[0:00] Here's a popular YouTube question. How
[0:02] much do small channels make in their
[0:03] first 30 days of monetization? $10,
[0:06] $100, $500? Well, weirdly, it's all of
[0:10] them. In fact, I found two creators with
[0:13] almost exactly the same number of views.
[0:15] One creator earned enough to buy a pizza
[0:17] with pineapple. Controversial opinion,
[0:20] I'm a recent convert. I actually like
[0:22] them. On the other hand, another creator
[0:24] earned enough to buy a Switch, too.
[0:28] Oh, yeah. So, two creators with the same
[0:30] number of views but completely different
[0:32] payouts. And that's what this video is
[0:35] all about. I'll not only explain why
[0:37] this discrepancy in payouts happens, but
[0:40] I'll also reveal real earnings and real
[0:42] screenshots from small creators, so
[0:44] you'll have some idea of what to expect
[0:46] in your first YouTube paycheck. But it's
[0:48] always fun to speculate a little bit,
[0:50] isn't it? So before we dive into the
[0:52] details, how much do you think your
[0:54] first YouTube paycheck is going to be
[0:56] when, not if, when you get monetized?
[0:59] And if you are already monetized, let us
[1:01] know what your first paycheck was if you
[1:03] want to share it. Right? Then why does
[1:05] YouTube pay some creators more than
[1:07] others? And is this even fair? To answer
[1:10] that question, you have to understand
[1:12] the little acronym that's responsible
[1:14] for all of this. It's called RPM or
[1:17] revenue per millie. This basically is
[1:19] just a fancy way of saying how much
[1:21] YouTube will pay you for 1,000 views.
[1:24] But this tiny three-word acronym is a
[1:26] reason two creators with the same number
[1:29] of views can earn completely different
[1:31] amounts of revenue. And to explain that,
[1:34] let's go for a drive.
[1:43] [Music]
[1:46] This is electric. But imagine for a
[1:48] second that this is a gas car and you're
[1:50] cruising down the Californian coast with
[1:52] the windows down and the music booming
[1:55] and all of a sudden you run out of said
[1:58] gas. But now let's imagine you're
[2:00] driving exactly the same car, exactly
[2:02] the same distance in the UK and you also
[2:06] run out of gas. Now in California you
[2:08] can pull into a gas station and you can
[2:10] probably fill up the car for what around
[2:12] about $3 to $4 per gallon. But in the
[2:15] UK, that's a completely different story.
[2:17] You'll probably expect to pay, goodness,
[2:19] I don't know, $10 to $12 per gallon. And
[2:23] the reason I don't really know that is
[2:24] because I have an electric car. But the
[2:26] moral of the story is that the same car
[2:29] travel the same distance and yet they
[2:31] paid completely different prices.
[2:34] Whoops.
[2:38] Yeah, RPM pretty much works in the same
[2:40] way. Just because two creators both get
[2:42] 10,000 views on one video doesn't mean
[2:45] that YouTube will pay them the same. And
[2:47] that's because the viewing conditions
[2:48] are very different. The RPM is
[2:50] influenced by what your video is about,
[2:53] where your viewers live, how long your
[2:54] video is, and how long people watch the
[2:56] video for. And just to be clear, RPM is
[2:58] not to be confused with CPM. They do
[3:01] sound similar, but they are slightly
[3:03] different. CPM stands for cost per
[3:05] millie, and that's what the advertisers
[3:08] pay YouTube to run ads on your videos.
[3:10] But you don't get all of that money.
[3:12] YouTube takes a giant 45% cut of the
[3:16] CPM. And so that's why we have RPM,
[3:19] which is a number you actually earn per
[3:21] 1,000 views after YouTube takes its
[3:24] share. All right, so with all of that
[3:26] out of the way, let's look at some
[3:27] actual creators and see how wildly
[3:30] different their first YouTube paychecks
[3:32] can be.
[3:32] >> And you can see that I earned in total
[3:34] over this month 237,000 views. I gained
[3:38] 413 subscribers and my estimated revenue
[3:43] for my first month of being monetized on
[3:46] YouTube as a part of their YouTube
[3:48] partner program was a whopping $23.79.
[3:55] >> Yeah, that's 10 cents per 1,000 views.
[3:59] And why your prize at the end of a month
[4:02] is a pineapple pizza. I really was under
[4:05] the impression that I would be gaining
[4:08] at least $100 a month.
