How much money I got paid for my FIRST DAY monetized on YouTube
I’m about to tell you how much money I made on my first day monetized on YouTube, and you’re probably going to laugh when I reveal the total.
But I believe it’s the most important money I’ll ever make on the platform.
The most exciting day as a content creator on any platform is usually the first one you actually get paid.
That’s because, at some point in your journey, you probably felt like your goal was impossible and you’d never get there.
In fact, I came THIS close to quitting YouTube just a few short months ago.
Even when I started, I don’t think I fully believed I would reach my goal of making actual money on the platform.
I just found the YouTube monetization requirements so intimidating.
1,000 subscribers definitely seemed within the realm of possibility, but my watch time was increasing so slowly that it felt like I would never reach the required 4,000 for full monetization.
But I’m here to tell you it IS possible — and I’m living proof.
The journey begins
I started on YouTube almost exactly one year ago and, over the course of 365 days, I posted a shade over 40 videos overall.
As with all content creation businesses, most of your success will come from a small fraction of your work, and this was certainly the case for me.
My first video to kind of take off was this one, which was an incredibly simple concept.
It was literally just me in front of some coffee beans talking about my decision to quit caffeine.
Later, using a keyword tool called VidIQ, I was able to zero in on topics that actually gave me a fighting chance to get monetized within a year.
One of the great things about VidIQ (affiliate link here if you want to try it — I highly, highly recommend) is that it suggests opportunities for your channel based on subjects with high interest but low competition.
Here’s how that looks on the VidIQ dashboard:
In addition to quit caffeine content, one of the topics VidIQ suggested for me, based on what I’d already posted, was how to make money online writing on Medium.com.
In fact, the bulk of my views have come from how-to videos about writing online.
Here are my top 3 most viewed videos — excluding the caffeine one I already mentioned — which were by far the biggest contributors to my YouTube monetization:
1. Medium earnings in my second month (7,900 views)
My most popular video so far, with 7,900 views, was one of my first Medium.com earnings videos.
Now I made quite a few of these and I couldn’t tell you why this is the one that took off, but I’m very happy it did.
This was the first video that had me believing YouTube monetization might be possible:
2. Full Medium tutorial
With VidIQ having identified Medium videos as a good niche for me, I decided to try making a really long-form one that went over my strategy for making money on that platform.
This one actually became popular fairly quickly and helped me rack up a lot of watch hours due to its length.
3. How I became a top earner on Medium (7,800 views)
I’m almost embarrassed to point this one out, but I think it’s important because it shows you don’t necessarily need fancy editing techniques or really any on-camera talent to have a relatively successful video on YouTube.
This one doesn’t even show my face, it’s just me talking quietly over my screen share of my Medium account. The sound it terrible, the thumbnail is a joke, there’s nothing special about the video, but somehow it still generates views almost every day.
My (very) humble earnings
So, after one year of work and 40+ videos, what did I have to show for it after one day?
That’s right: I earned a grand total of 20 American cents.
Cue the sad trombone, right?
Well, not so fast.
For a lot of people, this is probably laughable.
And while I think it’s easy to be dismissive of a $0.20 earnings day, I honestly believe it’s the most important money I’ll ever make on the YouTube platform.
That’s because this is real to me now.
It’s because I’ve now confirmed that yes, a Regular Joe creator like me can actually get through the grind of getting monetized and earn real money posting videos about the things that interest me.
We all know it’s possible theoretically, but it’s different when it actually happens for you.
$0 to $20,000
I made $20,000 writing on Medium last year, but it was the first dollar I earned there that changed my perspective on everything.
It got me excited to work harder and it motivated me to start taking my writing much more seriously.
What started as a hobby actually changed my life, giving me way more financial breathing room and the funds to start pursuing other money-making opportunities like stock market investing.
It also gave me the optimism needed to pursue my ultimate goal, which is to retire from the commuter life and run my own business full-time.
Now with YouTube in the mix, I’m more excited than ever at the possibilities.
Never quit
But mostly I’m proud that I didn’t quit when the pull to do so was strongest.
Few people find the grit to see big projects like this through to the end — especially when they aren’t getting paid a dime for it.
But it is possible, and it’s so worth it.
So if you’re early in your YouTube journey and you’re thinking of quitting, don’t.
If you don’t quit, you can’t fail.
If you walk out of the arena, you can’t win.
I can tell you from personal experience that setting a stretch goal and actually reaching it is one of the most satisfying and fulfilling things you can do.
And you never know — 20 cents just might change your life.
My top 3 trending stories:
Star singer Adele revealed a massive challenge after you quit alcohol
3 super healthy habits that keep Victoria Beckham fit as hell at 49
How I got myself addicted FAST to online writing again (money update)
My most popular posts of all time: