RICHMOND, Va. (VCU Odyssey) – These days, everyone has the ability to upload a video to YouTube. But what many users are unaware of is the chance to earn money through their account.
In 2008, YouTube launched its partnership program which allows creators with active channels to monetize their content. As of 2013, over one million users are partnered according to YouTube’s analytics. This is a substantial growth from the 30,000 partnered channels in 2011.
According to the YouTube blog New Media Rockstars, YouTube currently has over one billion users uploading 300,000 videos daily. With this many users comes a narrow window for potential profit, but it also expands a creator’s potential audience.
Hayley Williams is a content creator and YouTube partner from suburban Richmond. She started her channel in Dec. 2013. As of July 2016, Williams has amassed a following of nearly 1.2 million people and nearly 60 million video views. Her videos include DIYs, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Williams said she watched for years before creating.
“I think it’s something that helped me a lot,” Williams said. “You can kind of already tell what’s popular, and what people like, and what editing styles they like.”
Although becoming a YouTube sensation does not happen overnight, creators have found ways to utilize their partnership with YouTube from a creative hobby to a full-time career.
Creators earn money by running ads through Google AdSense. There are two options for ads. The first are known as “pre-rolls,” or video ads that come before the content. Another option are “banner” ads, or picture ads that pop up on the video and next to the description box below the video.
Williams said she partnered early in her YouTube career.
“I started in December [2013], and I think by the end of January [2014] I was at 1,500 subscribers,” she said.
In recent years, partnering with YouTube has become much easier. According to creator Lindsey Hughes in her “YouTube Partner FAQs & Having YouTube as a Job” video, she had to “apply” for partnership back in 2010 and wait for acceptance.
Today, by simply uploading a video, anyone may choose the option to monetize and run ads – this went into effect April 2012.
Some creators with higher views per video have the option to sign with a network that monitors their “CPM,” or the cost per thousand views. (The "M" represents the Roman numeral for 1,000.)
Depending on viewer traffic, a creator can earn between 30 cents to $10 per 1,000 views. However, YouTube and the network receive a portion of the revenue, usually about 45 percent according to the media marketing site ReelSEO.
Hayley Williams's most popular video to date.
According to a 2013 report by Bloomberg Business, pre-roll revenue declined from an average of $9.35 per 1,000 views in 2012, to $6.33 per 1,000 views.
Regardless of the decline, this means a creator’s top earning potential can skyrocket as their channel grows.
Williams said she looked into many networks to join once she partnered on YouTube. One network she checked out was StyleHaul, who signs thousands of creators making videos like Williams. However, she was offered a partnership with Big Frame, a smaller network with around 200 creators. She also said signing to a network was beneficial to her career.
YouTubers’ contracts prevent creators from discussing payments, said Williams. She said that her revenue runs through Big Frame. But working with networks allows creators to receive brand deals and sponsorships to increase revenue.
According to Williams, some channels use options such as pay to promote; “sub-for-sub,” which is when smaller channels promote themselves on larger channels to grow their audience; or purchasing subscribers. She also said this is problematic in some ways, as analytically it can negatively impact a creator’s channel rank.
“If YouTube sees that you have all these subscribers and only a small percentage are watching, I think that can kind of go into the ranking system,” said Williams. “If it’s a four-minute video and someone only stayed for 37 seconds, then that goes into your ranking when somebody is searching it.”
But more channels are gaining traction with YouTube’s partner program since its inception in 2008. For example, one of the most subscribed creators is Jenna Mourey, known as JennaMarbles, whose top earning salary hit $350,000 in 2012.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mourey’s salary is comparable to the average surgeon. She is best known for her “Sexual Wednesday” videos including rants, parodies, as well as featuring her three dogs. Mourey currently has more than 15 million subscribers and nearly two billion video views.
Williams said her path to gaining the audience she did was making sure she maintains a steady SEO, or “search engine optimization.” She said she uses techniques such as bright thumbnails and not using systems such as the pay to promote, sub-for-sub, or purchasing subscribers.
She also said she made sure to create videos at the “right time.”
“In August [2014] I made a bunch of back-to-school videos, and I jumped like 20,000 that month,” she said.
Williams also said YouTubers should limit the amount of videos they put out every week. She cited Shane Dawson, one of the earliest YouTube sensations, and his daily vlogs, which are short video blogs. Dawson’s analytics and views were declining as he was posting more frequently.
But Williams said her viewers always come first, and often takes viewer requests before creating other content. She said she will produce “cop-out” content – such as user-submitted questions from various social media sites – that is easy to film just to satisfy her viewers.
“At the end of the day, they subscribe to you because they like you,” said Williams. “You want to know what people want.”
YouTube’s estimated ad revenue earnings for 2014 was about $1.13 billion, with over 1 billion users uploading, according to YouTube blog TubeFilter. The same blog reported an estimated $27.4 billion in revenue by 2020.
