A YouTuber known for his openness has disclosed his earnings from creating content on the platform, leaving many people astounded by the figures.
YouTube boasts approximately 122 million daily active users, as reported by Global Media Insight, with around 500 hours of content being uploaded every minute.
For some individuals, creating content on YouTube is a passion project, while for others like Ninja, Jess No Limit, and pop culture expert Mike’s Mic, it’s a primary source of income.
So, what are the earnings of YouTubers from their content?
One content creator has given fans an inside look at his channel’s analytics, revealing exactly how much he earned from 1.3 billion views.
Kai Menzer, who previously focused on gaming content, revisited his old channel to share the ad revenue generated from six of his past videos.
The first video Menzer reviewed was a long-form piece with 4.8 million views.
“Eight minutes long, gaming content. I made $9,117.24,” he stated about the video, which garnered 267,600 hours of watch time.
“Also got a $4,000 sponsor from this video,” Menzer added.
He then displayed the analytics of another video on his channel, which had 5.7 million views and lasted only one minute and 12 seconds.
This particular post earned him $4,085.06, according to his screen, while another video with 6.3 million views brought in $4,456.32. The latter was one minute and 17 seconds long.
His third most-viewed short-form video, lasting 54 seconds, had an impressive 82.6 million views and generated $4,112.20 in ad revenue.
However, there was a noticeable drop in earnings from another of his YouTube Shorts, which had 86.5 million views but only earned him $2,925.78.
The final video, with 94.9 million views, gained 145,200 new subscribers and earned $3,395.65 in revenue.
Now, let’s look at the creator’s total earnings from his channel.
According to the video analytics, Menzer accumulated 1.3 billion views across all his videos. Viewers logged 16 million hours of watch time, and his channel reached two million subscribers.
In total, Menzer earned $157,386.45 from his YouTube content. Impressive.
“Not too bad,” the social media influencer commented. “But why did I quit? Well, it’s because I didn’t want to continue with gaming and wanted to help entrepreneurs with their YouTube channels. So subscribe.”
Menzer’s straightforward video has been applauded by numerous YouTube users, many appreciating his honesty regarding revenue.
“Thanks for being transparent and honest, it is still an impressive and huge milestone,” one viewer commented.
Another added: “Thanks for showing this; it is important for me to assess whether it’s worth continuing to work on YouTube.”
However, another viewer remarked on how ‘humbling’ the earnings seem to be.
They noted: “$157k isn’t nothing, but for 1.3B views I would’ve thought it’d be $300k+.
“4-5M views on a video I thought would be $10k plus,” they continued. “Super insightful.”
Someone else noted: “I earn so much on shorts getting way less than you did. I was expecting hundreds of thousands actually.”
So, why is there such a variation in revenue distribution?
According to IFTTT, it’s essential to understand how YouTube’s payment system works to address this question.
To receive payment from the platform, content creators need to be part of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP).
Eligibility for the YPP requires having at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months.
Once accepted, creators can start monetizing their videos through ads, sponsorships, and other revenue streams.
However, the money earned per view can vary significantly due to several factors.
These include the viewers’ location, the advertisers’ budgets, and the type of ads shown on the videos.
IFTTT notes that YouTube typically pays between $0.01 to $0.03 per view. This is a rough estimate and can vary widely.
Additionally, YouTube takes a 45 percent share of ad revenue, with the creator receiving 55 percent.
Even so, this arrangement is often seen as favorable.
If you’re working on your channel and haven’t reached Menzer’s numbers yet, don’t worry—success might still be on the horizon.