What makes me the most money as a content creator?
Blogging, Instagram Reels, YouTube videos, speaking engagements, courses… there are so many ways you can make money as an influencer. But which one makes the MOST? I’m going to share what type of content makes the most money for me right now, how much 100k views on YouTube is worth, plus some tips & tricks on how you can start making money this way, too!
One of the things I despise the most about being a business owner is bookkeeping. And so does my husband, Sean! We’ve had a frustrating week trying to catch up on our books, but meanwhile it allowed me to do some interesting reporting on my year so far. I find it fascinating to see where my income is coming from, and what jobs are worth my time in this varied world of content creation. My top money-maker has been the same for several years now… can you guess what it is? It’s YouTube ad revenue!
That’s right, long-form video reigns supreme for making the most money for me. Since starting my channel in 2015 I’ve made most of my content creator income through YouTube ad revenue.
Listen to today’s podcast:
How much is 100k views on YouTube worth?
How much you can make per view on YouTube will vary with your niche. Advertisers will pay different amounts per thousand views (this is called CPM) for different types of videos. For my DIY decorating content, I currently make about $9.50 per thousand views (this is called my RPM). So, for every 100k views I receive on my YouTube videos, I currently make around $950 US dollars. This rate changes seasonally, but not by much.
Compare this to the rate per 100,000 views I receive on an Instagram Reel… which is NONE. IG Reels aren’t monetized here in Canada. The only way that I can make money with those is though brand sponsorships or affiliate linking. However, a couple of years ago my Facebook Reels and long-form Facebook Videos were monetized. Unfortunately the RPM over there is much smaller: currently it’s only about $1.50 per thousand views!
Why does YouTube pay me the most money?
Long form video STILL seems to be the most engaging type of video for most people. There’s longer watch time, resulting in more time being spent watching the ads in the front, in the middle, and at the end of the YouTube video. This gives the creator more ad revenue. Many people are very loyal to YouTube creators, and take the time to watch their full videos, comment on them , and share the videos too. With the higher watch time (because of the longer videos and loyal community) and the higher RPM than other video-based social media, putting your time into long-form YouTube video creation should be the best way to earn money as a creator right now.
You can also do well with YouTube sponsorships. While the last couple of years hasn’t been as lucrative with sponsorships as a whole, sponsors will still pay me more for a YouTube sponsorship than any other platform.
How do I start a YouTube channel?
I think the best way to start a YouTube channel TODAY would be to start reposting your short form videos from other platforms as YouTube Shorts. These can often get a lot of views on YouTube, and will encourage more subscribers to your channel from the start. Then, you can start working on long-form content creation while you start growing your channel with Shorts. Shorts weren’t around when I started YouTube in 2015, otherwise I would’ve definitely started this way to gain some traction!
What do I need to start making long form YouTube videos?
You don’t need much to start making long-form YouTube videos. You can even use your mobile phone / iPhone! Just remember to flip the camera horizontally so that you’re filming in a 1920 x 1080 pixel size. You can eventually upgrade to a better camera if you like, but lots of people have successfully started YouTube channels with their phones. This Canon camera is a great starter camera for filming YouTube videos – I use it for my top-down DIY shots!
I recommend purchasing a microphone so that your audio is nice & crisp. You can get a wireless lavalier mic that clips to your clothing, or an on-camera microphone.
Finally, you might need some kind of editing software. I edit all of my videos (even my short videos) with Adobe Premiere Pro on my desktop computer, but you could also use something like CapCut on your mobile device to edit videos.
What makes a good YouTube video?
I could talk about YouTube video creation for hours, but the main thing you need to think of is this: how can you inspire, educate or entertain your viewer? If your video can help people in any of these ways, you’re on your way to making great videos.
There are editing & story-telling tricks that can help make your video more engaging, and I’ll chat about those in future podcast episodes. However, as long as you have GOOD CONTENT, the rest is simply icing on the cake.
For now, I’ll leave you with some of my favourite YouTube video education channels that you might want to watch to help you get started making engaging YouTube videos:
How long does it take to get my channel monetized on YouTube?
To start earning money from ad revenue on your YouTube videos, YouTube wants you to have:
- 1,000 subscribers and
- 4,000 hours of public watch time within a 12-month period or 10 million public YouTube Shorts views within a 90-day period
This can sound daunting, however the best way to reach these goals is to simply START. The longer you spend over-analyzing your YouTube strategy, or worrying that your videos won’t be perfect (they WON’T, and it doesn’t matter), the longer you’ll have to wait to make money from YouTube ad revenue. In fact if you don’t start your channel, you have a 0% chance of making money with YouTube. 🙂 Now that you know how much 100k views on YouTube is worth, maybe that motivates you to get started? Simply start, and tweak your content as you go. Be authentic, and help people, and the rest can be learned as you go!
Need some help deciding how much and what type of content you should share each week? I have an episode on how to create a content calendar right here!
I hope this podcast has helped you as you consider launching or growing a YouTube channel. I’d love to know: have you ever considered starting a YouTube channel? Is there anything holding you back? I’d love to know in the comments below.