[0:00] Today I'm going to share with you how
[0:01] much money YouTube paid me after
[0:02] reaching 1,000 subscribers on my channel
[0:04] and being monetized for a full 90 days.
[0:07] Now the amounts were not jaw-dropping,
[0:09] but they did catch me offguard and it
[0:11] might do the same for you. So in this
[0:12] video, I'm going to show you what it
[0:13] took to get there, which videos made
[0:15] money, which ones didn't, and I'm going
[0:16] to break down everything I've earned
[0:18] through the YouTube partner program over
[0:19] the last 90 days. When I first started
[0:21] this channel, one of my core values was
[0:23] to be as open and transparent as
[0:25] possible regarding everything I'm
[0:26] learning about growing on YouTube. and
[0:28] that includes breaking down what smaller
[0:30] creators earn, both good or bad, so that
[0:32] newer folks out there can get a really
[0:33] good idea of what to expect and what's
[0:35] possible. Now, if you're new here, I
[0:36] started my channel back in July of 2024.
[0:39] And at that time, I didn't have any
[0:40] experience with video editing, with
[0:42] cameras, with YouTube in general, or the
[0:44] algorithm. And at the time, I was still
[0:46] working my 9 toive job, a company I'd
[0:48] been with for almost two decades. And I
[0:49] was just trying to squeeze YouTube in
[0:51] when and where I could. It took me a
[0:52] full 4 months to reach my 1,000
[0:54] subscribers and then another 2 months
[0:56] after that to reach the 4,000 watchtime
[0:58] hours I would need for AdSense
[1:00] monetization. But here's what was
[1:01] interesting is I actually didn't earn my
[1:03] first dollars from ads. The first money
[1:06] I earned through YouTube was through a
[1:07] super chat during my very first live
[1:09] stream. And this was actually a really
[1:10] cool moment for me because it was the
[1:12] first time someone supported my work in
[1:13] this way. And it was just a gentle
[1:15] reminder that I was actually on the
[1:17] right track. For the purposes of this
[1:18] video, I will be breaking out everything
[1:20] YouTube partner program related,
[1:21] AdSense, super chats, and channel
[1:23] memberships. This way, you get the full
[1:25] picture. And speaking of complete
[1:26] picture, the full 6 months that I
[1:28] mentioned that it took me to reach that
[1:29] milestone, that included uploading 50
[1:32] videos, I earned 61,000 total views in
[1:35] that time. And by the time I reached
[1:37] that 4,000 watchtime hour mark, I was
[1:39] already closer to 3,000 subscribers on
[1:41] my channel. Then came my first 90 days
[1:44] as a monetized creator. And during that
[1:46] stretched, I published another 23 long-
[1:48] form videos, three live streams. I
[1:50] didn't do any shorts, but I just kept
[1:52] trying to show up as consistently as
[1:54] possible. Now, some videos worked, but
[1:56] most did not, and that's completely
[1:57] normal. My biggest earner was actually a
[2:00] video called The Hidden Side of YouTube
[2:01] that most creators won't talk about. And
[2:03] this one pulled in just over 5,300 views
[2:06] for my channel, which is actually really
[2:07] great for me, and about $31 in AdSense
[2:10] revenue. But the real surprise came from
[2:11] a completely different direction. This
[2:13] happened to be a live stream that I
[2:14] hosted. It was the very first one that I
[2:16] did. It got just $293 views and I earned
[2:19] $24 from that one video and it was
[2:22] mostly super chats from people actually
[2:24] attending the live stream. I wasn't
[2:25] expecting that at all, but it was really
[2:27] awesome to see it. Then of course there
[2:28] were the duds, the videos that did not
[2:30] perform well. There was one video in
[2:32] particular that I thought would do
[2:33] really well. How to make your first
[2:35] $1,000 on YouTube in 4 months. This
[2:37] video didn't do much of anything. It
[2:39] brought in about
[2:41] $342 sadly. And that I would say is
[2:43] probably the biggest lesson of all is
[2:45] that you don't get to pick what performs
[2:47] well. Sometimes your quick ideas just
[2:50] land. And other times the videos that
[2:51] you put the most effort and work into
[2:53] barely make a dent. But after 6 months
[2:56] of trial and error of editing fatigue
[2:58] and of showing up when the numbers were
[3:00] not so great, monetization was finally
[3:02] on. And I had no idea what to expect.
