How much YouTube pays influencers

AMANDA PERLLIHOW much YouTube pays creators for a single video depends on a number of factors, but the number of views it gets is a big one.

Creators with 1 000 subscribers and 4 000 watch hours are eligible to have their videos monetised with ads by joining YouTube’s partner programme.

These ads are filtered by Google, and how much money a creator earns depends on the video’s watch time, length, video type, and viewer demographics – among other factors.

Some top creators have ad-placement strategies to maximise their earnings.

For instance, Andrei Jikh, a personal-finance influencer, says he earns more money by including mid-roll ads, which can run in videos lasting over eight minutes.

They can be skippable or non-skippable, and creators can place them manually or have them automatically placed by YouTube.

There are also things creators can avoid to boost earnings.

Some videos that contain swearing or copyrighted music are flagged by YouTube and demonetised, earning hardly any money for the creator (or none at all).

One of YouTube’s biggest stars, David Dobrik, says he earns about U$2 000 a month from YouTube directly, despite his weekly videos gaining an average 10 million views.

Here’s how much money YouTube paid creators for a video with 100 000, one million, and 150 million views, according to top YouTube creators.

According to Natalie Barbu, whose views average 100 000, she earns between US$500 and US$2 500.

How much money a single YouTube video with 100 000 views makes from Google-placed ads depends on the content of the video and the audience that watches it.

But even some YouTube stars don’t realise this.

Barbu says she started her YouTube channel while in high school about eight years ago.

She would post videos about fashion and beauty as an after-school hobby, long before she knew she could be earning any money from the platform, she says.

Now she runs a channel with 292 000 subscribers and posts weekly videos about her day-to-day life experiences.

Barbu has more than 20 videos with over 100 000 views uploaded to her YouTube channel. On average, her videos earn between U$200 and U$500, she says.

Other YouTube creators – Marko Zlatic (personal finance), Ruby Asabor (business), Erica Boucher (business), and Roberto Blake (tech) – broke down what they generally earn from a video with around 100 000 views:

Blake told Insider in February 2020 he earns between US$800 and US$1 500.

Boucher in November last year said she earns about US$1 300, while Zlatic in February last year said he earns between US$1 300 and US$1 500.

Asabor last year said she earns between US$2 200 and US$2 500 from a video which has been viewed some 100 000 times.

When she first started out, she says she thought everyone made about the same.

Then she discovered she was making more money on YouTube than a friend of hers who had more subscribers.

Asabor says she later realised Google’s advertisers favoured her finance and business-related videos, which target an older audience, more.

These advertisers pay more than others, because there are fewer videos on YouTube that attract their target audience.

Namibians too have been getting on YouTube, young content creator Selma Kambwela, known as “Crazy Haired” on YouTube has over 430 000 views on one of her videos, and says making money on the platform is a real deal.

On how to get YouTube to pay up, Kambwela said normally YouTube would contact the content creator, but should they not, the content creator could also reach out to YouTube and find out why.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.