You might be wondering how can posting videos of you online can get you money? If you’re wondering about how to make money on youtube as a beginner, here are just some of your potential sources of income: ad revenue sharing, brand partnerships, and channel sponsorships. Here is a complete beginner’s guide on how to start making money from youtube.
Before we begin, I just want to be clear: this kind of gig doesn’t require a certain educational attainment or degree. You just need to have a great idea and the patience to make it happen and pretty soon. You’ll have that bank account swelling with money.
Of course, we’re not saying it’s a piece of cake. If it’s that easy, we’d all be millionaires by now. This opportunity is hard to spark but when you do it, it’s going to be really rewarding. That’s why you see vloggers popping up left and right on various social media platforms.
Where does the earnings come from?
Ads – Google Adwords as well as your own affiliate ads
If you go to youtube right now, the first video you’ll click will have an ad. You can actually see ads by looking at the timeline at the bottom of the video. Once you see that the timeline is yellow and not red, that’s an indication that it’s an advertisement.
The people who owns the videos where the ads are placed are compensated for placements like these. They earn about $.18 dollars per view. However, this is per ad view not video view. Which means that, unless the viewer clicked on the ad, it wouldn’t count.
So let’s say, you had 3000+ ad clicks on your videos today. You’ll get about $4-$7. In a month, that’s only, $150-$200. It doesn’t really sound like a lot, does it? But let’s say, you get 50,000 views today. That’s about $250-$300 and at least $6k-$10k a month. That’s not so bad now isn’t it?
Partnerships
Have you ever watched a youtube video that says “in partnership with” in the end? We’ll there’s plenty of them on youtube. Buzzfeed makes a couple of them. So how does this deal work?
Take this “Dear Kitten” video series for example. It’s made by Buzzfeed in partnership with Purina. It basically follows the adventures of an elderly cat and a small kitten living in the same house. Buzzfeed made this video to promote Purina Friskies.
Look how many views it has. Almost 3 million and a half and this is just one of many videos in the series. In order to rake in money, you can also accept partnerships like these. Of course, companies would prefer to hire people with many followers so you can only snatch this gig when you’re established enough.
Channel Sponsorships
Ever watched a product review video. Like how this one vlogger unboxes funko pops or popular shoes. Some of those are sponsored. The difference between this and partnership is that, the content isn’t made for them.
Let’s say, a travel blog comes to a resort and features the place. In return he/she gets to stay there for free. That kind of deals falls into this category.
How much money can you earn from this gig?
So how much moolah are we looking at? Well that depends. The most followed person on youtube, Pewdiepie, earns about 15 million dollars a year. That’s a lot of money! Of course, it’s to be expected since he does have about 98 million followers. From these figures, you can actually imagine the insane amount of income you can get from vlogging on youtube.
Another great example is Ryan’s ToyReviews.
This youtube account features a young boy opening and playing with popular toys. You might think it’s boring but look at the amount of view his videos have. This particular one has more than 20 million views. Imagine how many clicks this has.
This kid is earned so much money that he actually made it to the Forbes list of the top earning youtubers. He raked in as much as 20 million dollars. Wow!
If you’re wondering how much you can potentially earn from doing videos like these, then take a look at those people above. You may not reach that insane amount of views that they have but you can still get your fair share of earnings if you create some noteworthy content.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Earning From Youtube
Of course, in anything, it’s not all ups. So let’s look at the facts.
Advantages
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You don’t have to worry about commuting to work
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You don’t have to work that 9-5
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You can do your thing when you want it
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You can work at the comfort of your own home
It pays a lot when done right
Disadvantages
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You have to keep pumping out content
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You need to work to stay relevant
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You spend time and effort for a single video
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It’ll take a while before your youtube can actually earn you a decent amount of money
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You need to have the right equipment
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Earnings are uncertain
So when you take those things above into consideration, you’ll see that this gig has almost the same amount of pros and cons. While yes, you do get to stay at home all day but your earnings are uncertain. Whereas if you work nine to five, your paycheck is 100% guaranteed.
Still, it’ll be up to you if this gig will work. Do you think it’ll fit your lifestyle or do you even enjoy filming yourself? All these things should be factored in when making your decision. You can also try just vlogging part time and see if it works for you.
How to set up a Youtube Channel and start earning
Okay, so you want to be a youtuber? We can help you with that. As long as you understand what it takes to make it happen then go for it. Here are some solid tips to get you started on that vlog.
