Earlier this month, my YouTube channel made it into the YouTube Partner program. In this article, I explain how much I earn from my videos.
It’s been about 20 months since I started my YouTube channel. It was an exciting journey so far, and I learned a lot about video creation, how YouTube distributes videos to viewers, and what is essential to make a video seen.
YouTube Partner Program Requirements
How do you make it into the YouTube Partner Program, and why should you? Getting into the YouTube Partner program allows you to display ads and get paid by Google.
To get into the YouTube Partner Program status for a YouTube channel, you need to have at least 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours watch time.
The 1000 subscribers are straightforward and do not need more explanation.
The 4000 hours watch time needs some more clarification. It means that within the last 365 days, you need to have your videos watched for at least 4000 hours.
4000 hours a year equals a little less than 11 hours a day. If you start, it seems like a notable number to hit, and let me tell you – it definitely is.
As soon as you make it into the YouTube Partner program, you can show ads before, after, and during your videos and make money off your content.
How I made it into the YouTube Partner Program
It took me 20 months to hit the watch time, while I hit the 1000 subscribers a little over a year into the journey. By now, I have around 1600 subscribers.
Over that time, I released 14 videos. I put a lot of time into every single video, and I am currently unable to release a new video consistently. It is something I want to work on in the future.
In my case, my two best videos are responsible for about 55% of my total watch time. The Introduction to Dependency Injection in C# video brought about 34% watch time, and the Dependency Injection in C# using Autofac video brought in around 21% watch time.
When I consider that I only have 14 videos and that most of my videos are shorter than 10 minutes, I am delighted with the results. I have a few videos over 20k or 10k views, which is an excellent result for a new channel.
How much money do I earn?
Before I tell you how much I earn, it makes sense to explain how you earn money by creating YouTube videos.
If you are in the YouTube Partner program, you can display ads before, while and after your videos are shown to the viewer. Depending on your content and how many advertisers want to work with YouTube, the ad rate differs.
Also, if your video has a certain length, you can use mid-roll ads during the video to increase the earnings. I currently do not use any mid-roll ads (they’re annoying, right?), and I also don’t use overlays of any kind. I only let YouTube show ads before and after my video.
Also, Google takes a cut of the money earned by displaying the ads. What’s left for you can be between 0.5$ and 20$ per 1000 views. It all depends on the factors mentioned before.
After being in the YouTube Partner Program for about three weeks, I earn about 2$ per 1000 views. I am aware that this value can change over time. Also, I do not display the more intrusive ads on my videos. And as I said before, I only use pre-roll ads, and I don’t have any mid-roll ads. This will also impact the possible earnings.
Also, with all the pandemic going on right now, many advertisers have cut their ad budgets. I expect the numbers to go up towards the end of the year. Usually, Christmas time has the highest numbers anyway.
In conclusion, from my current monthly 10k video views, I earn about 20$ a month from my YouTube channel.
Is it worth to create YouTube videos?
If you only do it for the money, I’d say no. It takes a lot of effort to create videos. There are more straightforward or more sophisticated approaches to creating videos, but in the end, it takes a lot of time to plan, create, edit, and upload your videos.
Also, it would help if you attracted many thousand daily viewers to make a living out of YouTube ad money alone.
If you do it for fun, want to learn new skills like creating, editing, and producing video and audio content, it is an enriching journey. It is a hobby that can end up paying you something back down the road.
Every video you have on your channel will generate ad money as long as people watch it. Your upfront investment can pay out later. If your channel gets popular down the road, your older videos will likely be watched more and generate further ad money.
If I knew everything I know today when I started back in 2018, I’d create the channel again. I’ll continue to let you know about my journey on this blog. You can follow along on Twitter.
Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions about starting your own YouTube channel.