[4:10] >> Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that is
[4:12] simply not the case when most of your
[4:13] views are coming from YouTube shorts.
[4:16] They pay a fraction of long form views.
[4:19] Usually 50 to 100 times less. So to make
[4:22] any serious cash from shorts, you'll
[4:24] need to get tens of millions of views
[4:26] per month, if not more. So that's
[4:28] something to remember. It's easy to grow
[4:30] a channel with shorts, but harder to
[4:32] make a sustainable income.
[4:33] >> So, since getting monetized on August
[4:36] 23rd, my grand total YouTube earnings so
[4:39] far is $684.83.
[4:42] >> Hang on a second. Savage.
[4:45] Any relation?
[4:46] >> No. Rob, is everyone with the last name
[4:48] Wilson related to you? Savage is a very
[4:50] common last name here in America.
[4:53] >> Fair enough. Moving on. So, this channel
[4:55] with roughly the same amount of views as
[4:57] the previous channel has earned 30 times
[5:00] more revenue because the RPM is around
[5:03] about $280, which is so much higher.
[5:06] >> I can't even tell you how many videos
[5:08] just like this I've watched trying to
[5:10] figure out exactly how much I can expect
[5:12] to earn on YouTube. And I saw creators
[5:14] earn as little as $30. And I've also
[5:17] seen big creators reveal their earnings
[5:19] and they're making way more than this.
[5:21] >> Well, now come on, non-savage savage.
[5:23] $600 is still enough to afford a Switch
[5:26] 2.
[5:28] Oh yeah. And one of the modern Zelda
[5:31] games, which are absolutely trash.
[5:34] But she does have a point about how much
[5:36] she's earning.
[5:37] >> So that first YouTube paycheck that I
[5:39] got was from September 13th to the end
[5:42] of October, and it was $264.25.
[5:46] So, this is Caleb Bale, a small but
[5:48] mighty channel that's able to earn over
[5:50] $200 from just 22,000 views. And the
[5:54] plain and simple reason for this is
[5:56] because he has an astronomical RPM. So,
[5:59] the big question is, why are these RPMs
[6:01] so different? How did Caleb get nearly
[6:03] $10 per 1,000 views while Tatiana gets
[6:07] $280 per 1,000 views? Well, it all comes
[6:10] down to four big variables. Starting
[6:14] with
[6:15] >> ultimately though some YouTube channels
[6:16] are more monetizable because certain
[6:19] audiences have more money. So in the
[6:21] case of personal finance, that's one of
[6:23] the higher ones for RPM and CPM because
[6:26] companies that are trying to reach
[6:28] people who are interested in personal
[6:29] finance are more likely to pay higher
[6:32] dollars to YouTube in order to get their
[6:34] ads in front of these people. Yep, Caleb
[6:36] is spot on. The niche plays a huge
[6:39] factor. Viewers of finance content are
[6:41] often ready to spend some money right
[6:43] now. They're looking for credit cards,
[6:44] investment tools, or business software,
[6:47] which is exactly what these advertisers
[6:49] are trying to push to the viewer.
[6:50] Whereas a lifestyle vlog or prank
[6:53] channel, entertainment content, might
[6:55] still pull in tons more views, but the
[6:58] audience is usually just watching for
[7:00] fun. They're not ready to buy anything
[7:02] right there, right now. And what are you
[7:04] supposed to sell them? Toys, drinks,
[7:06] clothing. It's not quite as specific, is
[7:08] it? So, if you're in a niche such as
[7:10] making money online, marketing,
[7:12] educational content, you're already in a
[7:14] high RPM zone. But if you're doing
[7:16] reaction videos, music, or
[7:18] entertainment, then the RPMs tend to be
[7:20] lower. The next variable is the location
[7:22] of your audience. Where your viewers
[7:24] live matters a lot. If most of your
[7:26] audience is from the UK, US, Canada,
[7:29] Australia, basically places that pay
[7:31] higher wages, your viewers tend to have
[7:33] more spending power and advertisers are
[7:35] willing to pay more to get ads in front
[7:37] of them. But if your views come mostly
[7:38] from countries with lower ad spend, like
[7:40] India, Indonesia, or the Philippines,
[7:43] well, it's probably best if I just show
[7:45] you the difference. For this video,
[7:46] these are the two biggest contributors
[7:48] in terms of views, the US and India. The
[7:51] CPM of US views is over $20, which
[7:54] probably equates to an RPM of around
[7:56] about 12 to$14.
