here's an extraordinary amount of hype around the topic of
making money from YouTube.
And, by making money, we mean enough to earn a living wage so that you
can realize your dreams of working in video production full time. Of
course, there are thousands of YouTubers that
are making enough
to focus on their career full time, but the overwhelming majority of
YouTuber users will see very little revenue return. It takes hundreds of
thousands of views to see any kind of worthwhile weekly ad revenue
income and millions of views to make becoming a full time partner
sustainable.
YouTube is expected to attract
$5 Billion in advertising revenue
this year so how do creators get a piece of the pie? After all, it's
their content that's bringing the advertisers to the site in the first
place. We take a look at some of the ways you can make money on YouTube
how the site is facing a backlash from those who think the business
model is broken.
- YouTube's Partner Program
- Advertising Earnings
- Sponsorships & Merchandising
- Paid Subscriptions
- Earnings with Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs)
- Issues with YouTube's Business Model?
Let's start at the beginning with what it takes to become a partner so you can actually monetize your video content.
What Exactly is a YouTube Partner These Days Anyway?
Nowadays,
anyone with access to the internet can upload a video to YouTube.
However, if you want to make money off that content, you'll need to
become a YouTube Partner. So, how do you become a revenue generating
YouTube partner? Well, it's pretty easy these days actually.
Once
upon a time you could only become a YouTube partner if you applied
directly and were approved, or if you received a personal invite from
Google. Today however,
anyone whose account is in good standing can become a YouTube partner through
expressly allowing YouTube to place advertising in, on, and around your
video content. Google makes money from the views of these ads and
partners can then earn a percentage via a Google Adsense account.
Exactly how much money a partner can make varies enormously and depends
on a range of different factors.
YouTube states that there are
more than a million channels in the Partner Program (up from 30,000 in 2011), with
YouTube estimated to take a 45/55 share of the ad revenue. Official figures aren't available but partners only really make a fraction of a cent per view.
To start the process of becoming a partner, go to your '
Account Monetization'
page in 'Channel settings' click on the “Enable My Account” button.
Once you've been accepted, (which is a really quick process) you're on
your way to monetizing your videos.
Be prepared for issues with approval if you are seen to be in violation of any
copyright agreements
or are publishing material that's deemed abusive, racist or sexually
explicit. Google will take down this type of content and your account's
good standing may be affected if you continually break the rules.
What Do YouTube Partners Earn From Advertising Revenues?
YouTube
takes around a 45% slice of advertising revenue, although the CPM (cost
per thousand) that advertisers are charged varies.
Most partners earn anywhere between $0.30 to $2.50 CPM, but there are many exceptions to the rule, with some of the bigger YouTube players earning closer to a
$10 CPM. Be aware that your location and the type of content that you publish will have a bearing on how much you can potentially earn.
Socialblade
is also good if you want to poke around in other's channel statistics
and take a look at their very estimated earnings. A recent
Reddit thread attracted contributions from all over the world with tales of CPM margins ranging from $0.10 to $6.
ALSO ► Evan Carmichael: YouTube Channel Review - Through the 'Reel' Wringer
Before
you get too excited though, remember that creators only get paid if
their views are monetized. Many mobile views, those blocked by Adsense,
and those where advertising has been switched off for some reason, do
not count. 50,000 views doesn't mean that 50,000 of those views were
monetized.
The top 1000 channels bring in around
$23,000 per month
from advertising - but then again, they also average around 900,000
monthly video views, and because they're popular channels, they are
likely commanding more generous CPM rates.
Example of Potential Earnings (@1M views per month): $2,500/mo = $2.50 CPM x (1 Million views/1000)
There
are a number of popular YouTube creators who have secured lucrative
sponsorship deals with brands because these YouTubers have large,
relevant, and engaged audiences. And, sometimes, they are just in the
right place at the right time, I'm looking at you
Grumpy Cat.
Sponsorship agreements are settled outside of YouTube and can take on many forms depending on the deal agreed.
Beyond sponsorships, some YouTubers are so popular that they're able to sell their own merchandise to their viewers. YouTuber
Michelle Phan
not only signed a high profile deal with cosmetics giant Lancome but
also launched her own line of make up products which more than
supplement any income she gets from YouTube. Creators, such as
Phil deFranco,
run their own line of merchandise products and many YouTubers are
finding opportunities outside of the site in TV and movie appearances.
Potential Earnings: $100 to $1,000,000+
If you're interested in brands partnering with creators on youtube, be sure to check out Tubular Creator Profiles for the world's largest, free database of creators and brands.
