Monday, July 4, 2011

YouTube Partner Program

Everyone’s buzzing over the article about YouTube stars making six figures per year that Yahoo Finance posted last week.

This has sparked questions about my income earned from my YouTube channel that now has over 25,000 subscribers.

I hate to disappoint you guys, but my YouTube Partner earnings aren’t NEAR six figures. Some months I don’t even pass $100.

As I reported in some of my YouTube videos, I earn way more from the contextual AdSense ads on my sites than I do with the partner program.

This may come as a shock since I have over 25,000 subscribers, but here’s the deal…

I hardly display the ads on my videos anymore. So that’s a big part of the reason my YouTube partner earnings are so low. I don’t like how intrusive they are and many of them are unrelated to what my videos are actually about.

To me, it’s not worth the annoying, unrelated ads across my face just to make a few extra bucks per month. So if I do display the ads, I opt to only show the banner alongside the video.

Also, every niche is different. My niche has a lot of banner blindness, but I know of a few people in the hair and beauty niche who are doing well with the partner program.

This doesn’t surprise me because the ads in this niche are often very relevant and enticing. However, the ads aren’t performing as well in my niche.

It’s amazing how many people beg me to help them become a YouTube Partner. I’ve even been offered money to help people get approved. Some are so anxious to get in because they assume it’s their instant ticket to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month.

For some channels, it may be. But getting accepted as a YouTube partner is not a guaranteed gold mine. Just like the regular AdSense program, how much you make depends on number of clicks, ad relevance and traffic.

I think the YouTube Partner Program is a great opportunity for popular channels, but I also believe it generates a lot of hype and unrealistic earnings expectations.

You will never know how much you are going to make until you get accepted and start displaying the ads. Also understand every niche performs differently, so you can’t base your potential earnings off someone else’s.

If you do become a YouTube Partner, great! But don’t lose sleep if you can’t. Some people do very well with it, but it’s not an instant income generator like many people believe.

In my personal experience, AdSense text ads on my websites perform much better than banner ads on YouTube. Of course, everyone’s experience will be different. This is just my story.

1 comment:

  1. Rock on! You are my guru as your blogs have guided me at my most difficult times. I am not a `job-searcher’ anymore, as I can make money sitting at home. Writers like you are the main reason I am a successfully established freelance graphic designer. By `successful’ I mean `making lots of money’. It is never too late to turn your life around…for the better. Websites like www.zopcodes.com,freelance online jobs
    , www.odesk.com, and www.e-lancing.com have made my day. If you know anymore such sites then just let me know.

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