Today, I’m sharing the exact amounts that each social media platform paid me for a month’s worth of posts! I thought it would be fun to break down the income I earn from the accounts I’m active on for my personal brand and business education… basically everything that comes into the accounts that I manage. We’ll be talking about Instagram (Reels Play Bonus Program), YouTube adsense, TikTok Creator Fund AND how many views I had each month to get that money. For the sake of today’s conversation, we’re looking at mid December 2022 to mid January 2023 – and none of this includes anything I may have made from paid partnerships,  collaborations, paid products or affiliate links, either. Let’s jump in! 

Reels Play Bonus Program @stephanielynnkase

First, we’re talking about the Reels Play Bonus Program. I’m starting with my personal brand’s Instagram. On this account, I have over 100K followers. From December 2022 to January 2023, I made $1,258.44 from 11 million views on my Reels. To be totally honest, this was a pretty abnormal month. Previously, the months were ranging between $100 and $200. But, during this timeframe, I was working to be more strategic about the Reels I posted at the beginning of my window for the Plays Bonus Program and I think it’s why I may have seen such a huge jump in the numbers here. 

Obviously, the income here is very inconsistent. You have to hit a lot of views to break $200 and I can usually make that first $100 or so pretty quickly – but getting past that is hard. Honestly, a handful more views really doesn’t bring me that much income. It took me getting 11 million views to make the kind of income we’re discussing right now. To me, this income is not something I rely on – remember, for the Plays Bonus Program, the Reels you post only count in that month. So If I post something three days before the window ends, I’m not going to get a lot of views or make a lot of money off of that Reel. It’s just something to be mindful of when you’re thinking about using the Reels Play Bonus Program! 

I also want to share, from December 9 to 31st, we were invited to do the Reels Play Bonus Program on my Stephanie Kase Education account and made $50. It’s interesting too, because we haven’t been invited to do it again yet. But, since the timeframe overlapped, I wanted to share that with you! 

YouTube Adsense

Now, let’s talk about YouTube Adsense. This is one of our more consistent sources of income from social media. In the month we’re discussing, we made $1,436.27 from 160,200 views of our videos. Throughout 2022, this amount was pretty consistent every month! If you compare this to the Reels Play Bonus Program, you’ll see that the number of views was a little more consistent with the income I made on YouTube. Now, I know that YouTube is more of a long-form content where the Reels aren’t, but the money I make feels more in line with the work I’m doing. I also want to point out that YouTube’s payments cover all views on your account in that timeframe, not just what you posted – like Reels. That means if someone watches an old video that has ads, I’m still getting paid for that.  

To me, the consistency and the fact that I can still generate income without posting new content is what I really love about YouTube Adsense! 

TikTok Creator Fund

From TikTok’s Creator Fund, I made $13.24 from 1.1 million views on my Stephanie Kase account. The TikTok Creator Fund is pretty inconsistent, too. Since I joined, the amounts have also gone down a lot, which is disappointing. When it began, I was making a few hundred dollars from the millions of views that I generated. Now, it’s easier to hit some of the views they want you to than on the Reels Play Bonus Program, but it’s just not a lot of money.  

So… what does this all mean? 

When I sit down and really think about making money from these social media platforms, the most important thing that comes to mind is why it’s so beneficial to diversify income. Social media platforms are now doing that by paying their creators. I want to say again: don’t rely on just one source of these to make income in your brand. Having multiple streams of income that YOU own is the best way to make money but these extra streams can be so nice to help you each month. I want to still encourage you to use these platforms to be social, connect with your audience, and point them to your paid offerings, products, and what you offer. Don’t rely on what you can make directly from these programs. Diversifying your income and having money come in truly relies on you having a strong strategy. 

I hope that this breakdown was helpful and eye-opening for you to see what is possible with these platforms as extra sources of income! 

Other Reels Resources 

I also offer a free one-hour Instagram Reels class if you want more help with how to grow your reach, followers, and customers with Reels in 2 hours a month! You can sign up for that HERE. And, if you have questions or want some extra support, I’ve got a FREE Reels Growth Facebook Community that you can join. I absolutely love getting to chat with everyone and help them work through their questions about Reels!

Wondering what to make for your next Reel? Free quiz to find out what type of reel idea you should make next! 

Need ideas for Instagram? Grab our free sample Instagram posting schedule here!

If you’re listening and you have ideas about what to talk about next, please send in your requests! I really do want to know what you want to hear about in future episodes. Email me at [email protected] with your questions!! I can’t wait to hear from you! Don’t forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, too. We appreciate all of the support and love!