Spoiler:
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I’ve heard YouTube creators say over and over that their revenue has been going down. Some have had to cut back on what they post because of it.
I’ve always wondered what sort of money was possible. Not because I would do it, simply because I’m nosy curious like that.
So thanks to YouTuber AutoVlog for giving us a peek behind the scenes.
As a writer, I know what a book that sold ten million copies could possibly earn. So I’m rather shocked at the low amount of money a video with ten million views gets. In one way, I’m comparing apples and oranges. Books don’t deal with ad rate CPMs and people pay full price for the product — unseen, unread — up front.
All of this made me wonder about my most-popular video, however, so I went to my own Analytics section (a place I’ve now been to for only the second time):
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It’s still unreal to me how many views that got. “Why didn’t you run ads?!!?” some people are shouting.
Because the damn original video isn’t mine. I forget what the source was — it’s been years. But when I watched the original video, I was struck by that section because it illuminated an aspect of Jobs I hadn’t seen before and I thought it should stand by itself. So I ripped the original and clipped out that bit. I guess other people found it interesting too and shared the hell out of it.
And I wouldn’t run ads over it because 1) the original video isn’t mine and I’m not going to parasitically make money from someone else, and, 2) I hate the fucking ads on YouTube.
All of this made me even more curious, so I looked more at my Analytics and remembered why I don’t bother with them.
These are my Top Ten Videos:
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Only three of them are videos I’ve created. The rest are things from others I’m sharing.
And of the most-popular video I’ve created, here are its Lifetime stats and the reason why a trip to Analytics is just a damn waste of time for me:
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A big 1,482 Views over its “lifetime.” What is there to even worry about in terms of Analytics?! And WTF all you ad networks that keep sending me your damn emails wanting me to join up with you? How effin blind are you to what’s really going on? There’s nothing there to “monetize,” you greedy morons.
I fully understand people who want to do YouTube videos as a profession. I enjoy many of their videos and am grateful for them (even with the damn ads). But that’s not been my goal. As far as only 1,482 viewers of that Google Books PDF Test video — if it helped a few people decide whether or not to buy that tablet, then mission accomplished. I create my own videos because I want to know something and share it so others don’t have to make the effort too.
Anyway, I’ve brought myself into this (well, it is a blog, not a news site), so let’s just get to the video:
This is EXACTLY how much Youtube paid me for a 10 MILLION + views VIRAL VIDEO!
Mike Cane's Atomic Supermen 