All thanks to advancements in technology, people can now generate money on the Internet. We can go on and on about the different ways to make a fortune online, but we will focus on the most popular and coveted way—becoming a YouTuber. Becoming a YouTuber is one of the many ways you can become an online sensation and, for some, a millionaire. A lot of people assume that all creators earn almost the same income, but really, how much do YouTubers make?
If you’re like most of us, you’ve already wondered how much your favorite YouTuber makes and how they are able to live off making YouTube content. A number of these prominent and most-watched YouTubers started with nothing, as in zero subscribers and viewers. Along the way, they persisted with creating YouTube content that catches the attention of their viewers, and are now making hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
So, if you’re wondering how much do YouTubers make, you’ve come to the right page. We’ll run you through YouTube’s average payment rate and other useful tips that you can apply in creating a successful YouTube channel.
How Much do YouTubers Make for Every View?
There are various factors that impact how much YouTube pays a channel, such as a video’s length, the number of clicks an ad gets, adblockers, quality of ad, and views. However, YouTubers can earn anywhere between $.01-$.03 per view with Google AdSense. An average YouTuber makes $.18 per view or $18 for every 1,000 views.
How much does YouTube pay for 1 million views or how much do YouTubers make for 1 million views? If we do the math, that would be a whopping $18,000.
How Much can a YouTuber Make for Every Subscriber?
Aside from views, another key factor that affects how much YouTubers make is the number of subscribers. While YouTube doesn’t pay content creators based on their number of subscribers, the more subscribers a YouTuber has, the greater the potential of gaining more video views. Hence, earning millions of subscribers who are willing to watch all uploaded videos is the dream of every YouTube content creator. Plus, a channel must have at least 1,000 subscribers to get accepted into the YouTube Partner Program.
“How much does a YouTuber with 1 million subscribers make or what is the income of a YouTuber with 100k subscribers?” you may ask. The answer depends on how that YouTuber achieves all that YouTube requires to pay for a channel. However, to give a rough estimate, an average creator with a million subscribers makes more or less $60,000 annually and one with 100,000 subscribers may earn a minimum of $24,000 a year.
If you are curious and want to specifically find out how much do YouTubers make, calculator for this are available online.
What are the Requirements to Get Paid?
To make money on YouTube, creators must primarily attain a minimum balance of $100 from views. To make the process more systematic, YouTube created the YouTube Partner Program where creators can sign up and get paid through the ads on their videos. YouTube requires its content creators to meet specific criteria to get paid via YouTube Partner Program, such as:
- having at least 1,000 subscribers
- reaching 4,000 public watch hours in the past year (or 12 months)
- agreeing to YouTuber Partner Program’s terms and conditions
- having an AdSense account
The first two criteria are the most challenging, but if a creator gets accepted into the program, they can start bringing in money through the ads on their videos and this can be done either through CPM (cost per thousand views) or CPC (cost per click). With CPM, creators can earn money for every 1,000 accumulated views, while CPC allows them to earn based on the number of clicks the ad in the video gets. However, creators will only receive 68% of the revenue and YouTube gets the remaining 32%.
What are Other Ways to Make Money on YouTube?
Aside from ad placements, YouTubers can have other sources of income on the platform, such as the following:
Sponsorships
Prominent and highly-influential YouTubers with a strong following base and avid fans are more likely to partner with big brands and companies. YouTubers, especially the most-subscribed and viewed ones, can generate income through brand sponsorships where brands pay them to promote and review their products and services. Most product reviews and unboxing videos are a product of brand sponsorships.
Affiliate Links
Affiliate marketing is another method that allows YouTubers to earn money. Affiliate marketing involves affiliate links that are most likely found on product reviews where a YouTuber mentions the name or brand of the product with the product’s link in their description box. Whenever somebody clicks on the link and successfully makes a purchase, the YouTuber gets paid.
Merchandise
Plenty of YouTubers open up shops for their loyal viewers, subscribers, followers, and fans to purchase. YouTuber content creators with over hundreds of thousands and millions of followers often create a personal brand of products, such as clothes, hats, toys, or skincare, to name a few.
Who are the Top YouTubers Today?
