How many YouTube views to make $1? – Quick answer

YouTube is the largest video platform on the internet, and there’s an increasing amount of regular people like you and me that are managing to make money by starting their own Youtube channel.

Once you have a loyal subscriber base, you can also begin to start earning from your videos too.

As as the platform grows in size, it’s only natural that more and more of us begin to wonder how much money YouTubers actually make.

We know that when it comes to ad revenue, the revenue is largest depending on the number of views you can get – but just how many views do you need to make your first few dollars online?

How many YouTube views to make $1?

Currently the YouTube algorithm says that you’ll earn a dollar for approximately 400 – 500 video views.

This means that it’s around $2 for every 1,000 views on a video. This means if you can get a million views on one of your YouTube videos, you’re likely going to earn around $2000 dollars for this as an average.

At this rate, you’d need 500,000,000 (500 million) views on YouTube to make a million dollars.

Bear in mind that most of the successful YouTube channels that create viral videos like this are musicians, which is typically supported by a larger label and plenty of different people will take a cut of the revenue.

Just because your favorite popstar has a billion views on one of their music videos, doesn’t mean they’ll be getting most of that ad revenue themselves.

This average is taken across all videos, so if you have 50 videos on your channel them each one gaining 10 views, this would work the same as getting 500 views on one video.

This is why for some YouTubers, the key to success is actually the volume of content they’re putting out, as you’re trying to get as many views as possible.

Not every video is going to go viral, but even if they don’t, they can still supply a steady form of income.

Plus there are definitely other things to consider that will have an impact on your earnings on YouTube, like the watch time of each video.

If each video is only a few minutes long, then you’re likely going to be below the average earnings per 1000 views.

What factors into video earnings?

YouTube does not pay creators based solely on the number of views a video receives.

Instead, earnings are primarily determined by the number of advertisements viewed or interacted with by the audience.

There are several factors that affect a YouTube creator’s earnings:

  1. Type of Ad: Different ads have different payouts. For instance, display ads (those that appear to the side of videos) generally have lower CPM (Cost Per Thousand views) rates compared to skippable or non-skippable video ads.
  2. Viewer Engagement: Ads that are clicked on or watched for longer periods can earn more than ads that are skipped quickly.
  3. Audience Demographics: Ads targeting audiences in countries with higher purchasing power might have a higher CPM.
  4. Video Length: Videos over 10 minutes can include multiple ad placements, potentially increasing revenue.
  5. Channel’s Niche: Some topics have a higher CPM because advertisers are willing to pay more for certain audiences.
  6. YouTube Premium: Creators earn a share of the fee from YouTube Premium subscribers who watch their content.

Given these factors, the amount a creator earns per 1,000 views (often referred to as CPM) can vary widely.

It’s not uncommon to hear YouTubers reporting CPMs ranging from $0.50 to $10 or more, although the average is likely between $0.25 and $4.

So, to roughly calculate earnings for 1 view: If you take an average CPM of $2 (which means $2 for 1,000 views), then a single view might earn roughly $0.002, or two-tenths of a cent.

Remember, this is a very rough estimate and the actual amount can vary based on the factors mentioned above. Furthermore, YouTube takes a 45% cut of ad revenue, with the creator receiving the remaining 55%.

Lastly, the dynamics of YouTube’s monetization can change over time, so it’s always a good idea to consult more recent sources or YouTube’s official materials for the most up-to-date information.

With many people looking towards YouTube as a future career it’s important to understand how the monetisation works with the site and what you can expect to earn.

The main way of earning on YouTube is going to be ad revenue, this is calculated on numerous factors and isn’t a set amount but generally speaking your revenue will increase as your views go up.

There is a fairly standard amount earned however, but it does vary based on factors such as how much money is YouTube making from ads at the time.

So, around 500 views per dollar earned isn’t a bad rate at all. Plus, there are other ways that you can make money via YouTube too.

Other methods of making money on YouTube

It’s really hard to estimate a YouTuber creators earnings as they’re not just restricted to making money through their Google Adsense account.

Besides the main money earner that is ads, there are a few other ways that people have been making money on YouTube.

For creators that are looking to make money, it’s important to consider the other potential revenue sources you can consider.

Here are some of the other ways you can make money on YouTube besides ads.

  • YouTube partner program – This opens up more means in which your viewer can support you, such as; premium subscribers, super chat messages, channel memberships and merchandise.
  • Selling merch – Many YouTubers have found success selling merch, this is usually done by creating merch and putting it on an alternative website which you then reference and encourage viewers to check out in your videos.
  • Sponsored content – It’s no surprise businesses are looking to take advantage of the huge audience that YouTube creators have. They do this by paying the creator to do a sponsored message or even an entire video so show off their product.
  • Affiliate marketing partnerships – This is similar to sponsored content but rather than odd messages or videos you would be partnered with the business which usually includes perks such as them sending creators free stuff them to then show off and review. This is usually accompanied by a retainer like monthly wage for being associated.

Adding affiliate links to the description of your YouTube channel videos can be one of the biggest earners for many successful YouTube creators, especially if you have content that lends itself to affiliate marketing well in general – like cryptocurrency, or product reviews.

So realistically, the ad views will only be a percentage of overall earnings for most YouTubers, and it’s probably a good idea to look at other ways you can monetise your YouTube too.

Why you should diversify – Demonetisation

There are a number of factors that can cause issues with ads.

Demonetisation is a scary word when it comes to YouTube, this is essentially that YouTube has flagged a video and you are then unable to make any ad money from that video.

This can happen for a number of reasons, and it is best to be careful when creating content so that you do not get caught in this trap.

The most common reasons are going to be anything that may cause copyright issues such as using copyrighted music.

According to YouTube a video can also be demonetised for any of the following violations:

  • Spam, deceptives practices and scams
  • Nudity and sexual content
  • Compromising child safety
  • Harmful and dangerous content
  • Hate speech
  • Harassment and cyberbullying

Essentially avoid content that would quite obviously be inappropriate, try to use music/clips that are not copyrighted and you should be fine.

There are parental controls on YouTube which can limit children from seeing your content, but generally most big influencers create content that can be viewing by all ages.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you’re wondering how much do YouTubers make in general, many actually don’t earn a great deal, and it can be tough to even get your first 1,000 subscribers.

When you are getting views, individual dollars are very hard to get an exact range for with how many diverse streams of income there are on YouTube.

For the most part though, from views alone you’re looking at roughly 500 views per dollar earned.

With that said the growth of YouTube is exponential if you can take advantage of multiple income streams that the site opens up for you and therefore limiting the scale to just views is a little misrepresenting how earnings work on YouTube.

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Author

Alex

By day he's an engineer and by night (well, evening or very early morning but night sounds way cooler) Alex runs the Apps UK ship. He has a keen interest in language, fitness & especially social media - he is always on the lookout for the next hot platform.

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