Guide
Options TradingYouTubeUSAHow to Start an Options Trading YouTube Channel in the US (2026 Guide)
Options trading content is a high-CPM, high-engagement niche with a passionate audience. Over 10 billion options contracts traded on US exchanges in 2025, and the retail options market continues to grow. Channels like InTheMoney, Option Alpha, and tastylive have shown that educational options content builds dedicated followings. The complexity of options creates a natural moat — viewers who trust your explanations stay loyal because switching to a new educator means relearning everything.
Last updated: February 26, 2026
Step-by-Step Guide
Build your options knowledge foundation
If you're not already an experienced options trader, spend 6-12 months paper trading and studying before creating content. Your audience will immediately detect if you don't deeply understand the material.
Create a comprehensive beginner series
Build a 10-15 video fundamentals series covering calls, puts, Greeks, basic strategies, and risk management. This becomes your primary traffic driver and subscriber converter.
Show real trades with full transparency
Document your actual options trades including entries, exits, P&L, and rationale. Showing losses is as important as showing wins — it proves you're genuine and teaches risk management.
Develop strategy-specific content
Create deep-dive series on individual strategies: covered calls, credit spreads, iron condors, the wheel strategy. Each strategy series attracts a specific audience segment.
Build educational products
Once you have 5K+ subscribers and proven engagement, develop a structured options course. Options traders willingly pay $200-$2,000 for quality education.
Why options content is uniquely valuable
Options trading content sits in a sweet spot: the topic is complex enough that viewers genuinely need education, and the audience is financially sophisticated enough to command premium CPMs.
Market data:
- Retail options trading grew 35% since 2020 and continues accelerating
- 0DTE (zero days to expiration) options now represent 45% of S&P 500 options volume
- Average options trader age: 35-50 (high-income demographic)
- "Options trading for beginners" gets 150K+ monthly searches
Revenue potential:
- CPM range: $30-$60 (among the highest in finance)
- Course sales: Options courses sell at $297-$1,997 price points
- Brokerage affiliates: Options-focused platforms pay $50-$150 per funded account
- Trading tool affiliates: Options flow platforms, screeners ($30-$80 per subscriber)
The barrier to entry is knowledge. Most creators avoid options content because it requires deep understanding of Greeks, strategies, and risk management. This complexity is actually your advantage — fewer competitors means more opportunity.
Content strategy for options education
Options content must be educational first. Your audience is trying to learn a genuinely difficult skill.
Foundational content (create first — these drive ongoing traffic):
1. "Options trading explained — calls and puts for complete beginners"
2. "The Greeks explained simply — Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega"
3. "How to buy your first call option — step by step"
4. "Covered calls explained — the beginner strategy that works"
5. "The wheel strategy — consistent income from options"
Strategy deep-dives:
6. "Iron condors — how to profit in flat markets"
7. "Credit spreads vs debit spreads — when to use each"
8. "LEAPS explained — long-term options for investors"
9. "Rolling options — how and when to adjust positions"
Live analysis and trades:
10. "My options trades this week — full P&L breakdown"
11. "Analyzing unusual options activity — what big money is doing"
12. "Earnings plays with options — strategies and risks"
Shorts:
- "Options in 60 seconds"
- "The most common options mistake"
- "What theta decay actually looks like"
Building credibility and managing risk
Options content carries significant responsibility. Bad options advice can cause real financial harm.
Credibility builders:
- Show real trades with real P&L (wins AND losses)
- Explain risk management before strategy — never present a strategy without discussing max loss
- Use proper terminology correctly (misnaming Greeks or strategies destroys credibility instantly)
- Backtest strategies with real data before recommending them
- Be honest about win rates — no strategy works 100% of the time
Risk management in your content:
- Always discuss maximum loss for every strategy
- Emphasize position sizing relative to account size
- Warn about assignment risk, especially near expiration
- Cover the difference between defined-risk and undefined-risk strategies
- Never present options as "free money" or "guaranteed income"
Legal considerations:
- Stronger disclaimers needed than regular stock content
- "Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors"
- Disclose your positions and trades
- Don't promise specific returns or win rates
- Consider consulting a securities attorney about your specific disclosure obligations
Monetization unique to options content
Options content has some of the strongest monetization of any YouTube niche.
Courses and education (primary revenue for most options creators):
- Beginner options courses: $197-$497
- Advanced strategy courses: $497-$1,997
- Options traders have high willingness to pay for education
- Bundle courses with ongoing community access for recurring revenue
Trading platform affiliates:
- tastytrade, thinkorswim (Schwab), Interactive Brokers have partnership programs
- Options analytics tools: Unusual Whales, Barchart, OptionsStrat
- Payouts: $50-$150 per funded account, $20-$80 per tool subscription
Community/membership:
- Discord servers with real-time trade alerts: $49-$199/month
- Patreon tiers for additional analysis: $10-$99/month
- Live trading rooms: $99-$499/month
Ad revenue:
- $30-$60 CPM with options-interested audience
- Long educational videos (20-40 min) maximize mid-roll placements
Use FluxNote to create explanatory Shorts breaking down individual options concepts — these perform extremely well as educational quick-hits and drive subscribers to your full courses.
Pro Tips
- Visual diagrams of options payoff profiles (profit/loss charts) are the most shared and bookmarked content in this niche — invest time making them clear
- Never present undefined-risk strategies (naked calls, naked puts) without extensive risk warnings — one bad trade can wipe out an account
- Earnings season is your highest-engagement period — options activity spikes around earnings, and traders need guidance on earnings plays
- Use screen recordings of actual brokerage platforms when explaining trades — abstract explanations don't work for options
- Start with defined-risk strategies in your content (spreads, covered calls) before covering advanced strategies — your beginner audience is your largest audience