Partner Earnings From Paid Channel Subscriptions
In May 2013, after months of speculation, YouTube finally announced a
paid channel subscription service which
allowed creators and publishers to charge for their video content. 53
channels were launched with monthly fees ranging from $0.99 to $6.99.
The new feature, with a 55/45 split in revenue in favor of YouTube was
widely regarded as a toe in the water to see whether consumers would be
willing to pay for content in the same way they paid for VOD services
like Netflix. The new pay per view content model, comes with a 14 day
trail and discounts on yearly rates.
Just earlier today - YouTube announced
that
they are now allowing any monetized partner, with more than 10,000
subscribers, to enable paid subscriptions on their channel.
Example of Potential Earnings (@10K Subs paying $1.99): $1.99 (45% split = $0.90) x 10,000 subscribers =
$108,000/year
Increased Earnings with MCNs (Multi-Channel Networks)?
Over the past two years, we've witnessed the rapid rise of
YouTube MCN (Multi-Channel Networks) formed in various ways to help support creators and to create more attractive packaged offerings for monetization.
MCN's are independent companies (not endorsed by YouTube/Google) who aggregate
multiple YouTube channels,
and offer assistance to creators in various forms that can include
among other things, programming, collaboration, promotion, copyright
management, and increased earnings. MCNs are able to offer increased
earnings due to the fact that they are often able to command higher
advertising rates through direct ad sales, sponsorships, and packaging.
For
the average doing-this-outside-the-day-job partner, your earnings from
joining an MCN are not going to rock your world. BUT, for a percentage
of your ad earnings, MCNs can offer the kind of invaluable support that
can help you build up your channel, your subscribers and ultimately,
your earnings.
ALSO ► Top Online Video Creators Across Social: March 2016
Every
Multi-Channel Network have their own rates including fixed CPMs where
they pay you a flat rate per 1000 monetized views, or via a contract
which gives you a percentage of whatever your channel generates (this
can be anywhere upwards of 60%). Machinima offer their content partners
a
$2 CPM rate which
might seem thin, but then they do offer support and legal advice when
it comes to copyright issues, a bit problem with gaming videos.
If you're interested in learning more, read our post on the
pros and cons of joining a YouTube MCN.
Monetization Issues: Is The YouTube Business Model Broken?
There
have been grumblings from some YouTube creators that the revenue model
is unfair. Technological challenges had proved an issue for the new
pay per view channels and some MCNs are complaining that the rate of return from ad revenue is
unsustainable.
Jason Calacanis stirred up quite the heated debate earlier this year with his post titled, "
I ain't gonna work on YouTube's farm no more." In it, Jason rants against YouTube's model and calls the 45% share a "YouTube Tax.".
"In
a way, YouTube is the Sebastian Shaw of the ecosystem, absorbing all
your power and talent and using it for their prime directive: maintain
the 45% tax through control of talent, advertisers and user behavior. "
He even created a YouTube '
Bill of Rights' that aims to try and repair the "damage" he sees between YouTube, MCNs, and other content partners.
For
smaller scale creators, leaving YouTube is, at the moment, an
unthinkable concept. It is, after all, where the audience is. And
speaking of audience,
41% of it now comes via mobile, so there are still some huge advertising headaches to sort out where that is concerned.
At our
Video Marketing Summit, Jim Louderback led a lively discussion with Greg Jarboe and Paul Colligan, on the current state of YouTube.
Oh, and there's a handy little
calculator tool that
lets you estimate YouTube Partner ad earnings based off of a set number
of video views, using the average CPM range mentioned above
($0.30-$2.50CPM).
Conclusion
It is possible to make a living from YouTube, but as with any creative endeavor,
the harder you work,
the more optimized your videos are, the greater you are at marketing
and collaboration (and the hundreds of other little skills and
synchronicities that go into make a project work for you), the more
likely you'll be able to generate an income. Creating regular,
consistent content (weekly, or even better, daily), sharing it out via
others sites and social networks, encouraging engagement, being active
on the site, caring what you do is what it's going to take to make you
successful.
So, is it worth monetizing your content if you know
that you will struggle to reach the views needed, or you find the MCN
experience is not for you?
Absolutely.
When you become a YouTube Partner through monetization, you're then eligible to use some great YouTube features that are
unavailable to non-monetized users, like
custom thumbnails,
associated website annotations,
in-video programming,
live streaming, and more. Additionally, if you strike lucky and upload a
video that gets a lot of attention there's no way to claw back those
potential earnings. Becoming a partner ensures that future views are
accounted for, and even if they bring in only a few dollars a year,
that's still money that you have earned.
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