5 Myths About Earning Money on YouTube | How do YouTubers Make Money

If you are a starry-eyed youth šŸ¤© who wishes to make it big on YouTube, then you are not alone. However, if you wish to use the platform as a revenue channel, then there are several caveats and misconceptions that you must resolve before proceeding on this journey.

5 Myths About Earning Money on YouTube | How do YouTubers Make Money

If you are a starry-eyed youth šŸ¤© who wishes to make it big on YouTube, then you are not alone. Given the platformā€™s popularity, the greater accessibility to content creation šŸŽ„ and editing toolsšŸŽžļø, and the ample amount of time we now have at our disposal, making and publishing videos on YouTube can be an easy task.

However, if you wish to use the platform as a revenue channel, then there are several caveats and misconceptions that you must resolve before proceeding on this journey.

Here are the top five myths about earning money on YouTube:

Myth #1: YouTubers Make All Their Money Through Views šŸ‘€

If you have read any blogs surrounding how do YouTubers make money, you may find people predicting the potential income by breaking down the number of views while factoring in the Google ad revenue and so on šŸ“ˆ.

How do YouTubers make money
Source

However, thatā€™s a very singular (and inaccurate) way to look at how do YouTubers make money. Funnily enough, even YouTube employees may not be able to calculate these numbers accurately because there is a lot that comes to play.

And hence, in simple words, the YouTube ad revenue model is fairly inconsistent. You may earn varying sums for nearly the same metrics at different times of the year! Say, advertisers may come in heavy any time around the holiday season (think of all the Diwali sale ads). And once this golden period is over, you could be hit with a dry spell!

Similarly, you could be making 6 to 8 times less money if your viewers are from developing countries, like India, compared to the viewers from developed countries like the US, UK, or EU nations!

So no, views are not everything.

Source

Popular YouTubers rely more on generating revenue through paid promotions, branded content, crowdfunding, licensing deals, and merchandising. So, if you are a game streamer (like most top YouTubers), expect more through partnership and endorsement deals than through views (which just means a lot of great additions to your setup and gear!).

Myth #2: More Subscribers = More Money šŸ¤‘

How often have you heard YouTubers start or end their videos with, ā€œPlease like, share, and subscribe to my channelā€? At least that must account for something, right?

Unfortunately, the number of subscribers also does not directly affect your pay.

Of course, when you read YouTubeā€™s review policy on how to monetize a YouTube channel with the YouTube Partner Program, it does state that you would need 1,000 subscribers, but thatā€™s just all there is to it.

Even if you hit a million subscribers, YouTube will grant you a spiffy gold play button from YouTube but no other monetary benefit.

How do YouTubers make money
Source

However, if it is any consolation, more subscribers would eventually translate into a greater number of views and viewer consistency, which could give you a marginal edge.

Myth #3: Getting One Million Views Per Month Will Make You RichšŸ’°!

Speaking of a million views, you may be wondering about the conversion of 1 million YouTube views to money. Once again, hereā€™s where the waters turn muddy.

Unfortunately, YouTube has a strict policy where creators cannot disclose their income. So there are no concrete figures that we can dish out to address this very popular query. However, we did a lot of digging (so that you donā€™t have to) and found out that channels make an average of 3 paise per view. However, you must also factor in that YouTube displays ads to only 25 to 30% of the viewers.

On that note, weā€™ll just leave you to do the math šŸ„“.

It is also worth mentioning here that the cost corresponding to the views varies depending on the nature of the content. For instance, an unboxing video šŸ“¦ could attract a different pro-rata revenue when compared to a recipe. So how to make money on YouTube 2021 is a lot like shooting arrows in the dark šŸŽÆ.

If the numbers seem too disappointing, donā€™t despair just as yet! Getting a million views per month means that you are noticed and highly valued by your viewers, which could probably land you a few sweet deals with brands and advertisers, so thereā€™s some good coming out of it!

Myth #4: You Need to Rack Up Big Numbers to Make Big Bucks on YouTube

As the numbers reel in, you may think big name = big game. Thatā€™s the secret to how to make money on YouTube 2021, right?

Wrong āŒ.

Gone are the days when brands wouldnā€™t even talk to you if you didnā€™t have anything more than 1,00,000 subscribers! And since 2021 marks the age of micro-influencers, the ball could land in anyoneā€™s court āš½!

How do YouTubers make money
Source

Businesses now realize the potential offered by creators who have a small but strong following. Brands want to tie up with YouTubers that can lend credibility even to sponsored content and soft sell their goods.

Ultimately, you have to put out content that reflects your true passion. Once you manage to hit it off with your audiences, most brands would be eager to work with you.

Myth #5: Making Money on YouTube is Easy šŸ’ŖšŸ½

Making money on YouTube may sound easy. What more do you have to do apart from creating and uploading videos? Meanwhile, your AdSense account will start growing.

However, while reading points 1 through 4, the reality of it all may strike you. And thatā€™s just the tip of the iceberg!

The whole idea of how to earn money from YouTube in India can be rather complicated. Moreover, the pressure of creating top-notch content, sticking to a schedule, and filtering out the hate comments (itā€™s the internet, after all!) may not be everyoneā€™s cup of tea šŸ˜–. So what you perceive as ā€œeasyā€ depends on multiple factors.

It is essentially one of those things that may sound simple in theory but could take a good long while to bear fruit in practice.

That being said, if you have a knack for content creation and the tenacity to stick to your goals, making money over YouTube will be a piece of cake!

Final words

We have created the above list of myths not to discourage you from pursuing your dream of making money on YouTube. On the contrary, we hope that after watching all the popular myths busted, you would be more prepared to avoid potential hurdles or disappointments! Because once you are prepared, you would be an unstoppable force to reckon.