YouTube stars are seen as today’s self-made
celebrities—people who have earned an audience by creating content geared
toward teaching, entertaining, reviewing, and being awesome on the internet.
Most of these small-screen celebs do what they do just to do it, to scratch an
itch for creating things and being in front of an audience.
 |
These young Aussies bought a run down boat in Airlie Beach and learnt how to sail on the go. In the time since they have dramatically improved their boat, their YouTube videos and their sailing skills.
SEE THEM HERE
|
At first, you may probably think these people upload their
content for free. Yes! YouTube is FREE for you to subscribe and watch all sorts
of content at no charge. But as a viewer you are probably helping put a few
cents in the pockets of those creators, which is no bad thing.
Sure, these self-made celebs, may have started out putting
their vids up for free for a bit of fun in their early days, but we’re here to
tell you that some of YouTube’s most-watched channels are making money—and a
lot of it. But are they all making the big money or is it just a small few.
 |
From a humble beginning, Sailing La Vagabonde are now the biggest Sailing Superstars on YouTube with almost 1.5 million subscribers generating a very healthy income. SEE THEM HERE
|
So, exactly how much do YouTubers make? That’s what we’re going to tell you. How is
it earned and how much?
According to Social Blade.com, YouTubers can make anywhere
between $0.01 to $0.03 per view through Adsence, with an average of $0.018 per
view. However, the amount of money to be earned from YouTube.com depends on a
variety of factors, such as:
- The number of
subscribers the channel has
- The number of hours
their video’s have been watched
- The number of views the
video receives
- The number of clicks an
ad receives
- Ad quality
- Adblockers
- Video length
- and whether the add is
watched entirely
With the average YouTube pay rate hovering between $0.01 and
$0.03 for an ad view, a YouTuber can make around $18 per 1,000 ad views, which
comes out to $3 to $5 per 1,000 video views. This means that to earn
only $100 per day, you will need about 50,000 views
per day.
However, you are not eligible to join the ‘YouTube Partner
Program’ to earn money from videos until your channel has 1000 Subscribers and
a combined 4000 hours of watch time in the previous 12 months (a feat
in itself that leaves most new channels penniless for a long time).
Subscribers are people who choose to follow a particular YouTube
Channel so that they can have easy access to the latest videos. When a video is
posted, it will automatically show up on the subscribers homepage. If they hit
the bell it's even better as YouTube will automatically send a notification to
them indicating that a new video has been posted. YouTube does not pay
based on the number of subscribers the channel has.
So how long does it take to get 1,000 YouTube Subscribers?
It takes an average of 22 months for a new channel to reach
1,000 subscribers on YouTube according to data from TubeFilter. That's if
the channel is uploading videos consistently and using some best practices.
Reaching the 4000 hours of watch time this is where
the real challenge comes. 4000 hours is a lot. It's 240,000 minutes or
to put it in another way, it's a single person watching your content
continuously 24-7 for 166.6 days. If you publish your first video on YouTube,
and you get just an hour of watch time out of it, over the first week, you could
be pretty satisfied. YouTube requires the 4,000 hours to have been amassed in a
365 day period up until the current date.
So for example, after 22 months of posting a video on a
weekly basis, an average new channel now has 1000 subscribers, ....
Congratulations. They have hit the first threshold. However, they still need
4000 hours of viewing time in the previous 12 month period, not the average of
22 months it took to reach the subscriber threshold .
If you prove to be a megastar and reach 4,000 hours of watch
time in say three months (umm, Wow!), so long as you also have at least 1,000
subscribers you’re then eligible to apply for the YouTube Partner Program. Note
the keyword being “eligible” — you still have to apply and be approved before you
can actually start earning anything out of your content.
To be accepted into the YouTube Partners Program, you must:
Have at least 1,000
subscribers
- Reach 4,000 valid public
watch hours in the past 12 months (you can’t play your video constantly
they know who is watching)
- Sign and agree to the
terms and conditions
- Have an AdSense account
- Get reviewed and
approved
Adsense will pay 68% of the revenue, so for ad or ads shown
in videos for an earn of $1000 the creator will receive $680. BUT, in order to
get paid by YouTube, you have to accrue earnings of $100 before any payment is
made. This means around 20,000 ad views.
You may have heard that you’ll make one dollar per thousand
views or that it’s $1,000 per Million Views. Some say it’s $5 per thousand
views but that’s very misleading. Video views themselves DO NOT equal
money. If viewers watch a video, but no one watches the advertisements through,
only a very, very small amount is paid for an ‘Impression’ (meaning people saw
the ad flash up but then hit skip so the sdvertiser did not get full exposure).
So if were asking about making money from views, we’re
asking the wrong question. We should be asking, “How much ENGAGEMENT
does it take to make money on YouTube?”
YouTubers make money based on people’s engagement with the ads.
Engagement here means watching an ad right through or better still, clicking on
the advertisers link. YouTube Advertising is managed in the Adwords platform.