[7:58] India, on the other hand, despite half a
[8:01] million views, contributes just a book
[8:04] 30. And that's before YouTube's cut. the
[8:06] RPM will be less than a dollar and the
[8:09] average for all countries is around
[8:11] about $11.50. And just to be clear,
[8:13] location is not about where you, the
[8:16] creator, uploaded the video or the
[8:18] contents of the video itself. It's all
[8:20] about the location of the viewers. So
[8:22] your video could be a travel vlog about
[8:25] India, but if most people are watching
[8:26] from the US, that's where your RPM will
[8:29] be based off of. The next big variable
[8:31] is video length. Obviously, we've
[8:33] already established that if you make
[8:35] short videos that end up as YouTube
[8:36] shorts, which go into a completely
[8:38] different type of video feed, it will
[8:40] seriously impact your RPM. But there is
[8:43] another end of this revenue earning
[8:45] spectrum. Long form videos will earn you
[8:47] more revenue because adverts can be
[8:49] played before and after the video.
[8:51] However, if your video is over 8 minutes
[8:54] long, you can also add something called
[8:56] midroll ads. These are extra ads that
[8:58] will show up in the middle of a video,
[9:00] not just at the beginning and the end.
[9:02] And more ad slots means more chances to
[9:04] earn more money. For example, let's say
[9:06] you've got two creators who earn exactly
[9:08] the same RPM. One makes five minute
[9:10] videos with no midroll ads, but another
[9:13] makes 12-minute videos with three ad
[9:15] breaks. Guess who earns more per video?
[9:18] Obviously, it's the creator with more
[9:20] ads. But does that mean you should stuff
[9:22] as many ads in your videos as possible?
[9:24] Definitely not. In fact, YouTube won't
[9:26] even let you do that. But one or two ads
[9:29] throughout your video at the right time
[9:31] can definitely help your earnings. As a
[9:34] brief and non-scientific example, this
[9:36] video that's under 8 minutes in length
[9:37] has $840,000 views and has earned
[9:40] $3,600.
[9:42] On the other hand, this video that's 9
[9:44] minutes long and is therefore eligible
[9:45] for midroll ads has 30,000 views less,
[9:48] but has earned $750 more. Midroll ads
[9:52] likely contribute to that. But of
[9:54] course, we have to appreciate the
[9:56] variable of the viewer themselves. The
[9:58] longer people watch your videos, the
[10:00] more ads YouTube can show them and the
[10:02] more valuable your content becomes to
[10:04] advertisers. So even a 6-inute video can
[10:07] earn more than a 12minute video if it
[10:09] keeps them watching until the end while
[10:11] viewers bail after the first minute of
[10:13] the longer video. So more than just
[10:14] making your videos longer, you want to
[10:16] make them stickier. And so when all of
[10:19] these four variables line up nicely,
[10:22] that's when RPM starts to climb into the
[10:24] $8, $10, $12 range and beyond. But what
[10:28] if you're not a finance channel raking
[10:31] in a high RPM rate? What should you
[10:34] expect to earn? Well, in this next
[10:36] section, I'm going to show you which
[10:37] niches fall into the high, medium, and
[10:40] low RPM ranges so you can see where your
[10:42] channel roughly fits. We'll start with
[10:44] tier one, which is the low RPM range of
[10:47] between a dollar and $3 every thousand
[10:50] views. These are niches like
[10:52] entertainment lifestyle music pranks
[10:54] vlogs, and yes, of course, gaming. These
[10:57] are the most popular types of content on
[10:59] YouTube, but they also pay the least.
[11:01] Like we shared before, advertisers don't
[11:03] spend big on broad casual audiences. So,
[11:06] if your content is fun and casual,
[11:08] you'll need to get more views to make
[11:10] the same amount of money as other
[11:12] channels. But as we said, broad casual
[11:15] audiences lead to a high volume of
[11:17] views. In tier 2, we have a mid-range of
[11:19] niches where you'd expect to earn$4 to
[11:22] $7 per,000 views. These are niches like
[11:25] tutorials productivity education tech
[11:27] reviews. This is the sweet spot for most
[11:30] creators because here advertisers are
[11:32] targeting people actively learning,
[11:34] which means better engagement and better
[11:36] ad rates. If your channel teaches
[11:38] something or solves problems, you're
[11:40] probably in this zone. And the good
[11:42] news, with the right tweaks, it's often
[11:44] possible to bump it into the next tier.
