Over the last few years, I’ve made about $1800 pretty consistently every month from YouTube AdSense. Today, I want to share about how to get started and use YouTube AdSense so that you can use it on your channel, too! Don’t forget – if you’re interested in my strategy around YouTube videos? Find out more about picking topics, filming and more in  My Formula to Making Money on YouTube. Learn how I’m turning content on YouTube into money in the bank! I’ve got a lot to share in today’s video about YouTube AdSense, so let’s get started! 

WHAT IS ADSENSE?

First things first, what is YouTube AdSense? Once you hit 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours, you can sign up for YouTube AdSense. Basically YouTube AdSense is a way that advertisers add ads to your content and then you and YouTube both get paid for having ads on your videos. After you’ve hit the requirements, add your information, payment information and two-factor authentication to YouTube AdSense and you’ll be ready to go. 

There’s a few important terms to know when talking about YouTube AdSense. First is CPM, which is the amount advertisers pay YouTube to run their ads and RPM is how much you get from that amount. In other words, RPM is what you’re making per 1,000 views on your videos and CPM is how much advertisers pay per 1,000 views on your videos. A typical RPM is about $4 for every 1,000. Mine currently sits at $8.61. A typical CPM is $7 and mine is $16.41. 

MY JOURNEY

As we’re talking about YouTube AdSense, I think it’s important to understand my journey to monetizing my YouTube account. I started my Youtube channel in July 2019 and monetized in October 2019. It took about 3 months to get enough subscribers and views to qualify – and that happened because I was posting consistently. However, I didn’t really start seeing traction on my channel until August 2020. Around then, I had nailed my niche and began to be really consistent and comfortable with my content. In 2021, I began to make a more substantial amount of income from YouTube. 

INCOME FROM YOUTUBE ADSENSE

Let’s talk about the income I’ve made because of YouTube AdSense. As a reminder, these are numbers independent of my products or offerings, and these don’t reflect the hundreds of email list subscribers and new students that YouTube has brought my business. You can learn more about those numbers in episode 14 of my podcast. There’s been so many benefits that YouTube has brought us that won’t be captured here! 

In the first two months I was monetized, I made $28.76 and $48.44… a whopping $70 some dollars. You don’t even get your first payout until you’ve hit $100, by the way. I don’t think that happened until December of 2019. Basically, I wasn’t making much on YouTube AdSense to start. That was really typical until about spring of 2021. In early 2021, I hit about 10K subscribers and 2.6M views and I generated a total of $20,263.61. These numbers are totally possible, even without millions of subscribers! In 2022, with 2.2M views, I generated $22,956.20 from YouTube AdSense. So, even though my views went down a little bit, the value of my ads were higher, so I was able to generate more income than the previous year. Also, 82.2% of that income was from skippable ads. You can set your own settings when you upload videos, so just something to be aware of! 

What’s Performed Well on YouTube AdSense

I thought it might be interesting to share which videos made the most money. Just because a video performed well from an analytics standpoint doesn’t actually mean it made me the most money. As an example, my 2022 Reels Tutorial has made me $4,988.51, the 2021 Reels Tutorial has made me $4,595.77, and my Instagram Reels Transitions Tutorial has made $3,478.85. But, when you go to look at the views, they’re not my highest viewed videos. It’s just interesting to me. 

Looking at the first three months of 2023, our top performing video is the 2023 Reels Tutorial with $680.13 so far. Does that surprise you? I do want to share my lifetime revenue from YouTube AdSense: $49,949.37. I think it’s important to talk about the videos that are performing well in both arenas, because it helps you think about what might bring in more revenue for you. A quick reminder here that you shouldn’t rely on income from YouTube AdSense. For us, we look at it as a boost to our business income but nothing we’d ever rely on solely to keep us going. 

HOW I STARTED GENERATING INCOME

Last, I want to talk about how I began to actually generate income from YouTube AdSense. For the last two years, I’ve pretty consistently hit the $1800/mo mark and I believe a few things helped me achieve that. First was choosing a niche and being consistent. When I began on YouTube, I was all over the place with content. I then took four months off and came back… still all over the place. In 2020, I nailed my niche and really began to grow and be more consistent on YouTube. I really do believe that led to the channel and monetary growth I achieved on YouTube. 

Around that time, my content really began to focus on what my students and followers needed. Once I knew what they needed, it only took about 6 months to see consistent revenue from YouTube AdSense. My content also got better too. I was better at filming and editing, creating contents, and lighting my own videos. All of it improved, which really helped me stay consistent on YouTube and helped me create better content. I also think that checking in on my YouTube analytics regularly has helped me. Doing this has allowed me to see what my videos are being searched for, picked up for, and what people are looking for. All of that helped me create better, more niched content. You can see more tips about YouTube analytics here! 

FINAL THOUGHTS ON YOUTUBE ADSENSE

Essentially, it will take time to make consistent income from YouTube AdSense. Creating long-form content takes longer to build, but it takes longer to crumble too. YouTube is definitely about the long-game. Showing up consistently matters and will make a difference. Also, with that slower growth, you can take a break and your evergreen content will still bring in money for you. I had to do that during my maternity leave and this was a great long-term strategy for our business. If you’re consistent and committed to it, YouTube can bring you consistent leads and YouTube AdSense revenue. 

If you’re interested in that long-term strategy around YouTube videos – get from My Formula to Making Money on YouTube. This freebie will help you understand how I’m turning these videos into money in the bank! Remember, don’t use YouTube AdSense as your ONLY revenue stream. It’s a nice boost to your business bank account but shouldn’t be your only stream of income. YouTube AdSense revenue will help you build another solid revenue source which has helped us throughout seasons in our business. I want that for you, too!