Thinking of starting a Youtube channel but wondering how much you can make per view? Trying to calculate how soon could you buy your next mansion? We have some good and bad news for you. Yes, you can make good money with Youtube. But no, you won’t be able to estimate your profits that easily.
According to several sources, YouTubers earn between 0.5 cents to 3 cents per view, making it anywhere between $5 and $30 for 1000 views (targeting Tier 1 Countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, etc). Earnings vary depending on factors like demographics, timing, content, and channel popularity among others.
As you can see, this is one of those questions that requires a more detailed analysis. Let’s take a look at what is behind the numbers so you understand what we are talking about.
How Much Money Do You Make Per View On Youtube?
Ways Youtubers are Paid
For Youtuber standards, ‘earnings per view’ is not a metric. Instead, the parameters that you should actually consider are CPC and CPM.
CPC or Cost Per Click ads
The advertiser pays based on how many clicks he was able to get with a particular ad. These kinds of ads usually appear on the right side of your YouTube channel or they can also appear at the bottom of the screen, during the video.
- CPC for Display ads/Banner ads: average $0.18 per click
CPM or Cost Per Mile ads
The advertiser pays based on the views he had instead of the clicks generated. However, the viewer needs to watch at least 30 seconds or half the ad for it to be considered a valid view. This means that if a single viewer continues to click on the ad multiple times, the advertiser won’t be billed for all those clicks because he is only paying for views.
- CPM for ads targeting Tier 1 Countries: Anywhere from $5-$30 CPM
Not all views are paid the same
You may have heard YouTubers ask why two videos with the same number of views have earned completely different amounts of revenue.
How does one YouTuber make over $11,000 for a viral video while another might make less than $500 for the same number of views?
Let’s take a look at some of the factors that can potentially impact YouTube revenue.
1. Location, Location, Location
If your channel successfully targets Tier 1 countries then the amount of money you get for 1 million views might range from $3000 – $15000. However, if your channel targets Tier 3 countries then you might only receive $180 – $300 at the most.
This is explained by buying power, If you are not targeting countries with high buying power then a million views will still mean a relatively small amount of money despite anything else.
2. Clicks vs View
As mentioned before, payments are based on ad clicks as well, not just views. So attempting to calculate revenue just by views is missing a big chunk of the picture.
3. Ad Skipping
The percentage of people who skip ads heavily impacts YouTubers’ revenue. YouTube does not count skipped ads as a view therefore creators do not get paid for viewers who skip ads.
4. Ad Quality
Highly creative ads with amazing deals will result in more views, clicks and more revenue for the YouTuber. High-quality channels with high engagement will logically attract better publishers.
5. Competition
If a higher number of advertisers are trying to reach a specific audience, it can require them to increase their bid, and therefore the revenue that the YouTuber will receive.
6. Keywords
The keywords that YouTubers use can influence whether certain advertisers decide to target their videos. A video on the same topic, with different tags, can result in different advertisers and payouts.
7. Video Length
The length of the video influence how many ads are served to a single viewer, potentially doubling or even tripling ad revenue.
8. Watch Time
Similar to video length, watch time makes a difference as YouTube tracks for how long viewers tune in a video.
You do not have to be a YouTube superstar in order to make a small amount of money from 1000 views, but if you do get to a million views with high content and interaction this number increases drastically.
9. Ad-blockers
Certain demographics are more likely to use ad-blockers, which means there is no ad served and no revenue earned by those YouTubers. A male audience aged between 18 and 29 years old would have a higher percentage of AdBlock users than a YouTuber with a female audience under 18.
10. YouTube’s Policies
YouTube is becoming more and more strict about which videos can be monetized at all. Certain topics and themes could draw in hundreds of thousands of views but not be monetized at all.
Depending on the type of content of the video, you can also expect a difference in the money received. YouTube tends to pay more when videos fall into the categories of things like finance, IT, business, music, news, and informational.
These aspects and niches where people spend money get paid higher than things like memes, jokes, and anything that falls into the entertainment section.
Other ways YouTubers make money
Truth is, the biggest cut of Youtubers’ income doesn’t come from ad revenue. This makes it even harder to estimate how much they are making, but also gives you more options to monetize your future channel.
Here are some of the most common ways content creators make their income other than ads:
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a sales strategy in which companies pay the ‘affiliates’ a commission for every sale generated through their referral link.
Nowadays almost every company has an affiliate program which means the possibilities of partnerships (and income) are endless. Considering that youtube videos keep getting views after years of creation, affiliate marketing can become a truly passive way of income.
When you sign up for an affiliate program, you will receive a unique link that will help the company track your sales and commissions.
To be successful with this method, it’s important to promote products and services that you use, like and are relevant to your niche and audience. If you use a product and would recommend it to your friends, why not recommend it to your viewers?
There are a lot of ways in which YouTubers create content around affiliate offers, some of the most common include:
- Sharing a solution for a problem and recommending the product as a part of it
- An unboxing video of the product you’re trying to sell.
- A list of the ‘Top Best’ of a certain product.
- A review video of the product or service.
- A comparison of two similar products or services.
2. Sponsorships
Sponsorships are every YouTuber’s dream. They usually mean you have gained a following an authority in your niche. Brands won’t risk investing in a YouTuber unless they’ve proven themselves successful.
Depending on where you are in your stardom path, you can either reach out to brands, starting with small ones, or will notice brands start reaching out to you. YouTuber ‘Influencer’ will charge brands anything from $10 to $50 per 1,000 views or $10,000 to $50,000 if the video hits 1 million views.
Sponsorship can involve a one time video, a product launch with a whole series, or a full sponsorship of the YouTube channel where the YouTuber recommends or mentions the product in almost every video.
Like with any monetization method, you need to stick with brands that you actually believe in and are a good fit for your audience. Your audience is your most important asset. If they feel you are endorsing a brand that you wouldn’t use or they don’t like you will lose their credibility and eventually money.
3. Merchandise/ Products
Probably only a few YouTubers have followers interested in buying a hat with their name on it. Reaching this point requires a lot of time and work to build a community of loyal and adoring fans.
Some of the biggest YouTube stars like Jeffree Star and Jake Paul have gone beyond merchandise and make most of their money by selling their own products on the niche they are famous in.
YouTubers with channels that are more educative tend to leverage their audience by selling courses or info products.
4. Donations
Last but not least, Patreon has now become a popular option for YouTubers with thousands of loyal viewers who want to show their support and you keep your channel running. The average Patreon contributor gives $7, and Patreon keeps 5% of that as a commission.
Got questions?
Here are some of the most common related questions we get about Youtube revenue:
How much do YouTubers make per video?
As we have seen, that depends on many factors, but it could be loads. For example, for a video with 1 million views, a YouTuber could be making anything between $3,000 and $10,000!
How many views do you need to reach on YouTube to get paid?
Since 2019, you need to have 4,000 valid watch hours in the last 12 months and a minimum of 1,000 subscribers. Once you are accepted, YouTube will pay you when you reach a balance of $100.
How much does YouTube pay per subscriber?
YouTubers don’t get paid per subscriber. However, subscribers are the ones who are most likely to watch your videos – so the more you have, the better viewership
Takeaway
How much you can earn per YouTube video view is impacted more by how much advertisers are willing to pay for that audience than by the number of views a video gets.
Finally, if starting a youtube channel is something you are interested in, you will do better by focusing your time on creating more and more content. In the end, it is the only strategy guaranteed to bring you more money.
Have any questions? Tell us in the comments, we love hearing from you!