Advertisers choose ads on a Cost Per Click (CPC) or Cost Per View (CPV) model.
So here are some estimated ranges of earnings on 10 randomly
chosen Sailing YouTube Channels that you may subscribe to, watch, know about or
have heard of:
These statistics were correct at time of writing (Sept 2020)
and were gained from Social Blade. You’ll quickly notice the huge difference
between the estimated minimum and maximum earnings. In a nutshell the minimum
figure is based on impressions only with ALL viewers skipping the adds while
the max is estimated on every viewer watching every advert and or clicking on
links. The reality is no doubt probably somewhere in the lower quarter to half
of the ranges shown.
Follow the Boat
471 Uploads
52.2k Subscribers
234.5k Views for last 30 days
$76-1.2k Estimated monthly earnings.
Free Range Sailing
172 Uploads
95.1k Subscribers
504.6K Views for last 30 days
$164 - 2.6k Estimated monthly earnings.
Sailing Ruby Rose
241 Uploads
121k Subscribers
480.05K Views for last 30 days
$156 - 2.5k Estimated monthly earnings.
Sailing Nandji
207 Uploads
109k Subscribers
510.02k Views for last 30 days
$166 - 2.7k Estimated monthly earnings.
Sailing Catalpa
229 Uploads
27k Subscribers
75.5k Views for last 30 days
$25 - 393 Estimated monthly earnings.
Sailing La Vagabonde
395 Uploads
1.46m Subscribers
5.16m Views for last 30 days
$1.7k - 26.9k Estimated monthly earnings
Sailing SV Delos
410 Uploads
600k Subscribers
3.66m Views for last 30 days
$1.2k - 19k Estimated monthly earnings
Sailing into Freedom
301 Uploads
76.4k Subscribers
801.3k Views last 30 days
$260 - 4.2k Estimated monthly earnings
Sailing Yacht Florence
83 uploads
61.5k Subscribers
163.8k Views last 30 days
$53 - 852 Estimated monthly earnings
Expedition Evans
9 Uploads
46.2k Subscribers
1.03m Views last 30 days
$336 - 5.4k Estimated monthly earnings
And this is little old us
Dreamtime Sail
9 uploads
372 Subscribers
2.7k Views for last 30 days
$0.80 - $14 Estimated monthly earnings
(Based on our current figures if we were in the YouTube
Partner Program. We are currently averaging 130 new subscribers a month which
would see us reach the 1000 threshold in another 5 months – Reaching 4000 hours of view time in 12 months
requires 333 hours per month, we gained 331 hours in the last 28 days so are
almost on target)
Do you watch every ad that is in your favourite YouTube
video? If
you said no, well you are in the vast majority of people. So you can
realistically say Adsense earnings are nowhere near the top estimates. If you
are one of those people who do watch the ads, congratulations you are helping
these YouTubers continue their creative work. If you love what you are watching
there is no harm in watching an ad or two in appreciation of the time and
effort it took to give you 20 minutes or so of entertainment.
You can now see the estimated earning potential for these
YouTubers on a monthly basis. But before you go wow let’s start a YouTube
Channel sit back and reap in the rewards there are several things you should
ask yourself.
 |
The Dreamtime Sail crew editing another Episode at Foxy's Bar on Fitzroy Island
while the boat sits on a mooring as high winds blow by.
|
Do you know how to produce, record and edit a watchable compelling 15-20
minute video?
If you already have these skills it is fair play to you, and you will be on
your way to producing slick professionally edited videos. Most vloggers, learn
along the way and usually get crucified whilst in the early stages. This brings
us to the equipment side. Sure you can vlog with an iPhone but, in reality, to
compete with the best you need good equipment. Salt air is horrendous and you
will find you will be replacing equipment more than you think. We currently have
two DJI Osmo waterproof action cams, a Sony FDR-AX33 video camera, a video
capable Canon DSLR, a DJI Mavic Pro Drone that we are still learning to fly and
recently we purchased a Rode Wireless GO microphone kit as our main negative
feed back from our earlier episodes was regarding the audio quality. We also
have two laptops for editing plus an Epidemic Sound subscription for music that
can be used with our videos on YouTube and Social Media.
 |
Just like boat gear, it would be very easy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the latest wizbang gadgets to make YouTube videos
|
Are you prepared to spend time recording and editing that
you could be spending enjoying yourself and relaxing? There’s a rough rule of thumb
in television that says it takes an hour to edit one minute of television and
this applies pretty well to Vlogging as well. Then add the time spent planning,
shooting footage and filing video clips in a sensible method onto hard drives
and the whole YouTube experience can become quite time consuming. This is more
so if you are set on publishing a new episode very week and keeping the timing
close to current.
 |
We're determined to make sure we keep enjoying the cruising life rather than spending all our time recording and editing.
|
In our case we
decided very early on we are not going to try to keep our published videos
current. While we are out cruising, we are concentrating on enjoying that
experience and are quite happy to limit our videos to every second week even if
they are a few months behind LIVE. We are letting footage stack up into a
backlog which we will edit and publish when we return south for the summer to
escape the cyclone season. In the meantime, we do most of our editing when the
weather is bad and we’re anchored up sheltering from wind or whatever. When the
weather is good we’re out enjoying it even with cameras in hand.