[11:46] And if it helps the context, this is the
[11:47] RPM tier that the Vid IQ channel sits in
[11:50] right now. Let's move into tier three.
[11:52] Now, the higher echelons of RPM revenue,
[11:55] where you're earning anything from $8 to
[11:57] $12, possibly more than that. This is
[11:59] where YouTube breaks out the red carpet
[12:01] for niches like finance, marketing, real
[12:04] estate. If RPMs were a party, these guys
[12:08] are the VIPs with bottle service.
[12:10] Everyone else is peeking through the
[12:12] window wondering, "How on earth did they
[12:14] get in there?" Well, it's simple. The
[12:16] advertisers here are fiercely fighting
[12:18] for the attention of the people who
[12:20] watch these videos. They have loads of
[12:23] money to spend, and they're ready to
[12:25] spend it. Now, even a small channel in
[12:27] this tier can earn big without needing
[12:29] hundreds of thousands of views. Picture
[12:31] this as an example. You're a luxury
[12:33] cruise travel channel and your videos
[12:36] only average a,000 views, but an
[12:38] advertiser decides to stick aundred ads
[12:42] on those views. They only need two or
[12:44] three people to buy on a very high
[12:46] ticket price item to make it worth their
[12:49] while. Now then, even if your channel is
[12:51] traditionally not in a highpaying niche,
[12:54] there are ways to boost your RPM. And in
[12:57] this final section, I'll explain exactly
[12:59] what this means for small creators and
[13:01] how you can maximize your earnings no
[13:04] matter what your niche is in. But first,
[13:06] here's the truth. Your first YouTube
[13:08] paycheck won't buy you a yacht. It's
[13:10] typically designed to earn you around
[13:12] about $100, which is a threshold to
[13:15] actually get paid into your AdSense
[13:17] account. Although, as we've already
[13:19] seen, the amount earned from channel to
[13:21] channel varies considerably. But
[13:23] whatever the amount, that first tiny
[13:25] paycheck is proof. Proof that you've
[13:28] unlocked a system that pays you every
[13:31] single day, even when you're asleep.
[13:34] I think they call that passive income.
[13:37] And as you grow your channel over time,
[13:40] so will your income. Now, as we've just
[13:41] covered, there are many factors that
[13:43] come into how much you will earn. But
[13:44] here are some ways you can increase your
[13:46] RPM, even if you are in one of those
[13:48] lower paying niches. First up,
[13:51] experiment with making longer videos
[13:52] that hold attention. You should be
[13:54] testing different video lengths
[13:56] regardless of a financial incentive to
[13:58] discover what your audience wants. But
[14:00] obviously, if you can make a video 15
[14:02] minutes long instead of 10 minutes by
[14:04] adding more value, not fluff, there's
[14:07] more opportunities for more ads to run.
[14:09] Next, you want to target high value
[14:12] topics. This one is your secret source.
[14:15] Engineering your niche into something
[14:17] far more valuable to advertisers. For
[14:19] example, if you're making videos about
[14:21] budget travel, try targeting topics like
[14:24] how to save money on flights or best
[14:26] travel credit cards. All of a sudden, in
[14:29] the eyes of the advertiser, you've
[14:31] potentially jumped into the realms of
[14:32] the finance niche. And simply put,
[14:35] understand what your advertisers want.
[14:38] They want viewers who are looking for
[14:40] solutions. So, if your video helps
[14:42] someone solve a problem, make a
[14:44] decision, or learn something useful,
[14:46] then your RPM will usually be higher.
[14:49] This is how it's possible for small
[14:50] creators with under 10,000 subscribers
[14:53] to make 300,500
[14:55] or even $1,000 a month from ad revenue
[14:58] alone. But do you want to know what the
[15:00] weirdest thing is? Some of you have just
[15:03] watched this 15inute video with all of
[15:05] its midroll ads and you're not even
[15:09] monetized. So, I highly recommend you
[15:11] watch this video over here, which is a
[15:14] complete guide to earning one of these,
[15:17] and then you can come back to this video
[15:18] to figure out how to maximize your ad
[15:21] revenue and earn yourself
[15:24] one of these.
[15:26] Take it away, Dan. Get your screenshots
[15:28] ready
[15:30] and take the take the