While there are thousands of YouTuber content creators from all parts of the world, only a few stand out. These YouTubers aren’t celebrities or other public figures who are already famous before they even began creating YouTube content. Here are the top YouTubers who made it big on the platform without prior exposure.
PewdiePie
Felix Kjellberg, popularly known for his channel PewdiePie, is a Swedish YouTuber in the gaming niche. He started his channel in 2010 and is now going strong with over 111 million subscribers. In 2016, he was the world’s highest-paid YouTuber. Despite the different issues he faced, PewdiePie is loved by many because of the comedic skits in his videos. While he announced his semi-retirement in 2018, he still uploads vlogs for purposes of fun and not for a career.
Mr. Beast
Jimmy Donaldson, who goes by the name Mr. Beast on YouTube, launched his channel in 2012 and became an internet sensation with a subscriber count of 100 million. He is famous for his viral challenges, silly antics, and, best of all, charity stunts. He conducted a real-life Squid Game (minus the violence, of course) where the winner brought home a hefty amount of $456,000, and earlier this year, he paid for the surgery of 1,000 curable blind people from different parts of the world helping them to see again. He’s a philanthropic content creator!
Jake Paul
Jake Paul is an American YouTuber who first started his career on Vine and became the world’s most influential Viner because of his humorous sketching videos. He has over 20 million subscribers and net worth of $30 million. Aside from creating YouTube content, Jake Paul also started out a boxing career. He had an estimated annual earning $45 million in 2021.
Like Nastya
In case you didn’t know, kids channels are so close to dominating YouTube already! Take it from Nastya, a cute and famous Russian YouTuber who has 103 million subscribers in her main channel. Her vlogs feature new toys, family games, and trips with her friends and family. Aside from Like Nastya, she also has other channels with millions of subscribers.
Kids Diana Show
Kids Diana Show is another kids channel that features 6-year-old Diana as she plays with her friends, family, and brother Roma. This channel is similar to Like Nastya where most of the videos are games, stories, and toy unboxing. The channel has a whopping 106 million subscribers.
Markiplier
Markiplier commenced his YouTuber career in 2014 where he uploads videos of him and his friends playing and reviewing video games. After years of consistency in the platform, he now has an estimated yearly earning of $38 million and a sum of 19.06 billion views.
Vlad and Niki
Vlad and Niki is a children entertainment channel that has more than 92 million subscribers and is targeted towards children viewers. The channel features the two brothers, Vlad and Niki, who play pretend and engage in other fun activities suitable for children. They have 16 overall channels with translations in 13 languages, attracting more viewers and subscribers. The channel is only three years old, but its growth and success is impressive!
Ryan’s World
Ryan’s World by Ryan Kaji is one of the most popular children’s entertainment channels in the entire YouTube space. Ryan’s World highlights Ryan and his parents playing with toys, engaging in fun activities, doing unboxing, and reviews. Their videos are well-edited and captivating to their audience. Aside from being a famous YouTuber, Ryan now has his personal toy merchandise and an official website where you can purchase the merch, as well as get updates on all things Ryan.
Dude Perfect
Dude Perfect is a sports entertainment channel that started way back in 2009 and is run by five guy best friends from Texas. The channel has more than 58 million subscribers and is considered the second most-subscribed YouTube sports channel. Their sports content is mixed with a comedic touch; hence a lot of people are drawn to their channel. Dude Perfect initially started with videos of basketball tricks, but it now has a variety of videos related to the niche.
Unspeakable
Unspeakable or UnspeakableGaming is a YouTube channel run by Nathan Johnson Graham. This 24-year-old YouTuber has a network of $30 million and got YouTube famous because of Minecraft gameplay and other unique challenges. He also has his own merch that you can find on his official website.
Youtubers earn their keep
YouTube creators have various revenue streams, making it all the more possible for them to make a decent amount off creating YouTube content. However, contrary to popular belief, YouTubers don’t earn money that easily. The most successful ones invested so much of their time, effort, and, sometimes, money in their craft. Their success didn’t happen overnight; it took them consistency and years of putting out the best YouTube content to earn numerous views and subscribers. Becoming a content creator requires guts and dedication, so if you’re contemplating becoming a YouTuber, you have to make sure you’re willing to put in the work.
Collaborations between brands and YouTube content creators are made easy with various tools. If you are interested, you may read this Influenex review and Grapevine review.
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