For many of us, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was a frivolous television show we watched with our parents. For the new generation, fame and fortune are something to aspire to, often as quickly as possible.
The rise of popular video-sharing site, YouTube, offered a unique opportunity for people looking for notoriety.
Users create videos on a multitude of topics and in many different formats. Beauty tutorials are one of the more popular genres, but other subjects include gaming and travel tips, to name a few.
YouTube content can be a full-time job or a side hustle to make extra cash. How much can one reasonably expect to make from creating YouTube content? Banking sites such as mywealthandinvestment offer resources in how to manage your money.
The Rise of the ‘Influencer’
In the early 2000s, weblogs (blogs, for short) became a popular pastime. Reading blogs, writing and sharing them. In 2005, YouTube was created and written blogs changed to vlogs or video blogs.
The prevalence of vlogs led to so-called ‘YouTube stars;’ users who had massive amounts of followers and raked in the cash for featuring ads in their video content. During this time period, the mundane, every-day topics of videos began to shift to more socially-conscious topics.
“YouTube stars” gave way to the term “social media influencer” due to the changing dynamics within the intentions behind the content. Rather than just being a household name, users are now interested in reaching new audiences and creating a brand.
Unfortunately, YouTube changed the policy on how content can be monetized, which has had a widespread effect on content creators.
YouTube Enacts Requirements for Channels to Earn Revenue
When “YouTube stars” started to become mainstream, millions of new users flocked to the video-sharing site to upload content. Before the policy changes, all users could place advertisements within their videos to earn revenue.
YouTube’s intentions for adding a required number of subscribers before allowing advertisements came with the best intentions. They were trying to prevent low-quality videos with questionable content from cashing in on a payday from ads.
The new rules implemented require users to have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers. In addition, their content must be viewed for at least 4,000 hours within a one-year time frame. For many creators, these hurdles are insurmountable. However, it’s not impossible to make money from your content uploaded to the website.
How Much Money Can Content Creators Make on YouTube?
There isn’t a set income people can pull in from their YouTube channel. It depends on their popularity, amount of subscribers and the methods they use to earn money. Advertisements only offer a very small fraction of YouTube users’ income. Keep in mind that YouTube keeps a percentage of any ad revenue.
Influencers like James Charles and PewDiePie are rich and famous, but they’re also outliers when it comes to content creators. Very few users will become as well-known or paid as well as career YouTubers.
Ads can earn anywhere from one cent per view to two cents for every 1,000 views. Typically, content creators earn less than $20 a month through advertisements. The real money comes from other methods, such as
- Affiliate advertisements in videos. Mentioning or linking to other websites where people can make purchases based on your recommendations.
- Posts or videos using sponsored products. Sponsored posts often involve videoing yourself using the product. Even celebrities do sponsor posts for extra income.
- Creating and selling your own products or expertise. James Charles, for example, has his own line to make-up kits and is currently touring venues around the country, doing in-person tutorials.
For a long time, YouTube had a monopoly on vlogging, but that’s no longer the case.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
The truth is social media and influencers are just a trendy fad. Someday they will go into the internet ether like MySpace and Napster. You have to keep up with the trends to keep getting followers and making that revenue.
Another thing to consider before making your YouTube debut is how social media revel in the downfall of influencers. Be sure you can handle the haters because they’re always around.
But when you’re viral, making money on YouTube is having your cake and eating it too.
