How much money YouTubers make and how you can do it too

We’re all aware of Instagram and how in this ever-growing digitized world, the enormous growth of influencers with their reach and content is not only impressive but inevitable. While there’s a lot that goes behind putting up content ‘for the ‘gram’, there’s an equal amount of effort and creativity put for creating YouTube videos 📹

Both these platforms demand unique and sustaining content – let me warn you, it’s not easy to keep up with. But, if you’re ready to put in your time, effort and talent, you never know, it may just pay off!

According to Forbes, 8-year old and youngest youtube creator Ryan of Ryan ToysReview made a whopping $22million (nearly Dh81 million) topping the list of Highest-earning YouTube stars in 2018. We bet you don’t even remember what you were up to at the same age 😩

Youtube’s statistics are pretty mind-boggling. According to Alexa rankings, YouTube is the second most-visited site in the world, only behind Google, which owns the platform. Localized in 88 countries, across 76 languages and with over 5 billion hours of YouTube videos watched daily, 70% of viewers use YouTube to help solve a problem (now you know how we deal with life). The channel’s popularity means being a YouTube creator is now recognized as a professional full-time job 😯

How do YouTubers earn money?

You’ve probably seen estimates of how much a YouTuber makes on SocialBlade, but these numbers aren’t always accurate. They could be earning a much, much higher amount in reality 🤑

YouTube creators earn money through CPM. CPM stands for cost per mille, also called cost per thousand (CPT). This is the amount of money the advertiser has to pay each time their advertisement reaches a thousand views. SocialBlade shows you a minimum and maximum range of a YouTuber’s earnings. The minimum range calculation uses a CPM of 25 cents, while the maximum uses $4. But the truth is, $4 is NOT the maximum CPM you can have 💵

If your channel is YouTube friendly i.e. no swearing, no political views, no nudity, etc. your CPM could be over $10. Some channel categories, like finance, has a higher CPM by default because of the content. It could be anywhere between $10-$20 if not more! Some countries have higher CPM than others.

In fact, UAE tops the list with a CPM that’s 8% higher than USA’s. YouTube creators monetize their videos by placing single or multiple ads before, during or at the end of their videos. YouTube finds advertisers for these creators and that’s how we come across ads while on YouTube 🤳

Now the bad news – you don’t get to keep your entire CPM. The advertisers don’t pay the creators directly, they pay YouTube. YouTube, in turn, keeps 45% of the earnings and you keep the remaining 55%. More bad news? Every view your video gets isn’t a monetized view 😟 The viewer has to actually watch the ad for longer than 30 seconds (or if it’s a short video, for at least half the advertisement). Another reason monetized views could be low is that if you place 6 ads in your video, YouTube may not actually play all 6 ads. They are very careful about customer experience. What this means is that, if a viewer is watching multiple videos, they won’t get too many ads at once. Another reason is AdBlockers. If the viewer has an AdBlocker installed, they won’t see any ads at all! 🤷

While all this does seem demotivating, if you put in the work, results will more likely follow. With hard work you can build a decent following on Youtube, this results in more views, which in turn results in higher revenue. It isn’t impossible, tens of thousands of creators live solely off YouTube. Have you noticed how creators go CRAZY around Christmas? 🤔

Vlogmas is one of the most popular trends of the space, wherein a YouTuber uploads daily vlogs every day of the month, leading up to Christmas. The reason for this is simple – viewers are ready to spend money during Christmas for their gifting. More people actually watch ads and click on them during this time.

Hence AdSense is poppin’! Creators take advantage of this by pushing out a video every day, resulting in more views, resulting in more money. Taking advantage of these high view count seasons will also help generate revenues. Also, ads are not the only way to make money here. Brand deals, affiliate links, sponsored videos, merch, etc. are all quite popular with YouTubers for making additional money 👍

Are you qualified to be part of the YouTube Partner Program?

If someone wants to exhibit their passion, hobby or talent on the platform to monetize their videos, YouTube Partner Program guides you through it, but not without qualifications.

The YouTube Partner Program allows YouTubers to be paid through views and advertisements served on their page. But, to earn through ads, a channel must have reached 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers 😯 That’s only to be eligible for the program. YouTube will then let you know if you’ve been approved after a 1-month review process. Once approved, you can start making money.

As a YouTube creator begin making some good money, they create an account through AdSense so the advertisers can pay you as views or clicks come in. You can only direct deposit your earnings when your AdSense account reaches more than $100.

How to increase CPM?

1. Focus on high CPM Videos

In order to earn effectively on YouTube, creators must audit their content and prioritize videos which have the highest CPM rate. If you know the video has done well, repeat them 👍

2. Create advertiser-friendly content

A content curator may see the highs and lows in terms of their fluctuating number of subscribers, but since their revenue directly depends on the displayed ads and not just their fans, they may have to change their tangent a slight bit to ensure their financial sustainability. In order to impress advertisers to promote their brand on the channel, creators must stick to providing authentic, credible and easy-to-understand content which is watched by many, hence worth advertising on 💵 Advertiser-friendly content isn’t just important to raise your CPM, it even helps to make sure your content doesn’t get demonetized. Swearing, nudity or sexual content, hateful or offensive statements, violent or graphic content, harmful or dangerous content, copyrighted material, threats and spam could result in your videos getting demonetized and you not making any money out of your videos at all.

3. Maintain a pattern

Just like Instagram, YouTube creators also understand their audience and practice creating content which adhering to their tastes and like, eventually focusing on increasing viewership. Views on preferred videos result in higher views on the ads. There’s no better deal than providing the content your audience loves and earning through it, right? 😉

There’s a lot that goes behind curating and uploading videos on YouTube. It’s no cakewalk, but with effort, oh will the results pay off! Just take at the net worth of some of the biggest YouTubers in the world:

1. Jeffree Star: $50 million
2. Daniel Middleton: $45 million
3. Colleen Ballinger: $30 million
4. Felix Kjellberg: $20 million
5. Jake Paul: $19 million
6. Logan Paul: $19 million
7. Sean McLoughlin: $16 million
8. Lilly Singh: $14 million

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Written and Researched by Simran Kanal