In this article, I want to show you how much money I make on YouTube with less than 3000 subscribers. So, if you’re a new Utuber or a small channel, this is something you’ll want to see because it takes time to get monetized.

If you don’t know how to get monetized, I have a video that explains it. In short, you have to accumulate 4,000 watch hours and have a minimum of 1000 subscribers. You can watch the video here.

But, the most important message I want to share with you is not to get discouraged and give up. As I said, it does take time to get monetized.

Let me show you how my income is growing.

My First Paycheck From YouTube

I got monetized back in December 2019. Then in January, I made my first paycheck. It was $68.10. However, I didn’t receive a payment until March. This is because you have to wait until your balance reaches $100 to get a payout. YouTube just accumulates your funds until you reach the payment threshold.

Therefore, if you only make $30 in your first month and say, $60 in your second month, you’ll have to wait another month to receive a payout. YouTube pays 30 days after the end of the pay period.

Continuing on, in February, I made $128.16. But, I didn’t receive a payment until March 21^st. I received a total of $196.26. That was my first ever check from YouTube and I was so excited.

But, here is where I want to explain why you shouldn’t get discouraged. You see, my expectation was that this was just going to keep increasing. But unfortunately, that’s not how it works. It’s a roller coaster ride and I discovered this when I was listening to another YouTuber with a large channel of 400,000 subscribers.

This YouTuber shared that in September, everything in her channel went down. Oddly, in the same period, everything for me went up. That’s just how things are in this business.

Check Your Stats

So, let’s look at my own stats. I keep a spreadsheet for this and you might like to do the same.

In March, my YouTube income was $111.57. This was lower than my February income. Also, even though my views went down, my watch time and subscribers went up.

I’ve worked out that the money I make really depends on what my video is about and what kind of ads are placed on the video. This means it’s really difficult to predict any kind of average income to expect.

In April, my income went back up to $156.31. My views and watch time also went up but my subscribers remained the same.

To help me keep an eye on my watch hours, I use an extension called VidIQ. Once you install it, you can just pull it up any time and it will show you lifetime watch hours. It’s a great tool to allows you to see how your videos are performing.

According to these stats, I was consistently getting 400 watch hours per day in April and also in May. However, in May, my income went down a little but my subscribers went up.

So, as you can see, there’s really no consistency. It all depends on the ads that are being watched and not how many views, watch hours or subscribers you have.

Don’t Get Discouraged

In June, my subscribers took a little bit of a nose dive but, my income wasn’t too bad. It was still around $149. Plus, the average views for every 48 hours dropped from 400 to 300.

However, in July, I still made $177.79.

Then, in September, I finally reached over $200 and this is when I really got excited. And, that’s what motivates me to keep going.

Now, you might be thinking, “that’s not very much money for all the work you’re doing”. That’s why I want to share with you what first motivated me to start this business.

I read a book called ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ by Robert Kiyosaki. One thing that he said in the book was:

“You have to be willing to work for free before you can appreciate getting paid”

That really stuck with me. In fact, it’s something that I try to teach my grandchildren. When they come out to visit, sometimes I give them a little money for helping, and sometimes I don’t. It all depends on their attitude. Plus, I don’t want them to expect something every time they help out. I want them to appreciate being able to do things for the joy of it and not just for the money.

Here’s a link to the book ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it.

Where Am I Now?

So, let’s look at where I am right now. I like to look at my analytics every morning because it motivates me. I like to see how much I’m making and whether I’m getting more watches.

That’s why I like using VidIQ. It show me exactly how many people are watching my videos and over what time period. Here’s a link, if you want to check it out yourself.

Right now, it’s October the 13^th, 2020 and it looks like I’m on track to reach over $200 again this month.

Look At The Analytics

Let’s check out my analytics. I went into ‘overview’ and then below where it says ‘see more’, I selected 365 days. This gives me a whole year of stats.

These stats will show me where my money is coming from and which videos. While one particular video may be making more money, an entirely different one is giving me more subscribers. So this shows that different videos give you different benefits.

Therefore, if you have a video that’s making really good money but not bringing in any new subscribers, keep promoting it. On the other hand, you may have a video that has lots of views, a fantastic click-through rate and is also making good money. Looking at your analytics will help you to discover which of your videos are the most valuable.

Alternatively, you might have a video that you created to promote a certain affiliate product. But, you found that the company was not honoring its affiliate commissions. You might be tempted to delete the video altogether, but, if it’s getting views and making money, leave it there.

So, what I want to emphasize here is that not every video is going to bring in the same amount of money per 1000 views. It really depends on the ads that are being shown when the video plays.

I hope this has been helpful to you. The most important thing is to keep going and not get discouraged. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers who question why you’re doing this. Eventually, you’ll start making money and that’s when you’ll see the passive income we all strive for.

You’ve Got This!