[3:04] Would I make 50 bucks, a couple hundred
[3:06] bucks, or zero? And I debated whether I
[3:09] should be sharing this information at
[3:10] all because honestly YouTube earnings
[3:12] early on are just all over the place. It
[3:14] can be super high or super low and
[3:16] sometimes sharing this stuff can feel a
[3:18] little vulnerable. But I made the
[3:19] commitment. I want to be open and
[3:20] transparent with you guys. So here is
[3:22] the big reveal. Over those first 90 days
[3:24] of being monetized, I earned 50,000
[3:26] additional views. I picked up 3500
[3:29] additional watchtime
[3:30] hours. Subscribers came in. and I earned
[3:33] $217 through AdSense, $43 through
[3:37] supers, and then another $14 through
[3:39] channel memberships. My single highest
[3:41] day earning was $24 from that live
[3:43] stream that I had mentioned. So, no,
[3:45] this was not life-changing money by any
[3:47] stretch, but it was real. I could see it
[3:50] now. It was in the YouTube studio, and
[3:52] it was really cool to finally see all of
[3:54] this work that I've been putting in six
[3:56] plus months come to fruition and having
[3:58] that front row seat of watching the
[4:00] earnings start to come in. But here's
[4:02] the thing that I think most creators
[4:03] need to hear is that monetization
[4:05] through the YouTube partner program
[4:07] shouldn't be the end goal. It should be
[4:09] a goal but not the end goal. Between the
[4:12] fluctuating amounts that advertisers are
[4:14] willing to pay, the inconsistent views
[4:16] that you might see, and then the fact
[4:17] that not all content earns equally,
[4:20] YouTube AdSense revenue can be quite
[4:22] unpredictable, even when you do
[4:23] everything right. So that's why early
[4:25] on, I knew that I was going to have to
[4:26] build off platform in order to make
[4:28] money through my YouTube channel. And
[4:29] during this same 90-day stretch, I
[4:31] actually earned about 10x off platform
[4:33] than what I earned on platform. And this
[4:35] was all done through my YouTube channel,
[4:36] through my coaching business. So, start
[4:38] thinking about how your content can
[4:39] support something bigger, because that's
[4:41] where the real long-term opportunity is.
[4:43] And I already knew going into this that
[4:45] building a business around my YouTube
[4:46] channel would be far more scalable and
[4:48] reliable than just relying on AdSense.
[4:51] But still, that first 90 days where you
[4:53] start to see that money trickle in, it's
[4:54] actually a really cool experience
[4:56] regardless of where you're making your
[4:57] money through YouTube, to see the daily
[4:59] earnings trickle in, and then to finally
[5:01] get your first monetization checks. It's
[5:02] a pretty cool feeling. Now, along the
[5:04] way, there are a few lessons that I
[5:05] think are worth sharing. Lesson one is
[5:07] that what earns isn't always what
[5:09] performs. Some of my best viewed videos
[5:11] weren't the highest earners, and some of
[5:13] my lowest viewed videos actually led to
[5:15] coaching clients. So, let that be a
[5:17] reminder that views don't always equal
[5:19] income. Lesson number two is that people
[5:20] will support creators that they connect
[5:22] with. Now, I wasn't expecting anything
[5:24] when I first went live, but people
[5:26] showed up. They gave supers and they
[5:28] even joined as channel members. Even
[5:30] with a small channel, it shows that
[5:31] trust leads to support. Sometimes you
[5:34] just have to invite it. And lesson
[5:35] number three is that monetization is
[5:37] more of a checkpoint than a turning
[5:39] point. Getting monetized is exciting,
[5:40] but it doesn't magically change
[5:42] everything. I think for me the biggest
[5:43] shift has been just trying to stay
[5:45] consistent, trying to make improvements
[5:47] with every upload and then really
[5:48] thinking beyond the ads by nurturing and
[5:51] growing my community. So, if you're just
[5:52] crossing 1,000 subscribers or on your
[5:55] way, I hope this gives you a good idea
[5:57] of what's realistic for a newer creator
[5:59] for your first 3 months being monetized.
[6:01] It's not magic. It is a grind, but it's
[6:03] totally doable. And if you want help
[6:05] growing towards monetization or maybe
[6:06] you just need to think through other
[6:08] ways of monetizing offplatform, feel
[6:10] free to book a free 15-minute
[6:11] consultation with me. There is a link in
[6:13] the description below. And then also be
[6:15] sure and check out the video right over
[6:16] here. It is my full deep dive on all
[6:18] things YouTube partner program so that
[6:20] you know what you're getting into when
[6:22] you sign up for it and when you get
[6:23] AdSense monetized and that you get
[6:25] everything set up correctly. So, I hope
[6:26] this video was helpful. Talk to you guys
[6:28] in the next one.