Table of Contents
From 0 To 500,000 Subscribers
Now it is important to understand that my channel is in the money/finance niche, which means my ad rates are significantly higher.
My channel talks about investing in the stock market and other financial topics. Most channels on YouTube do not make this much money based on the number of views I am getting.
But, believe it or not, there was a time when I was making next to nothing with this channel.
The month that I started, I earned $2.57 in total. It is easy to get out of touch with the early stages of any venture, so in this article I want to go back in time. I want to take you back to late 2016 when I had just started this channel on a tight budget.
Earning My First $100 From Ads
Most people focus on the ad revenue when looking to earn money on YouTube, but there are actually a number of different ways to make money on the platform.
Most of these methods, like Patreon, sponsors, or merchandise are out of reach for small creators. However, there is one method that works regardless of the size of your channel and that is affiliate marketing.
So, I will be sharing with you some initial tips to get your first 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time to get your channel eligible for monetization. I will also show you how to leverage Amazon Associates to start making money potentially from day 1.
Extra Reading – How Does YouTube Send You Money?
How To Get 1,000 YouTube Subscribers
The truth is, getting your first 1,000 subscribers is a grind. In total, it took me a little over 4 months.
My best advice in these early stages is to focus on the long term picture of what you are building. I’m sure this goes without saying, but none of this works without creating valuable content for your growing audience.
Content is king, and this should be your main focus. You should also have a strong call to action at the beginning and end of your videos asking people to subscribe to your channel. You never want to assume that they will without you asking!
How To Get 4,000 Hours Watch Time
Making Money On YouTube With Amazon Affiliate Links
- Include links to your video/recording equipment
- Do videos on your favorite books and link to them on Amazon
- Talk about gift ideas around the holiday’s
- Review products that you already own
- Compare two products side by side
Final Thoughts – Can You Make Money On YouTube In 2023?
EDIT: 2020-09-02 – Tom here, I just have to jump in with an update because Ryan’s advice is absolutely spot on.
I just recently reached 1K subscribers on YouTube, and like Ryan mentions, the snowballing of this platform is real.
If you’re skeptical about all of this or starting your channel, the proof is in the pudding.
I started my channel in February with one lousy video.
In mid-March, I decided to upload a video per week and also upgraded my equipment a little bit. You can read more in my post on blogging vs YouTube.
Anyway, with an upload or 2 per week, this is what happened to my reach on YouTube:
It just took one video to get some traction for things to pop off. Plus, this is mostly YouTube search traffic, not redirect traffic from This Online World or a free traffic source like Reddit.
And, as a result, I’ve now created a new income stream for myself!
Ryan’s advice here is spot-on, and I think his results plus this little test-run show that!
Ultimately, I think the future of YouTube in 2022 and beyond is looking up. Don’t be scared to start your own channel 🙂
Now that we’re in 2022, I’ve basically crossed the $4,000 mark for making money on YouTube, which just goes to show you never know where one of these side hustle ideas can take you!
Thanks so much to Ryan for taking the time to make this guest post!
If you want even more resources, check out my latest case study!
Johnny Encinias says
Thanks Ryan Great advice. I just hit 820 subscribers.
Mr. Freedom says
A great example of turning a side hustle with passion into something that provides value!
William Davies says
lovely read while stuck in the house lol
Tom Blake says
Haha glad you liked it William, thanks so much for reading and for the comment! Best of luck with making money with your YouTube channel.