With an ever-increasing number of YouTube visitors, the platform is increasingly getting popular for making money via ads. You can earn money by uploading videos with quality content for a specific target audience.
- In the US, 77% of 15-35-year-old individuals watch videos on YouTube.
- Digital video ad spending is expected to increase to 78.5 billion by 2023.
- YouTube ads can reach over 2.56 billion users or one in every three people all over the planet.
- 70% of viewers buy a product they’ve seen an ad for on YouTube.
So, have you ever wondered how much these content creators on YouTube earn? The answer depends on several factors, which we’ll discuss here in this article.
How Much Can You Earn on YouTube?
There’s no direct answer to the question. If you already have over a million subscribers, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll make millions of dollars monthly! However, there’s a way and strategy to go about it.
If you are creating quality content and uploading the same regularly while residing in a country with a high CPM, you can make up to millions of dollars. However, you may have to resort to other means of making money besides AdSense and hitting the right number of viewers.
The amount a YouTuber makes for a million views is between $2000 to $3000. However, you need to know the CPM and CPC for an accurate measure. You can work out the average amount using the online calculator as well.
Top Paid YouTubers
You’ll be amazed to learn that many YouTubers have managed to make over $20 million off their channels. However, while some highest-paid YouTubers make millions every year, a vast majority make only a couple of dollars off the platform.
Here are some of the top paid YouTubers with their revenue per year:
Ryan’s World
The top YouTubers, like Ryan Kaji, have a net worth of $338 Million. What does he do? He’s a child star who works with different toy brands, unboxes them, and plays with them in his videos.
The kid has over 52 billion views and is a celebrity on the platform.
Mr.Beast
Another name in the top YouTubers category is Mr.Beast. With over 17 billion views, Jimmy Donaldson, with a net worth of $107 million, manages to capture his audience via his jokes and stunts.
Vlad and Niki
Vlad and Niki own one of the highest-paid YouTube channels. They have many ads and hit over 68 billion viewers from their targeted countries. They have a net worth of $413 million.
Dude Perfect
Dude Perfect is a channel for comedy and sports. The YouTubers here are five besties who spend time together and work on sponsorship deals with big brands like Pringles, Fiat, etc. the net worth of the channel is $91 million, and they have over 14 billion views.
Makiplier
Makiplier’s niche is video games and animated parodies. Mark’s channel has over 18 billion views, and he has a solid net worth of $114 million.
How to Generate Additional Income on YouTube?
Simply put, earning via ads will not give you enough to run your household expenses. So, YouTubers use various sources on the same platform to earn money where they can. Here are some of the additional ways to make money apart from ads.
Affiliate Marketing
A subtle way of marketing today is termed affiliate marketing. So, if you see a product in the background or mention a few specs or features of a product in any of your favorite YouTubers’ videos, that’s not a coincidence. These affiliate links involve a YouTuber reviewing a particular brand’s products or talking about it.
All these makeup reviews, software mentions, gadget reviews, etc., are there for a reason. Every time a viewer clicks on the link mentioned in the description and makes a purchase, the YouTuber earns a certain percentage of the purchase.
Merchandising
Many gamers and vloggers have created shops where they sell accessories, apparel, etc. These YouTubers have a sound viewer base, so they expand along the lines and start selling stuff that appeals to the public. Many even wear these branded Ts and caps to market themselves.
Their followers don’t just follow them for advice and opinions; they also love how they dress and look, follow trends, and buy merchandise.
Sponsors
Companies often seek out active YouTubers with thousands and millions of viewers and form partnerships with them. They pay these YouTubers to review and even promote their services and products. This makes them ambassadors for their brands and often helps boost sales.
On the other end of the spectrum, the YouTubers get another means to make money on their channel.
Money Earned Per View
The amount of money earned on YouTube depends on many factors. These include advertising rates, engaging content, monetization strategy, geographics, etc. The other parallel revenue lines help you earn extra on the same platform, like sponsorships, affiliate links, etc.
So we cannot have an exact number or amount of money a YouTuber earns for every view or every thousand views.
However, keep in view the following points, and they’ll help you maximize the earnings for your niche and target market:
- YouTubers get 68% of the total AdSense revenue earned.
- On average, an advertiser pays $0.18 per view.
- For a thousand views, the YouTube channel generates a revenue of around $18 which translates to $3 to $5 per 1000 video views.
- So a YouTuber makes $0.003 to $0.005 for each view.
However, some variables can affect this number. These include:
- The ad quality
- Number of clicks per ad
- Length of video
- Number of views
- Ad blockers
Skipped Ads
Another thing that significantly impacts the YouTubers’ earnings is the option to skip ads on YouTube. Unfortunately, many viewers skip the ad being played, so earning via advertisements on the platform gets tricky.
That’s why thousands of YouTubers with excellent content and viewer status make zero or very little money on their channel. However, if you start in the right direction, you can follow in the top paid YouTubers’ footsteps and solidify your income.
In the beginning, the focus should be on increasing your popularity, not income. Then there are some great monetization strategies we’ll discuss here that will help increase your earnings.
Tips to Maximize YouTube Earnings
Again there’s no ultimate benchmark or answer to how much an average YouTuber earns. The only important factor here is that if you stay consistent and keep posting engaging, quality content, you are likely to build your audience and start earning money on the platform.
Then, slowly as your channel takes off and grows, your reach expands to more viewers, resulting in an increase in your earnings. If you wish to maximize your earnings on YouTube, here are some tips that’ll help:
Pick a Niche with High Pay off
Categories or niches like gaming, finance, news, and entertainment are high-paying niches on YouTube. If you want to earn well, pick the right niche.
Another way to maximize earnings is to pick multiple niches instead of sticking to just one. That way, your content will appeal to a wider base.
Ensure whatever content you post is engaging and try to aim towards a high CPC. For that, you need the right ad placement; place the ads strategically when most visitors are highly engaged, i.e., during the middle of your video. This increases their chances of watching and clicking on ads that appeal to them.
Select High CPC Paying Country
Try to target countries like the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, and France. These countries offer very high rates of CPC. So when you post content that attracts people from these countries and targets them, your revenue per mille increases.
Optimize the Length of Videos
Next, you need to look at the length of your videos. Generally, videos around 10 minutes long are ideal for maximizing your earnings. In addition, you can place the ad midway through your video, so more viewers are likely to watch the ad and increase your CPC.
Follow the Terms and Conditions of the YouTube Partnership Program
Ensure whatever content you post complies with the policies of the YouTube partnership program. If your content or video title goes against their terms, YouTube won’t show ads on your videos, and you won’t be able to earn a cent no matter how many views you get.
Use Multiple Platforms
Another successful tactic is to diversify your portfolio or presence across social media. You can’t simply rely on YouTube to build your reputation. It would be great to have an Instagram and Facebook page.
Tiktok is another platform you can explore to increase your presence. That way, you have a higher chance of reaching your target audience in much less time than relying on a single platform.
Conclusion
As you’ve learned, there’s no easy answer to how much a YouTuber makes on the platform. However, learning about all the variables and factors that influence the number is important and will help you earn more revenue.
However, consistency and quality work pays off, especially when you keep the determining factors in check and use secondary revenue generation streams. We hope the article was insightful and helped you embark on the YouTube platform.