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How do YouTubers Make Money?

2016-09-23 · explainer · Hank · 3:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube · mode: Explainer · tags: self promotion

Starting from a reporter's question at the first VidCon, Hank explains how YouTubers make money (AdSense, brand deals, YouTube grants, LA gigs, touring, licensing, own platforms, Patreon), argues that different content needs different monetization and that it has become harder, and presents the Internet Creators Guild he started.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The first VidCon: a TV reporter asks Hank how one makes money on YouTube

  • ★★ Hank recalls that at the first VidCon a TV reporter asked how one makes money on YouTube; tired and excited, he answered 'advertising — my show has more viewers than yours', not meant as a burn. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:00 · VidCon, YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says the answer is complicated and that everyone should be more open about how YouTube money works. (hedged) — 00:00:32 · YouTube

00:00:41 — How YouTubers make money: AdSense, brand deals, grants, gigs, touring, licensing, subscription platforms, Patreon

  • ★★★ Hank's thesis: different kinds of content need different kinds of financial support, and work better with different kinds of monetization. — 00:00:41
  • ★★ Hank says a very low-budget show like this one, just two guys, could probably subsist on AdSense and merch. (hedged) — 00:00:45 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ Hank says AdSense works for every YouTuber: tick a box at upload, YouTube sells an ad against the video and the creator gets 55% of the revenue. — 00:00:50 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says YouTube started sharing ad revenue with creators way back around 2007 and 2008. (hedged) — 00:01:01 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says sharing revenue with creators is not common among social media sites, though some have started to share some revenue. — 00:01:01 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says revenue sharing makes YouTube an appealing place to create but also harder to break into, because money draws spending on better-looking content. — 00:01:09 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says Crash Course and SciShow were both funded by YouTube grants, because YouTube wanted more high-quality content so advertisers would advertise. — 00:01:32 · Crash Course, SciShow, YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says such higher-level support systems are really hard to democratize and make available to everybody. — 00:01:39
  • ★★ Hank says brand deals, any payment to talk about something in a video, from an audible.com callout to a whole sponsored video, have become available to middle-class creators. (hedged) — 00:01:43
  • ★★ Hank says YouTube advertising is available to everybody and reliable, but pays a really low rate. — 00:02:00 · YouTube, online advertising
  • ★★ Hank says many YouTubers supplement income, besides regular jobs, by living in Los Angeles for acting or hosting gigs, which more social media followers make easier to get. — 00:02:08 · Los Angeles, YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says some YouTubers make money by touring, whether as comedians or musicians. — 00:02:23 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says creators sometimes license their content to other platforms, and sometimes videos go on TV and make money that way. — 00:02:27
  • ★★ Hank says some creators, like Rooster Teeth, build their own subscription platforms. — 00:02:33
  • ★★★ Hank says Patreon is extremely important for shows like Sexplanations, which get very bad ad rates because advertisers avoid the word sex; without patrons the show couldn't exist. — 00:02:35 · Sexplanations
  • ★★★ Hank says that, unlike his VidCon 2010 answer, it is not simple: making your way on YouTube has become much more difficult and complicated. — 00:02:57 · VidCon, YouTube

00:03:03 — The Internet Creators Guild, Laura Chernikoff, and keeping online video's benefits accessible; sign-off

  • ★★★ Hank says he recently started the Internet Creators Guild to connect creators, give them information and a unified voice when things go wrong. — 00:03:03
  • ★★ Hank says he doesn't want to and can't run the ICG, being too biased, and looks forward to stepping back after helping Laura Chernikoff get established as executive director. (hedged) — 00:03:20
  • ★★ Hank calls Laura Chernikoff one of the most effective people he has ever met. — 00:03:28
  • ★★★ Hank says online video creates much value and capturing it gets more complicated; as barriers rise we need systems keeping its benefits accessible to as many people as possible. — 00:03:35 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank hopes the Internet Creators Guild can play a part in keeping online video's benefits accessible. (hedged) — 00:03:48

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says most YouTubers can only supplement other income, creators may need to move to subscription-style content for higher-budget work, and SciShow and Crash Course are secure. (hedged) — video description · SciShow, Crash Course, YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says SciShow and Crash Course were designed with YouTube's money systems in mind and have found a path to sustainability thanks to advertisers and Patreon patrons. — video description · SciShow, Crash Course, YouTube

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Internet Creators Guild · online advertising · YouTube · YouTube Partner Program

Also: People: Laura Chernikoff

Projects: Crash Course · SciShow · Sexplanations · VidCon

Organizations: Audible · Patreon · Rooster Teeth

Concepts: crowdfunding · sponsorship

Places: Los Angeles

Also centred on Internet Creators Guild: Questions (and Announcements) from VidCon

Also centred on YouTube Partner Program: August 15: Getting Featured on YouTube

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