Create a youtube account
You need to first get yourself a google email address. Once you have that, then just log in to youtube. Google is like the key that opens many doors and since then own youtube, their email opens its doors too.
So once you’re in and you have your account. It’ll look like something like this. Of course once you’ve started uploading content to it, it’ll start feeling more alive.
Decide on a niche
According to recent studies, gaming takes the biggest piece of the youtube earnings cake. That’s not so hard to believe considering the most subscribed channel on the site is a gamer(Pewdiepie). Videos about gaming, especially upcoming game trailers and walkthroughs are always a hit to viewers.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that only gamers earn on youtube. Take the channel MyLifeAsEva for example. It’s a lifestyle blog that mostly focuses on the vlogger but it’s got 10 million followers and plenty of views.
Another good example is Jefree Star. He’s a makeup guru on youtube. Most of his views focus on reviewing various makeup from different brands and showing people how they fare compared to other brands in the market. He’s got about 15 million followers and an average of 5 million views per video.
No matter what topic you choose, as long as you put enough essence on it, it’ll be a hit. Try to be yourself and be as relatable as possible. Viewers can detect fakes and they don’t want anything that’s truly out of this world. Try to create a blog that solves something for them.
If you’re good at makeup, then do a makeup blog and see other people wanting to learn that craft follow your vlogs. Give the people something that they need and they’ll keep coming back to you.
Get the necessary equipment
Can you produce a good video with the phone camera? Yes you can. However, if people have to squint to be able to watch your content, then they probably won’t stay with you for too long. Still, content should be a top priority and if you really have an award winning idea, then the views are yours.
Preferably, you’d want to get yourself:
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A damn good camera
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A quality mic
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Room or a studio to make your videos in
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A solid computer for editing
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Editing software
We know it seems like a lot but making videos is hard. All these things can help you produce great content. However, if you don’t have them at the moment, don’t let that stop you from filming.
Take Chris Broad for example. His first blogs are low res but people still watched them. Slowly as he was making more and more content, he started getting the necessary equipment and producing better quality content. This is his channel now and his videos are clearer than ever.
Start creating content
Make that first video. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t get that many views. You have unlimited chances to haul people in on youtube. Just keep making them and slowly you’ll get yourself a strong following.
Put plenty of time and effort into every video and try to do something unique. Don’t go for the usual things that most people do. Give your content a good twist to attract viewers to it.
Build a Brand!
If you decide to become a makeup guru, stick to it. It won’t make sense if every other day, you start posting videos of you streaming. Unless of course, that’s your thing then go ahead. However it’s better to keep your channel consistent. It makes it easier for people to find you.
Take James Charle’s channel for example. Just by looking at it, you can already tell what kind of a vlogger he is. He is a beauty guru. So whenever people type something about makeup or beauty in the search engine, his channel would pop up.
That’s how it goes. If you’re a food vlog, keep blogging about food. This way people know what to expect from your channel. They’ll know that if they want good food reviews, tips, etc. They should come look for you on youtube.
Get your viewers to come back: Each video produces PASSIVE INCOME
Take a look at how many videos Pewdiepie uploads. He sometimes puts up one or two per day. Why? Because he wants to stay relevant. He wants to keep his followers updated about him. Which is what you should do too, as a youtuber.
If you only post about once a month or so, people might not be as willing to wait for you. They’ll forget all about your blog until you post and be relevant again next month. To create solid followers, you need to keep them occupied. Which means, you need to keep producing content. Plus, more videos means more views and that means more money.
Monetize your video blog
So if you think you’re ready, it’s time to monetize your blog. First, go to your channel and click the round icon on the top left corner of the screen. From the drop down menu that’ll pop up, click creator studio.
From there, click status and features under the category channel. Then enable tick the enable button on the monetization option. This basically means that you’re allowing ads to be displayed in your content.
Maintain your channel and post regular updates
That’s it. Now all you have to do is to keep your channel alive. Be patient and wait for the views to come. You’ll get them eventually. Just keep pumping out good videos and people will flock to your channel.
That’s it. Now this article might have made it look easy, but vlogging it hard. Don’t expect easy money to start coming through it. That won’t happen for a long time. This job takes time and it takes a lot of effort to pull off. However, if you’re really into vlogs and you have the means to make them happen, then go for it. You never know, you might be the next big thing that ever happened to Youtube.
Good luck on your vlog. Just remember everything that we taught you here and you’ll have that channel filled with viewers in no time.
If you don’t want to create videos or set up a website but still want to make money from Youtube, click here for an alternative Youtube income system.