Authenticity matters and viewers can tell the difference.

Sources

Alston Godbolt, “How To Make Money With Rain Videos On YouTube 2022,” youtube.com/watch?v=p3XzWDiUfw8
Amazon Associates program: affiliate-program.amazon.com
Udemy meditation and relaxation courses: udemy.com
ClickBank digital marketplace: clickbank.com
ClickFunnels sales page builder: clickfunnels.com
Teachable course hosting: teachable.com
ShoutCart influencer marketplace: shoutcart.com
YouTube Partner Program requirements: support.google.com/youtube/answer/72857