And the final question ..... Do you want your life
exposed? For many it’s about fame and fortune and jolly good luck to them. They have set out to make YouTube their occupation
and plan to rely on it to fund their sailing lifestyle. However, with now
literally thousands of Sailing Channels alone, it’s an incredibly competitive
market where getting noticed has become paramount. Enter CLICKBAIT. Catchy but
often sensationalised or even misleading video titles and of course, the sex
sells, skimpy bikini, no bikini thumbnails abound. A few have prospered from
this approach but most do not build the loyal viewer base needed to be
successful. Rather they attract the casual voyeur who has no interest in much
other than having perve and definitely aren’t the type to support a channel
either directly or by even watching through an advert or two. They are more likely to be fast forwarding through videos looking for the next glimpse of skin.
 |
Clickbait - How a channel doing short day sails only on a McGregor 26 attracts 126,000 subscribers
|
For others it’s about documenting their life for friends,
family or even future generations and simply a pleasurable hobby enjoyed
onboard. We fall into that category. We have enjoyed creating a written record
of our sailing life since we began cruising ten years ago. Recently we have added
YouTube Vlogs to that record. Our main goal is simply to share the lifestyle
we’ve come to love so much and, heaven forbid, when our seaborne existence
eventually comes to end, have a full colour, action record to jog our failing
memories. Having said that, if we were able to recoup some of our equipment
costs or supplement or meagre sailing budget with a few bucks from our YouTube
we are not going to say no.
What other ways do YouTubers make money?
- Affiliate links: Have
you ever watched a video of a YouTuber reviewing a product? How about one
where a YouTuber throws in the name of their “favorite brand”? If so,
you’ve experienced affiliate links. Affiliate links involve a YouTuber
reviewing or mentioning a product, such as equpment or a service, such as
marketing software. When a viewer clicks on the link located in the video
description and makes a purchase, the YouTuber will earn a small percentage
of that purchase.
- Merchandise: Whether you
follow a popular gamer or a day-to-day vlogger, you’ve probably noticed
they opened up shop and created apparel for their loyal fans to purchase.
YouTubers who have a large following often create a brand out of their
channel and sell things such as shirts, bags, hats, and accessories.
- Patreon: Patreon is a
way to join your favourite creator's community and financially assist them
to make the video content you enjoy. Instead
of literally throwing money at your screen (trust us, that doesn’t
work), you can now pay a few bucks per video that a creator
makes. For example, if you pay $2 per video, and the creator
releases 3 videos in February, then your card gets charged a total of $6
that month. This means the creator gets paid regularly (every
time they release something new), and you become a bonafide, real-life
patron of the arts. That’s right--Imagine you, in a long frilly
white wig, painted on a 10-foot canvas on the wall of a Victorian mansion.
And imagine your favorite creators making a a couple of pennies
doing what they do best… because of you.
- Sponsorship: Put simply,
sponsorship is a mutually beneficial business relationship between two
parties, the business (sponsor) and the person (sponsored). Sponsorship
may be in the form of cash, donated goods and services or access. In the
sailing world equipment is often the big one, think sails, electronics,
safety equipment, clothing etc.. These goods and services can become
far more valuable than cash support.
Regardless of how the creator is earning or not earning the
choice is in your hands. If you love their work and get entertainment from
their work there is no harm in sharing their work with others via social media,
watching an ad or two, becoming a Patreon, buying a published book or
merchandise or supporting a sponsor’s business to encourage YouTubers to create
more content for your enjoyment.
Thank you to all who support us through watching our videos, reading our blogs or who step up and support us though
Patreon and
Ko-Fi. You inspire us everyday to be creative 🙌
You can help us out and support our creative work for FREE.
By watching, 👍, 🔔, Subscribing, Commenting and best of all Sharing this video or blog with your friends
If you would like to make a donation towards our creative work, you can by heading over to Ko-Fi they take no fees so the support goes directly into helping us buy and upgrade equipment
Do you want more?
Patreon gives you that … you get behind the scenes updates,
Patreon only photos and posts, you can watch our
episodes ad free and before they go public … you get it first!
Another way of support is through buying from our store.
Checkout the range of books we have available
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We love to receive comments on our blog from readers. If you do leave a comment and you also have a blog, please leave a link as well. We'd like to click over for a visit and leave you a comment too.
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to and see lots more photos, also check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at DreamtimeSail We now also have a YouTube Channel HERE
If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.
You can also find a full list of all our past blogs by clicking on the Contents tab above.
