You’d be forgiven in thinking that YouTubers make a lot of money. Popular YouTubers often show their new mansion, or their latest luxury car, or their beautiful wife or girlfriend. You’ll even see news stories of 6-year-old Korean YouTubers purchasing $8 million property in Gangnam. I don’t blame you for thinking that YouTube is a road to riches. So in this video, using my own channel as an example, I’d like to show you the real situation. I have almost 4,000 subscribers. According to SocialBlade.com, that ranks me at around 1.68 millionth in their database. Note, though, that they don’t include YouTube channels with less than 5 subscribers. How many channels are in their database? I don’t exactly know, but by way of comparison, here’s a YouTube channel with 15 subscribers. They rank at around 23 millionth. That means that my little channel is in the top 10% of channels on YouTube. If we draw a pyramid where this is the channel with 15 subscribers, then this is where I am — way above average!
How much do I make? Well, this is a fairly accurate estimate. It varies from month to month, but I probably get around $200 a month depending on the month. Obviously, I’m not trying to show off — I mean, $200 a month is barely anything to show off about — I’m just trying to keep things in perspective. The point is, the people making millions of dollars off YouTube, or even just the people making enough money to live off, occupy a very small minority.
However, if you read the latest blog post by YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki, you’d probably be lead to believe that YouTubers are raking it in. She wrote,
“Around the globe, the number of channels earning more than $100,000 continues to climb 40% year over year.”
Obviously, these are cherry-picked statistics. I’m sure they’re true, but they don’t tell us the real story about the average YouTuber. I’m above average apparently, and I’m only getting around $200 a month. What does that tell us about the average YouTuber? How much are they getting? Sweet Fanny Adams!
Most successful YouTubers who show off their wealth take you for guided tours in their huge houses, or talk about their latest luxury car. So, in the interest of openness, I’m going to do the same.
The “Success” of an AVERAGE YouTuber.
Here’s my house. It’s actually a 3-bedroom flat that I rent. Bedroom #3 is more of an office than a bedroom. There’s barely enough space to fit in a single bed. Bedroom #2 actually used to be a garage, but the owners found they could charge more rent by turning it into a bedroom. All in all, I would call this a one-and-a-half-bedroom flat. It’s certainly not a three-bedroom one.
Here’s my car. It a six-year-old Mitsubishi Mirage. It was the cheapest car on the market six years ago. It’s reliable. It’s fuel-efficient. But it certainly isn’t a Lamborghini.
On top of that, I own a computer and a microwave.
If this is a popular YouTuber’s house, then this is mine. Remember, I’m in the top 10% of YouTubers.
Being a YouTuber is just like any other creative profession. We used to talk about starving artists and struggling actors, but we can certainly now add YouTubers to the mix.
Research conducted last year showed that about “96.5% of all of those trying to become YouTubers won’t make enough money off of advertising to crack the U.S. poverty line. Breaking into the top 3% of most-viewed channels could bring in advertising revenue of about $16,800 a year — That’s a bit more than the U.S. federal poverty line of $12,140 for a single person.”
Of course, this is not a reason not to make YouTube videos. I do it because I enjoy it. But if your only goal is to make money, you’re better off working as a waiter, or heaven forbid, going on the Australian dole. The average dole recipient gets about five times as much as I get from YouTube. That’s saying something.
Do YouTube (or acting, or writing, or art) because you’re passionate about it. Don’t do it if your only goal is to become a millionaire.
#howmuchmoneydoimake #success #youtubetips
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