I’ll see the occasional viral video, but I’m not much for regular Youtube content, so I’ve only lately become aware that there are YouTube Stars - people with millions of subscribers who make a living uploading videos on Youtube. For example, “Jenna Marbles” is reported by the NYT to make six figures from her YouTube channel. What no one says is how that works - I’m guessing you get money for each view/hit on the video, but does anyone know how much they get?
It’s basically part of Google AdSense.
Ads run on top of the screen of your clip. The user can “X” out of the ad. If they click on the ad, you get paid. The amount you get paid depends on the ad.
You maximize your ad revenue by driving a lot of traffic to the video and/or make the content such that it attracts ads that pay a lot per click.
You don’t need millions of subscribers to make a living off of YouTube. I’m almost at 50,000 and am making more than I have at any “real” job, and it’s been my full-time job for 3 years now (though it did take a while to get to this point).
YouTube pays for impressions, based on the video ads that run before (or sometimes during) the video, as well as those that pop up along the bottom of the video during it. The more views you have, the more money you’ll make.
Edit: Or basically what DonLogan said
I haven’t had any sites up and running AdSense in a couple of years, but I think there’s a small difference between text ads that run on a web site and ads that run on YouTube.
A web page ad, I think you only get paid if a user clicks on it.
YouTube, there can be two types of ads - a “pre-roll”, where a full ad runs before your clip plays, and a static ad that appears on top of your clip; the user can “x” out of the ad or click on it.
Pre-rolls you probably automatically get paid for. Static ads, you probably only get paid if the user clicks.
I’ve seen where you can load the same clip twice and one time a pre-roll runs and another it doesn’t; I don’t know how that is determined.
Thanks for the explanation. It seemed weird to me because maybe ten years ago it seemed like you got 1/10th of one cent for a hit when banner ads started showing up, so it didn’t seem likely someone could make a comfortable living unless they were getting tons of hits, and viral videos like Gangnam Style really do that just once in a lifetime for the uploader.
Glad to hear it though. Some YouTubers are very creative - Jeremiah McDonald’s “Conversation with my 12-year old Self” is brilliant.
I have some videos on YouTube. I’ve not had many visits at all, but why aren’t YouTube offering me the 1 or 2 cents I’m owed?
I’m betting the answer is right there at the end of your 2nd sentence - they don’t process payments for less than a reasonable amount. It costs money to cut a check or otherwise make a payment, after all.
I don’t think they pay any money unless you’re a youtube partner.
$100 is the threshhold to be paid, and you have to actively monetize your video, which I believe anyone can do now without needing to be a partner
Sorry to slightly hijack, although I guess this is still within the spirit of the OP, but could I approach YouTube and demand my 2 cents? Would they have to pay me?
Ain’t nobody got time for that.